Hello Madison, Mississppi...

We traveled to Madison, Mississippi last weekend to visit Aunt Allison and Uncle Alan.  It was our very first trip to Madison, and we fell in love.  It is such a lovely place.    

On the day before we arrived, a bad storm made its way through the Madison area, and Allison and Alan's house was struck by lightening.  Luckily, they were not home.  Their neighbors tell them that the noise would have scared them to death.   

Despite the drama the night before, Allison managed to put together a delicious meal on the night we arrived.  She is quite the chef.  It was scrumptious!

This was my first visit to Allison and Alan's new home, and it is beautiful.  Here is a little sneak peek...

They have a wonderful back yard, complete with a sitting area, television, fireplace, hot tub, and putting green.  Yes, we felt like we were on vacation.  :)

We enjoyed lunch at Walker's in Jackson on Friday...

then went to Allison's tennis lesson at the country club.

It was just a little hot.  :) 

On Saturday, Allison introduced us to Strawberry Patch Park.  This is a sweet little area about a mile from Allison's house.  I enjoyed running through this park with Allison both mornings we were there.  It felt like old times, and it was so much fun catching up!  I really miss my running partner.  :(

Anna Scott loved the ducks.  She must have said "duck" one hundred times that day.

But most of all, she loved the swing.  I do believe she would swing all the day long.  

There is so much more to Madison that I did not capture.  Everything is so nice.  Even the gas stations are beautiful (sounds strange, but it's true).  It is one of those places that just draws you in and makes you feel at home. 

Or maybe it's just that Allison is there.  She has a way of making us all feel at home.  We are at home when we're together.  

Goodbye Madison, for now.  It was so nice to meet you.  We had a wonderful first visit, and can't wait for our next trip!

14 Months Old

Anna Scott turned 14 months old on the 10th, and I just can't get enough of her.  She "grew up" more over the past month than any thus far.  She has always had such a fun personality, but this month has been amazing.  She has learned so much!  I wish I could share with you every little thing she does, every little word she says, every little move she makes, but it is just becoming impossible to share it all.  We experience something new every day, and whether it is a new word, a new look, a new sound, a new book, a new song, a new place, a new dance, a new taste - I try to capture each new moment, if not with the camera, at least with my heart - and this, my friends, is a full time job.  Being a mama is so much fun, and I am in love with my sweet baby girl.  While I update you (as best I can), I will share some pictures I have taken over the past month.

Anna Scott is saying lots and lots of words.  Her favorite words to say are ball and dog.  She knows (she can both say and point to) her body parts - head, eye, mouth, belly button, knee and foot.  Those are the ones I have taught her so far.  Sometimes she says "shoe" for foot, but we are trying to sort this out.  :)  I have attached a video at the end of this post.  I really need a new video, because she can do more now, but this one will do.  For those of you who don't know, it is hard to get a one year old to cooperate and follow commands while videoing.  :)  When I ask her, "How much does Mama love you," or "How much do you love Mama," she smiles and raises both arms high in the air.  She can also tell you how old she is.  She loves holding up that one little finger with pride.

Anna Scott loves the moon.  She looks out the window and says "moon" when it gets dark outside.  We try to go out and look at the moon every night before bedtime.  She will say "moon" and hold her hand up to the sky.  Precious.  She also loves to read.  Her favorite book is Goodnight Moon but she has many favorites.  She loves the Little Golden Books (especially The Large and Growly Bear and Pano the Train).  She growls like the growly bear, and when it thunders, she thinks the growly bear is on his way.  She will let us know which book she does and does not want to read.  When we finish a book, instead of saying "The End,"  she says, "Bye Bye book."

Anna Scott loves to dance.   She will dance alone, but what she loves most is dancing with her daddy.  She "asks him to dance" by crawling to his feet and lifting her arms for him to carry her.  I have posted a couple of dancing videos at the end of this post.  She also loves to sing.  Scott and I sing to her all of the time (I think we enjoy it as much as she does).  We sing songs from Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, and more.  One of our favorites is, "Somewhere over the Rainbow."

Anna Scott loves any color, shape and size of ball.  She loves to watch "ball" on television.  If she sees any sport on TV, she says with excitement, "Ball!!!"  Ball is her favorite toy (no, not a baby doll or sweet stuffed animal) but she prefers a ball.  I have hoped and prayed that she will love God with all of her heart, that she will love academics, that she will love music (and practice her piano better than her mama did), and that she will love sports (especially the sport that involves a little yellow ball and racquet).  I think we are off to a good start.  :)

We have a little water baby on our hands.  Anna Scott loves to swim, and the bath tub is one of her favorite places to be.  I laugh so hard just while giving her a bath.  My laughter turns to her tears when bath time is over, but she still manages to look at the water as it is draining, wave and say, "Bye Bye water."  :)  She loves to watch swimming on television.  She says, "Go Go Go!"  I think someone is going to enjoy the upcoming Summer Olympics!

Anna Scott loves to eat (don't we all), and she really likes everything we give her.  When she gets a good drink of milk or gets a bite of something she really likes, she says, "Ummmmmm."  This lets us know it was good and she wants more.  :)  She has 12 teeth (6 on bottom and 6 on top), and she really hasn't had a hard time cutting any of them.  ha!  I can just hear her saying, "Easy for you to say, Mom."

One of my favorite moments with Anna Scott is when we say her bedtime prayers.  She puts her little hands together (fingers intertwined), and after we say "Amen," she says, "Maymen."  :)  Another favorite time of mine is our way back to Birmingham each Sunday evening after church.  Scott and I sing to her almost the whole way home (or until she falls asleep), and she wants to hold my hand the entire time.  She holds on so tight and won't let go.  And yes, though I am reaching all the way from the front seat to the back, and my arm is going numb, there is nothing better than feeling her little hand in mine.  I have never felt anything as soft as her skin.  I could eat her for dessert.  :)

Anna Scott loves her mama and daddy, but she is very independent.  She likes to be left alone when her little heart desires.  Also, being her daddy's girl, she has a little bit of drama about her, and she can be such a fake.  It is hilarious.  She loves to make us laugh and enjoys being the center of attention.  I love to feel her sweet kisses, see her pretty smiles, and hear her precious laugher.  She is my baby doll and I am so blessed to be her mama.  

I recently had Anna Scott's one year photos made at Ty Smith Photography.  We used the rocking chair that Scott's mom refinished for her birthday.  It was Scott's great aunt's rocking chair when she was a baby.  Here are some of the pictures...

I am sharing this last one, because it will give you a taste of her personality.  She put on a show during her photos.  We were trying to get her to sit back in her rocking chair and cross her legs.  So, she amused us and went the whole nine yards.  :)  

Here are the videos I promised...

Anatomy click HERE

Dancing to "Ring of Fire" click HERE

Dancing with Daddy click HERE

Until next time...

Miscellaneous

I don't like falling behind in my blogging, so to save some time, I am going to make this a "catchall" post.  As much as I post, you would think I wouldn't be behind, but such is life.  Hope you enjoy catching up as much as I do!

1.  Father's Day:  Scott had a wonderful Father's day weekend with his little girl.  On Saturday, we drove to Memphis for a friend of mine (Holli's) little boy's second birthday party.  You know us, we are up for traveling anywhere (especially by car).  :)  So, we enjoyed every second of the drive there and back (and the fun in between).  Before the party, we had lunch at Gus's Fried Chicken, which happens to be one of Scott's favorite places to eat.  If I haven't mentioned this before, allow me to explain something now.  Things just seem to work out for Scott.  Since we first met (a long time ago), it is amazing how things just go his/our way when he is around - so I married him.  :)  This is just a very small example.  It just happened to be Father's Day weekend, and we just happened to be near a favorite restaurant of his.  So, I had no choice in where we ate, and he had it made.   

                                                        Happy day before Father's Day!

Here are a few daddy/daughter photos after church on Father's Day.  Anna Scott is named after her daddy, looks and acts like her daddy, and seeing the two of them together just melts my heart.  I have never loved anything so much.

Anna Scott really does have it made.  I so anticipate the day when she can appreciate the wonderful man Scott is and everything he does for her (and me).  My prayer is that, one day, she will choose to marry someone just like him.  It will be hard to find better. 

I wish I had a picture of Scott's 2012 Father's Day canvas.  I will include it in a later post (along with the one from his first Father's Day).  So technically, even after this post, I will still be behind.  Yikes!  :)

2.  Pastel drawing:  While I am on the subject of how wonderful my husband is, let me say that he did good on our 6th wedding anniversary.  We were on our way to dinner, and he handed me a big envelope (that felt as though it was empty).  I said, "What is this?"  Of course, he wouldn't say and just told me to open it.  To my surprise, I pulled out a beautiful drawing of Anna Scott.  No, Scott didn't draw it, :) but he still did good.  I had no idea.  Last year, he gave me a diamond station necklace with 5 stations (representing 5 years).  I love the necklace and wear it every day, but being the sentimental person that I am, this year's gift meant just as much.

 3.  Closing time:  We closed on our new house on Monday, June 25th.  It was a very exciting day!  There is just one problem.  We haven't sold our current house yet, and until we do, we will not be moving into the new house.  I have mixed feelings about wishing our sweet little house would sell quickly.  First of all, I love the house and can't imagine calling anywhere else "home."  Secondly, the process of moving is just painful.  Physically, emotionally, and mentally painful.  This is something I do not look forward to.  Lastly, we have a good bit of furniture to sell/buy once we move, and that calls for some tough decision making.  All of that said, we are so excited about getting settled into something new.  We will make so many memories there and will start to raise a family inside those walls.  We are moving to a sweet and happy area of Homewood called Edgewood.  It will be the perfect place to spend the next chapter of our lives.  Here is our current home at 104 Raleigh Avenue.  We moved in on July 4, 2007 (it was HOT!!!), so July 4th of this year was our 5th year anniversary in this house.  My heart aches to think about pulling out of that driveway for the last time, but I know that it is not the house that makes the home, and I am thankful to be carrying my "home" with me.

4.  Residency:  I started my residency on Monday, June 25th.  Does that date sound familiar?  Yes, it is the same day we closed on our house.  Big day, huh!?  Radiology is a 5 year residency (one transitional year followed by 4 years of radiology).  During my transitional year, I will rotate through a different service each month.  For the month of July, I am on my Critcal Care/Pulmonary rotation.  I see a lot of patients who need ventilator management and who are critically ill.  Needless to say, I am experiencing a steep learning curve, but that is a good thing.  I love learning something (really lots of things) new every day.  I also love getting a paycheck (finally!). :)  I will be doing radiology in August, staff medicine in September, emergency medicine in October, anesthesia in November, dermatology in December, surgery in January, staff medicine in February, ambulatory medicine in March, night float in April, pathology in May, and emergency medicine in June.  Then next July, I will start doing radiology full force.  So, there you have it... my next five years.  :)

5.  Sweet days with Owen:  I am so blessed that my friend Kristin is keeping Anna Scott.  She has a baby boy named Owen (we went to his first birthday party not too long ago), and he is one month younger than Anna Scott.  Kristin recently decided to be a stay-at-home mom, and she keeps both of our babies at her house every day of the week.  They have so much fun together, and Kristin does lots of activities with them...

They colored these hearts for Father's Day.

They painted these American Flags with their hands and feet.

                                    They visit the Homewood Library for storytime and sing-a-longs.

They have busy days, sleepy days, and even some messy days!  :)

But ALL of their days are SWEET days!

6.  First boo-boo:  Anna Scott got her first boo-boo (that required a band aid) a couple of weeks ago.  She did not like that mean ole' band aid and wouldn't do anything with her injured hand.  It was so funny.

7.  Cooper's Birthday Party:  Anna Scott had a great time at Cooper's 2nd birthday party.  Cooper is my childhood friend Jennifer's little boy.  It was so hot outside, as you can tell by Anna Scott's face in the last picture.  :)

8.  The Fourth of July:  The weekend before the 4th of July, we shot fireworks with some friends.  They were spectacular! 

On the 4th, we met Allison and Alan at some good friends of ours - the Dicksons' - condo in Tuscaloosa (the perfect spot between Jackson and Arab/Birmingham).  It is an awesome atmosphere for a cookout and fun by the pool.  We had a wonderful time catching up, and Anna Scott loved spending the day with Aunt Allison.  

That night, we took Anna Scott to the park, and she watched the fireworks from her wagon.  Her face looked about like this the entire time.  She also said, "Ooooo!" a lot.  I felt sorry for her when we wheeled her away.  She kept looking for more fireworks.  I told her that all good things must come to an end.  She completely understood.  :)

9.  Snapshots:  Here are some snapshots I have taken of Anna Scott over the past month.  She will be 14 months old on Tuesday.  I don't want to steal the show from my "14 Months" post, but I will say this:  Anna Scott has really "grown up" from 13 to 14 months old.  She is saying more, doing more and she is the funniest person I know (well, maybe second to her daddy).  More to come!

  

Ok, I think that catches you up on our little life.  Until next time...