First timer

We had a couple of firsts today. This morning we went with our friends from the Gourley family to the park in White House. Mikayla went down the slide for the first time(with Mommy's help). She really liked it, you cannot tell by her expression in this picture but she honestly did. She would laugh as she went down. We did not stay very long, the weather was not what I expected it to be... a little chilly. We are supposed to go back in a few weeks with our Mommy at Home group and I'll put more pics on here then.

We are developing an artist!! Mikayla made a pretty picture with fingerpaint for the first time today. She did very well with it. Of course, I had to sit very close to insure that she or the dog did not eat the paint. I was afraid that she would be a little freaked out by the texture of the paint but she dug right in and started smearing. I helped a little but she did 95% of the work herself!!

Finished masterpiece... for the fridge!!!

SNOW??????

No, your eyes are not deceiving you... I woke up Monday morning and had snow on my deck, roof, and truck. It was not much at all but still the white stuff. Just wanted to share - I knew if I did not take a picture people would not believe me.

Happy Easter

This picture did not turn out as well as I had hoped it would. We had a late special service at church and by this time Mikayla was ready for nap... so it was a chore just to snap this one picture I was not trying again. And yes, Mike does have a full suit on in this picture!!!

We had my family and Mike's family over for Easter dinner on Sunday. Grandma Bonnie made this pretty bunny cake.

Just being silly Uncle AJ!!

Mikayla and Daddy at the table.

Aunt Amber and Uncle Philip(just got back from their honeymoon Saturday night), Grandpa Jimmy, back of Aunt Susan's head. And yes, my floor is still blue... getting new floor next week... it cannot come soon enough!!

Grandpa Jimmy, back of Aunt Susan's head again, Great-grandpa, and Great-grandma.

Back of grandma Bonnie's head and grandpa Carl chowing down!!

There's that crazy Uncle AJ again.

Just hanging out

Just took some pictures of Mikayla playing today. She has had a really yucky cough since Thursday of last week. Through that she is still wanting to play. It has not been very much fun seeing her suffer through trying to get over it. She has been a trooper.
This is her new smile for pictures.

She loves her Elmo. She is looking at herself in the mirror in this picture, watching herself as she hugs Elmo.

You see it in her eyes in this picture that she is not feeling great.

One of her favorite things to do now is stack her nesting blocks. She also likes for Mommy to stack about 4 of them then count from 3 backwards and she knocks them down. She gets so excited as I count, waving her arms... so cute.

Such concentration!!

This is one of her favorite toys a duck head that rattles. She likes to stack him on top of the blocks also, over and over and over. She also likes putting him inside the blocks and taking him out, over and over. She looks so determined in this picture.

Just a swingin'

A couple of weeks ago Mikayla finally got to use her swing at Grandma and Grandpa's house. She loved swinging. The higher we pushed her the more she laughed and smiled.

What a mess!!!

We are having new flooring installed throughout our house so Mike decided Sunday that he wanted to pull up all the old flooring. This is what my house looked like on Sunday... and the floors could look like this for a couple of weeks!!!! AHHHHHHH!

Ten months old!

I am so glad to have my happy baby back... we had a very rough week last week. When I posted last week we thought Mikayla had a stomach bug. Well, for the first part of last week she did have the stomach thing... but it did not stop there. She was over the stomach part by Tuesday night, but then she got something else... the mini flu!!! All she wanted to do was cry and sleep. When I say cry I don't mean fuss, she screamed and no one could appease her. We ended up going back to the doctor on Thursday and they did all kinds of tests to see what was wrong with her. Finally, a blood test determined the mini flu. Today(Monday) she is FINALLY 100 percent back to herself. I am so THANKFUL!! Since she was born, Mikayla has been a VERY good baby so for her to cry like that and go almost a week without smiling - it was torture around here.

We went to the grocery store this morning and she actually sat in the front part of the grocery cart instead of her carrier (with a cloth cover over it of course)!! She looked like such a big girl!! I had an older gentleman ask me on what aisle he could get one of those!! I laughed and Mikayla thought it was funny so she flashed him a big toothless grin and laughed too! So sweet! She has developed such a fun personality. She wants to do anything to make you laugh, and when you do laugh of course she keeps repeating!!

Got these pics of Mikayla playing before nap time this afternoon - she is growing up so fast!! Cannot believe she is 10 months old today. It just amazes me that she will be a year old in 2 months!! Man... time flies! Yes, previously I did say toothless grin... she STILL has not cut any teeth. The two front bottom ones are SOOOO close, just not there yet. We are throwing a party when one breaks through!! Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

She is trying to sing into the microphone... future American Idol!!

Here she is watching herself in the mirror!!

Beating the microphone on the drum!

She is watching the beads inside the microphone move when she shakes it!

Mikayla and Daddy

Mikayla wants to share her pacifier with Mommy and Daddy now... and she is VERY persistent. She actually tries shoving the pacifier in our mouths with GREAT force. She is starting to show a little temper when she does not get her way.





Look how much these two look alike!!!

We are so blessed.

We had a scare yesterday. Mikayla's soft spot was enlarged and firm, she threw up a couple of times, and was just not herself. Taking all that into consideration I made a phone call to my contact at Vanderbilt and was told to bring her to the ER. All signs pointed to a failing shunt, AGAIN. Some days our burden feels a little heavier than others and yesterday was one of those days. So after many tests, tears, and hours they let us know that her shunt was fine and it was just a virus. Turns out that it is a not fun stomach virus. We had a few friends that came to see Mikayla while we were there, which we love them very much for that, but with a very good friend I was really able to reflect on the situation. Like I said before, some days are naturally harder than others but we go through nothing compared to some families who were at that hospital yesterday. Our daily struggles with Spina Bifida are nothing in comparison to parents that have to watch their child lay in a hospital bed every day with stage 4 cancer, knowing that could be their last day. I think about the initial and continuous reports we got while I was pregnant with Mikayla and I look at her as I hold her in my arms today... we are so very blessed. Don't get me wrong - every day is in no way a cake walk for me but when those uncertanties about the future arise or the why starts to come... I step back and remind myself of what could have been or what is a reality for others. We are so blessed.

First Haircut

We decided it was time to get rid of Mikayla's Mullet. Mike and I took her at 3:30 today and Mikayla got her first haircut. She did fantastic... did not cry or even wimper once.(mommy didn't even cry either)

Mikayla with her Mullet.

Getting her cape in the chair.

No turning back now! Snip, snip.


There goes the mullet!!


What are you doing to me Mrs. Angie?

Hair is gone, gone!

Time to trim the bangs.

We even got a certificate and hair for the baby book.

She looks like a big girl now. So precious!!