National Blog Month

November is National Blog Month. The challenge is to blog for 30 days straight. I am gonna give it a whirl. Hope it doesn't get too boring.

Happy Birthday Princess!

So today went better than I thought it would. I have not cried...so far. I woke up this morning and Grayce ran in the room and asked "DID I GROW?". LOL!!! And she was so serious when she asked. I told her she looked like she grew a mile. I then made her waffles for breakfast (her fave). We watched the new Tinkerbell movie that we had gotten her, which was really cute. Then we just hung out and played for the rest of the afternoon. I had an eye doctor appointment this afternoon so my sister came over to watch Grayce while I was gone. Hallie walked in and Grayce asked "are you going to babysit me...I mean KID sit me?". LOL!!! Don't even think of calling her a baby anymore. We then went over to my mom and dad's house to trick or treat. Little Snow White hit the jack pot with candy! She ate so much though that it gave ME a tummy ache. She is now passed out in her bed...girl did not stop all day long. I will close out with some trick or treat pictures from tonight. Happy Birthday G G! And Happy Halloween to everyone else.

~Something funny happened today. Grayce found a penny on the ground and gave it to me and told me that she wanted me to have it. It was made in 2003. The year she was born. I just thought that was funny that of all pennies for her to find on her birthday it would happen to be one from the year she was born.

FIVE? SERIOUSLY? NO, SERIOUSLY!!!

Wait a minute! Wasn't that just yesterday??? Where did my baby girl go? Can my little girl really be turning 5 tomorrow? It does not even seem possible at all. I swear it feels like yesterday that I was holding that little baby in my arms. Why does it seem like the older I get the faster life goes by? I don't want her to turn 5. I am not ready for it. But it is going to happen no matter what...I can't change that. How I wish I could. I wish I could keep her my "little" girl forever and ever. My little girl no longer has her "baby face". Right before my eyes she has turned into a beautiful "big girl". When did that happen? Ugh...why is this so hard this year. Why 5? I have never been like this any other year, but for some reason here I sit tearing up thinking about losing my baby girl to childhood. I AM NOT READY! Why did it go so fast. I wonder, do other parents feel cheated? I kind of do. Why does it have to go so damn fast!!!???

Well, we had a good evening. Eric is on nights this week so it was just my girl and I. We came home and had dinner, then watched some Disney. Around 7:45 I said lets go get in to out jammies and then come back out and watch a little bit of a movie before bedtime. She asked "can we have a pillow fight after we get our jammies on?". How could I tell her no? So we then met back up in the living room in our jammies and had the best pillow fight EVER! It was so much fun! She then wanted to lay on the couch together under the blanket and cuddle. Again, how could I tell her no? She indulged me and sat on my lap while we cuddled. That was probably the best part of my evening. I think she must have thought I was crazy though. You know how when people get married or something big they say "this is the last time I will do this as a single person"? Well all night I kept saying, "this is your last dinner as a four year old", "this is your last dessert as a four year old", "this is the last time I will tuck you in as a four year old" and so on. I think that only added to my sadness.

I cannot even put in to words how much I love that little girl. She is my everything! I cannot even remember what life was like before I had her in my life. I never in my life thought I would or could love something as much as I love her. I honestly believe in that old saying..."Making the decision to have a child is making the decision to forever let your heart walk outside of your body". How very true! She has truly blessed my life in so many ways. She has taught me so many things. I can honestly say that I am a better person and am proud of who I am today, and that is all because of her. I hope that I (we) can be for her what my parents were for me. I can only hope that she does/will feel the same way about me as I do my parents. I hope I don't fail her. I have never tried at something so much in my life. I try every day of my life to be the best mother I can be for her. She means so much to me. My head is filled with so many wonderful memories that she has given me, and I know that there are only more to come. Still doesn't make it any easier knowing that though. Having a child is the single most amazing thing that I will ever do. I cannot even explain how happy she makes me. My heart is full of love because of her.

"You're the answer to a million prayers,

You're the apple of my eye,

I can hear you breathing next to me.

Just how lucky can one person be?

I am looking at a mystery,

Everything I dreamed, more than I could wish for..."

~Nicolette Larson

(Thanks Dad)

The last picture as a four year old

Tomorrow I will wake up to a 5 year old. I AM NOT READY!!! :0(

Birthday Party Fun!!!

Our laptop charger decided to stop working last week sometime and my new one just came today!!! That would be the reason for my lack in posting. Here are some pictures from Grayce's birthday party yesterday.

She Sells Sea Shells by the Sea Shore

Well here are a few of my favorite pictures from vacation. I cannot take credit for any of these pictures though. They were all taken by my mom's friend Terry. She is a great photographer. I took over 400 pictures and none of them are anywhere near as cute as these, so I figured I would just post the ones she took instead of mine. The little boy is Terry's grandson, Landen. He is the same age as Grayce and they had a blast playing together.

From NC!

I cannot seem to get a good connection down here...all that is at the house is snail slow dial up. I promise to post as soon as we get home. I have TONS of pictures already. I took 170 in just one hour yesterday. CRAZY! We are having a blast!

FAVORITE FOTO FRIDAY~ The "Octoberfest (What does October Mean to You?)" Edition

It's Favorite Foto Friday y'all! Yippee! This one was so easy for me. What does October mean to me? October to me means the funnest month of the whole year...my favorite month of the whole year. Why? My little angel baby was born in the month of October! When I think of October I think of happiness, fun parties, the smell of fall (LOVE IT!), bon-fires, pumpkin patches, cakes, and so many more things. Here are a few of my favorite October pictures...again some may be repeats but they are my faves!

Grayce's 1st birthday. My grandpa (above) had a tradition of taking mine and my sister's hands and smashing them in our cake when we were little. I am so glad that he lived long enough to be able to do that with Grayce. He passed about two months after her birthday that year. I miss him terribly! Just looking at this picture brings tears to my eyes. My dad now carries on that tradition and he is now the one who smashes the hands.

I love first birthday cake pictures!

Blowing out the candle on her third birthday.

Hall-Zoo-Ween.

I got her a bounce house for her third birthday and we put it up in the garage for the entire week prior to her party...she LOVED it!!!

Fourth birthday at the beach!

This past weekend at Young's.

So, I am scheduling this post since we leave Friday for the beach. I don't think I will have much time to get to posting that day so I will give this scheduling thing a whirl. I will be coming at ya from the lovely coast of North Carolina next time!

Field Trip To The Fire House

I got to go with Grayce's class on their field trip this morning to the fire house for fire safety week. We had a blast!

Grayce and her BFF, Lawson

A beautiful 9/11 tribute quilt they had hanging in the fire house.

They said that this place setting is always there in honor of the fire fighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Grayce and Sparky

Grayce giving Sparky a high five.

They got to pretend to drive the fire truck.

"My kids" (as she calls them).
They had this little house made of plywood (above). The kids got to take turns with a fire hose putting out the flames (the little red flames fall backward and disappear when hit with water). The video of Grayce fighting the fire is below.

Our Weekend In Pictures

Dancing queen.

Putt putt.

More putt putt.

Pretty girl!

Grayce and daddy.

Grayce and mommy.

Super slide!

Super fast!

Super fun!

Pumpkin patch.

She is so beautiful!

Love that girl!