Excitement!

Our friends Lisa and Tony have been expecting another baby girl, and she got here this morning! Emma Ruth was born at 6:07am weighing 6lb 6oz and measuring 20in long. The plan was for us to watch their daughter Anna while they go do the baby thing, so I got a call this morning at 2:48am. My immediate response when the phone rings while I am asleep is to reach over and silence it. I looked at it (still dreaming a little) and figured out I should probably answer it. By the time that message got to my hand, it had gone to voicemail. So then a spent a minute trying to figure out how to listen to voicemails in my sleep stupor. Luckily Lisa called right back and said "Hey Jessica, my water's breaking..." I hopped in the car to gather up Anna and her things, leaving Matt to set up the port-a-crib. When I got there (they live really close by) Lisa seemed to be doing great. She was gathering a few things together while Tony rushed around getting Anna's clothes, shoes, diapers... Miss Emma was about 4 weeks early (!) so they weren't ready for this early morning surprise (are we really ever, though?). I grabbed Anna and her bag and headed back to my house. After a few minutes of snuggling, Anna was ready to lay back down for the night. She is so sweet! And she went right down. I, however, could not sleep. I think I was hyped up on adrenaline. Luckily the girls slept until about 7:30ish, so I did get some rest. I had planned to take Joanna with me to staff calendering over at one of our staff members houses this morning, as I still needed to gather my bulletin information for the week. I decided I would go ahead and take both girls. We actually managed to get dressed, eat breakfast, and make it to the meeting at about 8:30. Wow. Hopefully we weren't too much of a distraction. Most of the staff is pretty easy-going! I just stayed long enough to get my information from everybody before we headed home about 10:30. The girls were sooooooo good, especially Anna. Joanna's still a little rotten. (Yes, that's right!) We had such a busy weekend and she just got over a cold that she spent all of yesterday glued to my hip (when she wasn't trying to actually burrow into me.) Today is much better; I think Joanna likes the distraction. I will blog more about our fabulous weekend and other exciting things later. For now, both girls are asleep (!!!), so I'm going to have lunch and SIT DOWN!

Oh, and I keep forgetting to post this, but Joanna is officially weaned. I didn't know it at the time, but Saturday, March 29th at 4:00am was the last time she nursed. We had some rough patches a couple of days after she quit, but mostly things have gone smoothly. I can really tell she's tired when she wants to nurse. Most of the time she's happy drinking her Milk of a Cow, and she's drinking better from her cups all the time. I definitely miss nursing, I've been tempted to forget we quit a couple of times, but I know this transition is good for us. We're enjoying finding other ways to bond.

Busy Week!

I've been trying to post for a few days, hopefully Joanna will nap enough for me to finish! I expect this will be a long post -- beware! Last Monday when Nana and Popo were in town, Popo cooked for us (the first of many times that week!). Here we are in the kitchen making Hoppin' John (or Hoppin' Phil after my dad altered it a bit). It's this fabulous dish we served with cornbread. I'll probably make it again, but it won't be as good. Dad brought a bunch of his own canned stuff to use in it; I'll have to buy stuff at the store.

The last time Dad and Renee were here, Joanna was almost 3 months old and she was still pretty uninterested in anybody holding her except me. Now, she's was as happy as could be with Nana and Popo. She has this new thing we call "the fake out" where she holds her arms out to you and lets you get really close before she pulls back and won't let you get her. It's a game, of course. Mommy very rarely gets the fake out, but everyone else has had their share.

These next several pictures are from our trip to Old Town Spring last Tuesday. We had a great time! Joanna fell asleep in about the last 5 seconds of the trip down there, but she stayed asleep in the carrier that we put on the stroller for a good 20 minutes or so. After she woke up:

Joanna and Popo
Renee was the photographer, so there aren't very many pics of her!
We ate at Puffabelly's for Lunch -- yum!
...24 hours later, and I'm finally getting back to posting...

I found this handy little travel kit at the baby store that has a cup, fork, spoon, bib, and sticky placemat -- all disposable. Very nice for traveling and eating out.

I love this stoller! Sure it's bulky, but it lays flat -- perfect for diaper changes on the go!
A fun butterfly bench. ...and again a break...7 hours later... Joanna's gone down for the night; I really should be able to finish now!

We managed to get the stoller up the stairs and into a store -- Joanna's first antiqueing adventure! Trying on Popo's hat... a little big, but sure cute.I just thought this was cute -- much better than an orange cone.Nana and Popo, taking a rest.We stayed in Spring a little while longer after lunch, long enough to lose the giraffe (yes, you read that correctly). Luckily, I was in a little baby boutique store that sold similar items, so it made me realize we had lost it. We split up and retraced our steps and found giraffe, (!!) seemingly unharmed in the middle of a driveway. Yea!

We drove home while Joanna had a nap. I was soooo pooped when we got home, but she didn't want to take another nap, so I didn't get to. :(
Joanna and I were outside enjoying nature when Nana and Popo drove up on Wednesday. Aren't we cute?
Flying.
On Thursday afternoon, we headed to Nana and Popo's hotel for some swimming at the indoor pool. Yes, this is Joanna's swimsuit from last summer. (Although, side note, I just picked up a new suit this afternoon -- guess what it has on it? Giraffes!)
It's hard to see in the small picture, but her eyes are huge here -- she just looks so silly!

Joanna had a blast! She loooovvveeed being in the water. Frankly, I was cold. The water temp was okay, but I think the room was air conditioned, brrrrr.

A totally unrelated event (and baby!). This is Joanna's friend Abby riding on her daddy's shoulders after church on Sunday. I took the picture because it looked like she was just about to fall asleep up there. If you look closely, you'll see that Miss Abby is wearing the same little strawberry outfit that Joanna has -- so cute!

Finally some Easter pics!

And others, too. First up: Joanna crawling around in some grass. We played a little outside at our last play day at Anna's house. As you can see, there's a lovely blanket to sit on. Joanna wanted to feel the wet cold grass, I guess. Lisa, Anna, and Joanna. Joanna -- just stand up and walk! It will be so much fun!
On Saturday Matt and I dyed Easter eggs. We let Joanna watch until she got tired, then it was off to bed with her while we finished! Here she is enjoying an egg full of snacks while we work.
Oh, what a cute face!
Our finished products: 3 misc. eggs plus Zoe, Big Bird, Oscar, Cookie Monster, and Elmo. It was fun!
Our little family on Easter morning: Aren't we just the cutest?

After church a little "Easter bucket" for Joanna. I just wanted her to have a little book about the Easter story and a new little doll.
Giving the doll a sweet hug.

My dad and step-mom are in town this week and we are having lots of fun! We went to Old Town Spring today, and both Nana and I took lots of pictures. I will get them uploaded and tell you about our day later. I'm pooped!

100th Post!

I just noticed when I signed in to blogger that this is my 100th post -- I just think that's neat. Happy Easter everybody! Hope you are having fun with family. We stopped home after church for Joanna's lunch and to put miss super tired pants to bed. We'll head over to Uncle Mark's after she wakes up for some food and family time -- yea! We had a lovely morning at church -- Matt and I went to the 8:30 service and Joanna went to "Sunday School" (aka the nursery). They actually got her dressed and fed her breakfast for me -- what fabulous ladies! We loved the 8:30 service; Easter at 8:30 has two of my very favorite songs: "Was it a Morning Like This?" and "He's Alive." I only get to hear them once a year, but they both give me such good chill bumps. We took family pics and Joanna pics in front of the flower cross -- I will post them later when I'm not feeling so lazy. :)

I have to share this sweet story: I was in at the computer the other night (working on my endless Holy Week bulletins and screen programs!) and listening to Matt give Joanna a bath. This is what I heard: "Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can. Put it in the oven... and somethin' somethin' somethin'... whatever." Then I heard a perfect rendition of "Eensy Weensy Spider," Joanna's favorite. Matt is so cute.

Also, he's really been working with Joanna on animal noises. We have a puzzle with cats and dogs on it. Today I pointed to the dog and said, "This is a dog, what does a dog say?" Joanna said "woof." Then I pointed to the cat and said, "This is a kitty cat, what does a kitty cat say?" Joanna said, "ow." (You know, like me-ow.) She's so smart! And so cute! I will post Easter pictures later!

A question...

Does anybody know of a good spot in the Houston area to take pictures of your darling child in bluebonnets? I'm just not up to stopping on the side of the highway.

The Easter Bunny!

Joanna and I headed to the mall this afternoon to do some shopping. I hadn't planned on taking her picture with the Easter Bunny (or I would have put her in something pink or springy or something), but I remembered reading the Beasley's blog today about how little Abby cried when she saw the Easter Bunny. I wanted to see how Joanna would do; she did so wonderfully with Santa a few months ago. Now, the Easter Bunny isn't exactly what I would consider the important part of Easter, but isn't this picture just adorable?! Joanna sat in the bunny's lap like it was no big deal -- such a big girl!

I also must comment on how fantastic Joanna was while shopping today. I had forgotten what a neat kid she is when she's had enough sleep. This morning she woke up at 5:30 (argh), but I did the lazy Jessica thing and nursed her then put her back down, where she slept until 8!!! Yea!! Lately she's been sleeping 'till about 6 (or 5:52), and she won't go back down. When she finally craters in the morning, her nap only lasts about 30 minutes and she's not exactly what I'd call fresh after it. This morning she played in the nursery while I worked, and she took a good 45 minute nap after lunch. It ain't much, but I'll take it. I'm blabbing on and on, but I basically wanted to comment on how good Joanna was at the mall. Sure I had to feed her snacks in the dressing room, but I was able to find what I set out to find and then some. Yea!

Timmmbbberrr!!!

Except no one actually says that when a tree falls on it's own. We were all inside today when we heard a big crash. A tree had fallen in the backyard across the deck (where we actually had all been just minutes before). It was a holly tree whose bottom part I guess was kind of rotten or something so the big wind we had today just knocked it over.
So I've been working on a bed in the backyard. I think it's finally finished (assuming everything lives). Here's the progression: first you have to imagine all the contents of these five GIANT trash bags are...
...covering everthing in this bed:
I got it all cleared out, and Matt bagged it for me.
Then Mom and I went and picked out more plants for it. There was already an azalia bush and a gardenia bush that had survived our complete lack of care, but there was still a lot of space for more plants. We got two hibiscus bushes and some marigolds. The marigolds are hard to see in the pictures, but they're this beautiful dark red/orange color.

Here are some absolutely gorgeous/precious/cute/beautiful pictures of Joanna:
Watching Daddy trim down the hedges.

I wanted to get a picture of this ensemble on Joanna, but she wouldn't stand up for me. Gran had to help. I love this outfit and the little shoes -- so grown-up!
After Wal-Mart. She's clutching my wallet and the receipt. Funny little girl.
This is after rubbing some kind of food in her hair to make it stick up. I love the face.
Interesting (to me) things about Joanna at almost 13 months old.

• She has stood independently a few times for a few seconds at a time.
• The child LOVES to dance. Sometimes her little bottom even anticipates the music before it comes on. If she's standing, her bottom sways back and forth. If she's sitting, her whole body goes up and down. It is soooooo cute!
• Sleep is not going so well for us these days. She's fighting it a little at night, which is unusual, and she's waking up very early. If we're lucky, she'll take two 30 minute naps during the day. If we're not so lucky, it's just one. Yuck.
• I love her, but she is frankly grumpy a lot (lack of sleep, maybe?) and very clingy. It's a good thing she only weighs a little over 16 pounds.
• I pulled out some warm weather outftits from last summer/fall that I think are going to fit her again this warm season, including her swim suit! Why am I still buying clothes for this child? ('cause they're so cute!)
• Joanna's been alive for almost 13 months, but she's had her first cold, fever, and injury all in the last 3 weeks. Bizarre..or maybe not.

I'm sure there are more, but my mind is wandering. Stop by and visit -- see the amazing Joanna in person. She'll love the company. I bore her, I think.