January so far

1/2/07: I know you can't tell it from the picture but Katie Jo was telling me that one of the dogs ran by and knocked over the stool she was sitting on.

What creativity! If you don't feel like climbing up the normal way just pull up the stool and try to hoist yourself up to climb over the rail. Just so you know it didn't work.

1/4/07: Last Christmas Katie Jo got a beautiful hand made table from her Pop's good friend Ernie. It's been put up for awhile but recently we got it out only to realize it was no good without chairs. So we went out and found four chairs and now we're in business. Katie Jo loves to sit in the chair and read her books. She's still a little too short but manages by sitting on her knees most of the time.

Later the same day we got out some of the play-doh she got in her stocking to play with. She loved watching me roll it on the table and watch it stretch out. I'd roll pieces into balls and then she'd take them and press her little fingers into them. So cute!

1/5/07: As long as I live I will never get over how cute it is when they try on your shoes. She didn't even realize I was watching her until I called out her name and took the picture. One day she'll be wearing them for real and I'll have to search her closet for my own shoes and clothes. I'll need to keep this picture close by to remember how cute I thought it was then!

1/9/07: She loves her Lego's and is getting pretty good at putting them together herself.

1/13/07: Gran and Pop came for the weekend and on Saturday we all went downtown for some fun. Katie Jo, once again, loved the water front park. She put her finger in the shooting water a couple of times but soon realized it was way cold.

1/14/07: This was Jay's 35 birthday. We all went to church, ate at the Mexican restaurant, and came home to eat cake. I only had these three numbers so I put the 4 and 1 side by side to equal 5!

Later that night Katie Jo and her dad enjoyed another piece along with some ice cream.

1/15/07: Can you believe she's wearing this in the middle of January? And this was taken at about 8:30 in the morning. This was about our last day in warm weather and we were getting ready to go to a MOMS event where we were going to make a frame. I thought since she was already wearing pink I might as well take a picture, print it out, and make a valentine themed frame. The frame turned out to look pretty silly but the picture inside was precious.

Some parting shots from December

December 13th: Here I am with my neighbor Jack. I was trying to give him a hug but he wasn't having any of it!

12/30/06: I found that actually climbing into the dryer is the best way to unload the clothes. Momma found that taking a picture of it is a good way to see that you need to clean out the lint basket.

12/30/06: Nothing like a good book and a cool beverage in the back yard relaxing.


12/30/06: Somehow the clothes just keep coming. I helped Momma again by handing out the clean clothes to be folded.

Christmas Numero Tres

So here's the last of the Christmas celebrations and this was the real one! We headed to Lyman on the Thursday before Christmas and celebrated all the way till the next Tuesday. We had a blast seeing family and friends, opening gifts, and eating (Ok that last one didn't include me but it will next year). On Saturday morning we had a big breakfast with friends and Katie Jo got to finally meet her fellow blogger Sam. They had a great time sitting in the grass and passing the ball back and forth. On Saturday nite I got to hang out with some good friends from high school. Sunday brought us to church and our family got to light the advent candle and read scripture. Christmas Eve nite we celebrated over at Mia's and had a great time feasting and opening gifts. Christmas morning we started out at Gran and Pops and Katie Jo got lots of fun things: musical books, outfits, toys, and a new doll to add to her collection. Next we scooted over to Mia's and opened even more gifts. Katie Jo got some more cute outfits, some Little People toys, and a musical bear that we have put away for safe keeping until next year! Christmas evening Mama and Papa Johnson came over and Katie Jo got some more books and musical instruments. She may be the first librarian to have a stage with live music in her library! We had a great time and Katie Jo enjoyed vising with all her family.

Christmas Numero Dos

Well, our second Christmas was right here at home with Mom and Dad. This year Katie Jo got a kitchen set with all the trimmings. She especially loved putting the fake food into the pots and walking around with them. She also got lots of books which she loves and some cards to practice all the new words she wants to learn. She also got several toys from the Discovery Toy collection which have proven to all be fun, educational toys. Besides that she got some other fun odds and ends. It was a lot of fun watching her participate more and enjoy opening the gifts herself without too much help.

Christmas Numero Uno

Well this is a pretty late update but hopefully you'll enjoy hearing about it. The weekend of Dec. 16th Granddaddy (Jim) and Mema (Sarah) came up from Florida for a visit with us and Aunt Joni drove down from Clemson. We had a great weekend together visiting and hanging out. Saturday morning we had a Christmas breakfast with some of our local friends and it was nice to have family here for that too. Saturday nite the family went out for dinner which was my doing since I got a hankering for Oriental Chicken Salad. During this time I basically ruled where we went since my list of foods to eat only included about 10 items! Anyway, when we got back we had our gift exchange and had a general festive time. Katie Jo loved the tea set she got from her Grandparents and she also got an adorable outfit. The old folks got gifts too but none of them made noise or played music so their not worth talking about! It was a good time and we were sad to see them go. Joni stayed on till Monday and Aunt Mickey, Uncle Pepper and cousin Nathan stopped by on their way back to Florida. Nathan was only home for a short period before he had to head back to Japan to continue his service with the Marines so this was a special treat indeed. It was a great holiday weekend with lots of family to share it with.

What a New Year indeed

This week has been a great start to our New Year. I had my second prenatal appointment yesterday and am happy to report that all is going well. I did lose two more pounds, but that was to be expected since I have managed to eat just not at the point where it was enjoyable. We also got to hear the heartbeat. As soon as she touched the Doppler to my belly the beating sound filled the room. She clocked it at 170 beats per minute which tells us not only is the baby healthy but is apparently running on a treadmill. Jay took a little video which I've included and I have to give him props for not only filming the action but holding Katie Jo on his hip the whole time. It was a great visit.

I am 13 weeks now but on Wednesday God turned the morning sickness faucet off. This was an early reprieve and I am very appreciative. Yesterday I had a chicken salad sandwich and even made spaghetti for dinner. Jay got misty-eyed when he walked in and saw pots on the stove top! Today I even added tomatoes to my sandwich so I think I'm really out of the woods. I'm looking forward to the increase in energy and being able to enjoy each day without feeling so yucky.