Catching up!!

A lot has happened since the last blog that I wrote. On October 7th Reeltown Highschool had their homecoming festivities and my class, the class of 2002, was one of the classes honored. We've been out of school for 10 years. That's still crazy. There were different activities planned throughout the day. It was neat seeing all of our pictures on the bulletin boards and catching up with people I hadn't seen in a long time. The most fun was probably "band practice" and performing during half time. We all jumped right back in the swing of things, laughing and having a blast. For the most part I kept it together during the performance so that was good!

New things with Kelsi...She has learned to crawl! She was a late crawler, but she has definitely got the hang of it now. She is all over the place. She won't be still for a second. She loves to pull up on everything, and she has learned to balance with one hand. She also stands with her hands on the floor and her butt in the air, which is so funny! Kelsi hates sleep, and that is an understatement! She will fight sleep with everything in her. She has a total of 8 teeth now- 4 on bottom and 4 on top. She had her first ear infection, a double ear infection actually.

We also went to my cousin Megan's wedding in Kentucky. This was Kelsi's second trip to KY. On the first trip she did great because she was only 3 months old. I was really worried how she would do the second time because she had the ear infection, and she no longer likes to be in one place for too long. However, she was an angel all 8 1/2 hours up there and 8 1/2 hours back. This was Kelsi's first wedding. Everything was beautiful. Congrats to Megan and Mitchell!

Kelsi's first Halloween was a lot of fun! She "dressed up" as a fairy, and I must say she was the cutest fairy ever, complete with sparkly pink shoes, a wand,a tutu, a headband, and glittery wings!  Instead of getting her in and out of the car a lot we went to Reeltown Church's first Candyland Festival. It was really neat. Kelsi couldn't do much, but we had fun walking around and visiting with everybody. I know that she will really enjoy all the activities in the next couple of years.


 
TJ and I often talk about how fast time has gone by since Kelsi was born. This time last year we were having showers and looking forward to Kelsi's arrival. We have so much to look forward to with Kelsi. We are so excited about her first Christmas and before we know it, in 2 short months, she will be one year old!

Kelsi's Baby Dedication

Yesterday was Kelsi's baby dedication, along with a few other babies at our church. It was truly a beautiful day. We were surrounded by family and friends at the church and afterwards at Mama and Daddy's for lunch. Kelsi wore her eyelet dress, bonnet, and bib. I know she is mine, but I must say that she looked so adorable! Ms. Rochelle Talbert, who works with TJ, made her dress and bonnet. She gave it to us when Kelsi was born, and the timing worked out so that it fit perfectly. Mama, Daddy, and Shaye put a lot of work into making sure that everything was ready for everybody to get together at the house afterwards. One thing is for sure we, and especially Kelsi, are loved by many and so blessed to have such amazing family and friends. I say that so often it almost seems repetitive, but it is so true. One thing that I have learned teaching the babies that I do is that not everyone, actually very few people, are blessed with wonderful family and friends like I have been. Now that I am a mom and I have Kelsi I am so grateful that she will grow up surrounded by the unconditional love of her family and friends.

And speaking of such sweet family and friends...If you know me you know I am not much of a cryer. Well Diana, Rachel, and Morgan got me on Sunday. Diana called on Saturday to give us her well wishes for Sunday because they weren't going to be able to make it. Little did we know,any of us (including Shaye), that phone call was made from a hotel in Alex City, not from Mississippi! We were at the church and everybody was hugging us and talking to Kelsi and I turned around and there were Diana, Rachel, and Morgan! (And Kelly in spirit, though she was forced to be at the Big Star:). They rode all the way from Mississippi and went back in 2 days to see our sweet baby girl's dedication. Like I said she is one blessed little girl. We love you Grannie D, Aunt Rach and Morgan!

For everyone who came to the dedication, gave her sweet gifts, ate lunch with us, and who couldn't be there but were thinking of her- thank you and we love each and everyone of you! Here are a few, maybe more than a few, pictures from the dedication!

5 Generations: Grannie Susie- 97, Grannie Juanita- 75, Daddy- 55, Me- 27, Kelsi 8.5 months

My Baby Love

Very sneaky ;)

Aunt Liz

Aunt Ali (with Laura Kate coming soon) & Aunt Courtney (Olivia did not want to be in the picture. She was being a diva!)

 Train up a child in the way he (she) should go;
 even when he is old he (she) will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

Summer Ends and Fall Begins

Well, fall and football are among us! As summer comes to a close I wanted to share pictures of our little one from the last couple of months. She is changing and growing every day! Yesterday was my nephew Braxton's 1st birthday party. It literally seems like yesterday when I held him for the 1st time. When he was born I was about half way through my pregnancy with Kelsi, and I just could not wait for her to get here. Now she is 8 months old, and yesterday everybody kept reminding me that she will be having her 1st birthday in a few short months. I have to admit it makes my heart a little heavy. She is just growing so fast. But my Daddy is right when you have them that happens..they grow up...but there's something to look forward to with every stage like them telling you they love you and taking their first steps. When he put it that way I thought to myself well I guess I can handle if I get to hear her say, "I love you"! I hope everyone enjoys seeing pics of our little punkin. We are looking forward to her baby dedication next week, then her first holidays that are right around the corner!



These 2 adore each other!!



And she loves her Grammy too!

Kelsi and Daddy playing :)

She loves taking a bath with her rubber ducky and Nemo, of course!

This is what happens when Mommy leaves Kelsi with Daddy...They play Bama dress up!

So sweet

1st night sleeping all night in her crib

1st time playing at the park with Avery

Mommy's favorite part of every day

Daddy's little girl

1st time wearing a Bama outfit. We bought it at a Bama game when I was pregnant. RTR! (Yes, I have officially converted. We are meant to be a Bama family:)

This is how she eats...hands and feet straight out!

Braxton's 1st birthday party

Eating her 1st cupcake and ice cream (just a little!) at Braxton's party!

From My Daddy

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. It was a great one. TJ and I spent the day on the lake and then that night we ate out with Kelsi, Mama, and Daddy. As you may know, my brother is quite the writer. What you may not know is that he gets that ability, like some of his other abilities (fishing) :), from my Daddy. For my birthday Daddy wrote me a poem. He printed and framed it for me. The background that it's printed on is a precious picture of my baby girl. The poem is so sweet and really touched me, so I wanted to share it...

"Special Days"

Some days are very, very special
Some you'll always remember
Two for me have always been
August 13th and the 3rd of December

In the waiting room I sat alone
Old memories flooding my mind
Thoughts of two great kids
Both in their own way, one of a kind

I'd never hoped for anything better
Who could possible ask for more
Then I realized something special
I'd never been a Grandaddy before

In the waiting room I sat praying
With nothing else I could do
Waiting on any word
Then came just two

A simple little text
Her granmother sent "she's here"
Two much awaited words
Finally I could see her

There in her Mother's arms
In the early morning hours
I saw that God had blessed my daughter
With one of his most beautiful flowers

One so tired and one so tiny
Both their energies spent
I kissed my sweet daughter
Then touched the one the angels had sent

Ashley you've always been a great daughter
And now an awesome Mother
And Kelsi and I are truly blessed
And would never want another

So now she's seven months old
And you're celebrating year 27
Happy birthday, I love you
And I adore Kelsi, "our little slice of heaven"

Some days are very, very special
A few sent straight from heaven
Three for me will always be
August 13th, December 3rd, and January 10th, 2011



Where does the time go???

This fall RHS's class of 2002, my graduating class, will be returning for its homecoming festivities. What?? I have been out of high school for 10 years! That's unbelievable! Even more amazing than that is the fact that I am still blessed to have my circle of friends from high school, Allison, Autumn, Courtney, Roxanna, and Tara. A lot has changed in the last 10 years. We have graduated from college and taken on our own careers. Among us there is a teacher, nurse, accountant, attorney, radiologist, and a Product Support Rep. We have all changed our last names to...Ashley Jeffares, Allison Ray, Autumn Veasey, Courtney Murchison, Roxanna McCollum, and Tara Snyder. We have become mommies... Courtney and Chad have Olivia, and Luke will be here in a few weeks. Autumn and Devin have Haylee and Kaleb, who was born this past April. TJ and I have Kelsi, who was born this past January. Tara and Jade have Sawyer, who was born this past May. Allison and Nick have one on the way. They will find out the sex in a couple of weeks, and he/she is due in January. So as you can tell a lot has changed in 10 years as you could imagine, but one thing has been constant...our circle remains unbroken!!

Every year at Christmas the 6 of us get together and bring the kiddos. Every year we say how we need to all get together during the summer and life has kept us so busy that we haven't...until this year! On July 16th we all got together at my parent's house. It rained most of the day so the pool wasn't an option, but we grilled and gabbed and that's what counts!

It's so neat to see us all with our own families. There were kids and babies everywhere! Haylee and Olivia ate and played Barbies and had a blast. Kaleb and Sawyer "played" on Sawyer's playmat, which basically consisted of them lying next to each other contently, and Kelsi well she was her lively self as usual, squealing and taking it all in. Everyone had a great time and I hope that like our Christmas dinner, this is a tradition that we will start and stick with.

It was so great to see everybody. It's fun to watch the kids grow and catch up with the girls. I can't wait to meet Luke and Baby Ray. I bet there aren't a lot of people who still have the kind of best friends that I do 10 years out of high school. The older I get the more I realized how truly blessed I am! LYLAS Allison, Autumn, Courtney, Roxanna, and Tara...LOL

A friend loves at all times...Proverbs 17:17

                                                                      The Jeffares

                                                                The Murchisons

                                                                      The Rays

                                                                     The Snyders

                                                                    The Veaseys

                                                                     "The Girls"
                                

                                                                         The Kiddos

                                           The Guys...Don't ask why they are posed like that...

                                                                 Olivia and Haylee

                                                                Sawyer and Kaleb

Kelsi's 1st Fourth

We had a lot going on for the weekend of the 4th. We went to Georgia and Kelsi got to meet her Great Grandpa Jeffares for the 1st time. While we were there we picked up Uncle Cody so that he could stay the week with us. That night Uncle Johnathan and Aunt Susanne came to spend the night with us. We all went to see the movie Transformers 3 (something to do with the moon?). Kelsi stayed with the McWhorters for the first time so they could get some grandbaby practice. Sunday we went to Wind Creek to see TJ's mom and some of the family on her side. That night we went back to my parents and Monday TJ, myself, Shaye, and Rachel went to the fireworks show at Kowliga. Kelsi stayed with Grammy and Grandaddy because it was bad weather and it would've scared her being so loud. All in all Kelsi's first 4th was fun, and the next thing we are looking forward to is next weekend's cookout with my girls and all the babies (and hubbies:)!

Mommy side note: Kelsi is growing up so fast. I know she is only 6 months old, but where did that 6 months go? Tonight she is with my parents, and while it is good to relax, I miss her like crazy. I don't know what to do with myself and all of this quiet time! I have really enjoyed spending the summer with her, what a true blessing. Being a mom is full time, but she is everything I ever wanted. I love to see her wake up with that sweet little grin on her face. She gets so excited when someone talks to her. She really is a happy baby. She changes everyday. It's amazing how much a baby grows in 6 months! She used to be such a tiny bundle and now she's pushing 16 lbs! She's very observant and takes in everything. She has a little ladybug toy she's infatuated with, and can you believe at 6 months she loves to watch TV? She will watch Finding Nemo as long as you let her. And she gives her jumper fits. She plays with all the toys, discovering new things and ways to play all the time. Rolling over is no problem, rolling back over can be. She tries very hard to crawl. She can hold her head up and push with her legs, but she hasn't yet discovered how to incorporate her arms into the mix. She's also getting better at sitting up on her own. She can for a few seconds and then she falls over onto the pillow, but we are working on it. She loves eating her baby food now, all kinds. She also has 2 teeth. I usually don't have time to include all these milestones so I wanted to on this blog while I had time. I dread going back to work, but I look forward to getting off now more than ever so that I can go be with my sweet little girl!

Father's Day at the Beach!!

June 16-20 we went on Kelsi's 1st beach trip. While we were there we also celebrated TJ's 1st Father's Day and Rachel's 21st birthday! We went down to Destin on Thursday with Shaye and Rachel. Mama and Daddy joined us on Friday night. We all enjoyed going out to eat, swimming in the ocean and the pool, put-put golf, souvenir shopping, etc. On Rachel's birthday she and Shaye went parasailing. Then that night we all went to Fudpucker's. I got Rachel a tierra and a flashing beer mug with a drink in it. She also hula hooped in front of the band that was playing. :)

Sunday was Father's Day, so I brought Daddy's gifts with us. He had a great Father's Day weekend because he got to do his favorite thing, spend time with Kelsi, while we all went out on the beach! I have to say that I have the best Daddy ever! He has always been there for me and Shaye and then me and TJ. After Kelsi was born I don't know what I would've done without all of his help...and mama's too. I made TJ a photo book on Shutterfly, and I plan to make him one every year for Father's Day. His first Father's Day was great, especially since it was spent at the beach!

With it being so hot at the beach we just took Kelsi out for a short while each day. We let her "stand" at the edge of the water with us holding her hands. She seemed to like the sand and the water rushing over her feet. She had 4 different bathing suits! She was quite the little diva as usual. We all had a great time, and we are thinking of making going to the beach together each year a family tradition!