Baby Blessing

"My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!" Psalms 139:15-17

Sunday night was Baby Blessing at Pleasant Valley Church of Christ. There were over 20 babies born in 2009! Above is the group photo taken by Kelly Bittle a few weeks ago. Her website is http://kellybittlephototgraphy.com/ , and she is wonderful! Can you find our little girl? She would be the one with the baby boobs. Ha! I'm sorry, but she is getting so chubby. Anyway, the Baby Blessing was such a sweet experience. The whole service was devoted to the little ones. We sang songs like "Jesus Loves Me" and "This Little Light of Mine." Scripture was read and several of the daddy's shared some devotional thoughts. There was a sweet slideshow, and at the end all the families and elders came on stage for a special prayer. Each baby received a Bible and some other fun goodies. There was a reception afterward with yummy petit fours and punch. Thanks Mia for sharing this experience with us! Gigi and Papa would have been there if it hadn't been for the snow and ice. Don't worry- we have it all on video, including the slideshow! Mary Ella has been the greatest blessing to us! And we're so thankful the church acknowledges what a great responsibility we have in raising our children to love and serve the Lord, takes the time to pray for us, and supports this next generation of the church.

Getting ready

Mary had a little lamb.

This bow was in her Easter basket last year from Gigi. We have been waiting for a special occasion to wear it.






On stage

Mary Ella was socializing.

Booty petit fours, punch, and arrangements of gerbera daisies

Mary Ella and her friend, Gunnar

He was holding her hand! So sweet!

My friend, Lindsay with Gunnar- we are neighbors too!

Please honor Mary Ella in your daily prayers by praying that she will:

• Have faith and follow the Holy scriptures as a foundation for her life
• Have a teachable spirit and be open to learn from others
• Have compassion for others, self-disicpline, and a servant's heart
• Display kindess, appreciation, generosity, and always pray for others
• Be a woman of faith and pureness, and be an obedient and caring friend, wife, and mother
• Be safe from disease, accident, or injury
• Be proud of who she is and all that she will become

(This list was taken from ME's goodie bag from PV).

25 Weeks

25 Weeks Old

What did we do this week? We got out for a few short excursions. It is really nice to be able to run to Kroger or Target and it not be a big deal anymore. And I finally bit the bullet and started grocery shopping with Mary Ella. It's not too bad- I just have a limited amount of space in the buggy with the carseat, which is probably a good thing. Monday night I got to go to bunko, and Brad and Mary Ella had a father/daughter night. It was nice to have some grown-up girl time. Mary Ella has really enjoyed her exersaucer this week! The first time we put her in it she just squealed and squealed. And I never thought she would be able to work herself all the way around it, but she has tried out all the bells and whistles. Her favorite piece is the mirror. The girl thinks she is so good-lookin. She talks and smiles at herself too. It's really cute! My mom came Thursday night before the ice and snow, and Mary Ella showed off her new tricks, including ROLLING OVER! This week she started rolling from her back to her belly. I enticed her with a toy the first few times, but by the end of the week she was doing it all by herself. Way to go Mary Ella! I got a cute video of it, but I can't figure out how to get it on here. Thanks Mia for coming to play with us!

Wow! This is cool!

Sleeping beauty

Ready to roll

Sittin' pretty

I'm so big!

It was fun being snowed in for a couple days. We watched movies and watched Mary Ella. :)

Snow kitty?

Cousin Cathy gave ME this pretty dress for Christmas.

Silly smile

Mary Ella and Mia after church

She's playing on a quilt made by her great-great grandmother Dewey.

She is really starting to go after what she wants. Makes it interesting!

Pretty soon she will be mobile. Yikes!

Snow!!!

24 Weeks

24 Weeks Old

Can you tell we love Trumpette socks? They are wonderful- stay on and go with everything!

This week just flew by! Mary Ella plays so hard everyday. She plays with toys in her bouncy seat while I get ready. Then we play on a pallette in her room. She rolls around from her tummy to her back to her side (she is so close to going from back to belly). She licks, shakes, and throws toys. Then she plays with a wooden spoon in her Bumbo while I make her bottle and tries to grab everything on the counter. We go upstairs, and she plays sitting propped up on the couch with her toy basket (she already is taking EVERYTHING out of it). She plays on the bed while I fold clothes. She plays in the kitchen in her bouncy seat while I fix dinner. She plays in my lap with a toy during church and never makes a peep. And now she plays in her cool, new exersaucer! The girl plays and plays and plays all day. She is very content playing by herself.....IF I am close by. I don't have to be constantly interacting with her for her to be happy, but sometimes if she looks up and I'm gone...Oh boy! I think it may be the beginning of some separation anxiety. She does this with Brad too. If I have her, and he walks away she fusses. And if he has her, and I walk away she fusses. She gets over it, but it's funny how she is already so observant. What a girl! What a busy, sweet, and happy girl!

Mary Ella licks EVERYTHING! Sure she puts stuff in her mouth too, but she mostly sticks her tongue in and out and licks stuff to test it out.

Happy girl

Wooden-spoon lickin'

Paula Deen-in-training

She chewed on her fingers alot this week and was fussy a couple of afternoons. I am wondering if she is beginning to teethe?

Mommy's girl

Saturday we had a family outing to Babies R Us and Dillard's. Brad and I had a yummy lunch at Pei Wei while Mary Ella napped. And Sunday after church she was a doll at Ya Ya's while we had brunch with friends. Thank you Mary Ella for being so cooperative! Everyone says what a good baby you are!

I will be sad when she is too big to wear gowns. They are so sweet!

Wild woman!

Right after I took this picture, Mary Ella took her first fall. She spotted Ginger, her hands went out, she leaned forward, and flipped off the chair! It happened in the blink of an eye. Her head went first, but thankfully her booty had enough weight that it made it all the way around and she landed on her backside instead of her head. Bad Mommy. I scooped her up, she cried for a second, and then we kept taking pictures. I think it just scared her.

Obviously okay, thank goodness! I just love my new Nikon camera I got for Christmas. It takes great pictures, even when you are taking them of yourself! Ha!

Giving Mommy kisses- LOVE this!