Things to be thankful for...

1 - God
I am so thankful to have a God that loves me unconditionally even when I don't give him the attention and praise He so deserves. I am also extremely thankful that He brought the rest of my thankful things to my life!

2 - My husband
Matt is my rock. He is the person that I go to for everything. He loves me and supports me and cares for me. I am so incredibly thankful to be married to such an amazing man!

3 - My daughter
Katie is the best thing that I have ever done! Sometimes I wonder how Matt and I created such a wonderful, beautiful, loving, outgoing, smart, sweet little girl.. She is truly the light of our lives, and I am so thankful to be her Momma!

4 - My family
I am so incredibly lucky to have such an awesome family. My mom and dad are great! They have provided so much for me my entire life, and I am so grateful. My little sister is growing into such a sweet young lady (with her still awkward - dorky - 8 year old nature!!). I love her so much, though. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins are also so sweet. My cousin, Hannah, and I have grown very close this last year, and I am so excited. She and I are SOOO different, but I enjoy seeing her perspective on things!

5 - My in-laws
I am so lucky to have such great in-laws. They do so much for Matt and I, and we both are so appreciative. They raised my husband to be the man he is today, even if that includes inappropriate jokes, nasty humor, and all the other strange things he does! He also is loving, kind, and hardworking.. Things they both taught him! So, Jim and Sandy, thank you for giving Matt to me!

6 - My job
I love my job! I truly do! There are days when my 5th graders drive me up the wall or the lesson planning and paperwork just get to be too much, and then I hear a non-English speaking child speak a full sentence in English or a student writes me a note to tell me that I am the best teacher ever. I am reminded WHY I am called to teach! Some people may disagree with me for working and not staying home with my daughter, and I have to say that it doesn't bother me anymore! I am a GREAT teacher and a GREAT mother!

7 - My best friend
Jennifer Pharr is truly my best friend! We met each other my freshman year of college when Matt and I started dating. She is a true inspiration to me... I am so thankful that God brought her in my life!

8 - Technology
I love having easy access to the internet and cell phones and all the other convenient things in life. I am thankful that our society has the resources and intelligence to create such amazing things!

9 - Health
I am so thankful that I am healthy and that the rest of my family is healthy, too!

10 - Money
I am thankful that Matt and I rarely have to worry about Money. It really is one of the greatest things. We make a decent living, but our desire to budget and save is so wonderful. At times it drives me crazy, but I am thankful to be able to buy the things we need and most of what we want!

There are SOOOO many other things I am thankful for, but I will stop here! I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and remember to be thankful for all those little things!

12 Month Post (2 weeks late)

10/5/10 Grandma came into town
10/6/10 Stayed with Grandma at home
Lost Dog while on a walk with Grandma
10/7/10 Stayed with Grandma at home
10/8/10 Had a great evening with Mommy and Daddy just playing in the floor
10/9/10 Went to Mimi and Papa’s while Mommy and Daddy worked up at Lee
Visited Aunt Jenn at Willow Creek
Watched the Razorback game with Mommy and Daddy
10/10/10 Took a nap through church!!
10/11/10 Went to doctor (21 lbs. 3 oz.) – still have an ear infection; trying new antibiotic
10/12/10 Took 7 steps in a row!!
10/13/10 Ate dinner at Aunt Jenn’s house – pizza and ice cream
10/14/10 Went to Marshallese Literacy Night with Mommy and played with lots of people
10/15/10 Went to the Craft Fair and Las Margaritas with Mommy and Daddy
10/16/10 Stayed with Daddy while Mommy went to a workshop
Ate Chick-Fil-A for the first time (3 nuggets and 6 waffle fries – WOW!)
Played with Tory and Mark for a while (met Mark for the first time)
Mimi and Aunt E came over so Mommy and Daddy could go to Shakes
10/17/10 Went to Emma Breaux’s birthday party at Fun City (ate ¾ of a cupcake)

10/20/10 Went to Mommy’s first OB appt for Jellybean and enjoyed seeing Dr. Reiter and Vicky
Got to see the baby on the ultrasound!
10/22/10 Officially a walker!
10/23/10 Spent the night with Mimi and Papa while Mommy and Daddy went on a date
10/24/10 Stayed with Mommy and Daddy during Care Group instead of going to nursery
10/29/10 First Halloween Party at school – Daddy came!
Went to Lee’s Fall Festival and enjoyed walking around and showing off
Went to Aunt Judi and Uncle Mike’s house for Chili
10/30/10 Went to Trunk-or-Treat at Sonora – Papa LOVED walking you around
10/31/10 FIRST HALLOWEEN!!! Dressed up as Minnie Mouse (of course!)
Went to Trunk-or-Treat at Elmdale
Went trick-or-treating with Mommy, Daddy, Mimi, Papa, and Aunt E
Helped Daddy pass candy out at the house and LOVED it!!
11/2/10 Went to Ye Olde King’s Pizza with Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Joshy, Ms. Sharon and
Mr. Jim – LOVED Ms. Sharon
11/3/10 IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!
Mommy and Daddy took the afternoon off – we went to Chick-fil-A, Bliss Cupcake
Café, Sams, and you got your birthday present (the cozy coupe), ate chicken nuggets,
tator tots, and macaroni and cheese for dinner

Kathryn Elizabeth,

I cannot believe you are 1 years old! That just seems absolutely unreal to me. It literally seems like yesterday that Daddy and I were waiting in the hospital room waiting for you to arrive. And then I remember giving you your first bath. Watching you projectile vomit. Cuddling with you in the middle of the night. Gosh, you stole my heart little girl.

You are walking everywhere and are so full of life. You love people and love to be the center of attention. That doesn't surprise me at all! You are your mommy's child! You are such a sweet and content child, and I am so proud that you are my daughter. Little one, you are the light of my life...

Love,

Mommy

Happy Birthday, Princess K!

Well... It's official: Our little girl is 1. We are both constantly amazed at how quickly this year has passed!* Yesterday was Katie's birthday, and all three of us really enjoyed it.

We both took the afternoon off work yesterday to spend time with Katie on her birthday. We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch (K loves the waffle fries!), to the Bliss Cupcake Cafe (what little girl doesn't need a cupcake on her birthday?), and to Sam's (one of Katie's favorite places). After a two and a half hour nap, Katie got her birthday present - a cozy coupe! She LOVED riding around in it (pictures to come). After playing outside for a while, we went back in to have all of Katie's favorite foods for dinner: chicken nuggets, tater tots, and macaroni & cheese.

Needless to say, it was a special (and bittersweet) day for us, but we are also so proud of Katie and the sweet, kind, funny, loving, friendly kid she is becoming. She has the cutest personality and is so inquisitive about EVERYTHING! She loves her Momma and Daddy, but she is also happy to be with other people or to be interacting with other people (including complete strangers in stores and at restaurants). She is also very active, both physically and mentally. Once she mastered walking, there is no stopping her! There are also times when she's looking at a book or touching something she's never seen before, and you can just see the wheels spinning in her little head as she processes it and stores the information away for later.

We have truly enjoyed this past year and are looking forward to the next few months that we have to spend alone with Katie. Then Jellybean will be here, and we'll have a whole new set of adventures to muddle our way through! We've also enjoyed sharing this past year with our friends and family and are so thankful for all the love and support they've given us.

We'll post our monthly update in a couple days, but until then: Happy Birthday, Princess K! Momma and Daddy love you very much!

*Before people comment and tell us that time will only speed up from here... Don't. We don't want to hear it for the 100th time! It's sad and depressing and makes us want to find a way to bottle Katie up and slow time down so that we can experience each moment with her a dozen times over. :o)