The Weekend in Pictures

The Chambers family had a fantastic, wonderful, and blissful weekend. It was one of those weekends that leaves you refreshed and rejuvenated!

On Saturday, we slept in (till after daylight...wow) and then got ready to go to Nacogdoches. I dolled Sydney up in her snowman outfit and she and her bunny made several trips down the hall doing the modeling pose.
Her walking has turned into RUNNING.
Chris had to take the big bike in for a service and he rode it in the 20 something degree weather. Yep, he sure did.

We saw one of my dearest friends, Kim, at the Harley shop. I apologize for the blurriness of this picture. I STILL have not mastered the camera phone. Kim has a 6 month old named, Emma, and she TOO is a miracle baby. Kim and I have a very special bond and I know we will be friends for life!Then, we toodled over to 20/20 Eyecare to see MeMaw Kay and Pepaw Doc. Kay stayed with me in the hospital while I was having Sydney until my mom could get there. Sydney is just an adopted grandkid!Then, the 3 of us went to Auntie Pasta's - a wonderful Italian eatery in Nacogdoches. Sydney LOVED her pasta and meat sauce.


Chris has the balsamic ribeye...mmmmmm..

I had the lasagna trio...mmmmmm.....


I highly recommend going to Auntie Pasta's if you're in the Nac neck of the woods!

Sydney is bundled up and relaxed in her daddy's arms as we get ready to leave...
It was MIGHTY cold on Saturday!

And on a totally unrelated note...Sydney's shoes came in the mail! These are the ones I bought to go with her birthday dress. The darn things have squeakers in them! (What in the WORLD was I thinking??) But, aren't they the most adorable shoes you've EVER SEEN?

Millie Pie

I love, love, love, this precious snowman onesie that Sydney received from Mimi at Millie Pie! If you are looking for personalized, unique, and absolutely precious clothing for your sweetie, I highly recommend Millie Pie!

I have known Mimi and Marcia for several years now, and you won't find nicer folks, faster service, and better quality. Every garment is lovingly hand-designed and created by this talented duo. They will personalize and customize just about anything you need. Want a cupcake t-shirt? They can do it. Need a puppy dog on a pair of capri pants for a 6 month old? Consider it done!

They are just now getting their website up and running, so please visit them their website often for the best in one-of-kind children's apparel!


P.S. We are still scratching our heads about what color her eyes are going to be?? Blue? Green? Brown? There's a little bit of everything in those peepers!

Wifus Domesticus

When an Arctic Blast hits East Texas, it is quite the newsworthy topic. We Texicans are not cold weather beasts and it is a mentally debilitating event when you step outside and your breath is taken away! My brother lives near Chicago and he would love to be in Texas to experience our "cold snaps" in comparison to his life in the deep freezer. So, it is very cold today and Sydney and I have not stepped foot outside the house.

It has been quite an adjustment for me to be a stay-at-home mom. Yes, I do work 2 days a week, but the other 5 are at the house! Since we were going to be homebound today, I decided to get all that "stuff" done that I usually save for the weekend: cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc... I even got extraordinarily brave and tackled making chocolate chip oatmeal peanut butter cookies from SCRATCH!

Chris has an amazing recipe and he bought all the ingredients a while back with the plans of making them for people for Christmas. Well, THAT never got done. The ingredients are stacked in the top of the pantry and every time I open the door, stuff falls on my head, so I thought, "Those cookies really need to be baked." Like my rationalizing?

I have a Pampered Chef baking stone that I received as a wedding gift 8 years ago and I have been using it for pizzas and biscuits, but have never tried it with cookies. Well, I should have been baking cookies on it a LONG time ago. They were bakery perfect!


My little one LOVES to watch her "educational" baby videos and has learned how to turn on the TV and DVD/VHS player. I had to put cardstock over the "ON" switch on the TV and she is trying to figure this deterrent out as well.

I turned off her video (she'd reached her TV quota for the day) and she was NOT happy!

But... a warm cookie from the oven healed her hurt feelings immediately.

Honey, I'm Home

Sydney and I have packed a lot into this day, and there's a ton I could blog about...

I could tell you about our wonderful morning reading books together and playing in the nursery.

I could tell you about our fantastic lunch at the Belle Jim with my new church friends...and how Sydney puked on my pastor's wife.

I could tell you how we went to the store only to find that the photo machine was broken and we walked out empty handed.

I could tell you about how I finished Sydney's invitations and how PRECIOUS they turned out and how proud I am of my photoshop skills.

I could tell you about how I fell flat on my face while chasing Sydney around the couch and how it really hurt, but I laughed really hard.

I could go into detail about all of those things, but I choose to blog about a few precious minutes.

When Chris gets home from work, he is exhausted and has usually put in a 12 hour day. He puts his patients' charts on the desk and then spends a few minutes with Sydney. She is getting used to this routine and is so thrilled when Chris walks in the door. Tonight, he got an important phone call and was delayed in his Sydney time. She went to the office and crawled under the desk for a while until she bumped her head. She wanted to play with her Daddy more than anything. As soon as he got off the phone, she grabbed his finger and they began their evening walk. Her face just lights up when she gets to walk with her Daddy. It is the highlight of her day. She makes happy sounds and it's hard to tell what she is trying to say. I think she is saying, "Woo hoo! I'm walking with my Daddy."

Her face is full of confidence, security, and genuine adoration. My prayer is that I express the same feelings as I am walking with my heavenly Daddy. There's an old song that says, "I can't even walk, without Him holding my hand." That is how we should approach everyday, with Godly confidence, security, and heartfelt adoration for our Lord, 'cause He's right there, holding our hand. And... oh what a day that will be when we all get home.

A Glimpse into the Future

It is absolutely amazing how fast a little girl can make a mess. After lunch, I put Sydney in her room to play. It was spotless at 12:45 and this is what it looked like at 1:00. She is perfectly content to dump out all the toys and books and just sit in the midst of what looks like the aftermath of a tornado. I guess I have many years to come of looking into a room scattered in toys. What a joy!

"Yes, Mother, can I help you?"

I'm "expressing" myself.

Sydney has been turning pages in books for the last several months. She loves to look at the pictures and "kiss" certain characters that she deems worthy of affection. Especially the pig's snout in our "Quack, Quack" book. Curious piglet is always the recipient of a sloppy kiss from Sydney. Lately, she has decided that our after breakfast activity is reading. She will carefully select a book from the basket and then bring it to me. She slaps it on my leg and then holds up her arms for me to pick her up. Once I put her on my lap, she starts to squeal with excitement. She literally shakes with anticipation of reading the book. I don't get all the words out for each page before she vigorously "turns" the page, and I usually make up my own storyline. When I'm especially tired, I make up funny phrases about the characters to amuse myself, and my hubby in the next room listening.

Let's read "Nighty Nite" again. I haven't heard it since about 2 minutes ago.

My mother read to me constantly and I hope that Sydney wants me to read to her for years to come. I won't complain about reading "Nighty Nite" 990 times, 'cause there will come a time when she won't want me to read "Nighty Nite" ever again.

I'm really excited about Sydney's 1st Birthday. I am doing ladybugs for the party 'cause there just so darn cute. I am making everything myself and I have finished the invite and few of the party decorations. The cake has been ordered (tell me what you think) and I can't wait to party, party, party!

Ain't Gonna Sleep

There's something about Sundays that makes Sydney want to stay up and party all day. She loves all the music and excitement at church and will take a cat nap on the way home, but for the rest of the afternoon, she is pumped! I put her down for a nap around 3:00 and it is 4:00 and she is still awake, playing in her crib with her assorted fuzzy companions. She's not crying or upset, but is refusing to sleep with every ounce of her being! I'm a person of routine, structure, and habit, so when she's not on her schedule, it makes me a little crazy. I guess she's teaching me to go with the flow.

It's back to work tomorrow! The break has been wonderful, but I am truly ready to get in the swing of things again. You can only clean house and do laundry so much.

Stepping into 2010

Sydney has been taking steps (unassisted) since Thanksgiving. 2 steps here..3 steps there, but on New Year's Day, the training wheels came off and this girl started RUNNING down the hall, across the living room, EVERYWHERE at an unbelievable speed. It was a little unnerving at first, 'cause I just knew she was going to fall and bust her head open, but, when she gets to going too fast, she just plops down on her hiney. I'm having a little trouble uploading the video, but will get it published very soon!