Life with Cliff, Angela & Amelia

36 weeks

2012-02-20T13:58:00.000-08:00

I had my 36 week check-up this morning, and everything looks good. I haven't dilated any yet, so baby boy should be hanging out inside for a little while longer. I'm glad. We still have a few things to get done to get ready for his arrival. But progress is definitely being made. His room is almost done and I'm finishing up some projects at work. Cliff finishes up the regular season this week, and the girls will be playing in the state tournament in Tupelo all next week. I was hoping baby Graham would hang in there, at least until after the state tournament. We don't know yet if the girls will make regionals or nationals again this year yet, but even if they do, I'm pretty sure Cliff won't make the trip to Kansas this year. We'll see.

Bless my heart, I know I am huge! And check out those swollen ankles. I totally put my shoes on just to have my secretary take this photo, ha. I have definitely reached the "barefoot and pregnant stage." To compare, here I am at 35 weeks with Mimi:

Hard to tell the difference since the pics are at slightly different angles. I feel sure I am a little bigger than I was at this point with her. This is the last official pregnancy photo I took with her too. I did take one on the morning we went to the hospital to have her, but that photo has not, and will not ever see the light of day, ha. I think I'll try to keep it real and at least take a couple more photos in the next few weeks just to document this pregnancy. Now whether I choose to share them is a different story.

Hoping to share finished nursery pics very soon!

32 weeks

2012-01-25T09:40:00.000-08:00

Well, let's give me a little more credit, I'm actually 32 and a half weeks now, ha. I went to the doctor for an ultrasound the other day and was informed of what I already thought to be true...I am carrying a big boy! I have been measuring a couple of weeks ahead consistently throughout my pregnancy, but this week my doctor wanted to peak in and see just how big baby brother is. Everything looked great, and he is already between 4 and 5 pounds. I couldn't remember how many ounces she said because my eyes were fixed on the screen when she measured his head. I was busy freaking out a little when I saw that his head is measuring 36 weeks, a whole month ahead! Yikes!

Here's a sweet shot of the man-child:

My doctor isn't concerned at this point, but they will check again closer to my due date, and then we may have to discuss a c-section if it comes down to it. I don't want to have to do that, but I am not interested in birthing a huge baby, ha! Amelia was 8 pounds and 3 ounces and was 21 inches long when she was born at 39 weeks. Considering the big and tall boys in my family, such as Cliff, Chris and my brothers who are all 6'3-6'7, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to have a big boy on my hands. At least it helps explain why my belly is so big.

And speaking of, here's the big mama today, at 32.5 weeks.

This was me a couple of weeks ago, at 30 weeks:

We are making lots of nursery progress, and I am so excited about it. I can't wait to post pics when we're done. His room, as I am sure will be the case for most things about this boy, is SO different from his sister's. I am really starting to look forward to meeting baby Graham and seeing what he will be like. Not much longer now!

A mega Christmas re-cap

2012-01-10T09:22:00.000-08:00

Well hello there, 2012. I suppose it's past time for me to do a Christmas post. I have been waiting to share Christmas pics here and on facebook because I have misplaced my camera and kept hoping it would turn up. Sadly, it still hasn't, so I'm just going to recap our holiday and share some pics that I got leading up to Christmas and some that Katie took on Christmas Day, the last day that I can remember seeing my camera. I can't even handle the thought of having absolutely no pictures of Mimi from Christmas! Thank goodness for Aunt Katie.

I am overwhelmed at how behind I am on recording our family' memories, so I will just make this mostly pics and try to do better from now on. I really want to do an update on everthing Amelia is up to these days soon. She is such a mess!

I'll start with a cell phone pic of her decorating her pink tree the day after Thanksgiving. This year was the year of enthusiasm. She was so excited about every little thing to do with Christmas. We had fun decorating her very own tree.

Amelia got to participate in the children's program for the first time this year. We were SO proud of her for standing up in front of the church like such a big girl and singing her songs.

Impossible to get a good pic of that many kiddos!

She was excited that Grammy came to see her. Papa had prior commitments at their church. Aunt Katie, of course, was also there but she was the one taking these pics, so no evidence of her, ha.

She also got to attend a fabulous party with her Mission Friends class.

Mrs. Brenda and Mrs. Bethany did a great job with their party, and the kids had a blast decorating cookies and cupcakes. Have I mentioned how much I adore our church and the preschool department? Amelia LOVES going to church, and I love that she is learning about Jesus and the real Reason for the season at such a young age.

We got to spend a day with Baby Jackson while Mare was in a wedding during the holidays. How cute is he in this onesie I made for him?

We made our annual trip to the Mall of Lousiana with Lindey and Pailyn to see Santa. You may recall that we haven't had a successful photo with Santa since she was 8 weeks old.

Well, my friends, we had success this year! This isn't a great pic. I was trying to sneakily break the rules of no photos, ha. I do have the actual ridiculously overpriced photo that we purchased, and I plan to scan it and include it here for our memories. She had a big ole grin on her face and I loved every second of it.

She was so excited to meet Santa, and although she hesitated just for a second, she hopped on up in his lap and told him that she wanted a princess castle and "a lot of colored lipsticks." Of course, this was after she had requested a dollhouse for the past couple of months. She saw a commercial for the Disney princess castle about a week before Christmas. We had to tell her that Santa had already made her dollhouse, ha.

We had a lot of fun playing at home in the days leading up to Christmas. This was an especially fun day because she got a new teaset in the mail from Uncle Chris and Aunt Kaki. We immediately had to have a goldfish picnic on the living room floor.

We also made some cookies for Santa. She was really pumped about it here, but lost interest while they were baking. Oh, and Grammy and Papa stopped by to play.

I ended up having to finish most of them myself. She did add a few sprinkles though.

And then, the day finally came! Even though she had some sassy and not-so-well-behaved days this year, Santa still thought she had been a very good girl and brought her a dollhouse, a lot of colored lipsticks, some books, some Dora bath toys, some DVDs and her very first basketball goal!

We had to wait forever for her to wake up on Christmas morning. When she finally did, she was a little groggy and didn't go as nuts as I had hoped, but she was still very excited. We have it all on video and I took some photos, but you know, the whole camera being lost thing is preventing me from sharing.

Luckily Katie came over before we got ready for church and snapped a few pics of Mimi and her new stuff.

Last year as a family of three at Christmas! (My face was totally swollen here, I'm sure due to the excessive amount of salty foods I consumed on Christmas Eve, ha.)

On Christmas Eve we went to my grandparents house, as usual. Since my grandfather just passed away in October, it wasn't exactly the cheeriest of days for everyone there, so I didn't take many photos. After church on Christmas Day, we went to Cliff's Aunt Lisa's to have lunch with their side of the family, and then we went to my parents' that evening for supper. Katie came along with us, so that's why I have a few pics from that night.

By this point in all our holiday running around, I am always dragging. These babies looked like I felt that night!

But when they woke up, they were ready to go!

Amelia got a ridiculous amount of gifts from my parents and siblings. She is such a blessed little girl!

Pretending to be a country girl with my brother's grunt call. (At least I think that's what it is called.)

We were so glad to have the Walkers home from Alabama to celebrate our first Christmas with sweet baby Jackson.

I am so crazy about my precious nephew! He is seriously the happiest, sweetest baby ever.

This little girl is pretty crazy about her aunt too.

We are SO incredibly blessed to have great families, a wonderful church and so many wonderful friends. Amelia got an insane amount of gifts this year, but I hope in years to come she will learn more about giving to those less fortunate than us, and all of the other things that go along with Christmas that don't involve getting presents. It's hard to believe that next year we will have a little baby boy crawling around in front of the Christmas tree. I'm pretty sure our fun has only just begun!

27 weeks

2011-12-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd give a montly update on baby boy. I'm 27 weeks now, and growing bigger every day, yikes!

Not much has changed since last month, other than my belly, but we have decided on his name. He will be called Graham Davis Furr, or Baby Graham, as his big sister calls him. There's not much of a story to his name. Davis is my maiden name, and although we would have loved to have called our son Davis, I really wanted to call him by his first name, and we couldn't come up with anything we liked for a middle name with Davis.

Graham is a name that we've liked since I was pregnant with Mimi, but it wasn't our top choice. Our top choice from back then had gotten a lot more popular since 2008, and there were issues with so many others that we liked such as they didn't go with our last name, etc. Graham was a name that we had thrown around but hadn't committed to it yet. However, Amelia immediately started calling him Baby Graham and kissing my tummy and talking to him all the time. After about a month of that, it really felt like that was his name. So Graham it is.

We're clearing things out of the guest room and hoping to make some major progress in the nursery while we're off for Christmas. I will be sure to share that progress when it happens.

And to compare, here's a belly pic when I was a little further along than I am now, at 28 weeks with Mimi.

Although I feel ginormous, I guess my belly isn't that much bigger than it was with her, although the scale says otherwise. I do weigh a few pounds more now than I did at this point with her, as my doctor was so kind to point out to me the other day, ha. I'm trying not to freak out too much over how big I am, and just be thankful that everything is healthy for me and for him so far. He is a super active little guy, much more so than his sister was. We've reached the alien in the belly stage! Last night I was just watching him jump around in fascination. Isn't the miracle of life amazing?

I got so annoyed during my first pregnancy when people would make comments about how big I am, and say the always annoying, "I don't think you're going to make it!" But this time, I have to admit that I think that on an almost daily basis, lol. Just how AM I going to make it for 3 more months?!

A Fancy Nancy Birthday

2011-12-15T12:25:00.000-08:00

Even though it's almost Christmas, I just couldn't move on to the next holiday without finally documenting Amelia's third birthday! I promised that I would scale her party back this year, and I did. Really, y'all, I did. But that doesn't mean things can't still be cute, right?

I absolutely loved everything about her party this year! The theme was based on some of Amelia's favorite books, the Fancy Nancy series. It was so ridiculously pink and girly and this girl loved every second of it. I am pretty sure it was the happiest day of her life so far.

Here are a few shots of the party details.

There was a dress-up table for the girls and boys to get fancied up as they entered the party.

The girls got more into the dressing up, of course, but this guy liked being fancy too!

Some other random shots of the birthday girl and her friends

She blew those candles out like a champ! I was so excited for this because last year it was too windy and the candles wouldn't stay lit. This was her first time to get to do it (besides the little cupcake we had at home last year.)

As you can imagine, she absolutely LOVED opening her presents this year. Since she has SO much stuff already, I seriously considered requesting no gifts from our guests, but after seeing her get so excited for her friends at their parties, I thought I should at least give her one more year of gifts, especially now that she's old enough to be excited about them.

Posing with one of her faves, Aunt Katie

And Grammy and Papa

and Aunt Mare

Believe it or not, there are about 150 pics that I did not share. You're welcome, ha. It was such a fun party, and I'm so glad that we did it for her. She said thank you over and over again. I have decided that three years old is the best age for enthusiasm for things like birthdays and Christmas. A trip to the Dollar Tree excites this girl, so you can imagine what a birthday party and Christmas is like for her.

And now that I've finally documented her birthday, we can move on to Christmas in a few days. Didn't 2011 JUST start?

Baby Update

2011-11-16T07:49:00.000-08:00

Well, I think it's past time for a baby update. In many ways, this pregnancy has been exactly the same as with Amelia, so I haven't really had a lot of newsworthy stuff to share the second time around. Unlike with Amelia, we haven't settled on a name yet, we haven't started on his room yet, and really just thinking about all that makes me want to take a nap, ha. How things change with the second baby!

But don't you worry, this boy will have a great name and a fabulous nursery. I just haven't had as much time, energy or money to get everything going like we did the first time. It will get done. I'm looking forward to having the next week off and then time off for Christmas to get some things done in that area.

The great news is that things are going very well for me and baby boy. I've been blessed with a pretty uneventful pregnancy, health-wise, so far. This doesn't count the nausea and fatigue of course, since that's pretty normal. And there has definitely been more fatigue this time! But I just chalk that up to the busy time of year and the fact that I have a three-year-old to deal with this time. That reminds me, I haven't even blogged about her third birthday and party! That will have to be next. I really want to do better at my memory-keeping.

The bad news is that I. Am. Huge. Seriously, y'all. It came out of nowhere. I feel SO much bigger than I was with Amelia at this point. Up until recently, things have felt exactly the same, but I don't know if it's the fact that he's a boy, or that it's my third pregnancy or what, but I am already much bigger than I was with her, and I just feel much more pregnant already. Shortness of breath, back pain, etc. I am not complaining at all. Well, maybe a little, but I don't mean to. I am so thankful for a healthy pregnancy and baby when I know so many who would give anything to have that. I am just surprised by the way I look and feel this time. Here's some proof:

(Pic taken with my cell phone at work today. Cliff hasn't been around much lately to ask him to do it at home.)

To compare, here's the first belly shot I took with Mimi at around the same time, 23 weeks.

I'm lol'ing at how I'm wearing work out clothes. That could be a reason I'm bigger this time. I haven't worked out since, oh, about July when I found out I was pregnant, ha.

Here I am in the same dress at around 25 weeks with Mimi. Maybe the bumps are about the same size, I don't know. I just know it feels so much bigger this time.

Bigger belly or not, we are so thankful for this sweet boy, and we can't wait to meet him! I know Mimi is going to be an awesome big sister!

Thankful

2011-11-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

This girl has already learned about thankfulness, no thanks to our teachings. On Nick Jr, between episodes of Dora, Olivia and Peppa Pig, they've been talking about being thankful.

I hadn't noticed until my sweet girl looked over at me a couple of days ago and said, "I'm thankful for you, Mama." Melted. My. Heart. Then she said the same thing again yesterday, and it made me tear up all over again. When Cliff came home, I thought she might show him how precious she could be and I asked her to tell Daddy what she was thankful for. Her response: "I'm thankful for my play-doh."

Guess we can't be deep all the time. I'm so thankful for this girl and her baby brother!

It's a...

2011-10-24T13:21:00.000-07:00

...boy! This is old news to most anyone who reads my blog by now, but I wanted to document it for our memories. I think Amelia is over the shock that she isn't getting a sister, and I'm kind of over my shock as well. I guess since girl is all I've known for the last three years, it surprised me that we could actually have a boy.

He is still nameless, but we're working on it. I'm just not ready to commit to anything yet. The ultrasound showed that everything looks great, and for that we are relieved and thankful. The photos aren't very good since he was squirming around so much. I've been feeling little kicks here and there every day for the last few weeks, much earlier than I felt them with Amelia.

Of course Cliff is tickled, and we just can't wait to meet this little guy and see what he's going to be like! For now, I'm starting to work on getting Mimi's room turned into a big girl room so we can move the crib into the new nursery. It's converted into a toddler bed now for her, but I'm looking for a twin bed and bedding for her. I do enjoy a decorating project, and this is going to be a big one! Who knew I would ever be buying blue?!

15 weeks

2011-09-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Just a quick pregnancy update. I'm 15 weeks this week, and I had my monthly check-up Monday. Everything looked great (whew!), and the baby's heartbeat was music to my ears. Somehow I have not gained any weight, however if you see my belly ~~and boobs~~ you would think that is impossible. My doctor had told me last month that she wouldn't make me wait a whole month before having me back for an ultrasound. So I speculated that she'd tell me to come back in a week, maybe two weeks, and we would finally know who this new member of our family is. Wrong! She was so generous to knock it down from a month to three whole weeks, ugh! My impatience is killing me!

I go back and forth on whether I think it's a boy or girl. The heart rate was in the 140s, and the wives tale suggests that means boy. Amelia's heartrates were always significantly higher than that, so it's not too far fetched. But honestly, I don't think the heartrates or the Chinese gender predictor tests mean anything at all. For the record, the Chinese say it's a girl. Amelia agrees, and says her name is either Allison or Molly, ha.

Boy or girl, we feel like it would be a win/win. We are just so grateful to be having a healthy pregnancy so far, and are praying for a healthy baby. Another girl would be precious (and convenient), but a boy would be a new and exciting adventure. I would love for Amelia to have a little sister like I had, but on the other hand, I'd love for Cliff to be able to have that father/son connection like I have with our daughter. Plus, my sister just had a boy, and it would be sweet for them to grow up being best friends, and I'm sure she would share her hand-me-downs with us. So really, win/win either way. I'm just dying to know!

October 18 is the official ultrasound day. I would love nothing more than to find a way to get it done earlier, but I suppose it's not really THAT long, and I can try to be patient. As far as symptoms go, my appetite and energy level are picking up, but I still don't really enjoy food that much (Who am I?), and I feel pretty wiped out at the end of the day. But overall, I can't complain one bit.

Since posts without pics are boring, here's a few pics of the big sis that Katie took a few weeks ago. (And yes, I will take a belly pic eventually for memories' sake, but mama is just not feeling very cute right now! Mimi pics are way more fun.)

Mimi-isms

2011-09-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

Amelia says something hilarious every single day. I am so mad at myself when I don't write them down because I always forget. She is already starting to pronounce words correctly when just weeks ago she had her own version of them. I have to admit, it makes me a little sad when she says "french fries" now instead of "inch fries." Luckily, she still says "bemember" instead of "remember." I will hold onto it as long as I can. Here are a few other things she's said lately:

"You did it! Good job, Mama!" after I got her a snack and turned on a cartoon she wanted to watch.
"Will you read me a bednight story?"
When saying her prayers, "Thank you, God, for me," before listing all the other things she's thankful for. I think this is because I always say "Thank you, God, for Mimi, and for letting me be her mama" each night when we say our prayers together before bed.
"Take a patient," meaning "Be patient" while talking to her doll.

Take a patient from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Again, talking to her doll: "Audrey, you sit right here and don't fall." And then when she falls over, you know, because she is a doll, Amelia says, "Now, see, that's why Mama told you not to fall." (I laugh because she talks to her dolls exactly the way I talk to her.)
"I can't wait to go to gymnaskets today." I think I heard her say it correctly the other day, though. Sad.
"Amelia, what is Daddy's job?" Amelia: "He's a basketball player!"
"Don't forget your baby, Mare!" Yelling to Mare in the middle of a restaurant as we were getting up to leave. Mare had Jackson in his carseat right next to her.

And just because he's so precious, here's a few pics of the sweet boy. I took these a few weeks ago when we went to visit them during Labor Day weekend. He's already bigger and even cuter.

And one more of the girl, just because. This was her practicing her smile before picture day at school the other day.

So many more Mimi-isms that I can't think of right now! I have GOT to make myself at least write them down so that I will remember to blog them later. This girl cracks us up.

Cat's out of the bag

2011-09-07T07:51:00.000-07:00

I have been absent from blogging lately for several reasons. First, summer is a busy time for me at work and at home, and I just haven't had a lot of spare time to blog. Second, all of my friends and family are on facebook now, so I don't feel as much of an obligation to share Mimi pics here since it's so much easier to share them there. And thirdly, I haven't been feeling very good the last couple of months. But all is well.

I'm just pregnant.

Yes, Amelia is going to be a big sister! We found out the week we got home from the beach, and since then I have been doing a LOT of gagging and sleeping, ha. Of course we were nervous for the first couple of months that something might go wrong, and there is still a chance that something could, but for now everything looks good, and we are praising God for a healthy pregnancy and baby so far. We kept it a secret for what seemed like FOREVER, partly because we didn't want to share with everyone in case something went wrong, and also because we wanted to wait until after baby Jackson was born so Mare and Justin could have their special time all to themselves. But we finally told our families and closest friends a couple of weeks ago and shared the news on Facebook the other day, so the cat is officially out of the bag.

I do have a tiny baby bump already, which could easily be mistaken for eating a lot, but I haven't been able to eat much lately and had actually lost a few pounds at my last appointment. However this week my appetite and energy level seem to be picking back up. I am 12 weeks along and due on March 19, which happens to be Cliff's mom's birthday. Not sure if I'll actually deliver that day, but nevertheless it is special to be due on her birthday.

So that's what's been going on with us. Hopefully I'll feel more up to updating soon. I loved having a record of my pregnancy with Amelia and her tiny baby months, so I definitely want to do that for number two. Since I definitely won't be doing any scrapbooking, this is the next best thing. As for Big Sis, she doesn't quite understand, but I know she is going to be a great big sister and helper. She adores her new baby cousin (pics of him coming soon), and is really into helping right now, so I think she is the perfect age for a sibling. Next big thing up for us is finding out the gender. We should find out sometime next month, and I can hardly wait! Amelia says it's a girl and her name is Molly. Not so sure about that, but it is a cute name. I don't know where she comes up with this stuff. Boy or girl, we will be thrilled.

Over-due Mimi update

2011-08-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

I am so overdue for a Mimi post! I have no excuse at all, other than being kind of busy at work and just not making time to record some memories, and for that I am so over myself!

We have had a busy and fun summer. Here are a few recent pics:

She had a blast at cheer camp at Co-Lin. This was her first time to wear anything resembling athletic gear and tennis shoes, ha. We couldn't get over her in this outfit! I laughed because she was really just dressed like a regular kid, but this was a rare occasion for us not having her all dolled up

Amelia is blessed to have lots of little friends, and that means she gets LOTS of birthday party invitations. We try to make as many of them as we can, and I think we probably average 3-4 parties a month! It's exhausting (and expensive) for me, but she always has a good time. We especially enjoy when they have waterslides.

I've already shared pics and video of her time at gymnastics camp, but here's one of her and her BFF Joy. They are in the same class at school and they just started their weekly gymnastics classes this week. These two are a mess together! If they are not loving on each other, they are arguing or bossing!

Mimi was so lucky to have Katie off this summer to hang out with her every day. They did lots of fun things like going swimming, going to the library, the splash park, arts and crafts at home, etc. This was them making rainbow cupcakes on their last day of the summer together. She has been giving Katie the cold shoulder lately and I think she's mad at her that they're not playing together every day, ha.

And to end up the summer, we took our annual trip to the local Exchange Club Fair. As always, it was HOT. But we always have a good time eating and seeing everyone we know. The past couple of years haven't been that much fun for Mimi, but she had the time of her life this year! Cliff and I just smiled our faces off the entire time getting to watch her have so much fun.

Classic Angela moment. My camera died shortly after we got there, ugh! So I only got a few pics. If it had been working, I would have gotten pics of my little daredevil and her Daddy on the giant ferris wheel. I was a nervous wreck with her being up so high with nothing more than a bar protecting her, but she begged to go on it and Cliff took one for the team and did it with her. Love my boo for that one!

Funny sidenote: The Exchange Club owns the park that the fair take place at, and the rides are there year-round, even though the fair only goes on once a year. Katie and Amelia went to get some ice cream near the park a few weeks ago, and Amelia looked over at the ferris wheel and said, "Oh, Katie, I wish I was a little girl on that ferris wheel!" Ha. Well, she got her wish.

We attended a baby shower for Mare and baby Jackson a few weeks ago. He got some precious things and we can't wait to hold him in 6 more days!

Amelia has really gotten into painting and doing art projects this summer. Here she was working on some frames for Father's Day gifts for Cliff, Papa and Grandbob.

So that's a little update on some things I've failed to blog about this summer. I am going to try to do better about blogging, because this funny girl is getting more hilarious every day, and I've got to get better at recording some of the things that she says and does!

4th of July at the Beach

2011-07-22T06:52:00.000-07:00

So the last full day of our trip was the 4th of July. This was the first year I can remember spending the 4th at the beach. It was a lot of fun. Mimi and I woke up that morning before everyone else and decided to walk across the street to have breakfast at a little cafe and watch the parade the town puts on. It was cute and Mimi had fun, but I forgot to grab my camera, so no photos, oops.

Then Katie took Mimi into Seaside with her to walk around and shop and take some photos. The "daytime" 4th of July outift I had prepared for Mimi to wear was too big, so I threw together a last minute patriotic ensemble, and I ended up loving the snaps Katie took of her in it.

Then it was time for more beach playing. And of course Mimi had to break out her patriotic bikini.

We spent the whole day soaking up the sun on our last day on the beach and came in that evening to get dressed for the night's events in town and to take a few beach photos. We were so glad to have Katie there to do this for us. It's a blessing having such a good photog in the family!

Some of us weren't feeling it.

But a bribe of some Skittles quickly took care of that.

Someone had dug a giant hole in the sand so we decided to do a "Jolliest Juniors" yearbook photo, ha.

The water was perfect, but a bunch of sea grass and stuff had washed up on the beach. I thought it would ruin our pics, but I kind of like it.

After our quick photo shoot, we went to town for Seaside's 4th of July festivities. Talk about unprepared! It was SO crowded. We totally should have gone earlier in the day and set up our spot in the grass in the ampitheater. There were tons of people there. We ended up sitting at a picnic table in front of my fave air stream food trailer, Barefoot BBQ, and we were able to listen to the band, eat, people-watch and we had a great view of the fireworks. I am still thinking about that BBQ and wishing I had some right now.

Mimi was just glad to enjoy her Skittles for being such a good little model in our photos. Whatever it takes, y'all. For the memories.

Blurry pic I snapped of Mimi and Katie watching the fireworks.

Better pic Katie snapped of Mimi and I watching the fireworks.

I worried Mimi would be afraid of the loud popping, but she loved it. I adore fireworks, and it was the best show I have ever seen. We haven't talked about when we will go back next year, but I wouldn't mind going back for the 4th again for the fireworks alone. Someone was singing the national anthem on the stage behind us, the fireworks were gorgeous, I had my sweet family with me, and I'm not going to lie, I got chill bumps and a litle teary-eyed thinking of how blessed I am. Of course, I had to snap out of it when Amelia announced she had to poop and we had to scurry around to find a bathroom, ha. Nothing like life with a toddler to keep you on your toes.

Until next year, Seaside!

Vacation at the Beach

2011-07-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

What a blog slacker I've been lately! Unlike some people for whom summer is a time to slow down, it seems that we are busier than ever. The month of June is a blur with Cliff gone all the time for basketball camp. My job starts getting pretty busy in the summer also, preparing for summer alumni events and Homecoming, which is creeping up quickly. It has been easier not having to get Amelia up and ready for school every day. She has been getting to hang out with Katie at home everyday and they are both loving it! Their days have been filled with swimming, visits to the library, art projects, trips to the splash park and much more. Yes, I believe the word you are looking for here is spoiled. rotten.

We were so glad we had a chance to go on vacation a couple of weeks ago to Seaside, Florida. We stayed at the same place as last year and it was just as great as we remembered. Amelia had been talking about going to the beach since February, and we all had been counting it down for months. I didn't know how she would do this year since last year she was still a little young to hang out on the beach for long so Cliff and I ended up taking turns with her at the pool while the other got to hang out on the beach. Luckily for us, this year Mimi LOVED playing in the sand and in the water, so we all got to spend lots of time together on the beach. Of course we took a million pics, so I will try to narrow it down to my faves.

First afternoon at the beach. Got right to work playing in the sand and water!

Posing just like Daddy while waiting to eat at Louie Louie

Showing off her gymnastics moves at the Ampitheater in Seaside. She wore herself out before the outdoor movie began so we went on home. Maybe next year I'll get to fulfill my dream of getting to watch a movie under the stars in Seaside.

It's not a beach trip without ice cream. Mimi chose "green."

We were pleasantly surprised to find out one of my college friends and her family were vacationing near us and they came over one day to hang out and let Amelia and Brantlee play together. We had a great time with them.

After a couple of days time with just our family of three, Katie came down and joined us for the weekend. After she got there, I pretty much stopped taking pics, and Mimi saw a lot of this:

From here on out the pic quality vastly improves, ha. Katie got an old film camera at an estate sale recently and she had fun taking some pics with it. She had a roll of black and white film so a lot of these B&W pics were taken with that camera, althought I don't think this one was.

Believe it or not, Mimi loved getting buried in the sand. She was so still while I completely covered her in it.

Then we decided to bury Daddy.

A couple of fun ones with the old camera.

A lot of these are out of order, but I just couldn't deal with moving them around.

Mare and Justin recently moved to Fort Rucker, Alabama (I can't even talk about it), which is only about an hour and a half away from where we were, so they came over to spend some time with us. These are the only pics I have of them that I am brave enough to share because Mare is very pregnant with our sweet baby Jackson, and she would probably murder me for posting pics of her in a swimsuit at 9 months pregnant. But anyway, Mimi was pumped to get to hang out with them, and we all had a great time together.

This pic makes me laugh because Katie told Mimi to give the thumbs up and this is what she did.

One day she came in from swimming in the ocean (on a little inflatable ring) and curled up in my lap under the umbrella and just crashed. Sweet girl.

Katie captured this sweet pic of me and my favorite girl when I wasn't looking. Love it.

Whew, that was a ton of pics. I will have to pick this up in another post. Next up, 4th of July and family beach pics!

Gymnastics

2011-06-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

Amelia has had a busy couple of weeks! Last week was VBS and this week she has been going to a gymnastics camp every day. I thought we'd try out the week-long summer program and if she liked it, then we would sign up for the fall class. She has loved it! So we will definitely be signing up for the weekly classes in August. I love that she's getting some exercise, and learning some fun tricks like flipping and walking on the balance beam. I have taken a million pictures of her each day, and lots of videos too. Here are a few videos of her in action.

I think I would have signed her up for the opportunity to wear that leotard alone.

Flipping from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

HOP! from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Notice which kid continues to hop and yell after the others have stopped. I wish you could really tell just how loud she was being.

Wheelbarrow and bossing Joy from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Her buddy Joy was in her class this week. They hadn't seen each other since school got out in May and they were so pumped to reunite! They have done a lot of loving on each other and cheering for each other, but there has also been a little fighting and bossing. Here Mimi is yelling at Joy to get up after she does her trick. What am I going to do with this girl?

Say yes to VBS!

2011-06-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

This year was Amelia's first year to get to attend Vacation Bible School at our church. I was so pumped for her because I adored VBS as a child, and I just knew Mimi would love it too. I was correct. At some point in my excitement for Amelia's inaugural VBS summer, I got it in my head that I should take vacation time to volunteer to help. I used to teach VBS at my home church during college, but it met at night. I haven't been able to help at our church since we've been there because they meet during the day. But I really wanted to be the one to get to take Amelia for her first year, and I thought it would be fun to be around while she was there, so I went for it. Now this is the part where I mention that I was assigned to the 4 and 5 year old class. And there were 14 of them. Some of them were very rambunctious. Needless to say, after a week of wrangling that many active kiddos from 8:30 to 12 and then going to work for the rest of the day, I was one tired mama at the end of the week. I think it's a safe bet to say that I will never, ever be a kindergarten teacher. Kudos to anyone who does that every day.

Anyway, Amelia had an absolute blast, and I hope my kids did too. Here are some pics from our week.

Pumped for her first day at VBS. This is the face I get sometimes when I ask her to say cheese. I guess we need to find a new smiley word. Notice her Bible that she insisted on bringing, and her purse that held her "heavy money" to give for her offering.

I peeked in on her class during rec time.

And during snack time

Our theme was Big Apple Adventure. These were my classroom decorations.

A firefighter brought his truck for the kids to see. This was my class.

Floating her boat with Rivers during Wonderful Wacky Wet and Wild Wednesday (or something like that)

Worn out after the last day. Clutching a Bible and the ever-present Lovie.

Getting her certificate from her teacher, Mrs. Veeva during commencement.

So glad Grammy was able to come watch her. Papa had to miss due to commitments at their church.

Amelia had an awesome week learning about the Bible and having fun. I was amazed with what she remembered about their Bible stories when she came home each day. I am so thankful for the opportunity to bring her to Vacation Bible School and that she is learning so much about Jesus at such a young age.

From my Blackberry

2011-05-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

I cleared off a couple months' worth of pics from my Blackberry today, and I thought I'd share some randoms.

Elementary school pic of myself I ran across. Bless my heart.

Easter happies I made for Mimi's friends

Easter cupcakes I made for Mimi's class party

She picked this outfit out herself. I think the red shoes add a nice touch.

I love watching her fall asleep over the monitor.

Can't watch Toy Story in bed without having all her Toy Story friends with her.

Her hair is finally long enough for a real ponytail.

Sunday lunch at Fox's pizza

Practicing my golf swing at a golf tournament my office coordinates.

"Bermilla" ice cream cone

Dang.

Never get tired of sleepy pics.

Lincoln County Carnival with Rivers

Flowers I arranged to place in memory of Cliff's mom at church

Who told her snowcones came in other colors besides white?!

Rockin at Cracker Barrel after church on Sunday

Having a drink at Glen's birthday party

I love a good side ponytail.

Picnic in the yard with the girls

Oh, just an adorable dress I made. Mimi told me she didn't like it. So mean!

Trying on a new swimsuit

Taking her baby for a stroll at my office

What she did while I was trying to get some work done while she was at my office

Some other stuff she did while hanging out with me at work

Fun at the splash park

Well, that was a whole lot of random, wasn't it? I never miss a photo op with the BB at my side!

Mother's Day

2011-05-10T14:17:00.000-07:00

I hope all my mommy friends had a great Mother's Day! I had a great day celebrating with my family. I feel so thankful to be a mother everyday, but it's nice to have a day to be celebrated and to show appreciation to my own mother.

We went to Sunday School at our church and then headed over to my parents' church to spend the day with them. I had to snap a pic of Amelia sitting like such a big girl at the front of the church listening to the children's sermon that my dad does each week. She has done this a few times recently when she has spent the night with my parents on a Saturday, but it was mine and Cliff's first time to get to see her participate. I would have taken more pics but I didn't want to look silly snapping photos during a church service, ha.

After church we went to my parents' house for lunch and then we spent some time outside playing. I know I'm always sharing pics of Mimi and my dad. I finally got one of her and my mom.

And of course I had to take one with the girl who made me a mother. I am so blessed and thankful to be her mama.

I love the necklace and cards that Cliff and Amelia gave me, but it's the handmade stuff that Mimi made at school and church that mean the most. I live for stuff like this!

Not a great pic, but I was just sitting here looking at it on my desk at work and wanted to share it with you so I snapped a pic with my cell phone. Amelia made it in Sunday School for me. What I love even more is that I was looking at her picture thinking, "What's up with her hair?" and remembered that it was taken last Sunday when I was out of town and Cliff dressed Mimi and took her to church by himself. I thought the hair looked a little off for my usual work, but not a bad job by Daddy!

As happy an occasion as Mother's Day is for me, my heart is always heavy for people like Cliff and my dad who no longer have their mothers here with them, for mothers who have lost babies and children, and for women who want desperately to be mothers but have not yet been blessed with a child. I know it's not always a happy day for everyone, and I always spend some time praying for those people.

I never want to take for granted what a gift it is to be a mother. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be Amelia's mama and my desire is to be the very best one that I can be.

Do you know that song?

2011-05-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

Do you know that song? from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

This girl cracks me up on a daily basis.

Easter

2011-05-02T12:55:00.000-07:00

I know I'm totally late on an Easter post, but I wanted to document our memories for my own sake more than anything.

We had such a fun Easter weekend this year. Amelia is at such a fun age to enjoy all the little things that go along with holidays. This year I just wanted to capture every single moment on video and in photos because I know this time is fleeting. I know it won't be long when finding candy in a plastic egg won't thrill her as much, and getting dollar store happies in her Easter basket won't have nearly the appeal as it does now.

As always, I tried to cram as much fun and family time in our few days off as I possibly could. I actually didn't wear myself out as much as I usually do, so that was a bonus.

Here are ~~just a few~~ a million pics from the weekend.

Amelia was finally old enough to enjoy coloring eggs this year. It's so fun to experience these things through her eyes now.

Amelia caught on to hunting eggs quickly and loved it this year, so we ended up going to 4 egg hunts- one at our church, one at school, one at my parents' church and one at my grandparents'.

Katie snapped this pic at the hunt at my parents' church and it makes me LOL. What other kid had an entourage of six family members cheering along at her egg hunt? The answer would be none. What can we say- she is one loved little girl!

In her Easter dress at my grandparents' after church on Sunday.

She picked up this egg, said it was dirty and threw it back down. She much preferred eggs that had candy inside. She wasn't even impressed with the one she found with a dollar in it, ha.

It was so fun playing Easter Bunny this year knowing how excited she would be about all the little things in her basket. Her reaction did not disappoint! She was so excited to see all her prizes and even broke out into all three verses of Mary Had a Little Lamb for Cliff while he was videoing her. I know that we will treasure these home videos for years to come as she grows older.

The Bunny was generous even though she wanted nothing to do with him in person. This year we didn't get Santa or Easter Bunny pics :(. Even so, he brought her a couple of DVDs (Charlotte's Web and Veggie Tales), some play dough (which she calls mato or tomato for some reason), bubbles, a swimsuit, some bracelets, new crayons and baby bottles, a lollipop, and of course peeps and a chocolate bunny.

I'm sad this is blurry. The light was dim due to the fact that she likes to wake up incredibly early on days that we can sleep in a little.

After a nutritious breakfast of bunny and lollipop, Katie came over to snap a few pics of her in her Easter dress before church. Her hair was still a little wet, but I thought these turned out so cute! As always, we are so grateful to have Katie around to document our lives with great photos!

Katie actually bought Mimi that dress last summer and she wore it once. I had another dress that I had bought at a consignment sale that I thought I'd let her wear for Easter, but after I looked at this one in the closet, it just screamed Easter to me.

And yes, I actually got a new dress too. You may recall last year that I ended up wearing the same dress as the year before due to an unforunate incident of me forgetting that I had planned to lose a few pounds to fit in it, ha.

After church, we headed to my grandparents' house to enjoy food with the family and egg hunting with all my cousins' kids. Amelia and Belle enjoyed eating together at the little table. They are only a couple of months apart in age.

I love this pic I snapped of Amelia and my dad. Those two are so crazy about each other. Daddy's eyes look so blue with his pretty blue shirt and I love how it matches Mimi's dress.

Sadly, the only pic I got of her and Grammy was this one of them running after the big girls.

Speaking of big girls, Amelia is crazy about her big cousin, Janie. Janie is so sweet and patient with her. I adore this pic!

It reminds me of how crazy I was about Janie's mama, my cousin Tess, and her younger sister, Mandy, when I was little. I thought they were so cool and wanted to be just like them. They were always sweet to me too.

Ok, that was our Easter 2011! Just for fun, I will end with these fun pics of 2009 and 2010.

It's funny that she was making pretty much the same face in those pics. It reminded me that she wasn't great about smiling for photos when I wanted her to back then. While I'm glad she finally learned what to do when a camera is in her face, I am wondering, where did that baby go? I miss her!

Mimi-isms

2011-04-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those of you who commented, texted and emailed to let me know that we are not alone in raising a SWC. It helps to realize that even though other parents might look like they have it together and have perfectly behaved children, we all share a lot of the same struggles. My Dobson books are encouraging me that we are doing the right thing in our discipline and I know that Mimi will benefit from it in the long run.

But enough about that. Today I want to share some of her recent funny quotes. Everything that comes out of her mouth these days makes me laugh, but I am bad about remembering to write them down. When she isn't being terrible, she really is so sweet and funny and cute.

Me: "Amelia, you need to go put baby Allison back in her bed in your room." Mimi: "But she's not sleepy, Mama."
The other day I was calling to Amelia from another room. She couldn't understand what I said and instead of just coming to me she shouted, "What you telling about, Mama?"

This doesn't look like a girl that could be sassy, does it?

calls her Mrs. Potato Head "Mashed Potato Head."

sees a bird in the yard and grabs a blade of grass in her hands and holds it out saying, "Here, sweetie, sweetie. Come here, little sweetie." What?!

loves to dance around in the yard flapping her arms around and jumping and calls it her "Happy Dance." She also encourages everyone around her to do the happy dance. My parents are especially good at the happy dance.

She talks to her baby dolls as if they are real people. When she's bringing them from one room to another with her she says, "Come on, girls." She had them in the bathroom with her while she was on the potty the other day and when she was done said, "I need to get these girls off this nasty floor!" LOL. Now, I don't have the cleanest bathroom ever, but I wouldn't call the floor nasty. I'm sure she's heard me saying to her in a public place to get off that nasty floor, or don't eat something off the nasty floor, ha.

She's big on saying "each one" right now. i.e. "Each one of these babies can't come to school with me." "I ate each one of my Tinkerbell dummies (gummies)."
She's so obsessed with junk food, and I really do try to limit how much of it she eats. This was obvious the other day when I was cooking supper and had a yummy poppyseed chicken casserole in the oven and she walked in the kitchen and said, "I smell chips!" I'm like, "Um, no, you smell actual food cooking." Maybe I need to cook more often...

I know there are so many more that I can't remember right now. I love that funny little girl. I will post more as I remember more Mimi-isms.

The Strong-Willed Child

2011-04-05T12:50:00.000-07:00

Our sweet girl may look just like her Daddy....

...but her personality is all me. Yikes!

Yes, we have a Strong-Willed Child (SWC) on our hands. She is sassy and dramatic, and if something is not her idea, she is not interested in it. Do not even think about asking her to do something she doesn't want to do, or say something she doesn't want to say (i.e. "I'm sorry" or "Yes, 'mam") without a struggle. We have had some dramatic days recently with this girl. Sometimes I'm at a loss for what to do with her. We want her to be obedient, kind and respectful, and we are doing our best to be consistent with our discipline. Surely that has to pay off soon.

We've tried some different methods on our own, but it's time for some reinforcements. I have this on its way to me as I type:

And my friend Allison (mother of four) loaned me this one:

Dr. Dobson is a renowned parenting expert, and is sure to have some solid advice for us as we attempt to get our toddler under control before she turns into a Strong-Willed Teenager. Rumor has it that my own parents purchased his books years ago when they were raising a SWC of their own. I am aware that I deserve each and every trial we face with our girl.

On the bright side, having a strong will isn't always such a bad thing. I like to think that my strong-willed personality kept me from being a crowd-follower and led to some good decisions in life, and I would hope that Mimi's inherited traits will equip her to be a good decision-maker as well.

But in the meantime, your prayers are appreciated as we try to be tough and consistent with our little drama queen! Luckily for us all, when she isn't throwing a fit or refusing to be obedient, she sure is sweet and cute.

Spring Break

2011-03-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Warning: Ridiculous amount of photos

What a busy and fun spring break we had! Cliff had to spend the week in Kansas at the national basketball tournament again this year, and Amelia and I stayed behind. We thought about going with him, but the 17-hour bus ride just would have been too much for Mimi (and her parents. and the bus driver. and the team.) I had plans for a trip to New Orleans to spend a couple of days and take Mimi to the zoo and the aquarium and was bummed when I found out we wouldn't be able to do that. (Of course, still happy for Cliff, Coach Young and the Lady Wolves, but two spring breaks in a row? Dang!)

Since Cliff had to leave on the Saturday night before spring break and wouldn't return until the following Sunday, he suggested we at least go to the zoo on Saturday before he left. We had such a great time! It was actually Amelia's first real zoo visit, if you don't count the little Hattiesburg zoo, which I do not, since hello, no monkeys, giraffes or elephants.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from our fun day at the Audobon Zoo. We all had a great time.

To avoid sitting around and being sad about missing Daddy the rest of the week, Amelia and I decided to pack as much fun into our spring break as possible. This meant lots of fun and great photos, but one exhausted mama when it was all over. But that's ok. One day I will have an empty house and plenty of time to rest and clean and organize my closets. Right now, I am going to choose fun with Mimi every time.

Just a little swinging after church in her smocked dress. She cried when I made her change out of it later.

Fun day at the Children's Museum with Pailyn

We spent some time in Hattiesburg with Aunt Mare and Uncle Justin, and went to Gattitown for a another carousel ride. I discovered a few months ago that a carousel is probably the only thing in life Amelia loves more than swinging.

Then we went to my parents' for a couple of days, and Amelia enjoyed hanging out with Grammy and Papa and helped Papa add some landscaping around the new playhouse he built for her. Well, it's hers for now, but her new baby cousin will be here in a few months and then she will have to share it! (Can you all just start praying about that whole situation now? Ha!)

Isn't it awesome? If you know my daddy, you know that he doesn't just build any old playhouse. It has fancy windows, ceramic tile and electricity, and will soon have running water and a TV that will be hooked up to their satellite. I wouldn't mind living in the playhouse, ha! I will share more photos of the inside when it's all complete.

There's a swingset on the back that Daddy built for us when we were little. I was pretty fond of swinging myself, and it's so fun to see Mimi enjoying something I played on as a child. Papa has re-painted it bright red and is planning to add some new swings to it soon.

Walking in the woods with Papa is one of her fave things to do at their house.

We finished off our week with a visit to Laurel with Katie to see Mimi's great grandmother, Nana. She had a great time, but sadly, I failed to take any photos. I don't know what I was thinking. Then we attended a fun birthday party on Saturday, which I will be sharing some cute photos of as soon as Katie puts them on facebook for me to steal, ha.

Finally, Sunday morning came and we had to go pick up Daddy! He was glad to get home to his girls and we were glad to have him back. They have been loving on each other and catching up ever since, and I have enjoyed getting to take a bath in peace. We made the most out of our spring break this year, but we're hoping next year Daddy will be able to join us.

Trike-a-Thon

2011-03-17T16:30:00.000-07:00

Amelia wanted me to thank everyone who contributed to the St. Jude's Trike-a-Thon at Co-Lin. She had a great time riding her trike with her friends, and her pre-school raised money for St. Jude. I haven't heard a total yet, but the last couple of years they have raised over $3000. Thanks again to everyone who helped make it a success!

St. Jude's Trike-a-Thon

2011-02-28T11:30:00.000-08:00

It's time again for what has become a fun tradition in our family. Amelia and her classmates at Co-Lin's pre-school are getting ready to particpate in the annual trike-a-thon to benefit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Last year, Amelia raised over $300 and helped her school to raise over $3300 for the hospital. I hope you will help us raise funds for them again this year.

I can't say enough about St. Jude and what a worthy cause it is. They are the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. They never turn a sick child away if the family is unable to pay. They are also a research hospital, and our money goes to support efforts to find cures for the terrible diseases that affect so many children and their families each year.

I wrote about this last year here and the year before here. This year, we have a special interest in helping because someone we know is currently receiving treatment at St. Jude. Cliff has known Maggie and her family all her life, and she was in his class when he taught at BHS. Please keep Maggie and her family in your prayers.

I am also looking forward to this year's event because Amelia is finally old enough to ride her trike, rather than be pushed in a stroller or wagon like in years past. I know she still isn't old enough to fully understand what we're doing, but she can understand that we are riding our trikes and saving our "monies" to help kids who don't feel good. I love that she is learning from an early age how important it is to think of others above ourselves. We have been so blessed to have a healthy child, and I thank God for that every day.

If you'd like to make a donation, please send it to:
Copiah-Lincoln Community College
Attn:Angela Furr
PO Box 649
Wesson, MS 39191

or send me an email at angela.furr@colin.edu to let me know that you are willing to give, and Amelia and I will personally come by to pick up your donation. No amount is too small! I will also be happy to send you a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you are out of town. Thank you in advance for your continued support of this worthy cause!

State Champs!

2011-02-25T08:44:00.000-08:00

Basketball season is a trying time for our family. Cliff's gone almost every night for about 5 months out of the year. He gets in late most nights, usually after Amelia and I are asleep. If he's not traveling to away games, he's out at high school games all over the state and Louisiana looking for players for next year. We try to make it to most of the home games, but being out late is hard on a 2-year-old and her mama. (And her teachers the next day). This year has been particularly hard on Cliff because now Mimi is old enough to really miss him when he's not around. We try to make the most of any off time he has for them to spend together and Mimi spends quite a bit of time running around the gym visiting Daddy whenever she can. (She kind of thinks she owns the place).

MACJC State Champs

That's why when the season ends with a golden trophy, we all feel a little like we've earned it.

Yay for Daddy and the Lady Wolves!

What's your name?

2011-02-20T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am aware that the majority of my Mimi videos are of her in the bathtub. It just happens that it's the one place I can catch her still enough to capture her singing or doing something I want to remember on video. I have lots more fun clips of her with real clothes on, but I just had to share this one of her saying her name, plus mine and Cliff's (as well as other random chatter).

What's your name? from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again- kids make every holiday more fun! Here's a few comparison shots of Mimi from the past two Valentine's Days. I miss that sweet baby!

2009

2010

2011

Blackberry pic of her playing outside yesterday.

Posing with Daddy before church.

Cliff was festive in his pink shirt that I had bought him to wear to the breast cancer awareness night at the ballgame. Perfect for Valentine's!

Happy Heart Day!

The latest on the princess

2011-02-10T10:17:00.000-08:00

In an attempt to get over myself and my dreary weather-induced grouchy mood, I thought I'd do a little Mimi update. We've both been under the weather and have been laying pretty low for the last couple of weeks so I've barely taken any photos. But for Uncle Chris' sake, and for my own memories, here's what Amelia is up to at two years and four months old (some pics were snapped with my phone, so not great quality):

She's totally potty trained- Yay! We had been working on it casually since the fall, and she was doing pretty good when I would take her to potty, but not great at telling me when she had to go on her own. One weekend I got serious and decided we were going to knock it out, and we did. I wouldn't call the whole thing an easy process, but when her stubborn little self decided she was really ready, she was done with diapers and pull-ups for good. Very few accidents since then, and she even wears her big girl panties through the night. Such a big milestone for our big girl!

Quick snap before church with her purse. Mama doesn't have to carry a diaper bag anymore!

Her behavior is improving. Can I get an amen? She still has her set-backs here and there, but I have to say, along with being more independant with going potty, she has been throwing fewer tantrums and seems to be minding so much better. I will enjoy these small victories while we have them, but I'm not patting myself on the back just yet. I hear age three is worse than two.

Meltdown in the kitchen during one of her "setbacks"

She has started naming her baby dolls and it is so precious. Before, every baby's name was just "Baby." Now all of a sudden she is giving them names. Her favorites are baby Audrey and baby Annalee (annawee). I have no idea where she came up with them, as we don't know anyone with these names, and I don't think I've heard them on any TV shows that she's watched. She did name one of her dolls Gracie Sherman, after a girl in her class. But I haven't heard her call that doll by that name since then. Audrey and Annawee are in the main rotation right now. My favorite is when all of a sudden she'll say, "Oh, I hear baby Audrey crying! I better go get her." And she'll run to her room, or wherever to get her. She holds her so sweet and snuggles her. I love that she has an active imagination.

A happy day in the kitchen while Mama cooks. Baby Gracie Sherman is beside her.

She is still saying more hilarious things every day. I've got to do a better job at writing them down between blog posts. Yesterday she told me, "You look cute, Mama!" and later, "I wike your curly hair." She will also say, "Iwuvyousomuch" really fast, and in a sing/song voice. So sweet. She told me the other day when I came to get her after spending the night at my parents' house, "I'm so glad you're here, Mama." Melted me! Then of course she lost it when she realized she actually had to come home. She has always had a strong opinion about her wardrobe, but lately she has just been tickled to death over how cute she looks. She'll say, "My pants are so cute!" or "Don't I look bootiful in my dress, Daddy?" Right now we just laugh and tell her how bootiful she is. We'll work on inner beauty when she's a little older.

Leaving Pailyn's 2nd birthday party a couple of weeks ago

She's still obsessed with politeness. Always please, thank you, you're welcome, and of course bless you after you sneeze, cough, clear your throat, whatever. She will yell it from wherever she is if she hears you. She went to church with my parents last Sunday and my dad leads the music. He sneezed while up on stage and she yelled out, "Bless you, Papa!" I know he loved it, and the whole church got a kick out of it. She also tells people to be careful as they are leaving our house.

Monster face at Pay's party

Her favorite food right now is grits (grips), and that is about the only thing she eats very much of at all. She will eat a bite of a chicken "wugget" and some "inch fries" here and there, but she still eats like a bird most of the time.

That's about it for what's going on with us right now. Lots of playing indoors, going to school, church and Daddy's basketball games, and wishing the weather would warm up so we can play outside!

Dream come true

2011-01-24T08:02:00.000-08:00

If you know me at all, you know that I am a little bit obsessed with party planning. Well, the ultimate has happened for me. Ok, I am setting this up to be something so huge, and I realize that most of you will think it is so silly, ha!

My big news is that Amelia's 2nd birthday party has been featured by The TomKat Studio, a wildly popular party planning blog! She is the next big thing in party planning, so of course I am a huge fan. I've been following her for a couple of years and have gotten tons of ideas and party inspiration from her. She's been featured by the fabulous Amy Atlas, and even Martha. Yes, Martha. Y'all know I want to be Martha when I grow up (minus that whole white collar crime/jail thing).

Check out Mimi's cute face on the TomKat studio's blog here! Such an exciting day for a nerd like me!

Playdate

2011-01-19T08:39:00.000-08:00

Last week we got a day off due to the ice storm, and this week we had MLK day. Have I mentioned lately how much I love working for a college? The only thing I love more than a four-day work week is Spring Break, and the only thing I love more than that is Christmas break. Sadly, I do have to work in the summer, so don't hate me too much. Also, our government hates us. So there's that.

Anyway, we filled our three-day weekend with as much fun as possible, and ended it up with a playdate with Pailyn. We finally had weather that allowed us to play outside and the girls had a blast.

(I swiped all these photos from Lindey from Facebook.)

I just realized from looking at their grim faces in these photos, that it looks kind of like we forced them to play, ha. Contrary to no smiles for the pics, they did have a great time playing together, and we love that we have stuff to play with in the backyard now, thanks to all Mimi's Christmas gifts. I hope you're not tired of swingset pics, because we LOVE playing on it and I have a feeling this is not the end of swing photos.

Now that the holidays are over, we're ready to fast forward to springtime and warmer weather. Looking forward to more outside playtime and playdates with friends!

She's got moves you've never seen

2011-01-14T07:14:00.000-08:00

I don't think I've mentioned here before what a performer Amelia is. At home, she never stops singing and talking. If there are adults in the room that are talking amongst themselves and not noticing her, she immediately thinks she needs to climb up on a table and start performing something so that everyone will look at her. I didn't have high expectations for her to participate with the Wolf Pups at the game last night since she's been terrified of the wolf all year, but lately she has just been such a ham, I thought she might actually do it. I told her about it and she has been talking about it all week. She was pumped to say the last. At their practice (when the mascot was not in his costume) she danced and giggled the whole time. Loved it. But when show time came (and he had that costume on)...

Wolfpups "performance" from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

...she FROZE. Bless her little heart, she was terrified. Of course we all died laughing, as any compassionate family members would. Fun times. The second it was over she ran into my arms.

Here are a few other pics I got of her and Daddy before the game.

Maybe she will be an athlete one day if this singing and dancing thing doesn't work out.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, I have 3 words: NO MORE DIAPERS! Yay!

MimiTV

2011-01-06T20:40:00.000-08:00

Amelia is in love with her swingset already, but one thing that we are getting used to is hanging out in the backyard with Cash, our rambunctious 4-year-old lab who still has a lot of puppy in him. Amelia has liked playing with him through the fence, but hasn't been a big fan of getting up close and personal with him. Until now, we've mostly played in the front yard because of that, and also we didn't really have anything to play with in the back yard. I had hoped the swingset would not only give us something to do in the backyard, but also get Amelia used to being around Cash up close without being scared.

Yesterday after school we played on the swingset until it got dark (which sadly was less than an hour. I hate when we aren't in daylight savings time. Is there a name for what we are in now? A quick internet search produced no answers for me.) and as I tried to get some video of her swinging, it turned into more video of her shooing Cash away. Surely they will be BFFs soon.

Swingin from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Don't feel sad for her. I am not trying to torture her. But hello, we've had her for two years and the dog for four. It's time they got to know each other.

(Insert Let Mimi Swing video)

I also was able to catch Amelia "reading" one of her favorite books, Princess Baby last night. We realized a month or so ago that there are a couple of books that she can actually quote from memory. She will be sitting there flipping through and actually saying the words on the pages they appear on. I remember doing this with a few books as a child, Cinderella in particular, but I'm sure I was much older than Mimi is now. We are so amazed at how much she remembers. I've been wanting to catch it on video, but of course she always refuses to perform when I want her to. I caught a little of it last night, although it wasn't quite as verbatim as she usually does it. Pinkalicious is her other fave book right now that she pretty much knows by heart, so hopefully I'll be able to capture her "reading" that one to us soon.

Princess Baby from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Funny Girl

2011-01-05T08:09:00.000-08:00

Parenting a toddler is very challenging. It's almost impossible to reason with them (at least my kid anyway), their attention spans are incredibly short, they are very self-centered (at least my kid anyway), and tantrums are their way of showing their displeasure. Discipline is all about being consistent, and some kids catch on quicker than others. Mine is one of the stubborn ones, Lord help me. However, I think God knew parents of toddlers would need something to break up the difficulty, and that's why he enabled them to begin talking.

I prayed for a funny child. Of course, I prayed that she'd be healthy, first and foremost. Then of course, I hoped she'd be cute, but after that I prayed that she'd be funny. You know some kids are not, and I was really hoping we'd get a funny child. Well, we did. And I am thankful to God for the funny moments that help me keep my sanity when I just want to pull my hair out. Here's just a few snippets of converstaions that have gone on in our house in recent weeks:

"Mama, where's your make-up?" - upon waking up and seeing that I had clothes on and my hair done, but had not yet put on make-up. Ouch.
"You drive your car."- Amelia's distraction technique when Cliff or I notice her doing something in the back seat that she shouldn't. For me, it was when she was smashing a cookie into a million pieces by banging it on the window. When I caught her and told her to stop, she said, "You drive your car." She's tried this same technique when I've been on the computer or watching TV and catch her doing something. She'll say, "You watch that." In other words, "Don't worry about what I've got going on here. You just do what you're doing." That girl!

"Mama, you look like an angel."- after seeing a photo of me in my wedding dress. Guess she was trying to suck up after the make-up comment.
"Mama, your belly's sticking out."- after a big pasta supper. Ouch again.
"I need to get in the corner!" - after getting in trouble for something. Yes, she likes to go to the corner to pout. We've got to get a new time-out spot. She also NEEDS everything. "I need to go outside and play." "I need to get some more books." "I need a cookie."
"I need some breakfast." - she asks for a snack or breakfast at random times of the day and they mean different things to her. I think a snack means goldfish crackers and breakfast means a cereal bar, even though she has many other things other than a cereal bar for breakfast and other snacks other than goldfish.

"Bite my butt!" - not what you're thinking. She can't say her 'f' sounds very well and she usually substitues 'f' words with the 'b' sound. She likes for us to nibble on her toes or tickle her feet and she'll say, "Bite my butt!" or "Tickle my butt!" That one was a riot at all the family holiday gatherings. She is starting to finally say 'foot,' so that joke will end soon. I did paint her toenails the other day and she said, "Oh, my butt looks so pretty!" Ha!
"Yes my are!"- When I tell her she doesn't NEED to get a snack right before supper. Or when I tell her she can't watch another episode of Dora. That kind of back talk would warrant a spanking if it didn't make me laugh every time she says it.
"I wike that song!"- to Cliff when he's driving and the "Thong Song" comes on (from the CD box set my friend Josh made in honor of our 10-year reunion. Just to clarify. It's not like that song comes on often or that we would choose to listen to it, although you know you know all the words.)
"I sing it!"- when she is singing something and we try to sing along with her. She doesn't like sharing the spotlight.

I know there have been many, many more funny Mimi moments recently, but those are the main ones that come to mind. I've got to do better about recording them because this kid cracks me up!

Sewing

2011-01-01T14:09:00.000-08:00

I haven't made a real New Year's resolution in a long time, because I just beat myself up too badly when I don't keep them. But one goal that I've had for a very long time has been to learn to sew, and I am excited to say that in 2010, I finally accomplished this goal! Now, if only I had time to actually use my new skills as much as I would like...

My favorite thing I've learned to do is applique, and I wanted to share a few of my projects that I've done over the last few weeks. I adore being able to give handmade, personalized gifts to people, and I was excited to get to do that this Christmas.

I made these little Christmas tree shirts for my cousin, Tess' little girls, and I was so excited to see them wear them on Christmas Eve. I thought they looked so cute in them. I also made the matching bows in their hair, but you can't really see them in this pic.

I appliqued these initials on blankets as gifts for Amelia's Sunday School teachers. You have no idea how hard that O was to do, and how proud I was of the finished product!

Blurry cell phone pic of an initial shirt I did for Mimi

One of my very favorite things to do are sweet little baby gifts, and I did these onesies for some friends' baby boy a few weeks ago. I can't wait to see him in them!

I have done a lot more sewing, but these are the few things I've thought to take photos of. I may start sharing more things that I make here since it's fun for me to look back on things that I post. I love having crafty hobbies!

Christmas- Part Two

2011-01-01T13:50:00.000-08:00

Since it is New Year's Day, I guess I will finally get around to posting about the rest of our Christmas! I left off with Cliff and my Dad working into the evening to finish the swingset, and now I'll let the pictures tell the story of our third Christmas morning (and by far most fun so far) with our sweet girl.

Warning: Photo overload!

Checking out what Santa left in her stocking. She was so excited about the little happies and candy, little did she know what else was in store!

Opening a few gifts from Mama and Daddy and Chris and Kaki. They stayed with us for a week and Mimi had so much fun with them (and I think they had a little fun too!) Katie also came over with gifts and her camera to capture some memories.

Santa liked our cookies!

Thanking Kaki and Chris for all her presents

Finally going outside to see what Santa left for her!

Her reaction was priceless! That thing paid for itself within 5 minutes.

Resting up on the way to Grammy and Papa's on Christmas night.

Sadly, this is where I was just too tired to take any more photos. But we had a great time, and Mimi RACKED UP on so many more gifts, including a Barbie Jeep from Aunt Mare and Uncle Justin, a vanity from Uncle Jeremy, a tricycle from Uncle Josh and an art easel and a precious newborn baby doll from Grammy and Papa that she has now named baby Audrey. I have no idea where she got that name.

The weather was so cold that it was a couple of days before we were able to really get out and enjoy the swingset, but when she finally was able to, she has had a ball!

I also finally invested in a new camera after Christmas, and it is much quicker than my old one about catching those smiles from Mimi.

Modeling one of her new gifts from Mama and Daddy, a monster towel.

Isn't she scary?

A few days after Christmas, we drove over to Laurel to visit Cliff's grandmother and Amelia was so sweet to her. She really did well at all the family gatherings and was so loving and performed all her tricks for them, ha.

Later that night, we celebrated Papaw Fred's 82nd birthday. At every family gathering besides at my grandparents' on Christmas Eve, Amelia has been the only little one, so you can imagine that she was the center of attention. She loved it all and everyone enjoyed getting to play with her. She was SUCH a ham on this night for everyone.

We are SO blessed to have so many people who love us and our little girl. We don't take a single bit of it for granted. Of course, the ridiculous number of gifts she received is appreciated and she loves them all, but the love that all of our family has for her is just priceless. We had such a fun Christmas and an amazing year, and we are looking forward to what God has in store for our family in the coming year!

"The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy!"

Psalms 126:3

Christmas- Part One

2010-12-30T07:21:00.000-08:00

This Christmas goes down as one of the highlights of my life so far. I am not exaggerating. Our first Christmas with Amelia was so special because we had our brand new baby girl with us to celebrate. Then, last year was fun because she had just turned one and all she really cared about was playing with the wrapping paper and boxes. But this year was all about the excitement!

The excitement had been building since Santa came to visit Amelia's pre-school class and brought her a baby doll. We had been talking about how Santa was going to come and bring more presents on Christmas. We even tried to meet him and have our photo taken with him a couple of weeks ago with Lindey and Pay, but I made the mistake of renting one of those strollers that looks like a car when we got to the mall and Amelia refused to get out of it. I was so over her for that! But what can you do?

We've been home for the last couple of weeks, we have been shopping, wrapping gifts, cooking and playing. We've also been talking a lot about Jesus and his birthday and Santa and the gifts he would bring. Amelia has almost "gotten it" this year. I'm looking forward to using these things even more next year as leverage for good behavior. She didn't quite catch on to "he's making a list and checking it twice" this year, but next year hopefully I'll be able to use this to my advantage.

Enough chatter, on to the pics!
Amelia, as always, had an extensive holiday wardrobe to squeeze into a few days. I know we are ridiculous, but what can I say? I just love her in red, and I never met a polka dot tight I didn't love. I appliqued this little Christmas tree shirt for her and I thought she looked so precious in it.

I was excited to start some fun traditions this year now that Amelia is old enough to participate, including making cookies for Santa. Mimi was pretty pumped to get to help in the kitchen.

The sprinkles were her favorite. She carried them all around the grocery store with her and couldn't wait to put them on the cookies.

On Christmas Eve morning, Papa came over to help You Know Who build the You Know What, and we happened to have his birthday gift waiting for him. Mimi was generous to help him open it. We try to always make sure Papa has a special birthday even though it is on Christmas Eve.

Even though I didn't take a pic of it, he loved his new coffee mug with a collage of photos of him and Mimi to add to his collection. Funny sidenote: My dad is a huge coffee drinker. He drinks it all day every day, even when he's working outside in 100 degree weather. Last year, I thought it would be cute to get him a mug with Mimi's pic on it to enjoy while he drank his coffee. And I was right, he loved it. He loved it so much, in fact, that it is placed in a prime position on the mantle at my parents' house, lol.

Later on that day, we went to my grandparents' house for lunch. Amelia enjoyed playing with family, and especially enjoyed playing in this giant gift bag. Guess Santa could have saved some cash and just gotten her a few of those.

This pictures aren't fabulous, but they are special to me because I love having photos of Mimi with her great grandparents. These are my mom's parents, the only grandparents I still have living.

After lunch, my dad came back over to give Cliff a hand, who had to miss lunch because he was still working on the swingset. Bless his heart, he worked so hard! They worked until after it got dark on Christmas Eve, but it was all worth it to see Mimi's face on Christmas morning...

...which is where I will pick up on the next post! We've got a lot of playing to do and not a lot of time to blog, so I'll finish this later.

I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus

2010-12-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

Sunday afternoon, we went to the first birthday party for our friends, Chad and Anna's sweet little Lily. It was a Winter "One"derland theme, and it featured Santa Claus as a special guest. We had been trying to get Amelia pumped up to see Santa, and she actually did get kind of excited, until he started saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho!"

That's when she realized that it wasn't really Santa; it was her daddy! And of course she announced to everyone at the party, "It's Cliff!" Ha! Sometimes she calls him Cliff and I think it is hilarious. Cliff isn't a huge fan of it. I'm sure it's because she hears me call him that. Mare used to call our dad "Honey" when she was little because that's what my mom called him. I love stuff like that.

We had a great time at the party, and Cliff made an awesome Santa Claus. We'll be able to see how Amelia feels about the REAL Santa Claus, when we go to meet him Friday with Lindey and Pay. Photos to come!

(PTL that all my work projects are done for a while, and I am free to blog again!)

Star of the show

2010-12-13T08:25:00.000-08:00

My friend, Erin posted this on Facebook and I just had to share. Amelia isn't quite old enough to participate in the "Righteous Rockers" children's choir at church yet, but she is in Sunday School with some of the kids. When they performed one of their songs from their Christmas musical in church yesterday, her teachers asked if Amelia could perform with them. I wasn't sure how she would do, but we gave it a shot. She actually stood up there the whole time like such a big girl! She didn't sing or clap, but in her defense, she had never heard the song. I'm sure she was wondering what the heck she was doing up there, ha.

Erin's little boy is the one in the sweater vest dancing around. It makes me laugh every time I watch it. Mimi is on the front row in the red dress. She's the one standing there not doing anything, ha. Oh, but I was so proud! I was just grinning and clapping as if she was the star of the show. Can't wait to see her particpate next year. Things like this just show how much my life has changed that this kind of thing is what excites me the most!

Edited to add: For some reason, the formatting on the blog cuts Mimi off, so maybe you can see her if you look at it on Erin's facebook here, or your can just imagine that this is what she looked like in the video:

since like I said, she basically stood there and did nothing. But it made this mama proud!

Playing catch-up

2010-12-09T07:55:00.001-08:00

Oh, I am so over myself for letting a month go by without blogging! This time of year is so crazy busy for everyone, and especially for us since it's basketball season and Cliff is gone a lot. I have been using most of my Mimi-free time to do chores or work on my newest hobby, sewing.

But here I am today with a re-cap of some of the things we've been up to lately, for my memory's sake, more than anything else since these photos have already been shared with most of you on facebook.

We've spent some time at one of our favorite places, Kids Kingdom.

We had a Mama/Mimi morning out with breakfast at Cracker Barrel with just the two of us and her dolls followed by a stop at the park.

Don't tell her, but word on the street is Santa is getting her a swingset. She is going to DIE over it. Swings are her very favorite thing in the world.

We've gone to birthday parties,

out to lunch with Papaw Bob and Joyce after church

and decorated a pink tree of her very own for her room.

Last week we enjoyed one of our favorite holiday traditions, the Brookhaven Christmas parade. We live close to downtown, so it's fun to walk down with Amelia in the wagon. We went with our neighbors/friends, the Hutsons, and Amelia got to play with one of her favorite people, Elizabeth (wiza-bet). Mimi's other fave big girl, Emory was walking in the parade with her gymnastics group.

I have loved her in a lot of outfits over the past two years, but I don't think I've ever loved her more than in that hat that Aunt Kaki knitted for her with her peacoat, sweater dress, tights and boots. It was just too much! We had a ball at the parade even though it was freezing. Mimi loved getting to play with her friends, watching the floats and bands, and picking up candy. She stayed up until 11 that night and only gave it up when Katie offered to drive her around the neighborhood! We will not be making of habit of letting her eat suckers at 8:30 at night.

That's just a little taste of what's been keeping us so busy. Work is dying down, and we're almost out for Christmas break. I promise to be back to better blogging (oh I heart alliteration) in the very near future!

A star in the making

2010-11-07T13:30:00.000-08:00

I captured some videos of Amelia singing some of her favorite songs last night. She is constantly singing something. I have to admit that even though it's precious, it does get a little annoying sometimes, especially when it's time to go to bed and we no longer have the paci to put a cork in it, ha.

Singing from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Singing in the tub from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Maybe I'm a little biased, but I think there's some natural talent there. The next Carrie Underwood, perhaps?

Halloween

2010-11-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

We had such a fun time with Amelia on Halloween this year! I think having a child really makes every holiday more fun. Of course on Halloween, it's all about the costume. And this year, I decided to be a little less frilly than I normally am and we decided on Wonder Woman!

Doesn't she look like such a ham? If only you had seen us trying to actually get her in the costume. I wasn't even sure if she would wear it since she wouldn't even let me try it on her in the weeks leading up to Halloween. But being the crafty parents we are, we took her over to her pals, Ella and Lily's house and once she saw them all dressed up (and we bribed her with getting to swing on their swingset), she happily put on the rest of the custume. Whatever it takes, y'all.

After stopping at the Smiths' to see the girls, we stopped on Becker street to see some of our other favorite girls dressed up. How cute are all these girls?

After those stops, we headed over to our church's fall festival and trunk or treat. Amelia got a little taste of trick or treating the day before at school when all the kids from the daycare got to trick or treat around campus. I got to walk with her and she LOVED it. Once she realized saying "Trick or Treat" meant getting candy, she was all over it. (To her dismay, we gave away most of her candy at the church the next night, after a little taste testing of course. You know, to make sure it was safe.)

I love this pic Katie took of her that shows just how excited she was to get candy. (As usual, all of the photos in this post were taken by her. My camera is still broken and I haven't replaced it. Boo. Let me know if anyone wants to buy me one for Christmas.)

And then, after she got candy, she'd start digging around in her bag to get a taste.

That girl ate more candy that weekend than she has in her entire life! We all had a ball. Now, we are looking forward to the holiday season coming up. I can't believe it is that time already. I adore Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for this year. I have a feeling Christmas is going to be a lot of fun this year too!

Amelia's Milk and Cookies Party

2010-10-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

I have finally recovered from the party enough to blog about it and post some more photos! When I was trying to come up with a follow-up to the first birthday party, I looked at lots of my fave party blogs for inspiration. After coming across these adorable parties, I just thought milk and cookies would be a perfect fall party for a two year old. Who doesn't love milk and cookies, right? I knew that I wanted to give our party a more colorful spin than the ones I had seen in blogland.

And colorful it was!

I'll keep the commentary to a minimum and just let the fab photos by my friend Lindey speak for themselves.

I have to give credit for the adorable tiered trays. I saw the idea here and just knew they'd be perfect for our party. I added a coat of a food-safe sealant I found at Home Depot so I could serve cookies on them without killing our guests.

I made the cookies pops myself. It took forever, but I just didn't want to pay what they were selling for elsewhere. It was fun learning some new tricks. It was my first time to work with royal icing and I was pleased with how they turned out. I just love the internet for teaching me so many new things and providing so many great ideas!

The banner, cupcake toppers, favor tags and all other paper goods were courtesy of one of my favorite party girls, Kim at the TomKat studio. Back in the summer when I started planning, I posted on her facebook wall hoping one of her fans might know where I could find a cute cookies and milk invitation. To my surprise and delight, Kim contacted me herself and said she had been dying to design a collection around this theme. I was so pleased with how it all turned out.

I loved using some of the photos Lindey took of Amelia this year along with the fun storyboard she made from the invitation photo shoot to decorate the food table.

There were several disasters on party day and the days leading up to the party that led to much stress for me, but luckily most of the guests never knew the difference. And even though the cake fell apart on the drive to the party, I was able to save the top tier and the birthday girl didn't seem to mind.

She loved opening her gifts! Well, for a while, anyway. She wasn't a fan of some of her guests getting in her personal space and touching her stuff and she may or may not have bitten one of them and had to have a time out. Sorry again, Pay!

While lots of things didn't go according to what I had planned, we still had a great party and we had fun celebrating with lots of our friends and family. Thanks again to everyone who came and to everyone who helped make yet another over the top party happen for this cute girl!

I am already saying I am going to scale it down next year, but some people are saying they will have to see it to believe it, ha. We shall see in a year!

And because I always wish others would share on their party posts:

Sources:

Amelia's shirt: Addy Reece Boutique

pettiskirt: Patiecakes

paper straws: CDK designs

banner, cupcake toppers, cake topper, favor tags, cookie jar labels: The TomKat Studio

polka dot baloons: Polka Dot Market

large milk bottles: Crate and Barrel (I have since seen them at Wal-Mart)

small milk bottles: reused Starbucks frappucino bottles

photography: lindeymageephotography

Two.

2010-10-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

More party pics coming soon (promise), but today I wanted to bring back the old bullet point list about what Amelia is up to these days for memory's sake. At two years old, Amelia:

talks ALL.THE.TIME. Seriously, she never shuts up. She has gone from saying a few real words here and there to speaking in full sentences most of the time. She is able to repeat anything we say, and usually only has to hear a word one time to remember it. For example, the other day I told her the trash smelled disgusting and then she said it a million times. We laugh at something she has said every single day. The other day she told her baby, "Bless your heart," lol. She also says "Oh my goodness" all the time and our current favorite thing she says all the time is "What you doin?" She will ask you what you are doing all day every day and continue to ask you even after you tell her what you're doing over and over again.

sings any time she is not talking. I'm not kidding, she is never, ever quiet. She loves to sing and is very quick to learn new songs. Her favorites are E-I-E-I-O (Old MacDonald had a farm), Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABC song, Ba Ba Black Sheep, Jesus Loves Me, The Wheels on the Bus, 5 Little Monkeys, If you're happy and you know it, B-I-N-G-O, and the Jack Johnson songs on the Curious George soundtrack. She will try to sing along even if she doesn't know the song.
is still working on potty training. She wears pull ups during the day and goes on the potty sometimes, but she has lost interest in telling us she needs to go recently so we're kind of taking a break before going full force again. I hope she will be fully potty trained in the next couple of months.
can say her ABCs, count to around 16 and knows most of her colors. She tries to trick us and say everything is pink when we ask her, but she really does know most of them. She also asks, "What color is it?" all the time and I think it sounds so precious.
loves to swing more than anything in the world.

still loves to read books. Her teacher says the first thing she does when she gets to school is goes and gets a book and goes to a chair to read. I love that she loves to read.
also enjoys playing with puzzles and baby dolls, cooking on her play kitchen, having tea parties and coloring.
still thinks there's nothing better on TV than Dora, but we are kind of over her and are trying to get her interested in new things. She also likes the Backyardigans and Sesame Street.
is very opinionated about what she wears. We have battles every morning before school when she doesn't want to wear what I have laid out for her. She prefers dresses and HATES pants. I know. I have created a monster.

throws a good ole fit every chance she gets. I have no idea how to stop this. We have tried time out and spanking, ignoring, etc. I guess it's just her age. She has frequent meltdowns when something doesn't go her way.
still doesn't eat very much, but she seems to be getting a little better. She has become a fan of the chicken nugget, so that's at least some kind of protein she'll eat.
wears 24 months or 2T clothes and a size 6 or 7 shoe. She can still wear smaller sizes in dresses and skirts and we are even doing some 12 months dresses from last year over leggings as tops.
loves to go to school and church. She loves her friends and can name them all by first and last name. It is so cute when she says, "There's Joy Leggett!" or "That's Braxton Orr's mama!" Love that. She can also say Amilla Kate Shurr when we ask her what her name is. She has problems with her "f" sounds and says "sh."

Year two has flown by even faster than the first year, it seems. It has brought new parenting challenges, but even more joy than we thought possible as we have gotten to know this precocious little girl and her spunky personality even better. She is such a joy to us and our entire family and none of us can remember what life was like before her.

Happy Second Birthday, sweet Amelia Kate Furr. We love you to pieces!

A few birthday girl pics

2010-10-26T10:11:00.000-07:00

It's birthday week! But luckily for me and everyone around me, we have already had the party and this week we can just have fun and celebrate this girl turning two years old!

photo by Lindey

Many more details and photos from the party to come, but I wanted to share a few snaps of Amelia that my friend Misti shot at the party, and to thank everyone for coming to help us celebrate. A special thanks goes out to my sister and Justin, my parents, Nina, Lindey and Heather for helping get things together at the last minute. So many disasters almost ruined the whole thing, but they helped us pull it all together. Also, thanks to Joyce and my mom for helping me with cookies.

With all the disasters, Amelia and her friends had a great time, and that's what's important. More photos and details coming soon!

What's wrong with this picture?

2010-10-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

Any guesses? Perhaps this will help.

Yes, anytime you've seen Amelia sleeping in the past year and a half, chances are, she has had a paci in her mouth. She didn't care much for it for the first six months of her life, but some time after that, she developed a deep affection for it. I've been dreading the day that we actually had to say goodbye to our dear friend, but I knew that as she approached age two, it was time. I tried a couple of tactics that were not well received in the past couple of months, but on a whim Sunday night we were playing before bed and she threw her paci on the floor. Later, she asked for it and I said, "It's gone. You threw it down." She eventually went to sleep and I thought that maybe there was hope for us after all.

I told her teacher yesterday about our small victory and she promised to try to help. When naptime came at school, Amelia went to her cubby looking for her paci and Ms. Stacy said, "It's not in there, Amelia." She said Amelia then just went to her cot with Lovie and went to sleep! Who knew? We tried again last night and she asked for it once, but I just told her it was gone. She whimpered a little, but eventually did go to sleep without it, although I know it would have happened quicker if she had had her paci.

If we can make it through today, and then tonight, I will really feel like we've accomplished something! Don't they say that it takes three days to make or break a habit? Or something like that... Anyway, PTL for no paci (and hopefully no speech therapy due to prolonged paci use like her father had to do as a child. Ha!) The only downside to no paci: She NEVER stops talking! I do love to hear her sweet little voice, but when it's time to go night night, or when Mama is trying to watch the Real Housewives of Atlanta, it's time for quiet!

It's that time again...

2010-10-11T09:59:00.000-07:00

If you know me at all, you know that there are few things in life that I love more than planning a party. I will not even talk about how long I have been thinking about and planning this party, but let's just say I am so excited that the time has finally arrived! The fact that Amelia has to actually grow up and turn two in order for us to have this party is a sad coincidence. As cliche' as it sounds, it really seems like only a short time has passed since her first birthday. But there will be time for all that sentimental talk on her actual birthday week! I wanted to share the invitation now that they've all gone out.

How can milk and cookies not be fun? Special thanks to Lindey and one of my party planning idols, Kim at the TomKat studio for the invitation design. I can't wait to share more with you after the party!

ABCs

2010-10-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Go Wolves!

2010-09-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

A day I have been waiting for two years has finally arrived.

Yes, Amelia can now fit into the 24 month-sized cheerleader suit I have been dying to dress her in! You may recall her first time to wear a Wolfpack cheerleader suit when she was 2 weeks old.

I had wanted a tiny cheerleader suit for her first basketball season and my Aunt Rhonda was going to make one for me but couldn't find a pattern small enough. She settled for a Build-A-Bear cheerleader, added Co-Lin to the suit and gave it to me at my baby shower. That day at 2 weeks old for that photo was the one and only time she fit into that outfit. The Build-A-Bear wears it now and he sits on her bookshelf in her room. Since then, I've been looking everywhere for a suit to fit her and 24 months is the smallest I've found. And now she is finally big enough to wear it!

We had so much fun at the game last week. She loved seeing the wolf mascot (but not up close) and even ran on the field to be a part of the spirit line with her little friends before the players ran out. Sadly, I have no photo of it because I never dreamed she would have participated since she had been so whiney and clingy earlier when I tried to get her to do it.

Looking at these pics, I couldn't help but be nostalgic for her very first time to meet the wolf mascots.

Here she is in my tummy at 8 months pregnant.

And here she was last year at this time posing with my co-workers' kids at the tailgate party.

And last year during basketball season

She is growing up to be quite a fan of the Wolfpack! She even yells "Go wolves!" and can howl like a wolf when we ask how the wolf goes. I'm looking forward to even more cheering when basketball season starts for Daddy. We love being a Co-Lin family!

Wordless Wednesday- Blackberry Pics

2010-09-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

Recent photo shoot with Aunt Katie

2010-09-16T12:27:00.000-07:00

Katie was testing out a new lens and asked if Mimi could come with her for a quick photo shoot downtown last week. Of course I agreed and changed her into an adorable dress she hadn't been photographed in yet (seriously, sometimes it's hard to find something we haven't taken her pic in, lol).

I thought they turned out so cute. Enjoy!

Labor Day Weekend

2010-09-09T10:33:00.001-07:00

We had a fun but busy Labor Day weekend. Any time off we have from work, I always want to make the most of, but that usually ends up with me being exhausted by the time I get back to work.

We decided to take Amelia to Global Wildlife in Folsom, La., and we were so glad we did! The weather was perfect, sunny with a cool breeze, and Amelia is at a great age for it because she loves looking at animals. I had been feeling like a horrible mother because she has never been to the zoo. Even though I still plan on doing the zoo with her very soon, Global Wildlife was even better to me, because you can get up close and personal with the animals. You ride in these covered wagons and the animals come up to you and you can feed them and pet them.

We saw tons of deer, antelope, zebras, camels, buffalo, cattle, kangaroos and giraffes.

This is Cliff feeding the zebra.

Mimi was fascinated.

The giraffes were my favorite, but they wouldn't come up to the wagon and let us love on them. As we were leaving we saw them getting friendlier with the next group.

After our tour we headed down to Manchac to eat at one of our favorite places for fried catfish, Middendorf's. We don't get out much at restaurants these days due to the fact that Amelia likes to act a fool when we go out to eat, but apparently 2:00 in the afternoon is her happy time at dining establishments because she did great. I still gobbled my food down like someone was going to take it away just in case we had to jet out of there. There are no leisurely restaurant meals for the Furr family these days.

Great day, but sister was worn out on the way home! This is what she does when she gets sleepy.

We got a little worried about her and uncovered her a bit.

Then, Sunday was promotion day at church, and Amelia moved up to the toddler class. We were the first ones there and I snapped a couple of pics before everyone else arrived. I wanted to eat her up with her pigtails in that smocked dress Katie got her.

How cute is her little classroom?

I even got a little video of her as we waited. Her favorite word lately is "Thank you." She loves to say it when you pay her a compliment or when you give her something or do something for her. It is my favorite thing she does right now. Who doesn't love a polite child? I hope she keeps it up. It helps balance out when she says NO and STOP, her other favorite words.

New Sunday School Class from Angela Furr on Vimeo.

Her teachers said she did great. I figured she'd do fine because she loves being "big," and now instead of being the oldest in the class, she is the youngest so she gets to feel like a big girl around the older kids.

And while we are talking church, here are a couple of cute snaps I got at the ice cream social a couple of weeks ago. She's such a big girl in the big kid swings! Swings are just about Amelia's favorite thing on earth. It is like pulling teeth to get her off of one.

I hope y'all had a fabulous Labor Day weekend too! I have had to use my time back at work to rest from all our fun, ha.

The Wheels on the Bus

2010-08-27T12:16:00.000-07:00

I hope to have a better video of Amelia singing her new songs soon, but in the meantime, I'll share this one I shot on my cell phone the other day. She didn't perform as well as she does when I'm not filming (of course) and she lost interest before the end and decided to tackle me, but I still think it's cute.

I have watched this about 87 times at work today. That little belly laugh makes me so happy!

Back to school

2010-08-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late with the back to school post, and I really don't have an excuse other than just being tired when I get home every day. That, and my August TV schedule has been keeping me very busy at night after Amelia goes to bed. Those episodes of Project Runway and Rachel Zoe on the DVR are not going to watch themselves, y'all.

Anyway, August 16th was Amelia's first day back at school. She was moved up to the two-year old class this year since she will be two in a couple of months and we were excited about that. They have a curriculum that includes singing, free play, coloring and painting, reading, playing outside, potty training, and of course naptime. I was a little nervous about how Amelia would do on her cot as opposed to her crib at home, but her teacher, Ms. Stacy, said she has been falling right asleep, which I'm sure is due to her playing hard and wearing herself out. We are glad to be in Ms. Stacy's class again, although we miss Ms. Margaret from last year. Ms. Stacy was the teacher in the infant class that Mimi started attending at 12 weeks old, so they go way back.

She got in trouble one day last week for biting another child's finger and I was totally devastated. My sweet girl is a lot of things but a biter is not one of them. It turns out the victim was one of our friends and luckily she and her mom forgave Amelia, ha. Ms. Stacy told me today that it has not happened again and that Amelia does not give her a bit of trouble. She said she is well behaved, but does have to defend herself every once in a while with some of the other kids. I was glad to hear about no more biting. We didn't want our Mimi to get expelled from daycare!

She has already been sharing some of the things she has learned with us at home. She has started saying "milk" the correct way instead of "malk," which makes me a little sad. Her language has seemed to pick up with even more sentences. She asked to go on the "big girl" potty the other day, and she has been singing some new songs, with her favorite being "The Wheels on the Bus." Video to come soon. I have also noticed her counting and ABCs have gotten much better, and now she hardly leaves out any letters in the alphabet and can count to 16 (random but that's where she always stops) pretty consistently.

She has been walking in every morning like such a big girl, and we are so glad she took after me and seems to love school! And now a few pics:

Crazy bed head on back to school morning

Getting excited to go see her friends!

Curly pigtails make me happy.

I still sometimes struggle with mommy guilt for working full time and often wish I could have it both ways. But it makes it so much easier having to leave her knowing she loves her teacher and friends and is having a great time learning and playing all day. Plus it makes me treasure our time at home together so much more and I try not to waste a minute of it. So for today, the glass is half-full, just the way I like to keep it.

What we've been up to lately

2010-08-12T18:47:00.000-07:00

We had a VERY brief visit to the Exchange Club Fair, where we ran into Mimi's friend from school, Parker.

Bless her heart, it was just a disaster waiting to happen. We went the day after we got back from vacation, it was hot, she was tired, just a disaster. Maybe next year.

We spent more time in the pool.

Played around the house

Said goodbye to our sweet babysitter, Kellie. She just moved to Starkville to begin her junior year at Mississippi State.

And we met a new future BFF, my dear friend, Nina's baby girl, Sidney!

Sadly, I had to use a photo taken with my Blackberry as my camera has STOPPED WORKING. UGH! I'm trying to see if I can get it fixed, otherwise that will be a new expenditure we will have to make because I can't be without a camera to capture Mimi's everyday moments. Luckily, Katie loaned me her point and shoot camera for the meantime.

I will be back soon to blog about Amelia's first day back at school, but in the meantime, I will leave you with a short video Uncle Justin shared with me of Mimi calling for "Mare Bet." She got to spend a couple of days with Aunt Mare and Uncle Justin last week and I think they all had a great time. Perhaps Aunt Mare will share some of the photos she took with me one day soon...