Who knew she would LOVE a baby doll?

Christmas was fun this year. I had that feeling you get when you're a child and you wake up and realize Santa came and you can't stop smiling and you want to go run out and see what you got. A whole lot of Christmases have passed without that kind of excitement. It was even better to feel that way FOR a child rather than AS a child. Santa did not go nuts with gifts since we weren't sure what Day might or might not love. Her favorite gifts were from Maw-Maw and Paw-Paw: baby doll with bottle and stroller. She laughed when she opened the baby doll and has been feeding him a bottle every chance she gets. She even makes the sucking sound while she feeds him. It is so sweet! The stroller plays music, so she stands up, does a little dance and pushes her stroller. She has no idea she is walking. As soon as she figures out it is much faster than crawling and easier on the knees, we’re in trouble.









Day and I took a road trip for New Years, just us girls. It was a challenge to travel without any help, but we managed. And the trip was of course well worth it. Madge was trying to get Day to say GG (Great Grandmother) which is what her other “grands” call her. Well, we also have a dog named GG. This was not intentional. It just happened. Our dog GG started out as Girlfriend, but all of our animal names end up mutating into other names. So Madge would point to herself and say “GG”. Day would not respond the first few times, but I could tell she was processing. Finally, she looks at Madge and declares, “DOG!” Madge has another name. At least for now, she is Dog.



While we were there, Day had Chick-Fil-A, Krispy Kreme, and probably a sip of somebody’s Coke while I wasn’t looking. She was totally corrupted and did the food dance every time Cindy walked near her (Cindy was doing the corrupting).



A few minutes after we got to Cindy’s, Suzy blew in with her camera and a big flower headband for Day. Suzy is like Betty in that they have to literally contain/restrain themselves around Day so they don’t smother her with their love. We had to remind Suzy not to bite the baby out of sheer excitement. She took a few breaths before she approached, then took these photos.

I entered the last one in Regis and Kelly’s Beautiful Baby contest. I know. And Ken made me promise not to turn into a pageant mom like on Toddlers and Tiaras. Far from it. I just have a beautiful baby. What can I say?

The next picture means the world to me. Three beautiful daughters. Betty informed me on this trip that although Day looks a lot like me, that she is prettier than I was. And I agree. Apparently, that's how it works in our family. We just keep improving on ourselves. When we were posing these 3 together, David yelled out, "JUST WHAT WE NEED! MORE ESTROGEN UP IN THIS BUNCH!"

All of us were bathed in the kitchen sink as babies. I'm assuming other folks do this, too. It just makes sense for so many reasons. What I appreciate about this photo is the genuine happiness among the baby, the mess, and the liquor bottles. Says a lot about my family and I love it.

And this cracks me up because of the subject matter: baby doll, head down in some brown liquid in a pretend teapot amongst the dirty dishes while being shot at by Layton. But it also cracks me up because it really didn't get that much attention. It's just how we roll. We have passed these pictures around and nobody has said a word about this! And believe me, we say WORDS about EVERYTHING!

As if I have to remind you, Alabama won the National Championship. Here is Day in her houndstooth. She was fussing, about to melt down when she got interrupted by her routine (bouncy, bouncy, shaky, shaky, sideways). She is programmed to go through the steps regardless of what else is happening around her. This is her "sideways".

And one last tidbit...

We had our first visit to the ER this weekend. No, I’m not referring to the Elbow Room. That was another lifetime ago. If you know me well enough, you probably already know this story. If not, you may be better off not knowing. I’m pretty sure DHS is going to give us a call. All that matters is that Day is fine. Only Ken and I are traumatized. Also, first busted bloody lip this weekend (day after ER). I know it will happen again, but there is something very disturbing about the first time you see a bloody face on your baby. Not pleasant. Seriously, the events this weekend had me thinking about all the mothers who really have had to walk through such fear and anguish with their babies in the hospital. I only caught a fleeting glimpse, but it was powerful enough to give me a little perspective on your strength and bravery. You know who you are!

NEXT UP… Day’s First Birthday (February 16)

Could that much time really have gone by already?