Weekend Warriors

Sydney had her first "overnight" road trip this weekend. It all started when Chris wanted to attend the national H.O.G. (Harley Owners Group) Rally in Oklahoma City. Chris' Uncle Charles lives in the Dallas area and he wanted to meet up with him so they could ride up to OKC together. His 2 cousins, Brian and Craig, also live in the Dallas area, so it was decided that I would take Sydney and stay with Craig and his family while Chris rode his bike in the blazing hot June sun. I was not envious of him whatsoever...

Anyway, I didn't think anything of traveling with Syd because she has always been a TERRIFIC traveler. Well, apparently, she is not too fond of DFW, because about 1 hour into the trip she began to wail like a banchee. I put up with it until Jacksonville, but coudn't take it anymore so I signaled to Chris that we pull over. We stopped, got her fed and calm, and then went along our way. We made it another hour down the road and had to repeat the pull over technique once more. At this stop, Sydney was not the only one in tears. I told Chris I was going back home because it was CRAZY to travel with a 4 month old who could not be consoled. I pretty much wigged out. Well, I gave her some Tylenol thinking she must have been in pain and got back in the Honda Hellhouse of Terror.

We made it another 30 minutes down the road, and just as we were getting into Dallas traffic, the screeching started back up. I turned up the radio full blast, stuck an ice cold teething ring in her mouth, and drove like my life depended on it. Somehow, someway... we made it to his Uncle's house. I have never been so glad to reach a destination in my life. After visiting and going to dinner, I made my way to Julie and Craig's (who live in Arlington..about 3o minutes away) and she screamed all the way there.

Julie, who has 2 small children of her own, met me at the door with sympathetic eyes. She could tell we had been through it. After dinner, I attempted to put Sydney down. It took 3 tries, but I finally got the little stinker to go to sleep. Craig and Julie have a beautiful pool and pool house in their backyard. Sydney and I stayed in "The Hut" which has every amenity you can imagine and were very comfortable and happy. She behaved quite well and had a wonderful time, ONCE WE GOT THERE. Here she is hangin' out in the hut. Heck, she even had baby toys to play with there!

On Friday, we visited a friend of Julie's, Julia Hernandez. She is a talented artist and she printed Sydney's foot for me. The pieces turned out GORGEOUS!! If you are looking for someone to do a custom piece of artwork that you will cherish forever, I highly recommend her. She is easy to work with and her rates are very reasonable. Visit her site: http://jaeartworks.com/

She turned Sydney's foot print into an Eric Carle style butterfly. It matches her nursery perfectly.

Sydney and I enjoyed getting to hang out with Craig and Julie's 2 precious kiddos. Nolan is 3 and Ella is 18 months old. It was so cool to see Sydney interact with little people just like her!

Nolan, Craig, Sydney, & Ella

A big thank you to my hosts, Craig and Julie, for a wonderful getaway weekend. I hope to come back and visit soon!

Exersaucer Extravaganza

Uncle Ricky wanted to buy Sydney a special toy while he was here. One thing she didn't have (can you believe there was something she DIDN'T have?) was an Exersaucer. He went to Babies-R-Us in Beaumont and picked out one that will grow with her. It has a tropical rainforest theme and Sydney absolutely LOVES IT!

Is this face goofy enough for ya, mom?

Supervising the construction of the Exersaucer.
(It had a BUNCH of parts and required a degree in engineering to put together.)

Can I give you a hand with that, Uncle Rick?

This globe thingy is pretty cool!


Sydney loves the singing chameleon.

Homecoming and Announcements

My brother Ricky is flying in from Illinois tomorrow. He has not met Sydney yet and has been keeping up with her through pics and email. I am excited that he is finally going to see her face to face. We are going to have a great weekend!

I FINALLY got Sydney's announcements done. Yeah, I know she'll be 4 months old on Friday, but better late than never. I ordered from Suzie Q Designs. They're NOT pink and they're pretty simple. I think the top picture looks like me and the bottom one looks like Chris. She's definitely a blend of her mommy and daddy. I just LOVE the scripture. It says exactly how I feel. We are so blessed to share our house with a miracle.

What anniversary?

It wasn't until 5:30 Tuesday afternoon that I realized that it was my 8 year anniversary. GOOD LAWD! Can you believe that I forgot my own anniversary? Chris and I have been working like fiends and come home just in time to grab a bite to eat, bathe/feed the kid, and collapse into the bed, just to get up the next morning at 6:00 a.m. to start all over again. This working and having a little baby is for the birds! I really don't know how working moms do it. I applaud them! I have just 1 more day of work until I am officially a SAHM.

June 9, 2001 seems like such a very long time ago. I remember it was the weekend that tropical storm Allison made landfall and the flooding was horrible. It was called, "the most extensive tropical storm in US history." Sections of major highways in Houston were shut down. Our photographer (who was coming from Houston) almost didn't make it and the weather was so bad, that many of our wedding guests never arrived. Rain, rain, rain, and very humid and muggy. No one wants rain on their wedding day, well, baby, we got it. My friend Jenny (who was getting married on the same day) actually had to CANCEL her wedding. She had a stand up ceremony, left for her honeymoon, and then a month later, had her shindig. UNREAL! She said it was miserable b/c she couldn't eat much on her honeymoon cause she knew she had to get into her wedding dress when she came back.

I've heard an old wives tale that if it rains on your wedding day, your marriage will last a long time. Well, Chris and I will be married till we both bite the dust, if that's the case. We had enough wedding cake to eat for weeks and weeks. I was a little disappointed in the turn out, but with a near hurricane hitting Texas, what can you expect? I'm glad the marriage is not about the wedding. I think the wedding is just so the bride can be a princess for at least one day in her life, and that's about it. I think 99.9% of men would just rather do a "stand up, sit down, get out of here ceremony."

Who knew it would take 8 years to become Sydney's parents, but I wouldn't trade those wonderful years of just the two of us being together...traveling, laughing, crying, enjoying life, riding Harleys, pinching pennies, putting each other through school, growing spiritually, and learning those hard life lessons. I love you, Chris!

Here's to many more anniversaries...that I hopefully will not forget.

Dedicating Sydney

Sydney will be dedicated on Sunday, June 21st (Father's Day) at Clawson Assembly of God in Pollok, TX. The service begins at 10:30 a.m. Sydney will be dedicated to the Lord by Pastor Kevin Poage and her Papaw, Richard Bishop. Please join us if you are in the area! We are so excited to give back to God what he has given us. I made a promise to Him that if we were ever blessed with a child, that we would teach her to live for Christ. Our first step in fulfilling that promise is to fully dedicate her life to God.

Tired

Well, this is it. My last 2 weeks of full time work...for a while, at least. I am exhausted. My hat goes off to working moms who come home to 2+ kids, fix dinner, clean house, do homework, get baths, read stories, and put little people to bed. Unbelievable! I just have one child and by the time I pick her up from my mom and dad's house, get home, and start dinner, I feel like I've been running in a marathon.
Poor baby.... She did not take ANY naps today and was cranky when the evening came. I got her to lay down around 7:00 PM with the plan that I would get her up around 9:30 for her last snack, put on PJ's, and go down for the "big sleep." Well, it's 9:20, and the kid is still in the outfit she had on all day and probably a wet diaper. I put her in the crib and she did not move a muscle. I think she is as tired as I am.