Jamaica Beach

This weekend was spent with family at my brother Donnie's beach house on Jamaica Beach. We celebrated 3 birthdays for 3 special people! This included my dad, my mom, and my nephew Trey, who turned 19 on Sunday. Yes, I'm beginning to feel old when I think of Trey's age. This was the first family get-together at the beach house since Hurricane Ike hit Galveston last year. After some renovations, the house looks brand new inside. Even though Abby cried when we left home Friday evening because she didn't want to leave her kitties, she and Reagan enjoyed their time on the beach. The girls have been to the beach several times, but this was the first time Andy and I was there to personally watch them play in the sand and the ocean. I love making memories!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Abby's Imagination

Abby loves to record herself on iMovie after school. I came across this video today on my classroom desktop computer and it proves to me that she's definitely a TAG kid. For those that are unfamiliar with the term TAG, it's short for talented and gifted. Maybe I won't be so reluctant to have her tested this year. What an imagination she has. Abby actually reminds me of myself when I was a little girl. Now, if I can only get her to open up like that in front of people.

Abby's Birthday Party

Here are some pictures from Abby's birthday party. The girls loved the tumbling room, especially swinging with the belt. The great thing is I didn't have to clean up a mess at my house.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Cooking, Baking, and More

I've created a blog just for things related to the home. It is called Lagniappe. Check it out!

Ambrosia Tea Room

Last year, I started a tradition of taking Abby to the Ambrosia Tea Room in Salado for her birthday. Abby has had a tea set since she was about a year old and she's always asking me to have a tea party with her. So, you can just imagine how much she likes getting dressed up and having a REAL tea party.

This year, Reagan and Abby's friend Payton joined in on the fun, as did Payton's mom and sister. The girls enjoyed drinking their pink lemonade in the tea cups and eating their brownie a la modes.

To quote my mom, "We're making memories."

The birthday girl in a decorative hat from the table

Abby sipping on some "tea"

Reagan eating a biscuit

The girls had a good time with Payton

Happy Birthday, Abby!

Just a few hours old

Daddy and Abby

Mommy and Abby

Three generations

Six years ago today at 1:15 p.m., our sweet Abigail Allison was born. She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was 18 1/2 inches long. She was such a chunky baby.

It all started with my water breaking at 6:00 p.m. the night before. I got to the hospital and when one of the test strips came back positive for amniotic fluid, I was admitted. Since contractions were only 7 minutes apart, they decided to induce me, but not until 4:00 the next morning.

I remember the nurse coming in before 4:00 to get things started. For the next 6 1/2 hours I waited in excrutiating pain for my epidural. I don't know why I didn't think to ask for anything else in the meantime. I would have loved to have been comfortably numb.

After the wonderful anethesiologist came and took care of my pain, my doctor checked me again to see how much I had dilated. He felt something soft and thought it was another bag of water so he started to poke it with the stick. The next thing you know Dr. Scow says, "That's not a bag of water, that's the butt." He gets the ultrasound machine and sure enough Abby was frank breech. He tells me I can have her naturally or have a c-section. I took one look at Andy and then said, "C-section!"

We had to wait for what seemed like forever for the operating room to become available. Once I was wheeled in the OR, things started moving quickly. The doctors had already started when Andy came in to join me. I remember Dr. Scow telling me there would be some pressure. Apparently, Abby was so crammed that they had trouble getting her out. It wasn't a little pressure. The table was shaking and at one point I couldn't breathe. You don't see this on any of those baby shows. Finally, she was born and when I heard her cry for the first time, I started crying. They took her to the side and looked her over. Dr. Olufs,her pediatrician, brought her over to Andy and me. I talked to her and she immediately stopped crying. I kissed her and Andy got to walk out carrying his precious little girl.

Unfortunately, I was still in the OR for another 30 minutes and then the recovery room for an additional 30 minutes. It seemed like forever before I finally saw my little girl again and got to hold her in my arms. All the pain was worth the wait!

New Pool

Andy bought the girls a new inflatable pool that has a built-in slide. Abby and Reagan thoroughly enjoyed playing in it. Reagan also likes that water squirts out of the sides, as you can see in one of the pictures below.