Five Years Ago Today...

I was on my way to First United Methodist Church, with my mom, while trying to get my nose ring back in my nose. Of what significance is this random tale you might ask. Well on Saturday the first of May, 2004 I was on my way to church to be married to Daniel. I had pierced my nose three years earlier with my mothers blessing under one condition; that I would take it out for the wedding unless I wanted to pay for it myself! My mom eventually got used to the piercing and even grew to like it and I was now allowed to wear my extra bling for the ceremony, so I had taken it out, as I did most days to clean it and give it a little extra sparkle.

There was just one problem...I couldn't get it back in, and I can assure you, however much you dislike piercings, a void hole looks so much worse than a tiny little rhinestone! I had no pre-wedding jitters whatsoever, but for some reason or another, in the rush to get ready I could NOT get my nose ring back in. When I got to the church, I figured I could trust Monica to get the job done as she had "re-pierced" my nose more times than I care to remember (a story for another time). Monica however, had no better luck than me, until...wait for it, she swapped nose rings with me, and wa-lah, it went right in! True friendship! :) That was the only "big glitch" on our big day (well that and Daniel and his groomsmen inadvertently chasing down a relative and accusing him of pickpocketing...again, a story for another time). After all that, it was down the isle in my green suede heels to meet my high school sweetheart and say I DO.

It was the most exciting day of my life and I had dreamed of it for so long. It only took a few months before I knew I was going to marry you, and after six years of dating I knew everything I needed to know about you. You were definately THE one! You are my bestest friend and you balance me out. You tolerate my crazy and you're even able to laugh at it to keep from loosing your mind. I love you and I'd be nothing without you. Thank you for being my hubband and Ru's daddy, you mean the world to me. UNDERLINE, UNDERLINE,UNDERLINE!

My Happily Ever After

Nine Months!

Waiting to go in for your nine month checkup...

Today you are nine months old! You had your nine month "well visit" yesterday, and you weighed in at 21 pounds even (no wonder my arms hurt) and you are 28&1/4 inches long. That puts you at 90th percentile for your weight and 75th percentile for your height, not too bad for a preemie! You have finally started holding your own bottle, but only if we lay you down, and you prefer momma to feed you your last bottle before bed. I think the Good Lord let me have that because I couldn't bear the thought of you not needing me to feed you as I still hold you in my arms everynight until you fall asleep. Other than that, no major milestones this month. You still aren't crawling, but you are finally getting up on all fours and rocking back & forth until you lunge forward and pancake out! Even though you aren't able to get around on your own yet, I can already tell you are going to be pure trouble when you can & NO is going to be a very popular word in our home! You are the nosiest child I have ever seen, you want to touch everything! You have yet to meet a food that you don't like and you eat at lightning speed. You love your "dolly bear" as daddy calls it that you got for Christmas and it has definitely become your security blanket. I love you monkey bear and though I miss my tiny little five pound baby, I love watching you grow!

p.s.
you have also taken to kicking (with quite some force i might add)when you don't like something, usually when you're in your crib and you would prefer to be in someones arms! ;) Some might refer to this as a tantrum of sorts...

self portrait "photo shoot" while waiting for Dr. Mcfarland to come in.