There was a birthday this weekend

We had a birthday party for one special birthday boy! It was EVERYTHING I had hoped and planned for it to be. With the help of my parents and Owen, I was able to pull off a fun party with a lot of smiles. I am going to let the pictures tell the story...

Andrew woke up to presents and waffles...


We took our 12 months picture


Gramps and Grandy came to visit


Santa came too (which was actually a terrifying experience for the little man)


And we enjoyed birthday cake


On Saturday we had a Story time Birthday where Mother Goose read to all of Andrew's friends.


Here is a picture of the party favors and Andrew's Birthday Hat (that I made)


Jack and Jill Water was served


We even had Red Velveteen Rabbit Cake


Dr. Seuss brought us Green Eggs and Ham


And we had Little Miss Muffins to enjoy


Andrew played with his 2nd cousins


He wore his hat and didn't take it off immediately like we all expected


This Birthday Boy LOVED his birthday cake


Mommy and Daddy with the birthday boy


Later that day we watched the downtown Hattiesburg Christmas parade.


Brantley and her family came to the parade too...so we got to hang out with them and enjoy the Christmas spirit of Hattiesburg!


As you can see it was a great weekend and one this mommy will remember always.

It is here

I don't even know how to begin this post. I am so emotional and it is all happy emotions - I promise. Tomorrow is the big 01 for my baby boy. I am not working tomorrow so I won't have a chance to post my birthday boy's 12 month picture. We will be taking one though.

Since Thanksgiving I have been remembering little things from this time last year. I thought Andrew was going to be born Thanksgiving weekend - he wasn't. But every time I went out in public I feared my water breaking. So silly I know...but I was so anxious of the unknown. He was born on a Thursday. My mom came to town on Wednesday so Tuesday Owen and I went out to eat for our last meal as a family of 2. We had to sit at a table instead of a booth (which is typically our favorite) because I could no longer fit into a booth. It was one of the best meals and I remember it so fondly. Our conversations were about our nerves and what our life was about to be like. That dinner was on 12/1. This year on 12/1 Owen and I were decorating our house so Santa can come and visit our baby boy on Friday. Yes...you read that right Santa himself is coming to our house to meet Andrew one more time. I can't wait. I got him Christmas PJs for the event and can't wait to take pictures. This year my parents are coming on his birthday so they can celebrate with him and go to his party on the 4th. I am in complete shock that 365 days have passed already. Andrew changes daily and is a constant joy for me. He is a dream that has come true. He was my wish upon a star, my wish when the clock has the same numbers (e.i 2:22), and he was my wish when I blow out birthday candles. Last night as I was swaying him to sleep I thanked God for my answered prayer. I told Andrew last night he was sent to me from God and St. Andrew stamped the envelope. I feel extremely blessed during this holiday season.

Sweet Moments

Yesterday I took Ralphie and Andrew on a short walk. On the way home I felt so content. My baby boy (who will be 1 in 3 days) and his brother dog were side by side and enjoying each others company. It was a moment I wish I could taken a picture of and remember it always...I love that God blesses us with moments like these.

Thanksgiving 2010

The Thanksgiving trip we have been waiting for came and went and we had a blast. The Rust family (my parents and brother) and The Munton's (Owen, Me and Andrew) headed north to the Georgia mountains. It was everything we had hoped it would be. There was good food, lazy mornings, pretty scenery, wood burning fire places and a lot of family time. I love Thanksgiving because it is a day that makes you stop and realize you are very blessed.

Here is a recap in pictures...

Andrew and Me waiting on the porch of the Smith House


Dad and Andrew at the Smith House. This is where we had Thanksgiving lunch.


Adam and Me wine tasting in Sautee, Georgia


Andrew meeting Santa for the 1st time. There were only tears at the end of visit.


Our little family at Brasstown Bald, Georgia


Andrew's adorable smile...he was so fun and easy to take on this trip...another blessing to be thankful for.

Andrew's 1st Birthday Present

I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for. My very good friend from college sent Andrew this birthday gift and to say he likes it is an understatement. He got the gift on the day he didn't feel good so it was perfect timing b/c he actually played for the 1st time that day.

Here is a video of him discovering his new toy.



Here is a video I took last night of him playing with it. He is now walking behind it! I can't believe how fast he learns new things. Amazing really!

Has it been that long?

Last week was a whirlwind week. Andrew developed an ear infection on Tuesday that left him so helpless and sad. Owen and I did not hesitate to take him to the doctor to get him back to his friendly and happy self. But it was a long week because I had planned to go to Columbus, MS to visit my college friends at the W. With Andrew being sick I thought I might have to cancel my trip. I was anxious about that b/c I didn't know how Andrew was going to bounce back. Luckily he did and everything went on as planned.

This past weekend marked the 10th anniversary that I pledged a social club. Confused? Well I went to a small university and we did not have sororities we had social clubs. There were two types of clubs...one was a four year club that you pledged as a freshman and the other was a two year honorary club that you pledged as a junior. This past weekend focused on the two year club. There were 13 of us in the club and 10 came back for the reunion. We had a great time. It was fun to catch up and visit with each other. Most of us have small children so it was nice to hear stories of their kids and ask advice about certain things related to parenting. I have to say this was one of my favorite visits back to the W.

Not only did I get to visit with my friends who pledged with me, but I got see some other friends that I graduated with. We went to lunch with 8 other friends and had a great time seeing what they had been up to. I wish I had taken a picture...but didn't even think about it. My good friend from my freshman year in college, Telena took a picture of us... I will have to get it from her.

Here are some pictures of the weekend.


This is a picture of me and my nine pledge sisters that came in town for the weekend.


This is a picture of my pledge sisters and big sisters in the social club


McCall (my little sister) and me

Over all it was a great weekend and I still can't believe it has been 10 years since college.

11 Months Old

Yesterday my baby boy turned 11 months old. I can't believe it has been 11 months since he joined our family. He is growing and changing so fast that it is hard to keep up. I am busily planning for his birthday party which is in one month!!! I decided to do it big for his 1st year. I am just too excited and emotional to let his one year come and go without a big fuss. I prayed long and hard for him and I want to celebrate this day.



As you can see my sign is not making it in the pictures anymore.

Facts about Andrew:
* He loves to play and playing peek a boo is becoming a favorite game
* He is eating 3 meals a day and drinks four formula bottles. Today we tried a sippy cup with formula to start transitioning away from the bottle.
* He still likes most foods but is becoming more opinionated on what he doesn't like.
* I have started to give him more table food and foods that he can feed himself. This seems easier than me trying to feed him with a spoon b/c he now wants to bat the spoon away from me or grab the spoon.
* He is starting to stand on his own but not for long. I think when he realizes he is not holding onto something is when he falls down. However, he falls down very gracefully.
* He can say bye-bye appropriately. He is not consistent with it but does say it more than not.
* He claps when you ask him to and can give you a high five. We are teaching him to give hugs now.

This month I am going to work on getting us on a dinner time meal schedule. Since Andrew is eating more table food I think I am going to switch it up and give him a snack after school and then a "meal" when we eat dinner. This will probably push his bedtime back 30 minutes or so...so we will see how successful I am with it.

Again, he is changing so much but I have loved every minute of it.

Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010 has been an exciting one for us. Andrew dressed up as a sailor and was the cutest one around if I say so myself.

First we had our Mommy and Me class party. The mommies brought snacks and we enjoyed dress up time, songs, dancing, and visiting. It was a great party.


our mommy and me class




Andrew and Brantley

Then on Thursday Amanda, Owen and I took the babies to the ZooBoo at the Hattiesburg Zoo. They may have been a little young this year, but we took advantage of the carousel. Andrew was unsure at first but then really got into it.





Friday was Andrew's school's costume parade. They had the babies in wagons and strolled them around. It was really a cute idea.







On Saturday we went to Starkville for the MSU game. We had a nice time visiting with my family. Here is Andrew in his skeleton outfit before the game. We wanted to be festive for Halloween.

Our Last MSU Tailgate (of the season)

This past weekend we headed to Starkville one last time. They will have another home game, but we aren't going to go to that one. Here are pictures of our fun weekend.

P.S. I haven't forgotten about Halloween. We had a great time and lots of fun pictures, but the pictures aren't on this computer yet, so my Halloween post will come later.

Enjoy the pictures! Oh and MSU is 7-2!! YIPPEE