29...and holding

Some of our dearest friends, the Pardues, came to Waco from Dallas to spend the weekend with us! Corby and Flint's friendship goes back to their days at Kanakuk. This past March we both had little girls two days apart! SO FUN! We love these guys to pieces and thank God for blessing our lives with them! Here are some of the highlights of our weekend with them....oh yes...and my 29th birthday.

These girls love to splash around in the pool!

My Girl

The Pardue Family

Here is my "daddy's girl" watching the British Open on TV. Heaven help us!!!

She was glued to the TV- YIKES!
Harper
How cute is she?!?!

This was my birthday cake! Sweet Flint got me a cake that said "29 and holding..."

Funny Boy!!! Cilla was mesmerized by the candles.

Lauren and Corby brought me one of my very favorite things in the world...Sprinkles Cupcakes! Red Velvet, of course! Ironically, one of them had the Texas decoration on it, so I got that one. Everyone here gives me hard time about being from Arkansas!

I sense a lifelong friendship in their future!

We got a sitter (Thanks Jordan!) for the night so we all could have a childless night out!!

Two of the most competitive people I know!!!

Corby in all of his glory! Notice the picture in the background. My parents gave me the most beautiful drawing of Cilla for my birthday. I LOVE IT. What a wonderful birthday gift!

We have started putting Cilla in her "jumper" and she LOVES it! Look how intense she is! I promise she is not cross-eyed!

We had so much fun. The laughter never ends when you put Corby and Flint together! Thanks for making the trip down, guys.

Happy Late Birthday, America!

We had a fun 3 day weekend as a family! Friday we were lazy and went to brunch at one of our very favorite places, Cafe Cappuccino, and we went to dinner at BJ's. BJ's is like a small town Cheesecake Factory~Yummy!!! Saturday we hung out with our friends Katie and Bella. We did lots of swimming and we cooked out. Sunday, we went to Sunday School then we headed to Fort Worth for the day to visit Cilla's Pappy (Flint's Dad). We had a great weekend and did not forget to remember our friends, family, and all of the other men and women who have left their families to defend our country and fight for our freedom. Thank you to all of the brave men and women who are and have been in the Armed Forces and thank you to their families for making a sacrifice as well! We are so thankful to live in America!

Flint and the Little Bit before dinner

Cilla attracting an audience with her talking and her hair bow!

Swimming with daddy

Father's Day Weekend

We had a fun Father's Day weekend being at home all together as a family. Saturday we had some friends over to swim and cook out. Sunday we went to church and then went out to lunch. It was Flint's choice, of course, so he picked pizza (which was no surprise!) Our friend, Stacy, from our Sunday school class joined us. She and her husband are in transition much like Flint and I were last year. They are moving to Gainsville, FL and he has already gone down to start his new job. Stacy is still here in Waco taking care of all the things you do when you move. NO FUN...I have been there!

Our little girl LOVES the water! She has loved her bath practically since we brought her home from the hospital, so it is no surprise that she also love to splash around in the pool. Now if we could just get rid of the harsh sun, it would be perfect.

Buddies

Faith and Cilla

Girl also loves her sunglasses! Maybe because I have been putting things, like big hair bows, on her since the day she was born!

Flint's First Father's Day with his sweat pea

I never thought I could love Flint any more than I did before Cilla was born. But, seeing Flint with his daughter adds a whole new dimension to our marriage and to the love I have for him. It is so fun to see his soft side- to see him laying with Cilla on his belly, to see him kiss her on the forehead and put her to bed, to see him on the floor playing with her and talking to her...These are truly the sweetest things in life! I am so thankful for Flint and his role as a Godly leader and the provider in our family. Cilla and I are blessed a million times over! I couldn't ask for a better hubbie for me or a daddy for my baby! We love you, Flintastic! You mean the world to us! I am so glad God gave you to me!

Happy Father's Day

And to our dads:

Thank you for always being there, thank you for all of the hugs, thank you for the sacrifices you made, thank you for picking us up when we fell, thank you for the lessons you taught us, thank you for loving us unconditionally!!! We are blessed beyond measure!

Go Kris!

American Idol finals are tomorrow night and I am so excited about this finalist...

Kris Allen!!!

He is from a small town about 20 minutes from where I grew up! Kris, you have my vote!

Tennis National Championship

Flint has been in College Station the last several days with the Tennis teams. Cilla and I decided to join him for a couple of days so we would not be home by ourselves.

This is Jordan holding Cilla. She is one of Cilla's favorite babysitters!!! Jordan has already offered to write Cilla's rec for Tri Delt when she goes through rush in the fall of 2027!!! Jordan was a Delta at Baylor and now works with Flint.

Momma's little Delta says "Sic'em Bears"

(she also says "Whoo Pig Sooie!")
Chill'in at the hotel waiting for the next match

... and the picture above is our baby monitor. I looked at it the other day while she was napping and it was no surprise to me that her thumb was planted in her mouth. She has been trying to get this down the last couple of weeks and it finally happened! You can also see in this picture that she is still sleeping in her carrier! It is working like a charm! You can't get the best of us, Acid Reflux!!!
***I think in this picture she had just pulled her thumb out of her mouth.

Mother's Day

Today is my first Mother's Day. It has been such a wonderful day!

We went to Sunday School...Little Bit is not going to the nursery until she gets her first round of shots, which is tomorrow! She is the perfect little baby while she is in with the adults. She is quite as a mouse and sleeps most of time! After church Flint took me to one of my very favorite places in town- Cafe Cappuccino. They have Banana Nut French Toast that is to die for!!!

Getting ready to leave for church...already asleep!

This afternoon I laid Cilla on the bed and she was smiling at me ear to ear! It melts her mommy's heart when she does this! I caught a little grin in this picture.


This has been a bitter sweet Mother's Day for me. Nothing makes me happier right now than to be a mom, but today a big part of us is not here. Today is Flint's first Mother's Day without his mom. It breaks my heart that sweet Cilla will never know her Grammie on this earth. But, she will know how much she was loved by her Grammie before she was ever born.

I also want to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom. She has been an amazing support the last two months. I have the most selfless mom in world. I hope I am half as good of a mom as she is! Thanks, mom, for all you do for us. We all love you very much and can't wait to see you again soon!

Birthday Girls

We celebrated two birthdays this week.

My baby girl, Cilla, turned two months old. I can't believe it has been two months!!! And my first baby girl, Sophie, turned 10!!! Also hard to believe!!! I love both of these girls very much! They both bring lots of joy to my life!

Look how "tall" she is getting. We go back to the doctor Monday for shots. I will be interested to see how she falls in comparison to other babies her age.
She has changed so much the last few weeks!
*Still loves to be "out and about".
*Loves to ride in the car.
*Loves her paci and is trying oh so hard to find her thumb. I keep shoving the paci in though. Way easier to break paci sucking than thumb sucking and lots less corrective dental work!!!
*She holds her head up so well! I love to see her stick her neck out like a little turtle!
*Speaking of neck...I think her little neck is the cutest! I am always kissing on it. Love it!!!
*Loves "Praise Baby". So does her mom...It allows me to shower!
*Usually sleeps between 6 and 7 hours consistently before wanting to eat. However, she can sleep up to 9. The secret is out!!!
*I hate to admit this, but it is working for us......she sleeps in her car seat right now. It has made for way better nights. She was having some tummy trouble and I think this is really helping.
*Loves her doggies.
*Loves to watch fans. It is hilarious!


For Sophie's birthday, I got cupcakes from What About Cupcakes?, the local cupcake bakery! They were delish! If you live in Waco, I highly recommend the Oreo and Cream cupcake! But, I have yet to have one I do not like!

Here is the birthday girl on her BIG day!


She had the cupcake devoured in no time! She and Katie got mini Vanilla cupcakes and Flint and I had big kid size cupcakes!!! Yum-O!!!

Our Baby

Guess Who Has a Birthday....

Poppa Larry!!!!

We might get in trouble if we tell how old he is on this blog...but I will say it is a big day!!!

I have been blessed to have such a wonderful dad.

You are so full of life and so fun! You bring joy to everyone that you are around. You are very genuine and have a huge servants heart. I am thankful that I have a dad that always led our family toward Christ. You are such a wonderful role model to me.

Now I am so excited to watch you be Cilla's grandpa! I know she is going to love you so much and I know your heart is already filled with tons of love for her!!! I also have full confidence that you will show her a good time and probably give her ice cream and doughnuts way to often!

I love you so much, dad! I wish I could be there to celebrate this BIG day with you. We will give you lots of hugs when we get to Arkansas!

Easter

The weekend before Easter our Sunday School class had an Easter egg hunt and picnic. It was tons of fun! Cilla was the youngest of almost 30 kiddos!!! Our class is blessed with lots of kids. Cilla will have lots of friends and her pick of boyfriends...since most of them are boys!!! She slept through her first Easter egg hunt and enjoyed being held the entire time!

Our friends Josh and Kelli came down to Waco Easter weekend to meet Cilla! We had so much fun being with them! We went to a Baylor tennis match, visited the Dr. Pepper soda shop (FYI- Waco is where Dr. Pepper is made!), went to Cafe Cappuccino and Ninfa's, and enjoyed hanging out and good company!

(I did not do a good job of taking pictures)
Thanks for making the trip to see us. You guys mean the world to us.

We love ya'll!!!!

***This is what you look like when you are the mother of a new born! I look ten times worse standing next to beautiful Kelli!!! At this point I am not sure how many days I had gone without washing my hair!!! I am embarrassed to admit that!

One Month

Guess who is one month old today?!?!?

I know it sounds soooo cliche, but I really can't believe how fast the last month has gone! I think until you watch your baby grow up right in front of your eyes, you really don't grasp how fast life goes by! Time...please stand still! It has been a month full of ups and downs...but the most wonderful month of my life! I really never knew I could love something so much or think that such simple things were so cute! I never knew how much I loved and appreciated Flint. He has been wonderful to me and to his little girl and it melts my heart to see him with her!

A little about our life with Cilla:

*I have had up to 5 hours straight of sleep a couple of times this month. WHo knew that would feel so wonderful?!?!

*Eats every three hours during the day and between 4 to 5 hours at night. Wakes up once in the middle if the night to nurse. I usually do not put her down until about 10:30ish.

*LOVES to be held...I don't blame her!

*Rarely cries....unless she is hungry or of course wants to be held.

*LOVES her bath. She lets us pour water all over her body and on her face. If she could smile...she would! It is so cute!

*Is amazing when we go out! She loves to go...just like her mommy! She has been out about every day of her life since she was 5 days old. She has been out to eat several times, to the grocery store, to Target, shopping, to the doctor's office, to her dad's office, to several Baylor tennis matches, to a Sunday School picnic.....

Her first restaurant experience was at Jason's Deli. She slept the entire time!

*Has been left with a sitter. Her Nana stayed with her once and my friend and BSF Leader, Stephanie, kept her one night so Flint and I could have a night out.

*Loves to ride in the car.

*Thinks our puppies Sophie and Katie are interesting. A little unsure of them giving her "kisses".

*Not much of a swaddler. She has to have her arms out and is constantly flinging them around! Flint calls her the band director!

*Still has blue eyes.

*Loves for me to read her bible stories from her bible story book.

*Is a very noisy sleeper.

*Loves to curl up beside her dad and sleep...SO CUTE!

*Unfortunately, likes the TV a lot! She comes by it honest.

*Has the biggest belly I have ever seen and she loves to stick it out! But, it is so precious and so her!

*Was labeled feisty at 5 days old by her doctor and is still living up to it! She wants so badly to hold her own bottle and to hold her head up!

*Has acquired the nicknames Frogger, Chunky Monkey, LC (for Little Cilla), Cills (thanks Jordan!), and definitely gets called Cilla Grace lots.

Her Name

We have had so many questions about our sweet Cilla's name. I thought I would share a little more about where it came from.

Many of you know that Flint's precious mom passed away back in November. Her name was Priscilla. We thought the name Cilla was a little more modern and would set her apart from the other Priscillas in our family. That is why we went with Cilla.

We chose Grace because...well...we just really liked it. I have always loved the name Grace. We were actually going to use another name and we had a change of plans at the last minute.

Due to frustration and some circumstances we went to the hospital without a "girl" name picked out. We, of course, had a boy name picked out, but not a girl name. We actually talked about it on the way to the hospital to be induced and I just could not deal with it. So, after we decided to have the c-section, I told Flint to make the decision if it were a girl. I told him he could name her.

The converstaion went a little something like this:

R: You just decide. Name her whatever you want to. I truely do not care.

You know the names we have discussed over the last several months and you know how I feel about each one.

F: I can name her anything?

R: I said YES! Within reason!

And the rest is history. That is how CILLA GRACE came to be!

I thought I would share some of Flint's childhood pictures with his mom. Isn't she beautiful!?!? I hope our little Cilla is as beautiful on the inside and outside as her "Grammie". She has a lot to live up to!