foot loose and fancy free...

olivia went to visit her gg and pops this weekend. that's a whole 'nother post! while she was away rett and i did...get ready...yard work. i know you were expecting some big weekend get-a-way, but, alas, we did yard work. sad, i know. but, it really needed it! i'm having family over mid-august for olivia's christening and then i'm hosting bunco that same week so we had to get it done! here are a few before and after pics. please forgive me for the dead grass. we don't have a sprinkler system and no matter how much we water it never fails...by mid summer our grass is always dead!

front planter before

and...after (i still need to scrub the moss off the brick)

i forgot to take the price tag off the pot!

front bushes before

after

side bushes before - the 2 small bushes replaced a dead tree and are still trying to catch up to the established bushes!

after, a much needed cut - look how much bigger the small bushes look!

mailbox before
after - weeded, trimmed and new mulch
and the aftermath - the city of ruston is going to love us!during the work day i noticed the grass "moving". i just knew it was a snake. i yelled for rett and he came over and stated that it was a mole. we've had this mole problem for years now... so he sends me inside so he can take care of the problem. a few minutes later he said i could come back out. the problem is no more. poor mole. i'm sorry. rest in peace.

now, i'm ready to see my baby! i wish my mother would hurry up and get here!

daycare, it's not so bad.

today was the day. olivia went to daycare. i'd be lying if i said i wasn't sad. i teared up a little bit as i was strapping her in her carseat. my only saving grace...rett took her. i didn't have to go through the whole "dropping off" phase. i just got to look forward to picking her up! i got there about 3:20 this afternoon and i swear she smiled! it was not a "gassy" smile. she was sooo happy to see me! miss chelsea said it had gone well. but, she didn't get there until 2. so, i'm going to have rett ask the morning lady how it went. here is our little girl and her daddy leaving this morning...and, look who's now sitting in a bumbo!we really started using the bumbo this weekend. she likes it! i realize the child is suppose to be about 3 months old before using this but she can hold her head really well so we're using it!

and, we are now bathing regularly in the big bathtub. it really is easier (except on my back) and she likes it better. i think she likes being in the water b/c it's warmer. in the baby bathtub she couldn't actually be in the water so i think she got cold...

i think daycare wore her out! she's passed out beside me now. it was great going back and actually using my brain today but i'm soo glad it's only 5 hours a day!

happy birthday avie!

avie hendrix is 1! i'm sure her mommy will do a whole post but here are some pics that lindsey took.

watching avie open presents

enjoying the nice indoors with lindsey!

you can't tell but lindsey is 27 weeks pregnant with a baby boy! she looks awesome! olivia can't wait to meet their little one!

on a sad note... i go back to work tomorrow. it's going to be nice having a routine and see adults on a daily basis but i sure am gonna miss my baby girl! wish me luck!

2 months!

i can't believe olivia is 8 weeks old today! time has flown by. yesterday we went to the doctor for her 2 month checkup. here are her stats:

10 lbs; 2 oz
22 inches long

15 inch head circumference

she is between the 10 and 25th percentile in all catagories. dr. khanfar was "very pleased" with her growth! here is a picture of her yesterday before we left for the doctor. she's wearing one of my favorite outfits! it's a seersucker bubble i got for 50% off and then shelley monogrammed it for me!

and to celebrate her actual bday (today) we went to walmart. yes, i took my 8 week old to hell. hopefully i can instill in her my hatred for that place! but, i must say that going in the middle of the day is WAY better than going after work. the check out lines weren't terrible today! i'm going to really enjoy this parttime work so i can go to walmart without wanting to kill someone. (for anyone reading that enjoys walmart please tell me your secret.) anyway...enough ranting...here is our baby girl at 2 months!notice the popped collar - she's sooo cool!

tomorrow we go for shots. wish us luck...

olivia goes to church!

well, the nursery! today was olivia's first time to the church nursery. the super nice ladies said she did really well. she was kind of fussy (not like her at all) but they took care of it! when we went to pick her up she was in the swing loving it. they never had to page us so that's a good sign. here are a few pics of her all dressed up for her big day. i'm sad i didn't get any pics of her actually in the nursery but maybe another time.on a sad note - we started the "baby wise" technique tonight. as i type this i'm listening to my baby girl SCREAM. it's so sad! but, from all accounts she'll do this for a few nights and then things will run smoothly. that's what i'm hoping! we've got to get her on a schedule before i go back to work (on the 20th) so this is the week. wish me luck. if anyone reading this has any suggestions please let me know!

UPDATE - it's now 10:57 and olivia is asleep! it only took about 35-40 minutes of crying. now, let's see how long she stays asleep!

UPDATE 2 - 11:01 and she's not asleep. she was just joking. how long can this go on???

mississippi in july

well, we made it! our first out of town trip with olivia. and, i must say, it wasn't the nightmare i thought it was going to be! i guess b/c she's still so young and doesn't care about her surroundings it really is pretty easy to travel with her. we headed out of town after making an all important stop for road trip food...a peach icee in 100 degree weather hits the spot!

we stayed thursday night in jackson at rett's dad's house. had a lovely dinner and called it a night. got up friday and headed 2 hours north (or east, i'm not too sure) to ackerman. rett's maternal grandmother will be 98 in october. we were so happy she got to meet her great granddaughter. olivia is her 5th great grandchild! she literally held her the entire time we were there, except for 2 feedings and 2 diaper changes - and we were there for just over 5 hours!

friday night we let granddaddy and nan babysit and we went out to dinner. when in jackson you must go eat at kiefer's. we go there almost every time we're in town! it's this little hole in the wall greek place right off state street. we had hummus and gyros and cottage fries. yum! it's nice to be an adult sometimes! i'm sad i didn't get any pics of that. then a quick trip to borders books so i could get the baby wise book - got to get olivia on a schedule :) and then to dairy queen. let me tell you...a week or so ago i saw a commercial for dq. they have partnered with the girl scouts of america and are now serving a tagalong blizzard. HEAVEN. what could be better than soft serve ice cream and girl scout cookies?!?!

this morning we went to the hamby family gathering. it was great getting to see everyone on that side of the family! here are a couple of pics we took at granddaddy and nan's house before we left for the gathering!

in other exciting news... olivia had her first bath in a "big" bathtub while we were gone! have a great rest of the weekend!

welcome baby hudson!

as promised, here are my pics from visiting emery (i just tried to link for the first time, did it work???), eric & baby hudson at the hospital last week! i'm so glad they're home so i can go visit more!ok, on to real business.... rett and i are going out of town for the weekend to a hamby family gathering. it's not a reunion, just a gathering of the immediate family of rett's dad. his brother, sister, their kids and grandkids. this is the group we usually to Christmas with but due to kids and hectic schedules during the holidays they decided to do it in the summer instead of Christmas. summer. in. jackson. mississippi. it's only going to be 115 degrees. so, how do you pack for an infant for a 3 day trip. actually, it's only really 2 days. we're leaving late thursday afternoon and will be back saturday early evening. on friday we're going to drive up to ackerman to visit rett's grandmother so she can meet her great granddaughter. back to packing - i have no idea where to start. seriously, how many diapers do i need? should i just take the whole box? how many gowns and outfits? sometimes we go through 3 or 4 a day and sometimes we make it with just 1. all of the bath supplies. diaper ointments. pack-n-play. stroller. bottles. formula. nursery water. geez, my jeep isn't big enough for all of this! is it normal to stress out about this??? the only good thing - at least we're going to jackson and not the middle of nowhere. there are targets and walmarts all over the place! now, i just need to go get my car cleaned out so we have somewhere to put all of this stuff!

one more random question - what happens if you don't pay a parking ticket? i got one weeks ago in downtown ruston and forgot to pay it. will they put out a warrent for my arrest? how long do i have to pay it? has this ever happened to anyone else?

fun long weekend!

happy fourth! rett had friday off so we enjoyed lounging around with him! we rarely get to do that these days so it was super nice. friday night we took olivia out into the street to watch temple's fireworks show. they do this every year and we're blessed to live just right down the street! we just stand in the road and watch! i think i've done this since we bought our house - 4 years ago! i guess next year we'll need to meet up with friends so she can get the full experience. here is the only pic we took. please excuse the extremely shiney, no makeup face.... hey, it was a day off so i didn't feel the need for makeup and it was HOT and HUMID outside so the "shine" was in full effect! does anyone have any tricks for reducing dark circles??? i've tried so many creams, etc. and i can't find anything that works! can you see the new haircut (with bangs!) in the photo???

yesterday we went over the mer and montana's for some oh so good ribs! rett and montana spent the afternoon slaving over the smoker and it was worth it! these ribs were awesome. i took over slaw and baked beans and montana make "cheater peach cobbler". it's ok if you cheat, as long as it's still good! here is the only pic of olivia i took on her first july 4th. it's sad. one day i'll regret not taking more... at least i dressed her in a festive onsie!

today rett and i lounged around watching movies. now we're on gran torino. i saw it in the movie theater but he never did. i'm having a hard time holding in what happens!

we decided that next week olivia will get to go to church, well, the church nursery! she'll be just shy of 8 weeks and the next week she'll start regular daycare so it should be no big deal! i'm excited to get to go back to sunday school and church! i've only been once in the past 7 weeks. sad, i know. we've got to get back into a routine before i go back to work so next sunday is the day!

a friend of jenny's dabbles in photography on the side (she's a nurse full time) and she came over on friday and took pics of olivia. from what i saw they turned out SUPER cute! can't wait for her to get them on her website so we can see and buy them!

i guess that's all for now... as soon as emery updates her blog with pics of hudson then i'll share the ones i took when i went to visit them this past wednesday! she has to be the first one to share pics though. no stealing of thunder around here!

i know this has been really random. i'm sorry! i'll try to do better in the future!