Tatum comes to see Uncle Wes & Aunt Tiff

Tatum Elizabeth is now a little over 5 weeks old. Her and Mommy (my sister, Holli) had their first over-night stay at our house Friday night. Mikie works nights Monday night through Friday night, so Holli packed Tatum and all her loads of "baby stuff" and spent the night at the Keene's. Wes cooked us catfish, mac & cheese, and coleslaw (YUMMY!) and we hung out and talked about how much Tatum has grown over the past 5 weeks and what a good baby she is!!!

Just look at those big, beautiful eyes! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday Makenzie Renee!

Our neice, Makenzie Renee, turned 2 on March 12th. I still can't believe she is 2 years old already! She is definately a big girl, growing up fast! She loves "girly" things. I'm sure she gets that from her mommy! :) She LOVES shoes! When she gets a new pair, she NEVER wants to take them off! She LOVES purses too! I think she has more purses than I do! She loves to put fun stuff in them and carry them around. Another favorite activity of hers is bossing her big brothers around. Imagine that!? She will put her hands on her hips and let them know what they need to do. Of course, she absoletuly LOVES her big brothers! Makenzie is such a smart girl too! I'm always amazed at her vocabulary for her age. She easily says 5+ word sentences. Her favorite thing to say right now is a response to her Mommy asking her to do something. She has started to say, "I'll do it in a minute, Mommy, okay?"

I actually have a funny Makenzie story that just happened last night. I was visiting my Grandma, Mom, and Bridgette and the kids last night at Mom and Dad's. It was almost time for dinner, but Makenzie was getting a little hungry. I was standing in the kitchen by the "snack drawer". Makenzie opened the drawer and said, "I want some popcorn." I told her to ask her Mommy since it was almost time for dinner. Bridgette was sitting in the living room, so Makenzie yelled to her, "Mommy, can I have some popcorn?" Bridgette responed, "No, it's almost time for dinner." Makenzie looked right at me and said, "My Mommy said I can have popcorn." I couldn't help but laugh a little before saying, "No she didn't. She said no it's almost time for dinner." Makenzie just gave a little laugh, like as to say, "I know, but I had to try." We all couldn't help but to laugh! :) Who can blame her!

Anyway, Makenzie, don't grow up too fast! Uncle Wes and Aunt Tiff enjoy your sweet, funny personality and we love you VERY, VERY much! :)

The Million Dolla Question

Okay, it happened again today, only about 5 or 6 times....

"What happened?" you may ask. Well, "it" refers to the question that Wes and I have come to expect in certain situations, including family gatherings (defined as three or more family members, but especially when there is at least one family member over the age of 65 present), any environment when a newborn is present (doesn't necessarily have to be a newborn that we know), a group of 4 or more of our friends (most of which have children of their own; age of these friends is irrelevant), any random conversation with my next door neighbor, and the newest addition to the list: anytime a child old enough to know that the step sometime after marriage is typically to have children is bored in church. By now, it's obvious that the "question" is: "WHEN ARE YOU ALL GOING TO HAVE A BABY?"

As you can tell, this is not a question that catches Wes and I off guard, we're actually almost desensitized to it. (Sad, I know, but you try being asked one question a million and one times by any and every person you know - or don't really know- and see if you don't develop somewhat of a cookie-cutter response!) However, this scenario recently did catch us off guard, and we weren't even asked the question directly. I happen to think this is so funny that I have to share.....

A friend of ours that we go to church with has an 11-year-old son. A few Sundays ago, apparently his son was staring at Wes and I in church. Our friend, the boy's father, asked him what or who he was staring at. The boy indicated to his father that he was staring at us. "Why?" asked his dad. Okay, get ready! Here's his response, according to his dad who shared with us: "Do you think they'll have kids?" Okay, did you notice that the kid is 11 years old!!!!!!! We now have 11 year olds wondering when we are going to have kids!!!! I mean, I know that we're becoming"of-age" (okay, we've been of-age, and are probably on the flip side of that one [tear]), but an 11-year-old is thinking we need to get a move on???!!!!????!!!!

Our friend was just as surprised by his son's question as I think we were when we told us. Okay, well he was probably a little more surprised. He responded to his son with, "I don't know, why?" To which his son responded, "Because they're young and they're nice." (Nice save kid! :)

Anyway, Wes and I thought that was really funny! And, we are in no way offended when someone asks us when we are going to start having kids, please don't let this blog lead you to think that. We understand the thought behind the question. We have been married for almost 5 years, and most people our age aren't necessarily waiting that long, though some do and others wait longer.... However, I will end with saying that Wes and I do definitely want to be parents....someday! :)

Cock-a-doodle-doo or Coo Coo?

Okay, I have a confession......

I'm OBSESSED with roosters!!!! No, I don't have little ceramic roosters all over my house (though I've thought about it!), but I do have several "rooster touches" in my kitchen. I have had to stop myself from buying anymore because, as those of you who have been over know, my kitchen isn't that big. At one point I thought it was borderline 'tacky' so I forced myself to get rid of a few. (When I say "get rid of" I mean they're packed away in a guest room closet for future use.) Then, when others caught on that I liked roosters, I started getting them as gifts. That's when I realized it was time to down size the roost by a few hens.

Anyway, whenever I see a cute, French Country rooster somewhere, I have to literally FORCE myself to walk away. Every time Wes and I are somewhere and I say, "Oh! Look at this rooster figure/canister/bowl/etc." Wes immediately says, "NO MORE ROOSTERS!!!" I keep telling him if he just bought me my farm house with a big kitchen, it wouldn't feel like we were living in a rooster roost!

Till then, I have a 'few select' (just what that means is debatable!) roosters that take coverage in my kitchen:

Rooster Canisters

"Henrietta the Rooster" above my cabinets.

A silly rooster in my window.

Some rooster oil paintings (I am actually considering doing away with these...Wes doesn't like them!)





Is it overwhelming? Tacky? Should I do-away-with some?

Oh, and while you're looking at pictures of my kitchen...I'm really re-thinking the paint color. Ya'll are really good at decorating and with paint colors, what would be a good color? We chose the beige b/c our kitchen connects to our upstairs living room that's painted green. The two walls are actually perpendicular (see pic) so the colors have to go well together. I've thought of just painting the kitchen green as well.... Would that be too much green? (My favorite color!!! But, you know what they say about too much of a good thing!) Anyway, I'm now thinking the beige is too drab and blends in too much with the counters... SUGGESTIONS, PLEASE!!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Xavien O'neal!!!

Happy 1st Birthday Xavien!!!!

Xavien O’neal turned 1 yesterday, March 2nd! Xavien is our nephew, Wesley’s sister Jasmine’s son. He is the first baby I got to witness being born, and I cannot believe that has been a year ago! He is beginning to walk, and though he’s still a little wobbly, he’s got it down pat! He also knows what he wants! One of the things we got him for his birthday was a Walk ‘n Ride. While Wes was putting it together, Xavien was watching and telling him to hurry up! He was ready to see what he could do with his newest toy! What amazes me the most about Xavien is his receptive language skills. He seems to understand anything that’s said to him!

Most people say he looks like his Uncle Wes. Since I think he is so darn cute, I don’t mind hearing that at all! I don’t know, what do you all think?

Happy Birthday, X! Uncle Wes and Aunt Tiff love, love, love you!!!! (And your mommy too!!!)

Welcome Tatum!!!

I would like to introduce my baby sister’s new baby: TATUM ELIZABETH. She was born on February 20th, weighing in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces and 21” long. Both Mommy and Daddy are doing well, though a bit sleep deprived! Tatum is a wonderful baby who LOVES to eat!!! Since Holli is her only food source, that means a lot of sleepless nights, but Holli describes it as lots of opportunities for special mother-daughter moments. And Tatum LOVES her mommy! Mommy talks and talks to her, telling her how much she loves her and how “precious” and “gorgeous” she is. Of course, she thinks Daddy is wonderful too, especially since she has him wrapped REAL tight around her little finger! All she has to do is quiver her little bottom lip slightly, and he has her in his arms before she even has to fully wake up.

Wes and I visited with Mikie, Holli and Tatum again yesterday while we were in Springfield. Wes got to hold Tatum while I made Mikie and Holli a chicken casserole, and then Holli and I bathed Tatum (her least favorite thing!!! And she’s not even in the tub yet!)

It’s a funny feeling watching my baby sister (younger than me by 4 ½ years) be a mommy. And, Holli’s an AMAZING mother! I found myself just watching her as she provided for and cared for Tatum, and asking all kinds of questions. It’s nice when your sisters have babies, you don’t have to feel like your questions are too personal! (Especially, with my sisters, we’re very close!) Holli is so knowledgeable and has already taught me so much! Thank you, Holli!

Tatum is such a good baby and so beautiful! I don’t know, I might be feeling a touch of BABY FEVER coming on!!! ;)

MIA???

I apologize for being a little truant lately! We have had an extremely busy past few weeks. I have worked 6 days a week for the past 3 weeks, not to mention the extra stuff we have throughout the week and on the weekends. I am so thankful for having such a wonderful husband! He has really done more than his fair share of the housework, including cleaning, vacuuming, dusting, dishes, and laundry. I already gave him a “Best Husband Ever” Award, and somehow, it’s just not enough! I came home from work Saturday, and once again, Wes had cleaned the house. He didn’t stop there, he did some laundry (probably because he had to in order to have clean clothes since his wife has not done any for so long!), and bathed the girls and clipped and filed their nails. He even had time to entertain mom, dad, Luke and Nick who stopped over for a short visit while in town. Oh, and I was surprised at work last Monday with a beautiful bouquet of tulips, "Just because I love you!" I’m telling ya’ll, he has a Super Husband uniform on under his clothes!

With all the busyness, February has flown by! I think Wes and I only had a couple dates, including our Valentine’s Day dinner. Well, with the exception of a lunch here and there. I miss you, Baby! This month isn’t much different, though we have something to look forward to: We are going to Las Vegas mid-month. Wes has a conference for work out there, and we’re going to make a small trip out of it, so I’m going along. That will help to get us through some of the craziness this month!