more like chronicles of leya...

hey, everybody. i got an email from my Mamaw Lou (mom's mom) saying she checked on our blog this week & that she can't believe how much drew is growing. turns out someone actually does read this from time to time, so i guess i better post an update, especially since drew's grown even more in the last 2 months! again, somehow i seem to be keeping with my every-other-month trend.

well, at the end of february, my precious Mamaw Nelda (dad's mom) went to be with Jesus. it was a surprise to us and was, of course, an emotionally challenging experience. i went to spend 6 days with family in arkansas, while leaving drew & topher at home, so that added to my grief a little, too. it's always good to be reunited with loved ones, it's just hard under such circumstances. God used the time, though, to draw us closer together. i can't describe how blessed i am to have those hours with my grandad, especially. he told me story after story about his life & his journey with the Lord & i absolutely hung on every word. i did get a few pics. hope that's not too wierd. here's my adorable grandad, Papaw Freeman...me & my "bubba" Jon...and my gorgeous youngest cousin Barbara, whose middle name is Fay, after our Mamaw Nelda Fay.

when i got home, my precious baby & husband had painted a huge banner to welcome me!

notice how drew's covering her face. that's what she did for a while anytime someone tried to take her picture.

part of my problem is that i haven't taken many pictures since this. i do have a couple of our visit with uncle lamar, aunt jill & cousin tyler, so i'll post them next. honestly, i didn't even get any of drew in her easter dress. what kind of mother am i?! i did get some of her hunting eggs, though & they're cute, so i'll share those too. and, rest assured i plan to get her back in that dress as soon as possible. she looked too cute not to show the world.

hello, everyone. so, here's the Christmas pics my mom promised. turns out she didn't take many. i think she was distracted that day by all the family fun & the web-camming. it was so great to be able to share Christmas with our family, some who were right here with us & some who were miles away. this fabulous tricycle is from my papaw who lives in tx. that's my dad's dad. he and his wife will be visiting me this month & i can't wait. we shared christmas with them over the webcam.

look...i got 2 little laptops for christmas, one from each grandma. i was really needing my own, b/c mom & dad won't let me play with theirs.

one of my favorite things is this hat, scarf & mitten set from mamaw. i love to wear them, even inside.

opening gifts this year was so much fun. last year i only wanted to chew on my presents, but this year i could really play! i also got am adorable outfit from aunt jill, uncle lamar & cousin T, who we talked to over the web cam & will also be visiting in a few weeks. i'm gonna have so much fun with them!!!

it was a wonderful christmas and i got to spend it with my grambee from tx, plus my mamaw & papaw from al. and, my mommy & daddy too. and angel, who also got a new collar & some treats. lucky dog.

i love my family!

my little pumpkin

thanksgiving comes before christmas, right? well, in the interest of our OCD readers (and writer) here are our pics from october & november:

we went to a little pumkin patch to have some fun & bring home a few small fall decorations

look, daddy. there's a lady bug!

why is it so hard for us to get a good family photo? this one did not make the calendar.

there's our little pumpkin, sitting with all the huge pumpkins. we really did only bring home this next little one that she picked from the patch, plus a couple of small gourds for a table decoration.

i took a pic of her pumpkin, plus this precious little artowrk she brought home from sunday school. can you read it? it says, "i made a little turkey so everyone can see that i am very thankful that God's been so good to me." i love it!

so, she learned to say "pumpkin", of course, which she did properly for many weeks. but somehow, pumpkin became mumpkin, and then eventually monkey. go figure.

as for our little drew pumpkin, when we went for her 15 mo. check up (at 16 months), she weighed a bit over 25 lbs & was more than 34 inches tall. so, she's still "off the chart", as they say. she seems to be taking more after her daddy, who was tall right from the start as well.

happy new year! we'll tell you about our Christmas soon...

Amen!

So, just a quick post to share something totally adorable...at least to Topher & me.

Last week, on the Sunday night before Thanksgiving, Drew did something that completely cracked us up & also caused us to marvel--both at the sponge-like quality of children & at the sweetness of our Lord. Most nights, part of our bedtime routine is a family prayer. I usually hold Drew in my arms & Topher wraps his arms around both of us and prays. Not too long ago, Drew would just squirm and whine & was sometimes impossible to hang onto. Those were short prayers mostly. But, in recent weeks, she's begun to calmly and sweetly look up at her daddy while he prays. I love to watch her face watch his. On Sunday night, when he was finished thanking Jesus for our little family, he finished with an "Amen"...and so did Drew! Her little amen was so cute and sweet in her soft sleepy voice. Oh, how precious. I can't even express how much we both delighted in her response. Topher was especially impacted by it.

Thank you, Lord for my incredible family. I imagine how much you delight in the prayers & "Amen" agreements of your children. You are so good to me. More than I deserve. I love you!

--Amen

just for fun

Playing with my Daddy. He loves this game and so do I!


Mommy's 30th birthday! My Mamaw & Papaw & Uncle Jon came from Alabama to celebrate. We had lots of fun together.
I'm just trying to be cute here, people. A little pouty, a little coy. Clinging to Daddy. You get the idea.
This picture was taken back in August, so I've grown a lot since then. This is one of my favorite outfits, given to me for my birthday by my Aunt Jill! Isn't it adorable? I couldn't be cuter in it.

And, here's a little snapshot of me with my Grambee, taken at the botanical garden across the street from my neighborhood. Grambee came to visit last week! I'll have some more pictures soon of me in a pumpkin patch, which we played in while she was here. I even picked out my very own pumpkin.

---See you soon!

sizing up

when i posted her birthday pics, i didn't let you all know how she's growing...

at her 12 month check up, she was 32 inches tall & weighed 22.8 pounds. can you believe she's grown a foot? yes, she's very tall. which is much more noticeable, now that she's WALKING! yay. she took her first "official" steps on Aug. 16 & is getting better by the minute.

One Sweet Year

Happy Birthday, Drew!

ok, seriously, i heard Topher say the words, "no way, dude. i have a one year old..." and this totally sent me reeling. (it was in response to a late night inviation to dinner, by the way, which was not the part that took me aback.) if Toph has a one year old, that must mean i do too. whoa nelly. where did she come from? because, I have a baby, don't I? not an almost toddler! I suppose i'll get used to this growing up business at some point.

nah. no, i won't.

alright, here's how we celebrated:
one of our dearest friends, Kaleigh, came for a perfectly long visit & was able to help us party it up all week long! So, we started Tuesday with a special birthday breakfast & a couple of presents. One of them was a float for the pool. So, after the special birthday lunch, (mac n cheese) we went for a swim.

mmm, i love mac & cheese!
is this drew showing us she's one? she has also learned to point to her nose when you ask her where it is...perhaps with all the slippery cheese...well, you know. yuck.
pretty girls at the pool

So, after a special breakfast, special lunch and pool time, we went out for...a special dinner! we all love japanese hibachi & drew has been a few times, but this time she actually cried when the chef made the big flame. too bad i have no picture of that.

finally, right before bed we opened a huge gift bag full of tons of great stuff for the birthday princess. thanks to "momma Gail" who is topher's assistant at church. the gift bag included her special princess "1" tiara, and a precious baby doll that drew loved to kiss, plus lots of other great stuff. so awesome!
when we said we celebrated all week, we meant it. drew got some great gifts that came in the mail from wonderful friends & family in oklahoma, tennessee and texas. wow, we feel loved! thank you so much!

finally came the party on saturday! Mamaw & Papaw from Alabama, Nikki and Kaleigh from Tennessee, and Whitney and Kelsi from Oklahoma were all here for the weekend. we had so much fun! Mamaw Delena made this adorable cake & we had a rubber ducky theme...and lots of pink!

She wasn't really sure about the cake. she does love making a mess with her food, but this was so new that Dad had to help smash her hands in it. she also loves to clap her hands, especially when someone says "good job", so that, plus the icing equaled much fun. we just had a blast the rest of the weekend spending time together. we played & played, and we ate & ate.

drew was certainly worn out by the time everyone went home. but guess what? she can't wait to do it again next year! happy first birthday, baby girl.