Pure Angel

That smile is what dreams are made of. I couldn't love anything more than I love this child....and I think she knows it.

New Neighbor

I almost passed out when I looked out my back door and saw this little guy...or girl staring at me. This is a new neighbor I can do without! I'm just glad I was on the other side of the glass when I saw the slippery little sucker.

Best Buddies
This can't help but to put a smile on your face. I took it with my cell phone so the quality isn't great but it is definitely a keeper!

Faces of Landry - 6.5 months

Another Gold Medal!
Landry didn't cry again today at the doctors office and I was so proud of her. I was worried that she might get upset this week since she did so well last time but she did great. She did exactly like she did last week just wincing a little and all smiles within 30 seconds. And the best part is now we don't have to do it again until December...YEAH!!
After we left the doctors office, we went to meet my friend LeAnn for lunch. She moved to Phoenix 2 years ago and we haven't been able to catch up since she left. I was so excited that she was able to fit me in! OK, actually they were fitting Landry in...I just benefitted from their visit. They have both of their families here and in Hattiesburg so it is a stretch to see everyone when they are in town. It was such a great treat to see her 5 year old, Anna. She has grown so much since I saw her last. It just made me realize that much more how fast these first few years go by. Anna is getting ready to start kindergarten and I remember it like it was yesterday the day she was born. Leann and John are such great people. I met them at a church retreat called Cursillo and it was a life changing experience for me. All of the couples were split up so we were paired up with someone before we got there. Leanne and I were complete strangers and we had to room together. Luckily, we liked each other immediately and John was at my table all weekend. We got to really know each other and I consider them life long friends. They gave Landry a book of Prayers and a great bib that said ' Itty Bitty Episcopalian'. I have always said that I have great friends. God has truly blessed me in that department because this life wouldn't be nearly the same without them. DeColores LeAnn!

Woe is me....
I feel like a slacker. A friend of mine told me that I needed to clean my house and that it was wearing HER out. She even offered to come clean it for me...and she was serious. HMMM. What do I say to that other than, yes, I know it isn't as clean as it was BL(before Landry) and no, it wasn't as picked up as it was BL, and no, I don't get nearly as much done in a day like I did BL, and yes, I wish I looked as put together as I used to look before BL. Don't get me wrong, if anyone knows me, my house isn't THAT bad. Never has been...never will be. It's just not up to the standard that I normally have it. So shame got the best of me and today, instead of hanging out with Landry, I cleaned. I scrubbed cabinets and all the floors, dusted, got cobwebs from my 14 foot ceilings...urgh!, sweeped and sprayed off the back patio, finished washing all of the outside windows(I started them the other day), did laundry, helped a friend plan a few aspects of her wedding, talked to a florist, looked up wedding gifts for a soon to be married friend, handled a work related calamity, dealt with the mortgage company...it only took FOREVER over the phone...Lord, help me!, fed Landry 4 times, changed her diaper 9 times, changed her twice and gave her a bath, sterilized and made her bottles for tomorrow, cleaned the kitchen and refrigerator, made a new flower arrangement for Sophie's grave and planned an entire party with a friend of mine all while I was trying to tend to Landry and let her know I was still around. She took two very short naps...25 and 45 minutes respectively. I was beat by the end of the day and now here I am. BTW, I didn't leave 'Took a shower' off accidentally either. Never happened.
My house keeper that used to come every other week up and quit after almost 3 years....I know, I know...woe is me. It was so nice to know you had a schedule of when you had to get your house in order so SHE could get my house in order. It is so hard to find someone you trust and that will CONTINUALLY do good work. She started having issues with the good work part but I never complained. I treated her like a friend...not someone who worked for me. I did nice things for her and fed her while she was here. I gave her birthday presents and generous Christmas bonuses. I sent happies home for her daughter and I paid her well. Mike and I even were going to pay for her to start Dental Hygiene School even though that would have meant we would surely lose her. She missed the deadline and things happened in her life that kept her from going but that's not the point. I wanted good things for her and she just up and left. She started complaining about the cost of gas and that it was kind of far to drive(it was 20 miles). Is that any reason to quit? I would have given her more gas money if it would have kept her here. I guess this just makes me sad because she never gave me a reason. She just left and it leaves me feeling like there is some unfinished business to attend to plus she still has a key to my house. I think the thing that really upsets me the most is that she watched Landry on the off week for an afternoon so I could get some errands ran and appointments made. She was one of the first people I ever trusted with my child. I know that doesn't mean much to some people but it means A LOT to me. Landry loved her and she seemed to love her too. I guess I"ll just never understand what makes people tick.
Oh well, back to my cleaning....after I did all of that I looked around and it didn't look like I had even made much of a dent in it. The things I did won't ever get noticed for the good...only the bad. Isn't that sad? I RARELY ever do this but I put Landry in front of a Baby Einstein video (twice)today and let her go comatose to it. I felt like crap. I thought to myself, if my house looks a little less than perfect then I am going to have to deal with it because spending my day with Landry is a whole lot more important than scrubbing the finger prints off the microwave. She got cranky toward the end of the day because I think she was upset with me for pretty much ignoring her for a good portion of the day. Clean or not, that ain't happening again. I'm sorry sweet girl...guess we'll just have to be slobs until I find someone else or you're in college.

Jailbird
Landry's moving up in the world. Or should I say her mattress is moving down. We FINALLY lowered her mattress and removed her bumper pads. So sad for the Mommy. Big steps...baby steps...big baby steps. She really looked confused as she checked out her new digs. I had to laugh when I saw her look out through the bars. She looked like she was in jail...bless her heart. My little jailbird. I hope that's the only time in her life I think she looks cute in jail....Lord, bless MY heart.

The Green Beans Won

She is experiencing green beans this week and she seems to like them. Mike thinks I am torturing her by making her eat them. He thinks they just look NASTY! I can't disagree with him but she needs her veggies and her Mama is making sure she is getting them. They haven't been so nice to her on the back side. She is trying to get a diaper rash and well that just won't do in this Mama's world! I changed her diaper 9 times today so she doesn't have the chance to sit in a dirty diaper long enough for her to get one. Boudreaux's Butt Paste Rocks!

Check out the spoon action and note the 'talking' she's been doing.

Hazard Doodie...I mean Duty
Landry is really starting to scoot around these days. She does 360's and goes backwards. She wobbles to and fro and she moves and shakes..she is a child of many talents! It is really funny to see her get stuck in one place and not be able to figure out how to get moving again. She has a lot of determination though and she looks so victorious when she starts moving again. I know it is only a matter of time before I look around and can't find her! Lord help me!
Little Miss Sassy Butt shook her diaper right off but luckily for her she was none the wiser.

My Big Girl!

Landry got her shot this morning and MY girl grimaced one good time and never even let out a wail! I was so proud of her and extremely happy for both of us. You would have thought she had medalled at the Olympics! I originally took these pictures so her Daddy could see what he was missing. The first picture is right after she got it and the other picture was literally 30 seconds later. I hope this is a sign of what's to come as far as shots go. Let's pray for a good visit next week. :)

Stabbin' Cabin-6 month edition
Landry is going in for round 2 of 3 for her 6 month shots. I have read enough information about vaccinations that I feel pretty strongly about separating them. There are many opinions about the correlation of Autism with regard to vaccines and how they are administered. I just don't think it is worth the risk so I am taking Landry to the doctor every week for three consecutive weeks to get her 6 month shots. Of course this is not easy for either one of us. I think it is worse on me because I get so worked up over it. I absolutely hate seeing her get so upset. She looks at you like 'Why did you do that to me? I was just sitting here minding my own business and you had to go and stab me with that thing. That wasn't so nice, Nurse Lady!' I think the silver lining in this cloud is that when I pick her up and hold her afterwards she looks at me like I am the best thing ever. Thankfully, after this round we won't have any more shots until December.

Happy Father's Day!

I have been anticipating this day for quite some time. It seems like once you pass the official day celebrating Mother's Day or Father's Day, you can absolutely, positively, with one hundred percent certainty claim the title. Mother's Day and Father's Day were much happier occasions this year for obvious reasons. It made it so much more real the journey we have embarked upon as parents. I mourned over the loss of my mother a little more and yet I was able to rejoice in the fact that I have such a special Daddy. But more importantly, Mike and I truly celebrated the joy of our sweet Landry. I hope I will always remember just how we feel on this beautiful day and that she could feel how much this day means to us.

When were at the cemetery today visiting Sophie, Mike reiterated what I said to her on Mother's Day. He said 'Thank you for making me a Daddy first.' That was my favorite moment of the day. How much better does it get than that? Anyway, Mike, I hope you had a wonderful day and thank you so much for making me a mommy...twice.

Portrait by Marion & Gary Silber

Go with the Flow
Landry had her 6 month check up yesterday and she ranked in the 75th percentile or better in every category. She weighed in at 16lbs 15 oz. and was 26.5 inches long. We had one little scare but thankfully today, it got resolved. Our Pediatrician,Dr. Sethi, detected a flow murmur in her heart and while she said it was nothing to get alarmed about, I did any way. I called my good friend, Dr. Jennifer Shores who is a pediatric cardiologist and she got her in today for an Echocardiogram. I was so thankful that we were able to get in so quickly and for her to be looked after by someone so knowledgeable and caring. She is invaluable to this entire state for the skill she possesses. I hope she knows how many people are indebted to her. Not only because of her talent but even more importantly to a scared parent, her compassion. The best part is that she told us that Landry's heart was 'perfect'! She said that 50% of all babies have a murmur and that the great majority of them outgrow it. She really got a good look at her heart and now we feel so confident that I can put it behind us and not worry about it anymore. Thank you for giving us peace in this, Dr. Jennifer. You are absolutely the best...especially when it comes to matters of the heart.

Did someone say Supper?!

Landry loves carrots. Can you tell? I took off her shirt and just put this bib on her. When I got her out of the high chair, there she was in just a diaper and a very dirty bib. It was hilarious. I guess you had to be there but I just got tickled and I couldn't stop laughing. I guess she thought I was funny because she just had the cutest grin on her face. Check out that spoon action!

Six months...
I can hardly believe it. My baby girl turned 6 months old today. In one breath, it seems like forever that I've had her and in another it just seems like she is changing and growing faster than I care to think about. I say that only to mean that I don't remember my life without her now. My life started in a whole new, magical way when she drew her first breath on December 10th. I remember some of the most vivid details of that day and at the same time, it all seems like a blur.

Here's the 6 month low down on Miss Landry:

• According to all of the scales to measure her by, she is above average in all categories. I will get the actual details by the numbers at her 6 month doctor visit in a couple of days.
• She is up on all fours, rocking and swaying and has made the motions to start crawling.
• She is doing more scunching(is that a word?) where she is up on her forearms and pushing with her legs. The funny thing is that she ends up going backward more than she does forward! She is never where I left her last!
• She can pick thing up with her index finger and thumb which is really advanced for her age. She can put her own pacifier in her mouth but sometimes she can't figure out why she keeps pulling it back out. She hasn't figured out that she has to let it go!!
• She is VERY aware of her surrounding and loves all of the attention she gets. I swear, if this girl knew how many people tell her how cute she is in a day, we'd never be able to get her head through the door!
• She recognizes familiar faces and reacts to them with enthusiasm. She always has a smile for her Daddy when he comes home from work. She just lights up when she sees him.
• She does not have any detachment issues yet. She seems happy to go to anyone these days. I guess that's good and bad!
• She has been rolling over for about a month now. She wakes herself up about 4:30 a.m. because she rolls over and can't pull her arm out from underneath herself. I have to go in and readjust her before she wakes herself up too much but the sprint to her room does nothing for my sleep! I usually go ahead and get her up about 5:30 or 6...after I have gone in there a few times..and feed her. We go back to sleep for another hour or so.
• She can hold her own bottle but doesn't do it all the time. Why would she when she has a Mama that is completely willing to do it for her! :)
• She had just started to eat veggies along with her formula and rice cereal. She had homemade organic squash last week and for her 6 month birthday celebration she had homemade organic baby carrots! She absolutely loved them. I have butternut squash, green beans and acorn squash..all organic of course!....lined up for the next few weeks. I am making Charlie Crump his baby food too so he can grow big and strong like his girl Landry! I love making her food. It makes me feel like I am really doing something good for her.
• She is almost sitting up. She did once or twice but she fell over pretty soon after she got situated. It won't be long!
• Landry naps when she wants to. I'll have to admit, I haven't been very good at putting her down on a regular schedule. As anal as I am about her feeding schedule, you would think I would be even more strict about her naps! She likes to nap in my bed. She will NOT go down in her crib despite several attempts. The funny thing is that at night she has no problem at all going down in her bed. She acts like she actually looks forward to it. I hope this will always be the case!
• This is probably TMI but her bowels work fine. She still poops and toots like a truck driver. I guess that's all I got to say about that.
• Landry still gets the hiccups everyday. Gripe Water is the best thing ever for them. It really works wonders for her!

She has grown so much. It's hard to believe that she is changing so fast. It makes me happy and sad that she is hitting her milestones with such ease. I miss the Landry of yesterday and look forward to the one I will wake up to tomorrow. She astounds me each and every day with each new accomplishment. I can't imagine not being here for her to share these moments with me. I see the face of Jesus in that girl every day I wake and it is such a blessing to know HIM in such a powerful way just by knowing her. Thank you, Lord, for the best six months I could have ever dreamed of.

A Gift
Well, today I had a 'moment'. It took me by surprise actually. I was sitting with Landry in my lap and I was watching a little TV. She was facing forward and standing on my legs. I started singing 'You are my Sunshine' to her and she whipped her head backward and shot me the biggest grin I have ever seen. I am sitting here with the cheesiest smile on my face and half a tear in my eye just thinking about it. I just started crying thinking about the gift she never knew she gave me. That is the best thing a child could ever give a Mama. A pure, unsolicited, genuine, thankyousomuchforsingingmethatsong kind of smile. I just hugged her so tightly and told her over and over how much I love her--of course, crying all the while. I hope you know what you have done to me little one. I am the kind of happy I didn't think I would ever be. You are what dreams are made of.

I can breathe again!
I have never been more tired and excited than I was this morning when it was time for me to go get Landry. I could not wait to get my hands on that child of mine. She did so great at the Barnharts. They only spoiled her 99 percent of the time!!! The other percent they were thinking of how they could spoil her more :) Of course, EVERYONE asked who was keeping Landry. Mike was telling someone who was watching her and when he was describing the kind of people they were, he made a comment that really struck me. He said that people(in general) use the word 'Christian' loosely but when we think of them, they are the epitome of the word. He was so right. They are kind, caring, generous, thoughtful and every ones brother and sister. If I were going to leave a legacy behind that Landry had to describe, I hope that it will be the same way I feel about these wonderful people.

We went to a beautiful outdoor wedding in Tupelo, MS this weekend. It was also Elvis Fest so we saw quite a variety of mutton chops in the hotel lobby! I took pictures at the request of my friend Susan, who was the mother of the groom. We had a great time and many of our close friends were there. The Youree's threw a fabulous rehearsal dinner and after dinner party on the rooftop of this popular restaurant. As I watched all of their friends celebrate in the unity of Ben & Carra, I thought how fun it must be to be that young again. I thought about all that they had to go through, both good and bad to get to the end of this fairy tale beginning. I hope that they will take with them the advice that Susan gave them during her toast. She said that 'Today, you have to make the choice to love each other for the rest of your lives. Today, you have make the decision to stay together no matter how hard and how long the days seem sometimes.' It was beautiful and touching. I could barely hold the camera straight! I have some pictures posted of the wedding so click here to check out how stunning they were. Make sure you hit the slideshow button to enlarge the pictures. The bride took my breath away...literally. Congratulations Ben and Carra! May you have a very blessed life!

Now, back to the Bug. Isn't she a dish?!

Six

I just put the finishing touches on 6 pages (complete with illustrations) of information on Landry for the Barnharts. Yep, tomorrow morning she will be off on her first adventure without Mommy. I know she will be fine but will I?! I am going to try to keep my check in calls to a minimum. HMMMM- I'll get back with you on that one. I made them a BIG grandparents basket with all of the essentials. I even got them a baby monitor so they will have it when their new grandson makes his debut in July. They won't be without much in the way of supplies for a new baby visit! They already had a crib and pack n play so they are ready to go! I didn't know how I could possibly thank them so I just got them something they will be able to use. I will post more when I get back. Until then, I guess I'll just hold my breath.

Anxiety

Would you ever want to leave that face? In three days, I will leave my sweet baby girl overnight for the first time while Mike and I attend and out of town wedding. I have absolutely no doubt that she will be in the best of care and will do great but I am not so sure about her parents. I never thought I would leave her so early...so young but the bottom line is that I need to be at this wedding and she doesn't. The preparation to get her (and her stuff!) ready is daunting. I don't want them to be without anything they need so I will probably over pack. Shocking, I know. I am rambling because I have high anxiety about this. I know she will be okay...in fact, she will get spoiled rotten. I know that once I 'turn her over', I will be fine. Until then............

Little Fish
Landry went to the pool for the first time today and she loved it! Mike and I took turns swimming her around the pool and she kicked and splashed and just had the best time. I couldn't pick out just one picture from the day so I just made a video. The first ones are after church(she was wearing a cute little pink number given to her by her Aunt Big Mama) and a visit to our friends, the Barnharts, in Crystal Springs. They were instrumental in helping me build Sophie's Playground. I really couldn't have done it with out them and their generous help. Dave and his son, Matthew helped me get much of the heavy equipment needed and operated it. They were there throughout the entire construction and without their expertise, it simply would not have been built. Jadeen worked out in the HOT sun doing whatever we needed. She is such a kind, sweet person. There aren't many families out there like theirs. I hope we can give Landry the kind of home life they have given their boys. They are certainly a family to be modeled after in my opinion.
The video ends with some really great pictures of Landry and her doting parents in her first ever pool experience. There is a photo toward the end and it is of Landry and me right after she went under the water for the first time. She didn't even cry!!! I couldn't get the silly grin off of my face I was so proud! Yeahhhh Landry!

ps...BTW, the video is only 2 minutes long. The song is just longer. Also, don't forget to scroll down and turn off the music :)