i'm in trouble...

georgia is turning into a complete daddy's girl. if he is home, she wants to be right there where he is. {okay. yes. she gets it honest} but it's been so funny to watch. and i've welcomed the relief when he's home. we spend all day together and i LOVE it. i'm just saying...

so here you go. harold was walking around doing stuff and if he went to the back. she did. if he came back out front. she did.

and this afternoon he decided to take her for a walk so i could mop and this is what she looked like as they were walking out the door...

is this funny to you? it so is to me. it's 59 degrees. her belly is shining. has on pajama pants {that you can't see} and her hood is covering half her face. does she mind though? um no because her daddy has her. it's love i tell you.

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have you seen these?!

they are blank cardboard books. you can buy them here. i can't believe i'm just now finding out about these. i feel kinda cheated. georgia LOVES cardboard books that she can turn the pages of and now...

oh my, i might be in trouble. she's already down for the night and harold is at work for 2 more hours. i need to be cleaning. or reading. or working. but instead i'm stalking blogs looking for photography tips and new arts & crafts. and well, that's when i found these which i had to share real quick. you'll see more of these. don't you worry.

have a good week...i'm off {to call my sweet husband to ask how many of these will fit in our budget this month }

a place prepared...

when i found out that we were having a baby the plans for his/her room began immediately. i would daydream about paint colors, fabric swatches and chandeliers. i looked at magazines, blogs and whatever else to find inspiration for what would become the nursery. i wanted everything to be just right. every detail to be well thought out. it was the only thing i could really 'prepare' while waiting to meet my child and i loved every minute of the planning. and once it was done i would sit in her room and wonder if she would love it as much as i loved making it for her.

jesus told his disciples in the 14th chapter of john that 'he was going to prepare a place for them' {john 14:2}

i've been reminded of this verse often in the last weeks. i've been praying for my heart to be prepared for easter. and for some reason i keep thinking of the glorious place called heaven where jesus lives. and amongst the many mansions, there is a place prepared just for me. can you imagine what detail and care our perfect savior has gone through to make sure that we will find our 'room' in heaven to be just perfect. if i, a mere sinner, would go through the tasks for my own child, how much more is his love for us?

so i urge you to pray that god would renew in you a sense of wonder and awe as we approach easter sunday. that you might prepare your heart in a new way these next days. i want to see the perfection of his plan as i mourn on good friday. and read the story of the cross with fresh eyes. and mostly, embrace the beautiful sunday that changed everything...

few words...

the past few days have been. um. weird. i won't bore you with details but harold and i have asked each other several times since monday where the camera crew was because for sure we were on some sort of sick comedy show. nevertheless, we are all fine and looking forward to the weekend {yes, already}

and this picture is random but i took it the other day and when i was downloading pictures for some reason it turned out to be my new favorite. georgia is starting to look like a little girl and this picture really made me notice how much she is changing and just how beautiful she is. i love that little thing more every single day. from her chubby toes up to those wayward curls.

and then back down again.

hope it's somewhat normal where you are. love from the twilight zone ;)

okay let me explain...

georgia isn't a big 'cryer'. yes she does cry but she has to be really upset or hurt. most of the time she just fusses at me or whatever else she's upset with. sometimes i have to keep myself from laughing because i don't want her to think i'm laughing 'at' her. {but i am kinda} so here you go...

http://www.youtube.com/get_player

and i have a feeling that those words aren't very sweet. you agree?

{and she doesn't fall at the end. it looks like it but she just sat down. thought i'd clarify that i wasn't allowing her to fall while videotaping}

a rare glimpse

look closely at georgia's mouth. can you see it?

her first tooth is popping through. and the picture below pretty much sums up the rest...

{ lots of biting, whining, drooling, tylenol and of course, hugs }

my burdened heart...

all is well in our house and georgia got a good report from the doctor. 21.4 lbs 30 inches. big girl. well tall i guess. over the 97th percentile for height actually. and doing great. she is still shedding the salmonella bacteria which isn't great but it will be gone eventually. and normally i would ask for your prayers that God speed up the healing process but if I could ask for one thing from you it would be for you to pray for our friends, the Beam family. {link in our friends list too}

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/tuckerbeam

my heart is about as heavy as it can be and i'm asking that you will join me helping them carry the burden they are facing with their son Tucker. he has beaten 2 different childhood cancers and now, only a couple of months after this last treatment for the 2nd cancer, they have found leukemia in his body. i can't imagine. but let me tell you that he has two of the most Godly, devoted, genuine and STRONG parents that are looking at this situation and charging it head on. it's strength i can't even comprehend. and so beautiful to watch. so again, please help them. pray for them. if you are a believer they are not strangers to you. they are part of your family. and God himself commands us to:

Help carry each other's burdens. In this way you will follow Christ's teachings.
Galatians 6:2

...Pray for each other so that you will be healed.
James 5:16

again i ask you to please lift this famiy up to the very throne of God in prayer. He will hear you and it matters!!!!!!!!!

here comes the sun...

after several days of rain AND several days of a cold for georgia, the sun is out and drying up the
wet ground and my baby girl. we'll get out today and enjoy it for sure. she has her 9 month appointment tomorrow so i'll do some updates later but here's some happenings from our time sheltered indoors...


she has no idea that there is a MUCH easier way to get her letters out of her train. instead she'd rather drape her body across it and reach in upside down. or maybe she's just creative .

she's also figured out another way to enjoy the jumper since she's way too busy to get in it these days. so she grabs her care bear and they head off to play under it.

and here. need i explain. this took about 3 seconds to happen. you can imagine what the room looked like when she was finished with that roll of ribbon. {note to self - if you give her ribbon to play with, don't give her a 20 YARD SPOOL}

so at some point i had to reign the madness in and i took away the ribbon which then prompted her to call her Cissy and tell on me ;)

and here's miss nosey rosey looking to see what that nose was out in the living room. she doesn't miss much i tell you. wonder where she gets that?! {and can you please notice those shoulder muscles. wow }

okay so i haven't gotten the cabinet locks yet, but i'm going. i just keep forgetting to pick them up when i'm out. however this picture is proof that it's time.

so there you have it. happenings at our house. i've got about 20 more minutes {hopefully} before she wakes up and a load of laundry is staring at me. hope it's warm where you are. happy tuesday!

{oh and just so you know...all the pictures were taken on one day. told you she was busy. and do you see how many outfits we had to go through! i don't do well with wet, snotty clothes so we were changing lots. hence the massive pile of laundry i see to my right. }

9 months today

georgia is 3/4's of the way to her big day. 9 months old today. lots going on 'round here. good things. my house took the backseat to work last week so i don't have much time for blogging right now while baby g is asleep but here's some recap of the last days...


it was such a beautiful weekend and we spend lots of time at the park and outside in our yard. i can't decide who is cuter in this picture playing patty cake...my baby or my husband. i actually think my husband is ;)


i've explained to georgia that i have to get back in shape, so she was reminding me how to do push-ups.

and then we went to chin-ups...she said they were good for the traps. (whatever those are)

and she also gave me a lesson about trans fats and was showing me how to read the nutrition labels on our food (she reads upside down you know. smart huh?)

oh and here...see that big grin? she was getting told no-no. this is the cabinet with all our cleaning stuff. (yes, yes, i am getting those cabinets locks. this week. i promise) anyway, i had to put the camera down after this pic because discipline isn't so effective when your snapping photos and saying 'big girl'.

and this is for her sweet daddy.

we talk about him lots throughout the day. and now when i ask where he is she looks towards the door because she knows that is how he comes in everyday. and just today she crawled over and started looking out for him. she knows he loves her deeply and she loves him too.

so sweetie...we'll be waiting for you. see you in a bit. love you tons.

in case you missed it...

georgia made her t.v. debut this morning. here's the clip. look under the 'In Case You Missed It' heading under the first paragraph.

http://cfc.abc3340.com/abc3340/toa/

aren't those cute outfits! our new HB Express line is launching this week and has been keeping me very busy. georgia is going to get her share of clothes modeling :)

*the other baby is winn (georgia's cousin) and you'll also catch a sneak peek of aunt courtney in the background too :)

tgif

is it beautiful outside today or what?!?

g. marie is working on her nap and as soon as she awakens we are headed outside for some sunlight and exercise. i will start teaching aerobics again the first of april so that leaves me exactly 3 weeks to get back in shape (which might be hard considering i haven't done anything but walk in 15 months) but the thought of embarrassment is a good motivator :)

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not much going on here this week. harold still fighting whatever crud he has. thankfully we've managed to dodge it. nothing planned this weekend except some work for me. we're all looking forward to some much needed down time.

the other day harold and i were discussing something we'd read in the book of John and georgia decided to look up some commentary to aide in our discussion. (no, no, i did not stage this picture)

never mind that she ripped the whole table of contents out of harold's bible before we realized what was happening. just a better reason to have it memorized, right? who needs a reference guide...

and her new thing is throwing all the paci's out of her crib before her nap. see...


i put several in the bed with her and all but one make it to the floor several times a day. she ain't letting go of the one in her mouth though. she knows better than that.

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a few of my friends have asked lately for vegetarian recipes. and a few of our friends have remarked that 'there's no WAY that could live without meat'. to which i answer 'you'd be surprised' and leave it at that. so anyway, once a week i'm going to post a recipe from our kitchen. you have to be creative when eliminating meat, but there are so many flavors that do more than pick up the slack. i encourage you to try just maybe one 'meat-free' meal every now and then. hopefully, you'll find yourself surprised as well. these recipes are tried and true and part of our menus week after week. i hope you'll enjoy. and if you have any of your own, please by all means, share with me.

hope it's warm where you are. love from bham...

(about these ********************* , they are subject breaks. got idea from another blog. neat huh)

wordless wednesday

both of my 'babes' were up and down last night with cold symptoms so i must cut it short as duty calls but nevertheless life is good. enjoy the pics from the last few days. be back soon :)