Thanksgiving 2013

Note: I am over a year behind on posting blog posts. I plan to eventually make books about our life using my blog so I need to get caught up while I have the time (ha!) and I'm off work. So bear with me as I do a little reminiscing. ;)

For Thanksgiving 2013 we went to my parents' house to celebrate. Preslie was almost eight months old and was at such a fun age!

^ Mom and me

This would be the second year we had fried turkey and it was delicious as per usual. My dad is in charge of that. It's actually nice because then it frees up the oven for casseroles and pies.

^ My dad all prepped to start frying the turkey. He put up old wood boards for 

safety measures with the hot oil and open flame and all.

My parents bought a walker for Preslie and it was the first time she had been in one and she loved it. It was nice that she could be outside and we didn't have to worry about her putting something from the ground in her mouth.

We were able to relax and not have to host on this particular year. We hosted the year prior when I was about 20 weeks pregnant with Preslie and that was exhausting!

Preslie got to enjoy her first taste of Thanksgiving goodness! I stripped her down to just her diaper and let her have at it! She was in heaven!

^ Preslie had her first little tooth poking through on the bottom here.

My Grandma Ruth and my brother were also there for Thanksgiving 2013 but I didn't get pictures of them. It was a nice, relaxing visit and one we all enjoyed!

My Thoughts on Parenthood

Prior to becoming a parent, I knew there was one thing in life that I wanted more than anything (besides being Kevin’s wife) and that was to have a child. I feel so incredibly fortunate that it was in God’s plan for us to make that a reality. Before that happened I never really took into account two things that come into play when you parent a child: 1) Doubting, and 2) Guilt.

Let me explain…

Now that we’re in the throes of parenting an almost-eight-month-old I find myself questioning my parenting decisions all. the. time. Right now, they are just small, menial decisions like “Should I put an extra layer on her before bedtime?” “Is she bored?” “Should I feed her more?” “Are we providing her with enough stimulation to learn?” When I ask Kevin what he thinks, he’ll usually shrug his shoulders and say “I don’t know. What do you think?” Well, that’s why I’m asking, because I don’t know either! Ha! New parents.



I’m well aware that the decisions we have to make as she gets older will become much more important and serious; but dogonit if I can’t help but question every single decision I make! I wish I felt more confident in the choices we make for Preslie instead of doubting every time. And it becomes a little more daunting to me that I will probably second-guess and doubt my decisions as her mother for the rest of my life.

As for feeling guilty, I know I’m not alone in this one. After a long day with the child and all she does is whine, whine, whine for no apparent reason (that I can tell), all I’m looking forward to is her bedtime. I hate that I think this. Each moment in her life is a treasure and when she’s a teenager who doesn’t want anything to do with me I’m going to wish I could go back to these moments when she whines and only wants to be entertained or have me in her eyesight. But there are days when 7pm cannot come fast enough and I feel guilty thinking that. However, 9pm will roll around and Kevin and I say to each other that we want to go wake her up to play because we miss her! Ha! Craziness!



I also get some major Mom Guilt when some days I know she’s probably not feeling her best and I have to be at work and she has to be at Miss Kara’s and she probably just wants to be home and take naps in her own comfy crib and laugh at her own doggies. The guilt is a horrible feeling. Yet, I know if I am home with her I’d probably feel guilty that she’s not getting the socialization that she likes while she’s at Miss Kara’s. It is a never-ending guilty cycle.

I’m realizing that this parenting thing is hard. Not so much the day-to-day care, but being confident in the decisions you make as a parent and not letting the guilt eat you alive. This is by far the hardest job that Kevin and I will ever have. I know we’re going to make some mistakes and learn as we go along. I just hope we do right by God and by Preslie.



Preslie’s Baptism

On Sunday, November 3rd we had Preslie baptized at the same church Kevin was baptized in 30 years ago. It was such a special day that we were able to enjoy with all of our family and close friends.

^ My girl and me.

^ Preslie and her favorite person, her Papa. (That sweet bonnet didn’t last long.)

Preslie’s Godparents are two of my best friends that I grew up with: Michelle and Brandon. They have twin girls and a newborn baby boy. Kevin and I feel so blessed to have them as part of our family now.

As a gift to Michelle and Brandon I wanted to get them something that was meaningful - but not over the top. I found this vendor on Etsy that makes gorgeous, memorable picture frames. This is the one I chose for them. I was so pleased with how it turned out.

The Christening gown Preslie wore was handmade by her Great Grandmother Helen (Kevin’s Grandma). It was a gorgeous gown. I hope to get some much better photos of Preslie in it soon.

It was tough holding this 18-pound, wiggly child in a slippery, satin gown. I was a sweaty mess up there!

Preslie had so much family attend her baptism. She had two great-grandmothers there, three out of four of her grandparents there, three great-uncles, three great-aunts, her two favorite uncles, her most (and only) favorite auntie, many second cousins and some great family friends. The baptism itself was a very small and intimate gathering - it turned out perfect.

^ Preslie with her Uncle Matthew (aka Uncle Machew, Kevin’s brother) and Aunt Courtney (aka Auntie Frug, Kevin’s sister).

^ Uncle Jay Jay (my brother) and Preslie

^ Grammy and Grampy (my mom and dad)

^ With Great Grandma Ruth (my grandmother)

^ Great Grandma Helen (Kevin’s grandmother) and Grandma Debbie (Kevin’s mom)

We had the reception at my MIL’s house (which was near the church). I did a little decorating using light pink and Tiffany blue, and included some photos of Preslie throughout. We served brunch and it was a good opportunity for the family to get to know Preslie’s Godparents, and vice versa.

This cake was delish! It was lemon filling with white chocolate cream. Yumm-oh! It says “Baptized in Christ - Preslie Kay Marie” on it.

^ Michelle and Brandon had these cookies made as favors for everyone. They were so good!

And this was the invite we sent out and it’s exactly how we feel - “BLESSED” beyond measure to have our little girl in our lives and great family and friends to help celebrate a special day like Preslie’s baptism.

Halloween at Our Place!

I’m going to be honest: I am not a fan of Halloween. Call me a Party Pooper if you’d like, but I don’t enjoy dressing up and given the fact that that is what Halloween is pretty much about -- well there you have it.

However, I’m not going to not let my child enjoy it just because I don’t. Preslie was a little kitty this year. The cutest little kitty I ever did see!

Since Kevin’s cousin and her family now live close to us I decided to have a little Halloween gathering at our place on Halloween night. We had Kevin’s cousin Sasheen, her husband Matt and their two kids Salma (5) and Laird (3), my MIL and BIL, and then my mom and Grandma Ruth came up a night early (family was going to be in town that weekend anyways for Preslie’s baptism).

I could kick myself because I completely forgot to take a picture of the table setting for dinner that night. I ended up serving chili in bread bowls and we had a salad. We ate first, took pictures as quickly as we could and then we were off for some Trick-or-Treating!

I’m so glad we decided to have family over that night. I think we all had a great time and it made for a great first Halloween for Sweet P. Next year I think I’ll have to dress up though. Ugh. Ha!

^ Laird giving Preslie kisses.

^ “I’m not so sure about your costume, cousin Salma.”

^ “I’ll play with your hair though!”

^ I’m pretty sure this is the cutest photo I’ve ever seen!

^ All bundled and bottled up for our walk. (Can you believe her eyes!? I still can’t get over how light they are.)

^ The kids were excited about the candy. The adults were excited about the wine.

^ Salma the orca whale.

^ Laird as Spiderman.

^ My BIL Matt as Waldo.

From all the Halloween posts I’ve seen and pictures of your cute kiddos in their costumes on Facebook and Instagram, I’d say it looked like everyone had a great time this year!

A Trip to the Pumpkin Farm

The weekend before Halloween, we took Preslie to a pumpkin farm. This is something I have always wanted to do once we had kids. Since she’s still so young I knew she wouldn’t know one way or the other what was going on, but I wanted to check it out and see if it’s a good place to take her for next year when she’s a toddler.

It was a very cool place. It had a petting zoo, corn maze, pig races, an apple cider press, a place that sold homemade pies, and all sorts of other things. The only thing we did was went through the petting zoo and purchased an apple pie and some apple cider. And of course took pictures. I’m looking forward to bringing Preslie back there next year and see her enjoy everything through her eyes.

It was nearly impossible to get her to smile for us while we were there because she was just interested in everything going on around her. But I’m glad we were able to go and enjoy a leisurely Sunday as a little family.

As these pictures will show, we are probably the worst photographers that exist. Ha! The sun was in Miss P’s eyes about 50% of the time. Oh well, memories were made!

^Just waking up from the car ride.

^Kevin and I laugh at this picture of Sweet P all the time. When she makes faces like this, we call her our “Little Bulldog.”

^Picture with Papa and some suspect-looking scarecrow.

^Her first time touching dirt. She was enthralled.

^ “This is as good as you’re going to get, Mama. I’ve got sun in my eyes!”

 

The End.