Allie & Jay

“Jesus loves me this I know e
e the cow jumped over the moon.”

Parker’s hair looks like Gunther from Friends

“yes” “yes???” “yes Jesus?”

Parker loves sleeping on her tummy

“mama, you draw a train, tractor, truck, nemo, and sincess”

I’m thankful for my job. Yes, yes I am I am thankful for my job. Yes, defiantly thankful for it, I love learning from my students. They make me a better person. They are so sweet and as much as I miss my babies during the day I have 8 mamas trusting me with their babies during the day. Yes I’m thankful for my job. I’m thankful for having a career I love. I didn’t get into bed until 12:45 after pumping, bottles, diapers, etc. I’m up now feeding at 3:45. I’m gonna be tired, but I’m going to be thankful.

I am thankful for smiles!

Smiling yet?

I am thankful for education. Today is my 10 year (really 10.5) high school reunion. Did I like high school? Well NO. Did I make life long friends who were in my wedding and we speak every day? Well no. Did I learn a lot about life and academics? Yes! Did I get to experience life? Yes! Did I travel the south through 4-H learning how to communicate and carry myself like a professional? Yes! Did my parents give me every opportunity for growth? Yes! Did I meet one very sexy dark haired boy that would eventually become my husband? Yes!

Then I went to college. Did I like it? Yes! Did I meet lifelong friends that would one day be in my wedding? Yes! Did I learn a lot about life and academics? Yes! Did it make me the person I am today? Yes! Did I start dating and get engaged to the man who would become the father of my children and the one I can’t wait to see every day? Yes!

I am so thankful my parents gave me the opportunities for education that they did. I’m not sure I’ve ever told them just how thankful I am. They put me in a good private school rather than the local public school. They paid my way through Clemson and paid my bills so I could focus on studies rather than work. My parents rock! Thanks Mama and Daddy!

Will I do the same for Parker and Kennedy? Of course (but only if they go to Clemson!)

Now do you think my mom and dad will pay for my masters in Speech? This girls education isn’t over! Not yet at least:)

I am so thankful for my family. Monday is D day. Back to work I go. Luckily for Parker we have great family who’s going to help watch her until after Thanksgiving. Thankyou Lala, Dori, Deedee, and Grammy! I am so thankful for their generosity in watching our sweet baby girl during this difficult time for me. Do you think I’ll post Monday that I’m thankful for my job?

8 weeks passed already?

We are really talking up Christmas this year. Seriously I got lie 20 books from the library! Kennedy was in the car reading on of them on the way home….

“Snow (Santa) gonna come. Snow gonna say trick or treat Kennedy B, trick or treat Parker B, trick or treat mommy B, then daddy brings us presents”

I was spying on Kennedy in the room with Parker the other day “I love you Parker. I really love you”

I am thankful for where I live. Ok I dream of a bigger house (well not really a bigger house just a bigger living room), I dream of a better kitchen, I dream of having more neighbors our age, but I am thankful for where I live. I lie my house. It’s home, but I’m speaking more about the location. In just a 2 hour drive I can have my toes in the sand, my feet on a mountain, or my heart in Clemson. More importantly almost all my family is here and for that I’m very thankful. My Mom lives less than 10 minutes away and so does my sister. My sister in law is just 30 minutes down town. We have 2 sets of grandparents just a hop skip and a jump down the interstate. I can’t imagine not having my family so close. My other sister in law is 2.5 hours away, but we still see each other often. Now we just need to figure out how to get my step sister and step brother to move here…

I am thankful for my husband. He is such a family man and that is just 1 out of the millions of things I love about him. Sure it drives me crazy when his clothes are in the kitchen or when the dishes go in the sink not the dishwasher, but overall he is perfect:). What other husbands do you know who do 4 days of Halloween, or drop everything to go apple picking, zoo gazing, park walking, side walk drawing, or little mermaid watching. I love that he reads Kennedy books every night and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Or how about the fact that he takes her to daycare every morning. I could go on and on, but he pits up with me and for that I am thankful!

Did you know that as soon as I started dating jay I started thinking about our kids? How many? What sexes? When? I knew we were getting married. I knew he was Mr Right. I knew he would be the father of my children. June 10, 2004 he asked me to marry him. June 25, 2005 we were married. August 2005 he started law school. I asked all the time when we could have kids. I joked. I poked. I begged. I knew the time wasn’t right. I knew we needed to wait. I also knew I wanted to be a mommy. I wanted that job more than anything in the world. Finally January 1, 2008 I convinced jay that the timing was right. Little did I know the journey to get there would have a few curves, bumps, and even train wrecks in it! I wanted to give up and just adopt by the summer of 2008. Just 7 months after we started trying I was done. I wanted to give up. Jay and Dr S stayed positive. They both knew I was going to be a mommy to my own children. May 2005 we were blessed with miracle #1. I honestly thought she would be an only child. I knew I wanted more but in my heart I thought she was it. Dr S was so supportive when we started trying for #2. Again our road was bumpy and curvy, but in September we welcomed miracle #2. I love being a mommy. It is even better than I ever imagined! So this brings me to day 1 of my Thanksgiving…. I am so thankful that God chose me to be Kennedy and Parker’s mommy. I may never know why the road to becoming a mommy was so hard, but had that road been smooth I wouldn’t have the babies I do have and for that I am thankful.

I had a bread blog typed. Really, it was a good one! I wrote it 2 weeks ago when Parker was a month old. Checked the blog today and it wasn’t there! Here are a few 1 month states…well 5.5 weeks now!

Parker at 5.5 weeks you can

-smile
-you’ve laughed once
-you’ve rolled over one (I didn’t see it happen but you weren’t how I left you)
-you weight 9 lbs 3 oz
-you eat every 3 hours day and night for 15-30 minutes
-you had your first dr appointment and prescription today (I thought you had baby acne but in fact it is cradle cap on your face)
-you don’t really like pacis
-you can hold your head up
-you love to be held like a big girl sitting up
-you love your sissy and she loves you
-you like to be swaddled at night
-you have blond hair and blue eyes
-you love the moby wrap
-you don’t like the swing, bouncy seat, or really anything other than my arms
-you coo at me
-you wear newborn clothes and diapers but I think size 1 and 0-3 month clothes are coming soon!
-you love to sleep on my chest
-you love your froggie paci
-you are a trooper and have been to the zoo twice, apple picking, the pumpkin patch, and running many errands