So Many "FIRSTS"!!!

Okay, I have been slacking ~ but here is a great little catchup post!
The past few weeks have been filled with many firsts for both of the girls.

For Elizabeth, there have been lots of people to meet ~ especially family members! Some of my family came from Alabama to see her and Alli a while back; Janis, Lynn, and Brooke are pictured, and Brenda and Cil made the effort to come, as well! All total, they drove 14 hours here and back in order to see our family for just a couple of hours. How precious that visit was to us, and so much appreciated!

Dede visited that day, as well.

Not long after the Randall visit, some of Brad's family came to see us. Mimi & DB; Vicki, Mandy, & Grandmommie; PapaDoc & Gigi; and Blake all visited the girls. Blake even read a book to Alli!

Boots has had several other firsts, as well. Her first bath was a stressful experience for her; needless to say, she didn't enjoy it very much! But since then, she has loved her baths, smiling and cooing the whole time. (She has become so interactive and "smiley" lately!!)

She has been introduced to the bottle, as well. At first, she liked it fine and did a terrific job! Well, that lasted about 2 or 3 days. Since then, her Daddy has to battle with her to get her to take even just an ounce or two. We will get there, though! I have been pumping for her to take my milk in her bottles, which to Alli is a very perplexing event. The first time she walked in on me, she told me that it looked like a trumbone to her (and the attachments do sort of resemble a horn shape), and she ran into the living room to tell Brad, "Daddy, Daddy! Mommy is playing the trumbone!"

Speaking of our little "Curly Sue," Alli got her first haircut this past Friday at a local salon for kids, called "Yams." It is a fun place for kids. There are videos, toys, bubbles, and lollipops ~ all for their distraction while getting their hair cut. Alli and Maddox went together, although Maddox is a pro at this now. Alli sat in the firetruck, and Maddox sat in the airplane (until he decided he preferred to sit in Emily's lap). Alli did great, her one concern being that her hair would not still be shiny. We got about 2 inches cut off and have a baggie full of curls to show for it!

Yet another first for both of the girls was SNOW!!! Boots spent the time in her swing, sleeping, but Alli had a blast playing outside! Of course, the snow didn't stick to the ground, but it did stick to leaves, and Alli had fun catching it on her tongue!

I had to include the next picture ~ Alli's first drawing of a person.
Isn't it too cute?!?!
In case you can't tell, that is a head with arms and legs ~ complete with 2 eyes (which blurred into lines) and a smile!

By the way, I have another CONGRATS for my hubby!! He recently found out that a research article he submitted for publication is going to be published in a medical journal. Way to go, Honey!!! We are so proud of you!

The Greers came over to watch the Super Bowl last night, and we were all excited to see the Giants win!! It was bittersweet, though, realizing this will be the last football game we will watch with them for a long time.... They, along with so many of our dear Augusta friends, will be moving early this summer. They have already put their house up for sale. (Brad and I secretly plan to steal all of their signs and not let them leave!)

A shout-out to our New Orleans friends:
HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!!
(a day early) :)

One Month Old...

I should probably start by saying...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

2008...
I can't believe it is here already!
And we are off to a great start, to say the least!
Elizabeth is exactly one month old today ~ Happy 1 month Birthday, my precious girl!! We took her in for her 4 week appointment on Wednesday, and our belief that she is very healthy and is doing very well was confirmed. Our sweet girl that was born at 6 pounds 12 ounces and left the hospital at 6-3 28 hours after birth is already at 9-4! We are all doing great; Elizabeth is a very easy baby, and Alli is a precious big sister ~ and a big help!

Needless to say, both of our little princesses have their Daddy wrapped around their little fingers! Is there anything sweeter than a Daddy and his little girls?!?

I am a little bit late with my New Year's wishes.... We have been having computer problems, but I am glad to learn it isn't just my habit of being "technologically challenged" ~ there are actual issues with the computer. But, we're working on it.

We had a nice New Year's Eve. We spent it at the Bell's house with their family, as well as the Greers, Lewises, and some others. The kids were there, as well, to ring in 2008.

Not only are we starting the new year off with our precious new addition, but also we have great news: Brad found out that he passed his Boards!! We are all so proud of him!! He worked so very hard and more than deserves this, and we are all so glad the waiting and wondering are over for him!
Congratulations, Honey!!!

Speaking of Brad, I just had to throw in these pictures of his little "set up" in the driveway on Christmas Day. Here he is, frying our delicious turkey!

I can't believe my sweet infant is already one month old! Every day with both of our girls has been such a precious gift! We are settling into being a family of 4 very nicely and easily, so far.

We have had some special visitors this week. Last Saturday, several members of my Alabama (Randall) relatives visited. They get major kudos for driving a total of 14 hours to spend about 2 hours visiting with us! What an effort! Y'all have made us feel so very loved, and we appreciate your effort and time so much! And today, several members of Brad's family came down to see Elizabeth and Alli for a few hours. Again, thanks to all of you for your love, effort, and interest! I took pictures from both visits and will post them later.

Tomorrow would be my Daddy's 60th birthday. Such a milestone for anyone, yet bless his heart, he never even saw his 50th. I think of him often every day, and I miss him so much ~ especially now.... How I wish he was here to be with my sweet girls! But I feel his presence, his smile (for those of you who knew him, you know what I mean!), and his amazing sweet love constantly, so I know that he is still with us; even though I can't put my arms around him for a hug, he has his arms around all of us all of the time.

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!!

We have had a wonderful, blessed Christmas season, to be sure!! We hope all of you have, as well. Although with a newborn we were unable to travel to be with family during the holidays this year, we have been lucky to have several relatives visit us during the season. Gigi and PapaDoc came to visit earlier in the week. Alli loved the "singer" (aka, microphone on a stand) that they gave to her! She has been singing all week ~ lullabies to the baby, and even a song about a chair known as "chairy." Aunt Karen drove Nana and Papa down for a visit (Alli waited in the doorway all dressed up ~ see pic below), and Dede and Keith came on Christmas Eve day. Alli was so excited to get the bike, helmet, and pads from Dede ~ she has wanted to wear the helmet and pads around the house, even in just her panties!! We spent Christmas Eve at the Candlelight Service at Church and had the amazing experience of sitting in the choir loft during the service. Seeing hundreds of candles lighting the dark sanctuary was magical ~ words cannot describe how beautiful it was!

Here are some pictures of Alli and some of her gifts. Among her favorites from Santa were her chalkboard/easel, blocks, and a 'real' digital camera! Her favorite from Mommy and Daddy was a Little People's Noah's Ark, with which she has played and played....

Although slightly clueless about the Christmas chaos surrounding her, Elizabeth unknowingly has not missed out on the fun. She even visited Santa at the precious age of only 6 days....

Okay...Blogger is really weirding out on me and is driving me insane. It isn't allowing me to add any text after the next picture, and it is barely allowing me to add anymore pictures. So, forgive the messiness below.

We missed our families, but we enjoyed having our first Christmas together as our own little family. We had a great meal; Brad even fried a delicious turkey! We read the Christmas story in an old Children's Bible that belonged to Meme and Paps, and we had a birthday cake for Jesus. Alli said, "This is the best food I ever ate!" The turkey was her favorite, although she did ask me, "Mommy, do you think Baby Jesus will share his birthday cake with me?"

We are grateful for so much this Christmas season!! We are so lucky to have our two precious girls, and we have been so very blessed with a wonderful little Christmas present in the arrival of Elizabeth.

With all of the gift-giving, baking, parties, and other festivities of the holidays, it is often easy to forget the true reason for the season. I got the following from a friend's blog (thanks, Emily!) and encourage you all to take a look at it. It is a video for the song recorded by Sara Evans and Brad Paisley. I caution you to grab a box of tissues before you watch, though ~ you will need them.

As a mother, I think of what God sacrificed by giving "His only begotten Son," and I feel Mary's desperation as she wants so badly to save her son, but she cannot help Him and must let Him save her ~ and all of us ~ instead. To all of you parents out there, can you even imagine sacrificing your child in order to save the whole world, present and future? I cannot. What boundless love our Lord has for each of us!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NaSROohLzs

ELIZABETH IS HERE!!!

Elizabeth Parham Buckler
December 12, 2007
11:13 a.m.
6 lbs., 12 oz. 18.5 inches

Elizabeth was born Wednesday morning. Brad and I checked into Labor and Delivery a little before 6am; they began the pitocin at 6:30, broke my water at 8:30, gave me an epidural at 9:30, and she was born at 11:13. We were blessed to have a very easy delivery. I was up and eating Krystal's shortly after she arrived! :)

Everyone at MCG was wonderful! My OB, Erin Holsten, is fantastic! My nurse, Carla Allen, was the best possible!! She has 3 girls of her own and completely understands about "big sisters." She was precious to all of us ~ especially to Alli, whom she let "help" her with Elizabeth's first bath (in our room). Alli is so proud to be a big sister!! Carla was sweet enough to even give Alli a special book about being a big sister, which Alli loves. When we ask Alli what she thinks about Elizabeth, she says one of several things: "I think she likes me," "I love my baby sister," and "I think she's nice." I think Alli thinks she is a living baby doll! She constantly wants to help with her and take care of her, and stops playing every once in a while to run over and give Elizabeth a hug and a kiss. The picture below is of her helping Carla at the hospital.

Here are a couple more pictures of Miss Elizabeth. She is a sweet baby, and we are soaking up every second with her!! I hesitate to begin with comparisons to Alli, but it is really like deja vu, she looks so much like her! (She really does ~ just has lighter hair and less of it than Alli had at birth. Take a look at Alli's birth pictures to see what I mean; use the link to "Alli's First Year" to the right.)

We have had lots of help (Mom, we couldn't have survived the past couple of days without you!) and several visitors. We will post more pictures very soon, but we wanted to go ahead and get these on the blog. Thank you for your continued prayers, and keep checking for updates!! We love you all!
You can also see her hospital picture at welcomenewborn.com ~ password "boots."

Thank you, God, for our newest Blessing!!!! She is perfect!

Lights of the South!!

BELIEVE!!!!



A couple of weeks ago, we went to Lights of the South in Grovetown, which is about 20 minutes outside of Augusta. A family there owns about 100 acres, and every year, they open it to the public to come and see their amazing lights. There are themed lighted areas (Christmas, movies, characters, etc.), hayrides, gingerbread houses, Santa Claus, and so much more! We even roasted marshmallows and had some of the world's best hot chocolate and apple cider! We went last year and vowed to make it a yearly tradition with friends. This year, we went with several friends from the Housestaff Auxiliary, including the Greers (seen in the pictures below), Bells, and Lewises.

Here we are on the hayride going through the lights. Alli and Maddox couldn't decide which direction to look, there was so much to see!!

Here are some of the themed areas, including Dora and Boots and Peter Pan ~ and of course Santa's Village! Neither words nor pictures even begin to describe this awesome, festive sight!!

Of course, the kids had a blast playing in the gingerbread house and roasting marshmallows with their Daddies! (We even got a sneak peek at the "future" ~ Alli and Maddox kissing through the window ~ but I was too late with the camera to get an action shot!) And afterwards, the kids were of course exhausted!! They snuggled up together on Emily and Stephen's bed and watched Barney while we visited for a while.

We are already excited about going again next year!!!

Decorating the Tree

We got our tree at the "Christmas Tree Forest," as Alli called it, a couple of weeks ago, but with all that has been going on around here, we have just recently gotten around to decorating it! Alli absolutely loved getting the lights on the tree, especially after her disappointment at the lights not already being on the tree when we bought it. Her favorite was putting the "fairy" (angel) on top of the tree. Although we were a little concerned that she would want to open the gifts, that hasn't been a problem; however, she does keep "stealing" the ornaments off of the tree so she can play with them. Now, the first thing she wants to do in the morning is greet her Christmas Tree. She always says "It's a Happy Day!" when she wakes up in the morning, and now, she goes to tell the tree that it is a Happy Day!

Elizabeth will be here soon....
...and Alli loves to talk about Boots coming to play with her. One of her favorite things to do is to talk and sing to my tummy. Here she is, after having talked to Boots and telling her about the Christmas Tree, laying on my belly and watching "Rudolph" before bedtime last night. So, so sweet!!!

Everything is ready!!!

With Elizabeth coming so very soon now, we have been rushing around to finish up last minute details. Now, we are ready to go!! Mom has been working her tail off to get the nursery ready, so I wanted to include some pictures, which of course do not do it justice! It is a sweet, feminine room, and I can't wait for my newest little angel to be in it!

Of course, I need to post pictures of Alli's beautiful room, as well, in which Mom has continued to do finishing touches now that Alli is in a "big girl room." (Take a look at the link to "Alli's First Year" for pictures of Alli's nursery in our other house ~ also so gorgeous! An English Garden....) Alli has helped Mom in her room and in Elizabeth's room and loves to tell everyone how she painted flowers on the wall!

And that's it! I know this was a long post, but it will be the last before Elizabeth arrives. How blessed and how lucky we are! Alli was a perfect birthday present to me just 4 days before my 29th nearly 3 years ago, and now, Elizabeth is our special Christmas present! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support for the past 9 months....and most of all, thank you to Brad, for all that you do. You are amazing, and I love you more than I can say! Thank you for making me a Mommy once again; I could not have chosen a better Daddy for my precious girls!!

Giving Thanks and Helping Dede!

Just before Thanksgiving, Alli posed for her Christmas pictures. We think they turned out pretty cute! Afterall, she loves to have her picture taken!!

Brad was on call for Thanksgiving for the second year in a row, which means that he is at the hospital for 30 hours straight and cannot come home to celebrate with us. This year, the Greers were sweet enough to invite Alli and me to have dinner at their house, so we did. And what a feast it was!! After a good nap at home, Alli and I took a plate of the yummy food to Daddy at the hospital.

That weekend, we had some visitors. Dede and Keith came for a few hours on Friday while Keith was "over this way" from Birmingham. While they were here, Alli and Dede did arts and crafts ~ one of Alli's most favorite activities these days! Here they are, painting a poster together....

On Sunday, Brad's good friend from medical school, Will Chafin, his wife, Melissa, and their 10 week old baby, Will, stopped by for lunch and a visit. It was our first time to meet precious Baby Will! We were so glad they made the time to stop by on their way back home to Charleston. Alli especially loved meeting the baby and was constantly wanting to "help" with him. She bounced him in the bouncy seat, but her favorite part was getting to hold him!

Although we didn't get to spend the actual holiday with family, we feel so blessed! We had a great, long holiday visit with Brad's family the weekend prior to Thanksgiving ~ including his grandparents, Mimi & DB and Grandmommie & Marty ~ and we were able to visit with Nana & Papa at that time, as well. And how blessed we are to have friends that have become our family to include us in their holiday celebrations!

With Baby Elizabeth arriving any day now, Alli and Mommy have been spending a lot of time doing special activities together. As thrilled as I am about the pending arrival of our new precious little one, the idea of Alli no longer being an "only" is bittersweet, so I have absolutely loved this chance to have some one-on-one time with her. The other day, we went to "Teddy Bear Tea Time" at the Junior League office. We had a great time decorating cookies,listening to storytime with Mrs. Claus, and face painting ~ and of course, Alli got to take her favorite teddy bear along for the fun. One weekend not long ago, we spent the morning outside making mudpies and having a "dirty day" ~ Alli even had permission to wipe her very muddy hands on her pants! But after one attempt at that, she didn't like being that dirty and chose to wipe her hands on Mommy's clothes, instead. :) We even had a yummy picnic outside ~ but as Alli kept reminding me, we couldn't really eat the mudpies, because they are just for pretend.

For some reason, Blogger won't let me separate the 2 above pictures ~ sorry!
Anyway, these are pictures of Alli "helping" Dede paint in her room and in the nursery. She is "measuring" a tree in Elizabeth's room; the rest are of her helping in her own room as Dede was adding to the mural that was already there. Yes, she painted naked ~ Alli, not Mom :) ~ afterall, no reason to ruin perfectly good clothes, right?! The spot in her room where Mom left Alli's artistry on the wall is my absolute favorite ~ so precious!! And Alli is super proud to show off where she was allowed to paint on the wall!!

This past weekend, we went to Lights of the South with a group of friends. As soon as our printer will let me scan those pictures into the computer, I will post about that exciting, festive night! (It's always something with technology,right?!)

Halloween and other Fall Fun!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

This year, Alli celebrated Halloween as a beautiful pink flower! She loved her costume and has enjoyed wearing it to Halloween parties, trick-or-treating, and playing around the house. We know we are biased, but we think she looked darling once again (she was an angel her first year, a pink poodle last year). :)

For the second year in a row, we invited a group of friends and their children to come and celebrate with us! Brad boiled peanuts outside, I made a few large pots of chili, and we all ate dinner together before trick-or-treating with the kids. We had such fun and hope our friends did, too! Thanks, Emily, for providing all of the yummy desserts! This year, we had a group of about 25 joining us ~ the Greers, Bells, Greggs, Wilkins, Schroerluckes, Lewises, and Simpsons. Joining our little flower were a puppy dog, chicken, ladybug, pumpkin, and doctor, among others.

Not only did we have a blast trick-or-treating last week, but Alli got to enjoy her first Fair with her friends! (By the way, Blogger just changed my font and won't let me change it back ~ not sure what is going on, but please excuse the inconsistency!) Here she is with her Daddy, ready to go inside the gates!!

Alli had way too much fun and showed no fear, wanting to ride on everything from the teacups to the Himalayan, on which, of course, she could not ride. She ran from one ride to the next saying "I want to ride!" over and over.... We had fun and were so happy that the Greers and the Lewises could come, as well! And what trip to the fair is complete without your share of junk food?! Alli enjoyed several "firsts" that night, from ferris wheels to Elephant Ears!

The Saturday before our "week of fun," we went to the Greers for a nice, relaxing dinner at home and watched a little football. Here are Maddox and Alli cheering...

GO DAWGS!!
(So what if they are different "dawgs"?!?)


Another fun outing that week was to Peyton's house for a playdate with several friends. Here are Peyton, Alli, and Maddox eating lunch together...

...right before Alli and Maddox put Peyton to work pulling them through the yard!

I just had to include this picture of Alli, for those of you who do not see her very often or who have never seen her at all. Her hair is super curly, which is why a server at one of our favorite restaurants has dubbed her "Curly Sue," and the nickname has stuck. :)

And here is the last shot.... 33 weeks, and counting!! I know ~ I am HUGE! I keep looking down at my humongous belly, wondering how in the world it can possibly get any bigger! But with 7 weeks left to go, I know it will find a way.

(Disclaimer: The swelling has officially begun! Please ignore my increasingly chipmunk-like cheeks!) :)

Needless to say, the past week has been insanely busy ~ but also insanely fun!!!! After a week full of fun activities, Alli asked me on Friday what we were going to do after she woke up from her nap. When I told her we weren't doing anything, she said, "Yes, we will. That's what we do!" After the week we've had, I can't say I blame her for feeling that way.