Christmas Spirit

Mall Santa's Fear Swine Flu

What?!?! This paranoid mom just became a little more paranoid. Read this article about Santa Claus worrying about getting H1N1. Golly, I haven't even thought about this!!! I just went from wanting to take Cilla to meet Santa to thinking we might wait until her second Christmas to let her sit on the big guy's lap! I am thinking it is not such a great idea to take her since so many other kids will be lov'in all over him! Not sure if I would have taken Cilla to the Waco mall to begin with, but now...pretty sure the answer is NO!!! Am I over-reacting?!?!

Not to rush Thanksgiving....I love it so much. But, I am so excited about Christmas this year. Maybe because it got overlooked last year or maybe because we have a little someone to add to the joy of the season! I know it will not mean much to our 9 month old... but, I can't wait to tell her the Christmas story and begin to teach her the TRUE meaning of Christmas. I can't wait to teach her to love others and give to others. We have already picked out a family with a little baby girl to adopt this Christmas. This is something that we plan to do with Cilla every year. She is so blessed and we want her to know that and to value that! I can't wait to get to spend time as a family of three and to start our own family traditions. Although, I know it is so insignificant, I look forward to seeing her light up and be blessed with gifts of her own! Oh I am so excited just thinking about it and I am ready to go get the Christmas decorations out of the attic!!! I love Christmas!

I was actually thinking this morning about one of my all time favorite Christmas movies- the new Miracle on 34th Street. We will watch it over the Thanksgiving holiday (we, as in, me and my mom!) Oh, I love it! It has a good message. The whole theme behind the movie is believing in something we can't see. Which, as a Christian, I think is what celebrating Christmas is. We have FAITH that Jesus came to earth as a baby. We have FAITH that he loved us so much he gave his life on a cross for us. And we have FAITH that he is in Heaven and we will be, too, if we are saved by HIS grace and allow Him to come live in us.

Here is the trailer from the movie. Take a look at if you you have not seen the movie. Look for the scene with the little deaf girl sitting on Santa's lap...I cry every time I watch that part. He was the first Santa to ever be able to speak to her in sign language! Awwww...I love it!

Eight Months

Happy 8 month Birthday, you sweet thing!

We tried to have a little photo session out at the lake, but you weren't really having any of that!!! I still think you are the cutest, even when you do not cooperate! You are interested in anything and everything besides me OR all you want to do is grab the camera!

I can't believe you are already 8 months. I, seriously, look back and have no idea where the time has gone! I loved looking at your "month birthday" pics all together and seeing how much you have grown and how far you have come. It really is amazing! You are such a joy, sweet girl. You have really started to develop a little personality and it is quite amusing!!! You are the sunshine on a cloudy day and we love you to pieces!

What is our 8 month old up to?!?!

*Well, EVERYTHING!

You are into everything. You crawl everywhere. You put everything in your mouth. If I walk out of the room for a couple of short minutes, you disappear! Silly goose!

*We finally have gotten you down to four large bottles each day (well, most days). This did not happen without a fight!

*You love your food and are eating some yummy combinations and you LOVE puffs!!!

*We lowered your crib because you now pull up when we put you in it. This has also led to bigger and better fits when we put you down at nap time! Oh and did I mention that you have figured out how to pull the camera off the post of your crib! There are days we check the video monitor to see what you are doing and we get a virtual tour of your penthouse!

*You ARE sleeping like a champ through the night, but we are back to fighting naps. I can deal with this since you are sleeping about 11 hours most nights! Days are much easier when we have had a good night of sleep! We usually can get one good long nap in each day. If we are really lucky, we get two!!!

*You have developed somewhat of an attachment to your mommy this month. You decided a couple of weeks ago that you are not very fond of men. I do not know if this is because you are mainly around ladies....home, playgroups, MDO, church nursery...or if this is a normal phase babies go through!?!? I credit it to the fact that daddy works and travels so much and you see him so little right now. Either way, we are hoping this is short lived!!! Or if this will just trickle over into your teenage years we will be A-OK with it!!!

*You love Katie and Sophie.

*You love to be tossed in the air.

*You love the "Little Popcorn" song and when mommy sings it to you. Thanks Aunt Katie for teaching it to us while you were here! Sorry your mommy can't sing better, girl!!!

*Still only two teeth, but we think we are on the brink of getting more. We have had a rough couple of days!

*You have been healthy (that is relative) all month!!! PTL!

Each day of your life I get more of a glimpse of how Christ loves us, His children. I can't fathom how much He must love us, cause I love you so much and HIS love far exceeds that! I pray everyday that you will come to know and grasp this love at a young age. There is nothing greater and nothing else that will carry you through life. Know that God gave you a mommy and daddy who love you so much here on Earth and there is nothing more important to us than to show you what it looks like to be like Christ. We love you, our little Pumpkin Pie!!!

Tagged.

Ugghhh....I am so behind on blogging, which pretty much sums up my life right now! I have loads of laundry to do, an inch of dust on my furniture, a baby crawling over hardwood floors through tumbleweeds of dog hair.... and who would even think about cooking a healthy meal, taking the time to work out, or getting a good night of sleep?!?!

We have had a crazy couple of weeks. I will post pics this week and get caught up! For now...I have been tagged!

A special thank you to Ginger at The Neff Family for awarding me the "Over the Top" blog award. That was so sweet of you to think of me!!

The Rules~ Use only one word, pass along to six favorite bloggers, and tell them you did so.

1. Where is your cell phone? diaperbag

2. Your Hair? ponytail

3. Your Mother? selfless

4. Your Father? generous

5. Your favorite food? chocolate (is that a food?)

6. Your dream last night? nonexistent

7. Your favorite drink? SweetTea

8. Your dream/goal? mommy

9. What room are you in? office

10. Your hobby? shopping

11. Your fear? loss

12. Where do you want to be in six years? home

13. Where were you last night? JrLeague

14. Something you aren't? fake

15. Favorite Muffin? BananaNut

16. Wish List Item? shoes

17. Where did you grow up? NorthLittleRock

18. Last thing you did? put.the.baby.down. (Sorry I couldn't fit that into one word!)

19. What are you wearing? jeans

20. Your TV? addicting

21. Your Pets? lovable

22. Friends? the.best.

23. Your Life? blessed

24. Your Mood? overwhelmed

25. Missing Someone? MIL

26. Vehicle? white

27. Something your not wearing? watch

28. Your favorite store? Anthropologie

29. Your favorite color? fall (brown.orange.red.for those you wondering)

30. When was the last time you laughed? today

31. Last time you cried? week

32. Your best friend(s)? kind

33. One place I could go over and over? Caribbean

34. Favorite place to eat? MeltingPot

AND....My real life friend, Sally, tagged me with an "I'm Fabulous" blog award! Thanks, gurl! Although I am not super sure what this means, thanks anyway!

Here are the rules: share five things you are obsessed with then pass the award on to the five most fabulous blogs you know.

1. CUPCAKES! I am obsessed with cupcakes! Love them. Could eat them every day of my life! I love Sprinkles. Red Velvet is the bomb.com! I love What About Cupcakes? here in Waco. Try the Oreo...it's to die for! I love homemade cupcakes. I have the best chocolate cupcake recipe thanks to my friend Hillary and Southern Living!!! I will have to share it sometime! I love all the fun flavors you can get in a one serving size and they are the cutest for showers and parties!!! Golly, my mouth is watering now!!!

2. Baby Girl Clothes! I thought having a boy would be so much fun (and I still do), but having a little girl is awesome, too! Dressing her is so much fun! I get lots and lots of comments on Cilla's clothes and bows. I will share more later but for now...these are my very favorite sites!

Head pieces:

Jamie Rae Hats

Clothes:

Milk Shop

Isn't this Precious?!?! This is just the tip of the iceberg!

Lollipops and Gumdrops

I love a cute monogrammed outfit. These are a little pricier than some, but they have tons of super cute choices!

Oh, I could have one in every color!

And I LOVE Baby Lulu.

You can get it here or at Nordstrom!

3. Throwing parties!!! I love a good excuse for a party! I love to throw baby showers, wedding showers, and any kind of party. I have a secret deep down obsession with wanting to be an event planner. Maybe one day! Here are a couple of pics from a baby shower I threw for one of my besties before we moved to Texas!

4. Shoes. I love shoes! Maybe 'cause they always fit. They seem to be more loyal to me than my jeans and even some of my dresses! I love heels, flats, tall boots, booties, cute sporty shoes, cowboy boots, flops, wedges.....I pretty much do not discriminate!!!

5. Traveling. Before we moved to Wacko, I mean Waco, we traveled lots and lots. I miss those days. Flint's work situation now just does not allow for us to get much time away. We love to spend the summertime in Lake Tahoe and the winter in Mexico and the Caribbean! We have traveled to all kinds of fun places. Some of my favorites: New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Pebble Beach, Vermont, Jamaica, Mexico...man, I miss those days, but we were so lucky to have the time away that we did!

Christmas in Mexico

Boating in Acapulco

Jamaica

The view from my lounge chair...NO KIDDING!

Lake Tahoe

A Day of "Firsts"

Saturday was Cilla's first Halloween. As if that were not exciting enough, she also went to her first Baylor football game. It was actually her very first football game. Period. I think the day as a whole completely overwhelmed her!!!!

Here she is getting ready for some football in her cute Halloween outfit (it did have a little green in it). Next game, we will deck her out in some Baylor gear, but we were trying to get all the use we could out of this precious outfit!!! Luckily, the Bears were playing Nebraska and not Oklahoma State!

Dad came up in the stands to see his girl. She just sat there and took everything in!

"This is way different than watching it on T.V.!!!"

As if that were not enough for a seven month old for one day, we put her back in her piggy costume and went to our church's Harvest Hoedown! Our church is a bit inner city and uses this opportunity as an outreach to the neighborhood. So, again, lots and lots of people and lots and lots of blank stares from our daughter!!!

Getting ready to make her Miss Piggy debut at church!

We saw our neighbors, who also attend our church. They all dressed the part. Their little, Hudson, is about four months older than Cilla. Hudson's mommy, Lisa, was a zoo keeper and Hudson's daddy. Kam, was a banana! Of course, Hudson is the monkey in the middle! Isn't that cute?!?! He couldn't keep his eyes off our little Piglet!

More shots...

I know you are sick of seeing them, but I just can't get enough of Cilla dressed as a pig. I want to be able to look back and enjoy her in her costume!

After a long day, mom drug Cilla one more place. We went down the street to see our friends Cari, Ricky, and baby Mase. Little Mase was a football and a really cute one, at that! I will share the pics when I get them from Cari!

Sunday we CRASHED!!!

We were suppose to gain an hour of sleep Saturday night. Too bad our seven month old did not get the memo to turn her clock back!!

Hope everyone had a fun weekend!

This Little Piggy...

We went trick-or-treating at Baylor Tuesday night with my friend, Amber, and her two precious kiddos ( I got one pic of them and it was awful...both were looking everywhere but the camera). They were Woody and Jesse from Toy Story. How cute is that? Amber always coordinates her family. I love it!

Cilla was the cutest little piggy I have ever seen! Oh, I could just eat those big rosy cheeks, they are so delicious!!! Surprisingly, she loved dressing up in her costume. To NO one's surprise, she loved all the attention she drew!

Baylor does trick-or-treating in the dorms for all Baylor faculty and staff. It was lots of fun. Too bad our kiddo starts getting cranky about 7 pm!!!

More Visitors

My college friend, Amber, and her kids made a trip up to Waco from Austin this week. We had such a fun visit! We made another trip back to the zoo which was fun!

Cilla started out in her stroller.....

Here is the Leopard. Not the best pic (through the fence), but I think this is one of the most beautiful animals! Maybe since I love leopard print!?!? This guy looked so authoritative sitting his big self up on his rock!

Cutie pie, Austin, having his pic made in the butterfly!

And she ended up in the Baby Bjorn. This is what happens when you skip the morning nap! Oh well, she was happy being next to her mommy!

Just like last trip, Cilla loved the Giraffes! She just laughed at them! SO CUTE!

Amber and her kiddos, Kaylee and Austin. They are seriously two of the cutest kids!!!

This was Cilla's reaction when she woke up from her afternoon nap and I told her that her friends had to go home.

But, she was happier after I told her she could see them again soon and that she got to dress up in her piggy costume again this weekend!

Isn't this outfit the cutest?!?! Cilla's Grammie, Cilla, bought it for her when I first found out I was preggers! We did not know if a little girl or a little boy would be wearing it. Clearly it looks more like a boy, but nothing a big bow can't fix. She thought our baby just HAD to have this because she called Flint, eleFLINT, when he was little! How cute is that?!?! SO this is one of the few things Cilla has from her Grammie, who loved her to pieces before she was ever born. I will cherish it!

Four's Company, Seven's a Crowd

Some of our dearest friends, Katie and Chris (and their girls) came to Waco to visit us last Wednesday and they stayed through the weekend! Four adults, three kids, two dogs and one 2500 square foot house is a lot of craziness, but we had the best time! Here are just a few of the pics from the weekend.

Here are Avery, Chris, Paige, and Flint leaving lunch on Thursday. These guys are naturals!

Friday we went to the Waco zoo. It was a little chilly, but we had a great time! I have always heard the Waco zoo is nice, but I had to see it to believe it!!! I must say, I was impressed!

Cilla's first visit to the zoo. She was just not that into it, unfortunately! However, she did think the giraffe was hysterical!

The Allen clan

Paige played dress up in Cilla's red tutu. She was "tutu" cute!

Bathtime-

Everyone is a winner when the kids are contained and entertained for 30 minutes!

Paige loved the doggies. Sophie, on the other hand, was not so sure about Paige!

We had such a great visit with the Allens. There is nothing like the comfort of old friends!

Katie, Chris, Paige, and Avery,

We love you guys so much and really appreciate you guys making the trip. We know that Waco is not the local of choice, but one of these days we will have a kiddo free vacation somewhere fun.

Houston...we have a crawler!

Cilla has been getting on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth for a few weeks now. I knew she was wanting to crawl so badly. This past Friday we were playing outside, enjoying the beautiful weather, with our friends and she finally DID IT!!! She crawled for the first time! I am so proud of her, but another part of me is thinking "oh my goodness!"

Roadtrip to Dallas

This past weekend, Cilla and I made a day trip to Dallas for my bestie's (Cilla's Aunt Laura) baby shower!!! Daddy, a.k.a. Flint, was in Ames, Iowa with the Baylor Bears, so we had a girls' trip. It was a wonderful day. We met up with our dear friends, Lauren and Harper for lunch at Northpark Mall...the best mall EVER, in case any of you were wondering! It was so good to see them. Cilla and Harper were born two days apart and they live in Dallas, but we just do not see them enough! It is amazing how a baby really does change everything!

SO here are the two beauties at lunch. Is this not the cutest picture?!?! Lauren and Harper were ready to cheer the Hogs on against Florida.

Here are Cilla and Harper doing a little shopping. They had to DRAG their mommies into Anthropologie! HA!

We can't wait for baby Braysen to get here!!!

(Sorry...my child and I are both a rough mess...apparently my hair was sticking out on the side and Cilla started with shoes on and that literally lasted two minutes!!!!!)

The shower was perfect. Our trip to Dallas was perfect. The perfect ending to the day would have been for the Hogs to pull off a victory over the Gators and for the Bears to beat Iowa State. Cilla said that since her Razorbacks didn't win, she was still glad she got to watch Tim Tebow. She thinks he is awfully cute and I can't say that I disagree! I pray that Cilla meets a guy just like him one day and they get married!

We have had the chance to see Peter (also known around our house these days as Uncle Peter) lots lately. He passes through Waco, on his way from Dallas to Austin, so much during football season. Uncle Peter is a Longhorn, but we still love him. He stopped in a couple of Sundays ago to watch football with Flint. Cilla is in the middle of them watching and playing with the remote control! She is hilarious. They were trying to tickle her to get her to smile and she wasn't having any of that!

Look how much she has grown since the first time she met uncle Peter at just over two weeks old! Oh she was so sweet and so quiet and so cuddly. But, lots less fun!

We love all of you...Our Dallas Friends!

Not Me Monday

I would NEVER watch my hubby let my seven month old have her first taste of brownie batter.....

(please do not call child protective services!)

and I would certainly never reach for the camera to capture the moment!

Oh my goodness! That is NOT what we have been up to!!!!

Our friend, MckMama, does "Not Me Monday" and I think it is hilarious! Hop on over and read some of the things people are not doing! They are sure to bring a smile to your face!

A New Look

Thanks so much Brittney for our blog makeover!!! I LOVE IT!

My friend Brittany, from Sunday School and playgroup, has a design business called b.originals. Check out her blog and she has an etsy shop, too! She is so talented!!!

Baby of Mine

This is, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing in the world to me. I can't help but smile every time I look at this picture or when I look into her big (almost brown) eyes! I love her more than words!

We had a photographer in Austin, Nicole Whelan, take Cilla's 6 month pictures and they turned out perfect! I will say that the day that we had her picture made she was beyond grumpy and I was so disappointed that there were not more pics of her smiling. But, the longer I look at each picture I love them more. Nicole did a great job and let's be honest, she captured Cilla's little personality! Check out Nicole's website. She does beautiful work!!! I will share more of Cilla's pictures later. I am off to have family time! Have a good night!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

The weather here is definitely starting to feel like fall and we are loving it! Such a change from last year!

I am not sure if Cilla is screaming Happy Fall and I can't wait to dress up in my precious piggy costume for Halloween

OR

My Razorbacks ROCK!!!!!

Either is acceptable! She is very happy about the big win over Auburn this weekend. Her daddy got to watch some of the game from Slim Chicken's in Norman, OK. Slim's (as we loving call it) is one of our very favorite spots in Northwest Arkansas. Since Norman has one and Flint was there with the Baylor football team, he got to partake! This momma was a little envious and hoping daddy would bring some home in his pocket!

Sadly, the Bears couldn't pull off the win against the Sooners.

We had lots of girl time but, overall, it was a good weekend!

Lucky 7

You are 7 months old today.

This post is titled "Lucky 7" with hopes that this will be the month you stay healthy and start sleeping better! But, through all the sickness and sleepless nights, your mommy and daddy couldn't love you more!

You were more interested in getting your little hands on the piece of paper and crumbling it up than you were in me taking your picture!

What has been going on in Cilla's little world?

*You had your very first airplane trip to Arkansas and you were fabuloso!!!

*You cut two teeth in a row...bless your heart!

*You have been on two different antibiotics and you had an allergic reaction to one...but we are not sure which one...so we will avoid both at all costs!

*You have been eating all kinds of yummy foods. You are starting to NOT like your green veggies...silly girl, you come by it honest! You still have 5 bottles each day. I am having a hard time breaking you of that.

*I know we are not suppose to talk about a girl's weight, but I think it is excusable when you are 7 months old! You weighed almost exactly 19 lbs at your 6 month check up and when we took you back to the doc this week (i know....i am getting sick of it too, girl!) you weighed almost exactly 19 lbs, still. It is all that moving and standing you love to do!

*The sleeping was better for a while, but the traveling and sickness have thrown us for a loop. Geez!

*You LOVE LOVE LOVE for your daddy to throw you in the air and hang you upside down! It is quite a sight, but I will admit...it makes this momma a little nervous sometimes!

*I am beginning to notice just how independent you really are. I think that will be a quality I am thankful for one day! You do not, however, like to be left in a room by yourself and you make it known!!!!!

*You still love Praise Baby and The Baby Einstein videos. And I like them more than ever now! I have learned to shower, get dressed, and put on a little make-up in 30 minutes (sometimes I turn on the repeat to buy a little more time!)

*You are sitting up like a pro and are on the verge of crawling.

*You love to be outside.

*You still love to be on the go and for the most part, you are very adaptable and flexible! Your mommy and daddy thank you!

*You sat in a high chair at a restaurant and in the front of the shopping cart for the first time this past month. You love the freedom it gave you at the table. As for the shopping cart....you just want to lounge sideways. MESS!

*You are such a people person. You do not meet a stranger. You made soooooo many new pals in the airports and on the airplanes. You let the lady who was sitting beside me hold you on the flight to Little Rock. You loved her and she loved you.

*You are in to everything! You could be entertained by the remote controls all day long!

*You love when I sing and dance for you....understandably! I am so glad I have someone to watch "So You Think You Can Dance" with me, since daddy hates that show! We have that and you and daddy have football!

*You get so tickled at Katie and Sophie. I LOVE it! You all are growing quite fond of each other. Whew! They love you even more now that we are giving you food and you drop it on the ground!

* Nicknames that have stuck to this point: Monkey. Mess and/or Mess Harris. Junior Junior (from Friends, for all you watchers). Baby Cilla. CG. Pumpkin Pie.

Foreshadowing of what is to come. You are starting to get in to EVERYTHING!

If you look very closely, you can see my two front bottom teeth that I got this past month.

Every day keeps getting sweeter! We love you and thank God for brightening our days through you, Little Bit!

You are Good

I just wanted to share these lyrics. They get me through some days. I sing them to myself when I am having a bad day or long night or I want to go "home" or I miss Grammie Cilla.

When the sun starts to rise and I open my eyes
You are good, so good
In the heat of the day with each stone that I lay
You are good, so good

With every breath I take in
I'll tell You I'm grateful again
When the moon rises high before each kiss goodnight
You are good

When the road starts to turn around each bend I've learned
You are good, so good
And when somebody's hand holds me up, helps me stand
You are so good

With every breath I take in
I'll tell You I'm grateful again
'Cause it's more than enough just to know I am loved
And you are good

So how can I thank You
And what can I bring
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a king
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell You I'm grateful
For holding my life in Your hands

When it's dark and it's cold and I can't feel my soul
You are still good
When the world has gone gray and the rain's here to stay
You are still good

With every breath I take in
I'll tell you I'm grateful again
And the storm may swell even then it is well
You are good

So how can I thank You
And what can I bring
What can a poor man lay at the feet of a king
So I'll sing you a love song
It's all that I have
To tell You I'm grateful
For holding my life in Your hands