The Terrible Two's ....at 18 months???

LOL! I just have to remember to smile. Miss Elizabeth is definitely showing mommy and daddy her independent spirit these days! She is a pro at shaking her head and saying "no" and we've mastered the fine art of temper tantrums. She wants what she wants, when she wants it. Daddy and I are struggling to say no to her, but it is so hard! She is the only person in the world I struggle to say "no" to...but I know that we need to in order for her to grow up being respectful and knowing right from wrong. I hope I'm not the only first time parent that struggles with this!
We're also challenged in the meal area..some days she eats like a horse, other days she picks at her food. Like yesterday, for example, it seemed like all she wanted to do was eat! Every time we turned around, she was asking to get up in her high chair and for food or a drink! I think she wore daddy out with it.
Other than these, what I suspect are normal stages, life is really good. Despite her moods, Elizabeth is mostly a very loving and considerate little girl. She loves to give hugs and kisses, especially to mommy and the dog and she is completely enthralled with her 3 fish!
Daddy and I are thankful that summer is on its way, so we can hopefully get out and enjoy our yard and the pool before too long- swimming lessons are on the agenda for this summer!

Hugs to all our friends near and far...we love you!

Before I Was a Mom.....

Before I was a Mom ,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby..
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
Before I was a Mom ,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.
Before I was a Mom ,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.
Before I was a Mom ,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom .
Before I was a Mom ,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom ,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom .
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom .

Family Time!

Here's a couple of photos from our family photo shoot at Sears a few weekends ago. My family and I were all together for the first time in almost 2 years! It was lots of fun to spend the weekend w/ my sister, BIL, niece and my brother, who were all here from out of town. The 2 little girls had so much fun playing together- their favorite game was peek a boo! While it was lots of fun, we were certainly glad to come home to our own beds after 4 days of sharing space with 8 other people!

It was also lots of fun to see our extended family and meet some of our new cousins that we hadn't had a chance to see yet...all in all, it was a great weekend! I'll try to get some more of my photos up soon!

Pigtails and Parties!

Well, its been a while again- lots going on around here! We've been to a 3rd birthday party for my friend's daughter, worn our first pigtails and doing lots more talking! Damon and I are super-busy with work, but are very grateful to be busy instead of unemployed! We'll be headed to my folks in about a week to celebrate my sister's wedding (she got married in Sept in Jamaica) and hang out with family! I'm very excited to see my sister and my niece- its been almost a year since we saw them last and I can't wait to see the 2 cousins together! I'll also get to spend some quality time with my brother, who will be in from Louisianna! It will be a busy weekend, but I'm really looking forward to the time with family and 3 whole days away from the office (and the dog, who will be boarded for the weekend :))

Anyway, here are some pictures from the birthday party where we hid out in the cottage and played dress-up and of her first pigtails today.

New year!

Wow! Where has the time gone?! I realized I hadn't posted in quite a while...

Anyway, things have been busy, but good around here for us. Damon has moved to a new group with Sprint and seems to be happy with the change. I took on a special duty assignment with my work, taking over my former boss's duties. It makes for some long days, but I'm enjoying the work, and the new, bigger corner office! :)

Elizabeth is growing by leaps and bounds...its hard to believe at this time last year I was coming back to work after 8 weeks of maternity leave...that seems like a lifetime ago now. She is running everywhere, is cutting 2 teeth (for a total of 5 when they all come in!) and has new words all the time. She is such a joy and a blessing to us.

I've had a little excitement in my life (via some good friends) who are newly pregnant. One friend found out yesterday that she is expecting twins, and my BFF called me last night to tell me she is 5 weeks along! I'm so excited for both of them- maybe I'll be able to squash my current baby fever by following their progress! Either way, its going to be a very exciting 9 months for my friends!

Hopefully, I'll have a few pictures after this weekend when my camera returns to me from St. Louis (where I left it last weekend)...until then- Enjoy and have a great day!

Birthday Party #2!

What a lucky little girl! Elizabeth was lucky enough to celebrate her birthday a 2nd time, with my family and our friends in the Kansas City area. The party was a great success, despite the awful weather (it was so cold!) and she recieved a lot of very nice gifts. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends! My mom took a lot of pictures, so I'm waiting to see those, but here are some of the ones that I have....

Birthday Party #1!

We celebrated the first of two birthday parties for Elizabeth this past weekend. We were in St. Louis for a family wedding and decided to celebrate her birthday with our family and friends in the area. It was a beautiful day and we couldn't have asked for better weather! We were able to sit out on my Brother and Sister-in-Law's patio for cake and presents- as you can see from the pictures, Elizabeth had a wonderful time! In addition to all the family and friends that we had with us, we had 3 special guests- my friend Cindy, her husband, Nate, and their daughter, Hannah. Cindy was my phone buddy when we were both pregnant and we shared almost everything, however, this was the first time we'd actually been able to meet in person! What a blessing to finally meet Cindy and have them with us to celebrate this special occassion!