Katie's Love For Clothes

How do you like Katie's Valentine pictures? Ha Ha! I was surprised how well she cooperated with me. I wanted her with her Valentine Bear, but she insisted that Mermaid get into the scene. Of course, I have to let her see every picture taken before go on to the next picture. She is wearing one of her favorite dresses. She picked this out at Belk about a month ago and I'm afraid she's going to wear it out. I never knew when it was hanging up on the hanger at the store that it would be close to being as precious on her as it does. I've noticing that she loves outfits/dresses with hearts or polka dots. She is so funny when it comes to shopping for clothes. Oh my gosh! You think teenage girls go crazy in the store, I think Katie might be a little worse. I say this because Thursday, we were able to get away from the house for a little bit and go to Belk. She saw some of the new Easter type dresses (phoo phoo) hanging up on the rack and she went nuts over them. "Oh mommy, I love them. Can I get one? Their so pretty" she said. I felt bad for her when they didn't have her size. It went from 4T to a size 5 or above. I'm not buying the 4Ts because she is so tall that I don't feel they would last very long on her. I had a hard time keeping up with her because she wanted to look at EVERYTHING. Yep, she's my daughter that is for sure. LOL!


Yesterday, I wanted to use it as a catch up day. I'm like a year behind when it comes to laundry. Isn't that sad? No matter how many times I wash ex-large loads, there's always 3 more still in the dirty clothes hamper. Ugh! I don't think I'll ever catch up. As you may know, there are nights where I'm waking up at 1:00 a.m. and having a hard time going back to sleep. There are times where I'm awake until 4:00 a.m., so it can be very frustrating. This is one of many reasons I don't care if I sleep in until 7:00 a.m. that morning or if I take an hour nap in the afternoon. However, when I got Katie to finally lay down and take a nap, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for me to close my eyes for a little while. Ha! Two hours later, Katie and I woke up and I couldn't believe my eyes when I looked at the clock. My day was almost over and still had so much more I needed to get done. Oh me!

Last night, Peggy and Millard came by the house to pick up Katie. Peggy wants to get Katie a few outfits for Spring/Summer, but because Katie is so picky, she wanted to have Katie with her. When I told Katie that she was going shopping with Grandma and Paw-Paw, she was so excited that she started dancing and running around. While packing up Katie's overnight bag, she brings me all the things that she wants to take with her. It's quite funny because forget the P.J.s or other clothes, she wants her stuffed animals to sleep with, specific DVD movies to watch, her favorite Mermaid lip gloss and her Mermaid pillow. We tried to explain to her that she didn't need to take the pillow because she has a Belle pillow at Grandma's house. "But I want Mermaid," she said.

I mentioned earlier this week about our neighbor's brother passing away. While she was gone, we took care of her beta fish, Bama. She told me to just feed it once a day, so I was scared to death that the fish would die on my clock. Of course, Katie loved going over and feeding the fish every day, but the tank water was looking a little murky. I told Doug my concern, but I didn't know how to clean out this little tank. Fish are very delicate and I just knew if I tried to help out, I would end up killing the fish by accident. Plus, Katie couldn't understand why she was not allowed to pet the fish. Fortunately, Evelyn came home late Thursday night and bonus, the fish didn't die over night. Shoo! I told her that I was concerned about the water, but afraid to clean it. She said it was alright. She added that she has to clean it every other day because it can look pretty bad. The poor fish finally got to swim around in some fresh water yesterday. Evelyn told me that when and if she has to leave again, she may ask us to watch over her fish and now a couple of parakeets. What? She said she inherited her brother's birds. Oh me!

Today, while Katie is gone shopping with her grandparents, I plan to do a little more cleaning and pick up some grub from Walmart a little later. As you know, tomorrow is Super Bowl XLIII. We've decided to have a fish fry to celebrate my mother's 72nd birthday and the Super Bowl. As far as I know, everyone is going to be here. We are planning on serving fish (of course), cole slaw, hushpuppies, fries, baked beans and birthday cake.

I hope you have a great weekend and may the best team win!

Ballerina Dress Update

Just a little add in . . .

Katie had better like the yellow ballerina dress because she's a new owner of it. LOL! I've been sitting here waiting for the ballerina dress bid to end on eBay. I have to say, it was a battle. I haven't had a battle like that in probably a year. It got down to the last 5 seconds between me and another bidder. The other bidder just wouldn't give it up, but I prevailed! YES!

I wasn't too thrilled in the price I ended up paying, but it was still overall a great deal for a brand new smock dress. I wouldn't have been able to go to any boutique here in town and paid the prices, including shipping & insurance, that I just paid on eBay. Plus, I really liked the dress. I think I'm becoming a big Ballet Mom. Anything ballet, I'm in love.

Super Bowl Weekend!
Do you have your 3D glasses to wear during the commericals? Doug and I was having problems at first finding these glasses that is until Doug discovered that Publix carried them. So, if your having a difficult time finding these glasses like we did, you should be able to find them at the following stores: A & P, Winn Dixie, Dollar General and Publix.

Dresses For Katie

Well, I'm back on eBay. I've been so good about staying away from eBay for the past few months. That was until I looked at Katie's closet and said to myself "oh no, she has no church clothes to wear". As you've heard/read in my blogs, Katiebug is going through a big growth spurt and I've had to pack away a lot of her clothes.

Last night after ballet class, I got online and checked out what eBay might have to sell. I found a few dresses that I thought she would really like to wear. I did win one of the dresses that I had marked. I think it will look precious on her. After I won the bid, I showed it to Katie to see if she liked it. Sure, I was thinking too that it was a little late if she didn't like it. Too bad because momma did! I know, I'm one of those mean mommas that make their kids wear the clothes they've got whether they like it or not. The only down fall is Katie will sneak and strip the outfit off, while I'm not looking. Thankfully when she did see the picture of the dress, she was all smiles. She said that she liked it because it has pink flowers on it. Below is a picture of the dress:



I'm also watching a light yellow ballerina smocked bishop dress. I showed it to Katie and she fell in love with it because it has ballerinas on it. Honestly, I didn't think she would like it because the dress is yellow. I was wrong.

I think Katie and I are going clothes shopping later this week. Maybe she'll like it because we'll be shopping for her. LOL!

Ballet Class
Yesterday, I met a new ballet mom. She has three teenagers that are all ballerinas. She over heard me and my friend, Rachel talking about how ballerinas have got to be much stronger than football players. We didn't get this mom's name, but two of her sons were there. She piped in and told us some stories about her daughter, Olivia and her son, Logan. How Logan has been picked on because he is considered a ballerina. After putting up with this for a while, Logan finally had had enough because one of the guys wanted the bullying to get physical. The momma, so proudly, said that Logan beat the boy up. Of course, he was in a little trouble with the school, but the momma told us that she was proud that he stuck up for himself. She was a proud momma because she wanted to show off Logan's six pack. He was a nice looking boy and very ripped. Logan told us that he loved the dance and unlike football you have to have full strength the whole time, whereas you get a break in football. He made since to me. When Katie and Zoe came out of class, the mom was going on about how cute the girls looked. She pulled out a picture of her daughter, Olivia, to show Katie. Katie was so excited to see pictures of a real balleria. I told her that one day she'll be like Olivia. Katie just smiled and said "uh huh", while shaking her head.

Anti-Aging Pill
Yes, you read the subtitle correctly. In the next few years, you might be able to see this pill available to the public and not just hear about it in research labs. Scientists have found out that a condensed wine-based anti-aging pill can truly slower the aging process by as much as 20 years or more. This pill will not only allow you to look younger in years time, but also means the pill could serve as a prevention to a lot of age causing diseases.

SBP Senior Night

Last night, we made it to Natalie's Senior Night Basketball Game. A recruiter was there from UNA to watch her play. If I was Natalie, I would be a nervous wreck. She did real good and put the points in that was needed for a big win for the Lady Saints.


We also had an opportunity to see Jodie on the dance team. She did so good and Katie just had a fit. She wants to see her dance again tonight. She was so disappointed when I had to tell her that was the last night to see her dance. The dance team had a couple of ballerinas doing their jazz/ballerina moves. Katie loved it!

Jodie is the one in the front

This is where Katie stayed during the whole game. She loved going around and around on the steps. She spend a little time with all of her relatives. She'd sit in Whitney's lap for a little bit and then switch over to Ryan and so on. It was funny to watch her. I think she got a little jealous when a couple of little girls that Whitney use to babysit came over and started loving on Whitney. Boy, Katie was over there in a flash. I know she was thinking, 'what do you think your doing with my Wibby'. I sure she wanted to just push those little girls out of the way and protect her Wibby, but she was being lady like. Instead, she'd stick her neck around and watch them talking to Whitney. I brought it Whitney's attention, so she put Katie on one knee and the other girl on another knee. Katie was once again all smiles. LOL!

Here's Katie sitting in Ryan's lap for a little while.

It's still hard to believe that Natalie Rose is a Senior in High School. Where has time gone? Ryan and I were talking last night about our ages and how fast time has left us. He couldn't get over how I was 35 and he would be 30 in 5 more years. Then, I reminded him Allan would be 30 next year. I was telling him that I don't feel any different than when I was 25 years old. I think, we both agreed that it's just a number. Below are a few of Natalie's Senior pictures. I think they are so pretty, but my favorite is her with her basketball. I don't have that picture scanned yet, but I'll display it as soon as I can.



More pictures of the ball game will be posted on our photosite.

Special Prayer Request

Special Prayer Request
My neighbor just called from the road to let me know that her brother, Norman, passed away this morning. She was on her way to meet other family members. He has been suffering for months with different health problems. Please remember her and her family in your prayers. This is same sweet lady that lost her husband, Charles, almost a year ago to a severe heart attack while turkey hunting.

Had a Great Birthday Weekend - Thanks!

I wanted to thank everyone for my birthday wishes. If I didn't get a card, I received sweet messages on the blog, people coming by to visit me or lots of phone calls. I appreciate every one for remembering me.

Thank You!

I had a great weekend. Millard and Peggy took us out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. I absolutely love Cracker Barrel and my food was so good. We couldn't get out of the gift shop because Katie loves looking at every thing. She did fall in love with this big pink Easter bunny. What I loved is that it sings "I Love You, A Bushel and A Peck," which is the song that my grandmother sang to me when I was little and now I sing it to Katiebug. I had to get it for Easter. Peggy got Katie distracted, while I purchased it for her.

Doug was so sweet to grill out steaks, bake potatoes and make a salad for my birthday supper. Yummy! I didn't have a cake or ice cream because Dr. Kakani wants me to watch my sweets, so I had fruit instead. Later, Maryann came by to visit a little bit. I think she's enjoyed all of her kids being home this weekend. Ryan's been home to do a little deer hunting with his dad and Whitney's been home from school to visit.

I love to be busy at times, but I really hope this week will be a little boring. I've got to catch up on a lot of things like laundry. Ugh! It's amazing. I could wash clothes every day and we'd still be out of towels or blue jeans to wear the next day. Katie and I need to take some time and get her some church clothes. Her clothes are really beginning to get tight on her. She wore one of her Smartie Britches (size 4) outfits yesterday at church with a turtle neck shirt and it was a little tight getting it off of her. Ugh! At first, I was having problems with her pants being too short and now it's the shirts. The size 3 shirts are both tight and short. Because it's so close to Spring time, I was really hoping the size 3 Winter clothes would hang in there until we got a little warmer weather. Of course, now every store has their Spring and Summer clothing line out and most of the Winter stuff is gone. I'm still looking for an Easter outfit for Colton, but I'm not having much luck. Belk's had a good sale on their Feltman Bros., but all of their newborn sizes are gone. Ugh! They have a pretty white romper for portraits, but only in sizes 9m-12m. How aggravating. I'm still hopeful though because I'm expecting the Easter dresses and outfits to come out any day. I haven't checked out the specialty shops yet because I really didn't want to pay $40+ for a newborn outfit, but I may have to end up paying if I don't find something soon.

Prayer Request
I don't know how much I'm suppose to tell, so I'll just ask for this. As you may know, Zayne and Whitney are planning to wed this coming July. Whitney will graduate Nursing School in May. She has put in to have the opportunity to work at several different local hospitals. She needs our prayers because the hospital nursing staff is fulling up quickly and the lady that's suppose to place Whitney told her that she might have an opportunity to get her in a top rated hospital from B'ham. Whitney needs your prayers that she is able to get into a good hospital.

It sounds like Zayne might be facing a good career opportunity. He hasn't gotten the job yet, but he needs your prayers that this would be God's well. As you may know, because of the economy good jobs are very few and far between.

I hope you have a very blessed week!

Let's Celebrate!

Are you wondering why I want to celebrate? It's because we are officially 30 weeks pregnant today.

Can I get a WHOOP WHOOP?

Poor Doug and Katie had to go with me to the doctor's appointment today because I had to re-do the glucose test. Buddy, am I glad he was there because right before they were able to prick my finger for this test, I just about went out. The nurse said she was concerned about me because I looked like I was about to pass out. Honestly, I don't know why they put pregnant women through all of this. I even got up last night at 10:45 and ate a banana sandwich. Did I think it helped? NOPE! After being up for 2 hours this morning, I began feeling drained. BLAH! BLAH! Anyway, I thought I was going in to just do this test, but the nurse said Dr. Kakani wanted to exam me again. What? Dr. Kakani came in and told me my glucose count, which I can't remember what it was. I think it's because my blood flow was down to my toes at that time. I simply asked her if it was good or bad. She said it was good. Oh, thank you God above! Then, she added that I needed to watch the sweets. I can do that. I won't like it, but I can do it. I just don't want to have to take the test again. She promised me that I wouldn't be taking the 3 hour glucose test. Shoo! She started looking at me as if she was conjuring up some plan to torture me some more. Then, she asked me my age. I told her 35 years old. She says, you know I would be interested in monitoring the glucose later in the pregnancy. What? I asked her if that was necessary. She told me it won't be like this test. Oh, no. Instead, I'm to fast AGAIN in the next 3 weeks and come in early to take the test. The best part of it, according to her, is that I won't have to drink the orange drink. I don't think that was a lot of my problem. I think my problem was the LACK OF FOOD! Ugh! Then, she said she wants to try taking the test a third time after I've eaten lunch. I'm all for skipping the fasting part and go straight to taking the test after I eat lunch. I like that idea better!

Last Monday, the baby could have been just stretching, but it felt like he was pushing down. It was a little intense that caused me to go lay down for a while. I told Dr. Kakani and she said that it was good. I was a little concerned because I never had that with Katie because she never dropped. She also said it was good to hear that I'm having at least two episodes of Braxton Hicks a day. So far, everything is normal. I can tell that Colton is getting taller because he likes to put his feet on my hip and stand up. His head will hit my ribs. He still likes to get in between my hips and stretch. You talk about taking your breath away for a little bit.

Katie and I got a nice surprise visit from my dad and mom yesterday. They were in town and came by for a visit. They bought me a beautiful pot of purple tulips for my birthday. They know how to make my birthday special. I hope I'll be able to plant the bulbs in my flower bed, once the blooms die off. They will be so pretty blooming next Spring.

Katie wanted her picture taken with my birthday flowers.

Then, she wanted a picture made of just her.

Of course, she was in such a good mood that she wanted a picture made with her favorite kitty cat.

Peanut Butter Recall Scare
I'm sure a lot of you are as concerned as I am about the latest salmonella scare tied to peanut butter products. Well, a friend of mine sent Doug a peanut butter recall alert. It shows a list of products that have been recalled. I wanted to pass this list down to you.

Obama Inauguration

No matter what your views are during the election or of our new president, today was history in the making. I didn't want to miss watching this process. I truly hope President Barack Obama the best in office. I'm very hopeful that he will find a good solution to our economic problems. The capital police reported a count of over 2 million people that showed up at the National Mall. I know it looked like a sea of people all along the grass. As the cameras were panning the scene after the inauguration, what should I spot? A man was walking around with a crimson Alabama Football toboggan. Meagan Kelly from Fox News introduced a woman from the State of Alabama. She reported, 9 buses hauled people from our state to the inauguration. The cameras also showed members of the Tuskegee Airmen, which is from Alabama (if you didn't know). I was amazed at how well the State of Alabama was represented at this event.

Everyone has their own opinion about President George W. Bush and that's why we live in such a great nation. Peronally, I think he did a great job considering what all new things (situations/crisis)we had to face. He had to face obstacles that no other president had to face before and his decisions were based on what he believe was best for the United States of America. If I were him, I know I would be so relieved because some of these problems are now out of his hands and is put on someone else's back, to worry about. I wish him and Mrs. Laura the very best in their new adventures.

Katie wasn't too happy with me because I wouldn't let her watch her TV, like every other morning. She accepted my decision and watched the inauguration with me. I explained to her that we were watching our new president. When I pointed Obama out to her, she asked me "that's your president?" "Yeah, he's yours too", I added. Quickly, she informed me "no he's not, he's yours". I had to chuckle because she was dead serious when she told me that he was mine and not hers. When I spoke to Doug on the phone, I told him what she said. He told me, at least we know how she feels about it. LOL!

Show and Tell
Okay, I caved and let Katie have her Alphabet and Numbers workbooks. I really wanted to see how she would react about it. Would she be enthusiastic or dread? She loves them! I've been so surprised. I first introduced them to her yesterday and I figured it would be a slow process because I don't want to push her. I figured if I pushed her into something that she has absolutely no interest, I won't get any where with her. I will report that she wants her way of doing the work, but I have to stop her and tell her to do it again (the right way). If I point out when she does something the wrong way, she'll close her eyes. I remind her that she doesn't have to do it, if she doesn't want to. I also add that I know she can do it and the right way because mom is only helping her. She lets me know, she doesn't want to stop. She'll redo it and want to do more. I think her favorite book is the numbers because it is dot-to-dot and color by number. I hope was that it will teach her to recognize (eventually) her numbers. The color by number seems to be a little easier for her because she can match the number and color. For instance, if #2 is colored yellow, I'll ask her to look for another #2 that matches. She'll pick it out and then I'll ask what color do we color it. So far, it seems to be working. Now, there are times where she doesn't want to color the #13 brown, but red or pink. That's because she loves the colors red and pink.



I applaud these books that I got from Target. Last Summer before I became pregnant, I had bought a few packs of flash cards for Katie on Letter and Number recognition. I had her try to write her letters and I wasn't getting too far because she would write her A's sideways. Her B's were nothing but scribes. Bless her heart, she tried her best. She just needed some direction. Doug and I had talked a few weeks ago and I suggested that I needed to find some workbooks with traced letters. I was so fortunate to find these books. Katie's no where close to taking off and writing her alphabet by no means, but I see potential. I'm hoping to show you her progress in the near future.

Below are photos of her work just beginning:

I helped color with her, she insists on me coloring with her.

Happy Birthday Laura!

I want to wish . . .

Laura

a very very

Happy Birthday!

(don't work too hard & enjoy your special day)

Flurries in the South

Well, we finally got our wish. A cold front came through and the temperature dropped all day down to 33 degrees. Fortunately, we were able to receive a few snow flurries because of it. Katie was so excited. We coated up and went outside for a little while. I planned on staying outside for a few minutes, but we ended up staying outside for an hour.

Just Raising Our Daughter Right

We were watching a little bit of the Arizona Cardinals game yesterday afternoon before we left to visit my mom and dad. Katie saw the colors on the Cardinals' uniforms and automatically thought Alabama was playing. She asked us if we were watching Alabama playing. I explained to her that it was the Cardinals playing and not Alabama. Bless her heart, she got confused. She asked me, "Alabama not playing anymore?" She added all sad, "but I like Alabama football." We assured her that we would see them play again. I thought to myself . . .that's my girl!

On that note, who do you think will win the Super Bowl? Arizona Cardinals or Pittsburg Steelers. Please vote on my new poll. Who will you be pulling for?

Super Bowl XLIII

Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburg Steelers

Febuary 1, 2009

Tampa, FL

Happy Anniversary Millard & Peggy!

I would like to wish Doug's parents a very

Happy 45th Anniversary!

Last night, we had them over for some homemade pizza, salad & turtle ice cream cake. Yummy! They love Doug's homemade pizza with everything, it was so good. I think they had a good time. Katie was in rare form last night, so we got a few chuckles from her acting silly.

Allison - you'll get a kick out this. After the girls' play date this past week, I spoke to Katie about possibly getting the Disney Bingo game like y'all have. I asked her if she liked it because I didn't want to get it and she ends up not playing with it. Her eyes lite with excitement, "oh yeah I like Anya's game." Well, the only place I've really looked for it is Target and I couldn't find it in the game section.

On Friday, Katie and I were playing the "My Little Pony Memory", "Let's Go Fishin'" and "Elefun". I get tried real quick of playing "Elefun" because the butterflies go every where. Shoo! All of the sudden, Katie looked at me and asked to play Anya's game. I told her that we didn't have it yet. "Uh, huh!" she assured me. I had a terrible time explaining to her that I didn't find it at the store. Poor baby, she started crying because she said that it was a lot of fun and she just wanted to play it. So now, I guess I'm on a mission. If anything, I found it online from Target that I could order and have it shipped. The down fall is I was hoping to get it closer to when the baby arrives. I may have to think of something else at that time.

I did take Allison's advice and bought a few prizes for Katie specifically the first week the baby comes home. I purchased small things that I thought Katie would be interested in. She's been begging me for some more play dough because I had to throw hers away (it was so old and dried up). So, I bought her a couple of packs of it. Target was having a good after Christmas sale of some selected toys. I was able to get a 2 in 1 set of Sesame Street puzzles for $1. The new "Barbie in Thumbelina" book came out. Katie's seen the movie preview from one of her other Barbie movies and reminds me that she wants to see it. I've introduced to her the dot-to-dot activities online and she really likes it. I like it because it helps her identifying numbers. I've also been helping her identify letters and how to write them. She has difficulty, so I was able to get a couple of workbooks that's nothing but dot-to-dot and tracing letters. I hope she will like them and I know it will help her write. She's all the time asking me or Doug to "draw" her name. My hope is when baby boy is resting, Katie and I can play games and go over her workbooks.

Funny Katie Story
I think I made a mistake giving Katie too much information. As a lot of you know, Katie is very curious and asks quite a few questions. She'll ask me my name and her daddy's name, things like that. I don't remember how the subject came up, but I was explaining to her that her Grandma Jerry was my mommy and Grandma Peggy was Doug's mommy. She repeated every word I said, as if to get it registered in her brain. It registered so well that now whenever I talk to her about Grandma Jerry, Katie will interrupt me and said "you mean, your mommy." She won't call my mom, Grandma Jerry. Instead, she'll call her "your mommy (referring to me)". You have to say yes in order for her to let you finish your sentence. Then, she'll add "because Grandma Peggy is my daddy's mommy". She'll go from there right into explaining who is whose daddy. Baby Girl?!?

Delta IV Heavy Launch
The rocket finally went up late last night. Whoo Hoo! The Cape reported that it was a successful launch, so I hope the buyer was very pleased. Maybe they will order some more Delta IV heavies. It reassures me that Doug might still have a job. Congratulations Delta!

Katie's Ballet Class - Part II

Baby Update

Baby Update
Today, we are 29 weeks and the clock is ticking. I had my 7 month doctor visit yesterday and was suppose to have my glucose checked, while I was there. Yeah, I said "suppose to". I did real well getting ready in the morning or that was until about 7:30 a.m. and I began to get sick and light headed. I was afraid I would not be able to drive an hour away in traffic (on the interstate), so I ate a few saltine crackers. I did this because when I was pregnant with Katie, I was allowed to eat the crackers. Nope, not this group of doctors. The nurse expressed to me that I'm not to eat or drink anything period. Ugh! I wanted to cry because I went through all of that for nothing. She told me to eat a heavy snack right before I go to bed in order to help my hunger the next day. I'll try it next time, but it won't be easy. As most of you know, I haven't been able to eat much past 6:00 p.m. I can't take the smells, sometimes eating late makes me sick at my stomach, plus I've had very bad acid reflux. I scheduled my new glucose test for next Friday that way Doug can go with me.

On a good note, baby is doing good, growing and jumping around like a big Mexican Jumping Bean. I gained about 5 lbs this time. My doctor laughed and asked me if the holidays was good to me. Ha! Ha! Very funny. I was hoping that I had only gained another 3 lbs., but not 5 lbs. Shoo! I'm going to have to lay off the powdered donuts. LOL! Yes, one of my cravings is powdered donuts. I've also been eating a lot of baby carrots with Ranch dressing. Yummy! It's a wonder if my skin doesn't turn orange because I eat so many, but it's such a handy snack to have laying around. Katie doesn't understand my love for carrots. She hates carrots, but likes the dressing. She'll grab a carrot just to dip in the dressing and suck if off, then she'll hand me the carrot back. Now, I'll start going to the doctor every 2 weeks for a little while.

Colton is getting quite a wardrobe now. Here I was a little worried that he won't have any thing to wear but pink. LOL! We've been so fortunate to receive gifts here and there from friends and family for Colton. Allison and Anya were so sweet to give Colton a few newborn outfits the other day. Peggy showed me her collection that she's keeping for me until we have room to put the clothes. The little outfits are so cute and can't hardly wait to try them on him. Now, I can breathe a sigh of relief.

Weather
Well, Winter has officially arrived in the South. It's been so cold all week, but I got up this morning and our thermostat registered at 13 degrees outside. The news are saying that the wind chill is minus 5. Now that's COLD! Our local schools delayed school openings for 2 hours because of the extreme cold. We are just not use to this frigid weather. My thoughts are . . . if it's going to be this cold, why not have some snow to go along with it. Not ice! Just snow. I was a little concerned about our water pipes, but Doug assured me that they were well insulated. I was always taught to let your faucets drip during the night, but I don't know if Doug decided to do that or not because I was already in bed and asleep. This morning, so far so good. I haven't noticed any water leaks. The local news is predicting another very cold morning here tomorrow at around 13 degrees again.

Because of the weather, I guess Katie and I will play games today. She got a new "My Little Pony" Memory game from Anya that we'll have get it out and play. (Liz - you might get a kick out of this) - Katie loves to play her "Let's Go Fishing" game, but she only wants to catch the pink fish because they are the red fish's babies. If I catch some fish, she steals my fish and starts laughing at me as if ha, ha look what I did. I've tried to get her to understand that you have to catch as many fish as you can, but she told me that she only likes the pink. If I catch a pink fish, she gets mad at me and then steals them from me. GIRLS!

I wish you a very warm day. Curl up with a cup of coco, read a good book or watch a great chick flick!

Girls' Playdate

Katie & Anya's Playdate
Katie was so excited to play with her friend, Anya, today. They had such a good time together. Anya and Allison taught Katie a couple of really cool games today. I was telling Allison that we have the original Candy Land board game, but they had the newer version. I have to say it was much more simple than the original. The other was a Disney Bingo game. This game you play along with a TV DVD. Honestly, I couldn't see how Katie would be able to comprehend playing Bingo. As soon as Allison and Anya showed her how to play, I think she caught on pretty good. I thought this might be a good mother/daughter game when baby boy is sleeping that we could play. I received some good advice and heads up from Allison with their new baby experience. I felt terrible dragging Katie away from her friend, but we had been there for 3 1/2 hours. We had to get home and pack Katie up to go to Grandma Peggy and Paw-Paw Millard's house tonight. They are going to keep her while I am at the doctor's office tomorrow.



I was surprised how Katie responded to baby Arwen. She kept telling me how cute she was. I warned Allison about Katie not being around infants before now. When I got to hold the baby, I told Katie about it first to catch her reaction. She just looked at me like so. She told me "okay" and went right back to playing. It was so strange to be holding such a itty bitty baby again. It gave me the baby fever. I'm a little more excited about Colton getting here. Oh, but I'm not excited about the sleepless nights. Oh well.



Comment Question
Laura wanted to know if Katie's costume will be peasanty or phoo-phoo. I'm sorry if I confused you, but her dress will be peasanty like the rest of the costumes shown on the film. It won't have the Dutch criss cross touch to it. It's mint green gingham with puffy sleeves, white apron and the skirt is shorter, more like a tutu. If I have another chance to see the picture, I'll have to take a picture.

American Idol
Did you get to watch American Idol last night? I watched most of it and listened to the last part. Doug was having a fit, laughing, at most of the contestants. He loved the contestant that showed up in her bikini. I have to say that it was pretty entertaining, especially when she kissed Ryan Seacrest. I really liked the 16 year old that was named after Steve Nix and the blind guy. What about Sexual Chocolate? I told Doug that was the band's name from the movie "Coming To America" with Eddie Murphy. Don't forget to watch it tonight!

Preview of "Giselle"

The above is a preview of a "Giselle" Ballet performance. I just wanted to show you an example of what the costumes look like. Of course, the little girls like Katie are some what different. I've tried to find a picture of her costume for you to see, but I can't find it online. I should have taken a picture of the magazine picture at the studio. Sorry. I spoke to Elaine, studio owner, and she told me that tickets would go on sell the 1st of May or people could purchase their ticket at the door. She also said that I should recieve a newsletter in March with instructions as how to have Katie's hair and makeup. Makeup? Surely, they won't insist on putting makeup on the little girls. I had not planned on putting makeup on Katie for her recital. I was worried enough how to put her hair up in a ballerina bun. Do you know there is a video online on "how to make a ballerina bun"? I watched it this afternoon and it looks easy enough. I've been talking to a couple of moms at the studio and a young girl that helps Mrs. Anna, Katie's teacher, and they gave me some tips. I think the key item is a hair net to wrap around Katie's hair. Since I trimmed it up around Thanksgiving time, it's not that long anymore and there are more wispies than before.

ULA Delta IV Launch

As most of you know, I use to work with this team before I became a mom. I loved working on the Delta program with the Boeing Quality Team. Since I left, Lockheed Martin joined forces with Boeing on this program and changed their group name to United Launch Alliance. My husband just sent me an email to let me know that a Delta IV is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral tomorrow. It will be broadcasted by ULA's webcast here. This Delta IV Heavy will be the second operational flight to be launched. I'm so excited for the program and hope for great success. GO DELTA!

Katie's Friend
Katie was so excited today when I told her that we would be visiting her friend, Anya, tomorrow. Her eyes lite up! She was so excited that she thought it would be a good idea, if we visited Anya right after ballet today. Allison sounded so good on the phone and gave me some great pointers when Colton makes his debut. As you may know, her and her husband gave birth to a little girl last month. I'm hoping Katie will get in the mood to having a baby around our house as soon as she sees how Anya interact with Arwen. I've expressed my concern about jealousy with Allison. She assured me that Katie will be fine. Hopefully, I can get more advice from her and what they've experienced.

American Idol
Don't forget the new American Idol begins tonight at 7:00 on FOX. I'm going to try to stay up as late as I can and watch it.

Katie's Ballet Class December 2008

I had to really chop up Katie's ballet practice, in order for you to see it. I put most of my favorite takes.

Comment Questions
Allison - Yes, we would love to see you and the girls. I thought we would wait until Tuesday to call for sure. As you probably are aware, the local news is predicting snow for us this week. At first, they said Thursday, but now it looks like it will be Tuesday. Thank you for offering the clothes. I think I should be okay now until the baby comes. As far as the alterations, my mother-in-law took a couple of pairs of jeans to a lady that does her alterations. I should have them back by Friday. Yay! Things are beginning to look up. Tehe!

Sarah - Thank you for mailing the clothes. Again, we do appreciate it and I will keep an eye open for the package. I'll let you know as soon as I receive it.

We're Into Our 3rd Trimester . . . Whoo Hoo!

Yay! We made it to our 7 month or 28 weeks. I don't know about you, but I feel like celebrating! In fact, Doug's on his way to New China to get me my favorite dish . . . General Tso's Chicken with fried rice.

I know my calculator to the left says that I have 11 weeks and 6 days left, but Lord willing it will be much sooner than that. According to Dr. Kakani, she said that when I reach 38 weeks, she will let me pick out a date, if baby and mommy are still doing well. Officially, I'll be 38 weeks March 20th. Whoo Hoo! I'm going through lower back problems, which is affecting my walking. I'm taking Tylenol and Tylenol PM, which seems to be helping a little. I've been told by several people including my doctor that the back pain is from carrying the baby so low. I've been trying to tell myself that it won't be long now. Like any other expecting mother, it's been hard to stay positive during the rough times. I've never realized until now, how much Doug and Katie need me around here. When I'm out of commission, it affects my whole household.

New Bass Pro Shop


We decided to go visit the new Bass Pro Shop yesterday at Leeds. It's like every other Bass Pro Shop that I've been into. Katie really enjoyed looking around at the different stuffed animals and the huge fish tank. I liked how they had a General Store with all kinds of goodies inside. I bought us some Chocolate Walnut fudge. Oh, it was so good and moist. It made a nice snack before we could get to Cracker Barrel for supper. Doug doesn't have a pray with Katie and I loving Cracker Barrel. Tehe!

On the way over there, we stopped by the galleria. JC Penny was having a sale on their maternity clothes, so I got a top and a pair of jeans. I like the pants with big panels much better, but what is it with the length. I know Liz had trouble finding pants that were not long enough, but I'm having problems finding the X-Large size with shorter lengths. Doug thinks I should just cuff the ends and go. I'm sorry, but I just don't like the cuff look. I think I'll try to find someone who alters jeans. Do alternation shops alter jeans? I've never heard of it.

Anyway, Katie and I left JC Penny and went straight to Disney. It's been a very long time since Katie has gotten to go to a Disney Store, since the one in Huntsville closed up. I wanted to stock up on their Summer Sleep gowns that they had advertised for $7.99. Unfortunately, they didn't have any in stock. They did have the regular character pajamas for $4.99, but Katie won't wear the PJs. I did however, find her an Ariel hat and matching scarf. She loves it! This morning as she is wearing her new hat and scarf, she told me that she was ready for the snow. I also wanted to get Katie another blanket and they had their Princess fleece throws for $7.99. Katie had a blast looking at everything in that store. Of course, we had to get our strawberry/banana smoothie and salted pretzel for a snack. Yummy! Katie grabbed the smoothie out of my hand and drank nearly the whole thing before we got to the Bass Pro Shop.

Spring Recital
I wasn't for sure if Katie would be involved in the Spring Ballet Recital. Well, it's official that she will be included. I'm so excited for her. Ever since I got to watch during practice the one time, she'll ask me if I'm going to get to watch her again. I asked her if she likes everyone watching her dance and she said yes. I just hope she'll still feel that way when it comes to recital time. The recital is titled "Giselle" and the costumes look like Dutch dresses. It will be in late May and I don't know if they'll sell tickets or not for the public. I guess I'll find out more information when time comes and I'll pass it along to you. Her rehearsals begin the month of February.

Today, I took Katie to the studio to be fitted for her costume. She couldn't understand fully as to what was going on when Ms. Elaine was measuring her. I showed her the picture of her costume for the first time. I don't think she liked it because it was mint green gingham and not pink, but she'll have to get over it. She kept asking me, but what about my pink ballet.

Christmas
Ms. Evelyn and Will came over for a little bit this morning to give Katie her Christmas presents. It been a little bit of a challenge to get the kids together during the Christmas break because Katie's been gone most of the time. They gave her three different magnetic dress up dolls from Melissa and Doug, which is right up Katie's alley. She's been playing with them all afternoon. She also got a cute German style ornament for the tree. I told her that we would pack it away and put it up on the tree next year. Colton even got another Christmas present from Angela and Bob (Will's parents). CLOTHES! Yay! I was so tickled to get clothes. I told Evelyn that it will be different around here with a little boy.

As soon as Will came in the house, he started looking around. I asked him what he was looking for and finally he asked where the new baby was at. I had to giggle at him. I told him that it was still in my belly. You could tell that I busted his bubble. He looked at me so sad and said "oh, man". I assured him it won't be long now.

Katie's New Easter Dress

Yeah, I know it's a little early to even think about Easter dresses, but it's all I can think about. I figured that by the time baby boy gets here, I'm not going to feel like shopping for outfits. As you know, I've been keeping my eyes open online and especially on eBay for Katie and Colton's Easter outfits.

Today, Katie and I had a mommy and daughter luncheon at Rumor's Deli. It was the first time Katie had ever been inside the restaurant. It's one of these restaurants that has a lot of stuff all over the walls and ceiling. Katie had a blast looking at everything. From the time we walked inside to the time we left, she talked my ear off. She had a hot dog and cookie, while I had their chicken salad on greens. Yummy! In fact, that's exactly what Katie said the whole time we were there. I asked her if this was her new favorite restaurant. "Yeah" she said. After lunch, we walked down to a local children's boutique, Kiddie Land. They were having a great sale on a lot of the little girl dresses. I really liked the 75% off rack, unfortunately Katie didn't like anything. There was a sweet brown and pink smocked gingham dress for $26. I was tempted to get it, but Katie didn't like it. Ugh! I did find this pretty white smocked dress with pink roses and accented with white pearls. I really liked it when I looked at the price tag. It was 50% off the original price. Better yet, Katie loves this dress. Yeah! As soon as we got home, she wanted it on and didn't want to take it off. Now, I've got to find Colton an outfit to match. I'm hoping to take the kids in April for pictures at Portrait Innovations. Kiddie Land said they will be getting shipments in the next couple of weeks, especially for boys. Yay! I'm thinking about getting a white smocked outfit for Colton to go along with Katie. Am I doing too much white?

Of course, we had to have a silly picture in the mix.

I've also been looking for one of these cute t-shirts that say "Big Sister" on it for Katie. But as picky as Katie is I've been afraid to buy one. Kiddie Land just got in a new shipment and they had the cutest "Big Sister" shirt for Katie. It is Katiebug all over it and she likes it. She loves the crown, skirt and that it has sparklies. LOL! Here is a picture of it. It says at the bottom: "Princess and Big Sister"

Karate Girl
I've told you before about how Katie loves this new movie "Kung Fu Panda". She likes to go around the house, air kicking and punching. I have to remind her that she is not to kick or punch anyone. So far, she does pretty good about listening to me (thus far). I've got to sneak a video camera around her and tape her doing her karate. She did let me take a few pictures of her today. She jumps and kicks, then lands real low to the floor with this mean look on her face. She tells me that she is the tiger from the movie.