Look Whoo's One!!

We had Kelsi’s 1^st birthday party January 15^th at Mama’s and Daddy’s. The theme was owls- “Look Whoo’s One/I’m a Hoot!” We had a really great time shared with close friends and family. Kelsi did not like the cake portion of the party in the least. We put her in the highchair and put the cake in front of her. We lit the candle and everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to her, which was all fine and good by Kelsi. Then it came time for her to dig into the cake and get dirty. Kelsi was just kind of looking at the cake so I thought I would help her and I put her hand in the cake, thinking she would then start to eat the cake off of her hand…not the case. Instead she had a meltdown and the pictures of her cake show tears streaming down her face…well, better luck for the 2 year cake! But I must add that the owl cake made by Aunt Liz and the smash cake made by Nana (Mrs. Charlene) were beautiful and delicious!

She did love showing off her walking and facial expressions, ranging from frowns, to tons of smiles, to her O surprised face, to her big eyes.  She really is a hoot! Kelsi loved unwrapping her presents, watching carefully from her bumbo as we pulled out each gift and kissing every baby doll that came her way. She received many special gifts. Daddy gave her a diamond miniature cross necklace. Aunt Susan gave her a pearl bracelet. Al and Sandy gave her a beautiful canvas painting of an owl with her name on it. Aunt Liz and Braxton gave her a ball pit and a rain coat. Mama completed her blanket she started while I was pregnant with Kelsi  and gave it to Kelsi at her party. Uncle Shaye had her “Patty Cakes” done for her, and there were a plenty of precious clothes and fun toys, too! Daddy has always been good at writing poetry and so for Kelsi’s birthday he wrote the poem below for her. I think it’s the perfect place to leave off!

“Happy Birthday Kelsi”

She’s barely two feet tall

A modest twenty pounds

Great Big eyes

And funny little frowns

My how time flies

It’s been 365 days

You’ve changed our lives

In so many ways

Days spent together

You asleep on my chest

I’ll cherish those days

They were some of my best

Nights staying over

Granny reading you books

You bumping that passie

And all your silly looks

Busy little hands

That touch and feel

Fading off with Nemo

Against your will

Bouncing in your jumper

And learning to crawl

Buying padding for the floor

In case you fall

Big blue eyes

That stare into my soul

When you pull up

And reach out to hold

From breaking my glasses

To pulling my hair

You’re just having fun

What do I care

You’re changing daily

So alert and so smart

In one short year

You’ve captured my heart

There are no words

For what you mean to me

But just know that I’ll be the best Granddaddy

A man can be

So to our little slice of heaven

God bless you in every way

Let’s see those big eyes

We love you so much, Happy Happy Birthday!

With all my love,

Grandaddy

Kelsi Turns 1 !!

Today our sweet baby girl is one year old!! It's unbelievable that it was a year ago when I got an unexpected surprise (2 weeks early) when TJ pulled me up off the couch! I had convinced myself that I would have a huge, late baby, like myself at 10 lbs 4 oz, but that was not the case at all.

When I hopped up off the couch I figured my water had broken. The nurses told me I had probably used the restroom when I called. I was thinking I'm pregnant, but I'm not crazy! I did not just use the bathroom! So to be sure I called the doctor, who then told me not to eat or drink and to come to right in. On January 9th we checked in before the ice storm came. I'll never forget going in to the hospital to be checked out. The nurse checked me and told me I'd probably be going home, but the doctor would have to make sure. Then Dr. Litsey came in and told me that my water actually had broken and we'd be headed up to a room so he could finish breaking my water. Out of shock I asked, "So there's no turning back after that?". (Of course there isn't!) But he kindly replied, "You won't be going home without a baby."...."You won't be going home without a baby". I'll never forget that as long as I live. TJ and I looked at each other like- Is this really happening right now??

The other night I went to see Allison, Nick, and Laura Kate at the hospital. When we rounded the corner on the 3rd floor January 9th came back to me. I remember when I was wheeled off the elevator and over to the nurse's station. I was so scared and nervous. I was also alone and couldn't wait for TJ to get back up there. Once we got into the room I was warned that about an hour before I thought I needed the epidural I should ask for it. Well the problem with that was I didn't know I needed it until I was about to crawl off the bed in pain! I've said it before and will probably say it a million times again- I have never been in so much pain! But God bless the person who came up with the epidural! God bless them literally. I don't see how anybody can do it without it. Labor progressed fairly quickly and with much pushing and about 11 hours or so later, Kelsi Shianne Jeffares came into the world.

By the time we left the ice had melted, Auburn (or should I say Cam Newton?) had won their 1st National Championship, and at 3:18 a.m. on January 10th we received the greatest blessing of our lives, a little 6 lb 8 oz doll!

If you know me you know I love kids, always have. When I was just a girl myself I kept the nursery at church as much as they would let me. I drug my little cousins around on my hip. I've babysat, taught Bible school, and now I'm a teacher. I love helping kids, but it has always been my dream to have children of my own.

Sometimes it's still hard to believe that I am the mother of such a precious baby girl. We have stayed so busy the last year taking care of her that time has just flown by. It has been so much fun! Her first holiday was Valentine's Day, not that she could do much but lay there and melt our hearts! Then came Easter, and by then she started to liven up and was becoming more full of personality everyday. TJ and I celebrated our first Father's Day and Mother's Day. Next was Halloween. We took our adoarble fairy to Candyland at FBCR. We also carved a jack-o-lantern with 2 teeth on the bottom just like Kelsi had at that time. Thanksgiving Day was spent at Grannie Susie's and then that night the Baker family went to Dauphin Island for a few days. Aunt Liz made Kelsi a precious hand stitched shirt with a turkey on it! Then came Kelsi's first Christmas! She had a different Christmas dress to wear to church every Sunday in December! I loved dressing her up, if only I could get her to keep her headbands on that almost bald little head! We had Christmas at Grannie Susie's, with Diana and the girls, with the Baker family, with Mama, Daddy, & Shaye, and with TJ's side of the family. Needless to say Kelsi got all sorts of goodies and we had such a good time with her. Christmas morning we woke up with her and opened her presents. Every time I gave her one she would crawl off. She wasn't that interested in the presents, but now she loves playing with them. Today, on her birthday, we are looking forward to going out to eat tonight and her owl themed ("Look Whoo's Turning 1!) party this weekend, January 15th. I've had such a great time getting ready for her party. She may not understand everything that's going on, but one day she can look at the pictures and watch the videos.

This has been by the far the best year of my life! I have never loved someone so much. I can barely stand to be away from her when she spends the night with Mama and Daddy. When we pick her up she gets so excited to see us. She is the sweetest thing. I can't wait to see what the next year will bring with our little angel!

Birthday party pictures coming soon!!

A few milestones: Kelsi has about 12 teeth now, a mouth full! She is crawling very quickly and pulls up on everything. She stands up for a minute or so without grabbing on to anything. She can walk from one piece of furniture to the next, but she hasn't started walking completely yet. She is the master of facial expressions! She makes so many funny faces! Sometimes she frowns and pokes her lip out. She does the "big eyes" where she looks surprised. She also has that little smile that's a perfect fit for her pleasant little personality.

Here are a lot of pictures that I need to catch up on!

Happy birthday Kelsi Shianne! Mommy and Daddy love you tons!!

Kelsi and the jack-o-lantern both have 2 bottom teeth!

The precious turkey shirt Aunt Liz made Kelsi!

 



The North Face coat Aunt Rachel got Kelsi! She and Uncle Shaye also got her some red glittery Toms!

I just love this picture!

TJ's side of the family

Kelsi with all of her Santa gifts!

After church on Christmas morning

She loved playing in the wrapping paper!

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!