Pebble Beach and Texas

So, Flint and his buddies started a tradition last year of getting together and having a LIVE fantasy football draft rather than doing it on the computer. Last year, all the guys came to Waco. This year, they decided to have a destination fantasy football draft...OH BOY! What better place than in Carmel! Flint's Aunt Caroline, Cilla's Coke Coke, has a wonderful house there and she let the guys take over for a long weekend.

Here they are at the famous 18th hole at Pebble Beach.

Even Flint was in a fleece...you know it is nice and cool when Flint has on long sleeves. I think it might have gotten up to 105 degrees down in central Texas while he was gone. Cilla and I had the sweat to prove it! I know they had a blast resting, relaxing, enjoying each other's company, playing, and eating!!!

So, while Flint was away...us girls had to play!

Thursday, Cilla and I made a trip down to Austin to see one of my dear college friends, Amber, and to have Cilla's sixth month pictures made. I am pretty sure Amber is supermom, the most thoughtful person EVER, super organized and on top of things, the hostess with the mostess, and she stinkin runs half marathons in her spare time! Did I mention she has two of the cutest kids I have ever seen? We had such a fun time with Amber, Austin, and Kaylee (and Justin, too!)

Her kiddos loved playing with Cilla! It was hilarious. They would blow raspberries on her and drag her all around on a blanket. The picture below is after Austin pulled her into the kitchen. And yes...I am eating all of my words...that is my child in only a t-shirt and diaper! Oh dear!

On Friday, we had lunch at a cute little spot called Cafe Panini. Then we HAD to make a trip to Whole Foods. Oh my goodness, I love that place. The downtown location is a huge production. You can tell that Cilla and Kaylee were hardly impressed. They both took their naps while their mommies shopped!

Chicken salad is one of my favorite foods and Whole Foods just so happens to have the best I think I have ever put into my mouth! Don't you worry, I brought some home with me!

Sunday, Cilla and I went to Dallas to visit with my bestie, "Aunt" Laura. Time is ticking away and Baby Braysen Grundy will be here before we know it. We wanted to get in some time with her before she has a newborn baby to take care of! We had a fun lunch at Bubba's, one of my favorite spots in Dallas, and a great visit. We love you bunches, Laura!

Cilla looks a little surprised about having her picture made. Maybe she is just surprised that I took her picture without a bow on her head!!!

I am so thankful that Flint got to get away, have time with the guys, and come back refreshed. He works so hard (and works lots of evenings and weekends) and is not rewarded with much time off. You deserve it, babe! We are so proud of you!

I am also thankful for the friends that we are surrounded by down here in Texas- old and new! It makes us feel a little more "at home". Cilla and I got to have fun with our friends over the weekend. I do not have any pictures, but we also spent time on Saturday with Sarah, Faith, and Katie. Thank you Lord for our girlfriends!

See ya, Mom and Dad!

Dear Mom and Dad,

I am having fun with my Aunt Haley and could care less if you were here with me (just keep sending the money)!

Love, Cilla

Does this look like a face that missed her mom and dad?!?!

Aunt Haley and Mimi came from Denver to visit and to give Flint and I some time away for our anniversary. They had a big time!!!

Cilla loved Haley and Mimi so much!!!

Reunited!

Haley and Mimi went to Houston for a couple of days after they left our house. They found the cutest kiddie boutique and brought Cilla back some cutie pie outfits! I really love the one with the butterflies! Haley also found this birthday headband. She laughs at the big bows that Cilla wears. She said since I always put things on C's head, she just HAD to get the headband! HA!

Thanks for all the cute stuff, girls!

Time Away

Flint's Sis, Haley, graciously made the trip to Waco to keep our little bit while we went to Austin for our anniversary. Here is a pic of Flint and I on our first overnight getaway (alone) since our baby girl was born! Although I felt like I was missing my right hand, we had a wonderful time together.

We ate at Bess Bistro for dinner. It was delish.

We had the Creole Shrimp Bess for an appetizer and I had the pork loin over southern grits with blackberry compote. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

We enjoyed downtown Austin for a while and then went to The Melting Pot for dessert!

I didn't take many pictures because we mainly slept and ate (we also did a little shopping). Oh to get a good night of uninterrupted sleep was WONDERFUL!!!

Thanks Aunt Haley from the bottom of our hearts. Your gift, to us, was priceless!

Five Months Old

I can't believe my baby girl is five months old! It does not seem possible! I love the little love bug more everyday! She brings such joy to our lives!

Look at those legs...I could eat them for brunch; they are so yummy!

Taking her picture is becoming more and more challenging! She is interested in EVERYTHING around her. If her little arms and legs would let her, she would take off. She can't stand it!

What is going on in Cilla's life:

*Just started on solid food and LOVES it! She has loved everything so far- oatmeal, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and pears. She even loves the food I make for her - YAY! (I am trying to make homemade baby food).

*Has the potential to sleep 12 to 12 1/2 hours at night but only does it every third or fourth night. Most night she sleeps about 10. She is a horrible cat napper! In fact, we call her Kitty Cat because of her napping patterns. Some days she will only sleep a total of one hour. It makes me want to lose my mind.

*She loves her paci, but we have had some deep issues with it. We had to have a sleep boot camp. That is another blog post! I was getting up three and four times a night to put it in at one point!

*She is quite the little rolly polly. She rolls every which way. Front to back, back to front. One eighties in every direction.

*She has just started sitting up on her own for short periods of time.

*Her best friend is Sophie (our little dog). She watches Sophie's every move and Sophie watches Cilla's! Look out Soph, only a couple more months of freedom!

*Only cuddles with me when she is really tired...it makes me kind of sad, honestly. She is ready to be on the go!!! No time to sit and love on mom!

*Has the best toothless smile in the world. Laughs and giggles all the time (sigh). I love that about her!

*Has, what we formally call, a furrowed brow...constantly. Flint says she is already worried about the economy, her taxes, and paying for college!

*I get asked a lot if she really keeps the bows on her head and the answer is- YES! You have to start 'em young, folks! I think she thinks the bow is part of her head! She knows no different!

*Loves to read books. Her favorites are her Bible storybook, "Snuggle Puppy", "Food Fight", a book about her Grammie (that I had made), and her Emmit Smith coffee table book! That, of course, is Flint's book of choice to read to her...and she actually listens like she knows what he is talking about! SO funny!

*Still likes "Praise Baby" although would rather just be playing in her jumperoo or on her play mat.

*Loves SportsCenter and I am not kidding!

*Loves the remote control. Again, not kidding!

*Still LOVES the pool and her bath. Those are her happiest times of the day.

*Loves to go....anywhere! The noisier, the better!

*Is such a little social butterfly. I am so thankful. She loves people and is not shy...not too clingy to her mommy and daddy!

*She is her Daddy's girl! She lights up when she sees him!

I thank God everyday for our precious gift, baby Cilla! Our lives are so richly blessed because of her! We love you, sweet pea!

Cilla's Baby Dedication

Sunday, August 2, 2009 was Cilla's baby dedication. At our church, we make a promise before God, our family, and our church family to raise our baby in a way pleasing to HIM and in a way that will bring HIM glory. It is my prayer that we always point Cilla toward Christ in all that we do. I pray that she comes to know Him as her Lord and Savior at a young age and that He will always be her first love. We had to stand before the church and one of the pastors , our friend Brother Frank ;), said a prayer over our family. Cilla was very well behaved, if you were wondering!

"Train a child in the way she should go, and when she is old she will not turn from it." Proverbs 22:6

Getting a good shot of Cilla is getting harder and harder. She is always on the move! C wore her new "fancy" smocked dress! We figured this would be the perfect occasion! She looked like a little angel!

Nana and Poppa

Three Harris Generations:

Pappy, Daddy, and Cilla

These two can't deny her! There is no question who's child and grandchild she is!!!

Three generations:

Nana, Mommy, and Cilla

I just love her face in this pic!

I made dinner for our family and every one came back to our house after church. We topped off our day with yummy cupcakes from our favorite local spot. We had chocolate and praline pecan cupcakes. YUMMY!!

Thanks Nana and Poppa for coming to Texas for my special day and thanks Pappy for making the trip down from Fort Worth to spend the day with us. We love you all bunches!!!

7 Years

WOW! I can't believe Flint and I celebrated our seventh anniversary this year! We were married on August 3, 2002 at University Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Arkansas. That is the church we attended together in college! We had such a fun wedding weekend. Sometimes I would love to go back and just bottle up the fun and the innocence of that day.

...and I thought I loved you then!

Our Rehearsal Dinner

It was "Texas" themed and absolutely wonderful. Are you surprised?!?!

What a ride it has been!!! Three houses, two states, and one little girl later...here we are in Waco, Texas!!! It may not have gone according to how WE would have ideally liked it to, but God has been faithful to provide us with more than we could have imagined! Life is good!

Flint,

I love you from the depths of my heart! You are such a wonderful husband. You are so thoughtful, caring, loyal, and you are such a wonderful leader and provider for our family. I appreciate that you seek God's will for direction for your life. I see all the time how you were made just for me! You are a wonderful daddy to Baby Cilla. She is so lucky to have you as her earthly father. I know that you will train her in a way that is pleasing in God's sight by modeling what it means to be a Godly husband and dad to her. I am so proud of you. No one I know has been through more this past year and you have handled it with such grace and dignity. I am proud YOU are MINE!!! I have loved spending the last seven years being married to you and I can't wait to see where the next seven takes us!!! I only thought I loved you then!

"This kind of love is why I'm standing here

It's something that we can share

I can't get enough of this kind of love"

-Sister Hazel

Just Because

Just wanted to share this picture. I happen to thing she is the cutest thing in the world!

She is being dedicated at our church this upcoming Sunday and this is going to be on the screen! Hope you are having a good Wednesday!

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!