Holding On!

Look at Raylin holding her toy all by herself. She can now hold that letter "D" and bring it up to her mouth to teethe on. Yippee! She has been able to hold a toy for a while, but just not coordinated enough to get it to her mouth so this is really exciting. I know each of you are jumping up and down joyfully with me as you read this and you are as excited as I am that I no longer have to sit there and hold the toy in her mouth for her. However, I do still have to sit right beside her while she plays. She likes company! I'm pretty sure she got that trait from me. She loves to play on her activity mat or just on a blanket with toys, but I can't leave her alone. She wants me right there with her at all times which kind of makes it hard to get anything done in the house. But that reminds me of a poem my mother has hanging in her house - "Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow for babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep, I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep." So anytime I think there is something I really need to get done, like blogging:) or washing clothes, I think of that poem and continue to sit right there beside Raylin singing and reading to her. By the way, she is sleeping while I am blogging. I am not neglecting her during playtime. I should be washing clothes and cleaning the kitchen, but I know you all want to see these pictures of Raylin and I just couldn't wait to tell you about her latest achievement.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHA!!!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday Dear Sha-Na-Na, Happy Birthday to you! We went to Moe's Thursday night to celebrate Sha's birthday. So much fun - Gotta love girl's night out! The second picture is of the girls in our small group at Pinelake except Andrea. She had to work.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KERI!!!

Yesterday was our sweet friend Keri's birthday. Keri lives in Birmingham and we do not get to see her much. We miss you Keri and hope to see you soon. We hope you had a wonderful birthday! This picture is when Keri came to visit Raylin for the first time.

Raylin Modeling her Bunny Bib from Gran

Friday, we went to have bunny pictures made. We went with Hank and Andrea. Raylin slept through her bunny pics, but Hank was awake and ate goldfish the whole time. Raylin was sound asleep and Lisa Patti put the bunny under one of her arms and a goose under the other arm and took the pictures. The goose started eating Raylin's bracelet. It was so cute. I can't wait to see the pictures!

Amy's Baby Shower

We had a baby shower for my friend, Amy Sharpe on Sunday. We had so much fun. The first picture is of Amy with all the hostesses and the diaper cake that Angie, Carri and I put together. The next picture is of Amy showing off baby Caroline. We can't wait for her to get here. Amy and I were neighbors growing up and have been friends for as long as I can remember. So I am so excited that Raylin and Caroline are going to be the same age. I know they will be the best of friends. The third picture is of Amy with her mother, Barbara. Amy's parents and my parents still live by one another in Philly. And the last picture is of sweet Raylin. She looked so pretty all dressed up for Amy and Caroline's shower.

Zoo Trip

We went to the zoo Saturday with Aunt Julie, Uncle John, Eli and Elle Elise. We had a great time. As you can see by the pictures, Raylin slept most of the time. But, I think she really enjoyed riding in her stroller. She does not like the sun in her face and I figured that out real quick once we got out of the car. I didn't get too many pictures of her with the animals, but there is one with Raylin and the elephants. She was sleeping so she didn't get to see them, but I have a picture to show her one day so that she will know we went to the zoo. Maybe we will go again this fall and she may want to actually look at the animals instead of sleeping. I do think she saw the monkeys and that was about it so I'm glad HER visit to the zoo was free!

Cousins

These are some pictures of Raylin with her many cousins. The first one is of her oldest cousins, Gunnar and Ben. The second pic is of Duke giving Raylin a kiss. The third pic is Raylin with her only girl cousin, Elle Elise. The next pic is Eli, Seger, Elle Elise and Raylin. And finally Raylin with Gabe who lives in Kansas City. We miss them so much and can't wait to see them.

At The Park

This was Raylin's first trip to the park. We had a great time. We went with Pops, Chad, Andrea and Hank. Raylin liked to swing, but I think it made her sleepy. She was sound asleep when we left the park. I think we only stayed out there about 20 minutes. She was just exhausted from all the fun that day. First, we met the Edwards at the material store which I am sure she really enjoyed. Then we all went to eat at McAllisters and sat outside. Finally, we went to the park. So she had already been very busy by the time we got to the park.

Three Months Old - 03/04/2007

These are pictures from March 4th when Raylin was 3 months old. I cannot believe it has been three months. I thank the Lord everyday for the precious, beautiful baby girl that he has brought into our lives. She is such a happy baby with the exception of 7pm - 8pm. Not real sure what happens then, but nothing will make her happy. She is smiling now at everything and talking so much more. I can't understand her yet, but I am getting there. She loves to look at the fan and she will smile so big. I now understand the Jimmy Buffett song, "Little Miss Magic" where he talks about his daughter being "constantly amazed by the fans of the blade on the ceiling." Right now as I am writing this, she is laying on our bed smiling at the fan.

My Future Is So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades

Enough Said!!!

At the Peabody in Little Rock

These are the pictures from forever ago when we were in Little Rock. I said I would post them and completely forgot. I don't think Raylin ever really saw the ducks so we will definitely have to go back, but preferably not for a work function.

Cute Bibs

These are some cute Easter bibs my mother is making. The first picture is the front of the bib and the second picture is the back of the bib. The bunny ears are made out of a baby washcloth. They are super cute. The Easter egg one has eggs on the back also and a different color fabric. So if anyone is interested, the bunny bib is $15 and the egg bib is $12.

Waking up from Nap Time

Raylin does not stay in her swaddler very well during nap time. This is how I find her most days when I go in there to get her. Sometimes she will have both feet out and those arms still tied up. Or she will be like the next picture and have one or both arms out. My mother took this picture when she was keeping her this week. SO PRECIOUS!

Posing Pretty for the Camera

I know it has been forever since I have posted and I have heard from several of you that you want to see something else besides Raylin's Valentine. SO here she is smiling so pretty. I have taken tons of photos since Valentine's Day I promise. I just haven't had time to post them. Last week I took Raylin to get her 3 month pics taken and she smiled so pretty. But after looking at the prices of the pics, I decided I better take some of my own because we wouldn't be able to get many of the professional ones. I don't know if I am just out of the loop on how much pictures cost or if this particular photographer is outrageously expensive, but we can't afford to spend $158 for a 5x7 picture. So anyway I took my own pics and I think they turned out pretty cute. I think if I had one of those fancy schmancy cameras that my pictures would look just as good - Well maybe not, but close. I believe the first picture shows a little bit of personality. I took these pictures to show my doctors yesterday and one female doctor looked at this one and said I believe you may have you a little Miss Sassy. I really do not think that is an appropriate nickname for a 3 month old but for some reason it has stuck and I have been calling her that. The last picture is of our cutie all dressed up on the way to church. She was smiling so big on the way that I had to get out the camera in the car and take a picture. I think she must really like my singing. That is a headbandy thing with a bow around her head and I know I said I would never do that to my baby. I vowed to wait until she had enough hair to actually wear a bow, but I just couldn't resist. BUT I have not resorted to gluing or taping a bow to her head. I think she looks like a beautiful baby girl without a bow. And by the way, when Brigg saw the bow thingy, he said get that junk out of her hair. I decided during church to take the thing off and she had a nice redmark around her head where it had been. Poor baby! We will probably not be wearing that ONE again.