The Truth Tooth Hurts

I guess this is going to be "corny blog titles" week! I know they are really silly sometimes (like tonight!) But doesn't it catch your attention more than it would if it just said "First Tooth"?

Annistyn has been cutting this same tooth since she was 3 months old and I first started seeing it under the gum! I thought this thing would NEVER come through. Well yesterday it finally broke the gum! You can now see AND feel Annistyn's very first, very sharp tooth! I would say "Yay!" but it hasn't been a "Yay!" experience! She has been very ill and grumpy. I am sure there will be many more days like this! She's only gotten that one little tooth so far, so I'm sure we've only just beGUM.... :)
Alright, no more corniness!

Here's the question of the night....
What was I doing exactly 8 months ago today?????

Answer:



Well... if you want to get really technical, at this exact TIME 8-months ago, I was crying in my hospital room because my baby was in the NICU and not in my room with me. She was actually born at 1:10 a.m.


But she finally got to go home...



And look at her now!





Annistyn.... What has been going on this month????



Well....

I have started making my sounds into real words like "bye", "mama", and "dada". My mommy thinks I say the word "meanie" when I am pitching a fit. She says it sounds just like it!
I have become REALLY hard to put diapers on and to dress. There is so much to do!!!! I don't want to be still!
I have gotten even faster at crawling and braver at pulling up.
I REALLY REALLY want to walk and I get more balance every day. I would really just like my mommy to hold me up while I stand up and play.
I like to ride in the car, but my mommy has to give me Puffs to get me in my car seat. YES, she knows that is a bad habit....but she says that it's not worth wrestling with a moose.
I like watching TV. The Mickey Mouse Club is my favorite. I DO NOT like Today in Alabama. I LOVE Wheel of Fortune.
Pears are still my favorite food, but I like any kind of fruit. (Note from Shae: I have started mixing fruit with veggies to get her to eat them... but don't tell Annistyn!)
I LOVE Puffs and the Graduates Crunchy Sticks. I still love drinking from a cup. I like juice, but tea is my favorite. (Thanks, Grandaddy!!!)
I can feed myself with my spoon, but it gets a little messy.
I like to chew on lemons and pickles. I don't even make a face!!! I like to eat real fruit. Mommy breaks it in little pieces. I will eat peas and other things from the table also. I am not a real picky eater. I just like to eat! (Like Mommy!)
I am WILD all the time! I am always on the go and I can get into ANYTHING!
I like the handles on the dresser. I have learned to open the drawers.
I love getting a bath and SPLASHING the water everywhere.
I know what the word "no" means. Most of the time I just give Mommy a mischievous smile and do it anyway.
I got my first tooth this month! I also got my first cousin!
I love to give "kisses" and I like to wave bye-bye.
I love seeing "friends" that are close to my age- especially boys! Get ready Daddy!!!
I went to the fair and to the pumpkin patch for the first time. I went trick-or-treating.
I still sleep all night and take 2-3 naps a day.
I am still wearing size 3 diapers and size 6 months clothes. Sometimes Mommy buys 9 months so they will fit longer.
I probably weigh around 16 1/2 or 17 lbs. I have plenty of meat- but still small-framed.
My eyes are much greener and my hair is still dark brown and getting curlier.

I've been so busy this month- I know I'm probably forgetting something. I'll let Mommy fill you in on the rest!

The other day, Annistyn woke up from her nap and she had the WILDEST hair I've ever seen! Sorry these pictures are not good. I lightened the background so you could see her hair better and it made that huge shadow....




It was going everywhere! Since it's getting longer, it's curling more. When it is rainy outside- it goes crazy!

Sorry I don't have any "official" 8-month pictures to share. My cotton field photo session has gotten rained out 3 times. Hopefully in the next few days, I'll get them.

Well, a lot has changed in 8 months, but one thing that hasn't changed is our love for our sweet little girl! I am soooo tired at the end of every day because she is so busy, but I love every minute of it. When I heard "mamama" come out of her mouth- I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest! There is nothing that could be greater than being Annistyn's mommy!

I cannot believe 8 months has flown by so quick! Just think- I only have 4 more months to plan her 1st birthday party! Yikes!!!!

Well- THANKFULLY- I am off work tomorrow. I am going to spend the day playing with my sweet angel! I think we'll even go out for lunch- which is something I RARELY get to do! :)

Enjoy your Veteran's Day!

Just BeCUZ

Thursday we had a fun day meeting Annistyn's new cousin, Blakely. It's really sad that Annistyn was that small (actually smaller) only 8 months ago and I don't remember her EVER being that tiny. How in the WORLD did she grow up that fast without me even noticing?????

Annistyn was really exicted about meeting Blakely.



She can't wait for her to get a little older so they can play, tell secrets, and have spend the night parties.





Annistyn even told Blakely that she will share her toys and clothes with her.
She decided that she wanted to start sharing clothes now...



What can I say? My child loves fashion! :)

Here I am posing with my first niece!



And here are some more pictures of beautiful Blakely...













Last, but not least, I said I was going to do my second bi-weekly giveaway. (It's actually been 3 weeks- but tri-weekly sounds silly.)

This giveaway runs from tonight (Saturday, Nov. 7) through Saturday, November 14. I am giving away a set of 10 "characture" notecards. They can be Christmas, but do not have to be. I design the characture based on your specifications. These work great to put on gifts or to use as Christmas cards.
Here is an example:



Remember, the only thing you have to do to be in the drawing is to leave a comment on this post. Next Saturday I'll use my trusty random number generator and that number post will win! Yay!

Happy Weekend!

A Little Behind....

I am running a little behind with my updates this week....



But this cute little "behind" is the reason why! She is SO busy!!!

Annistyn has said, "Goodbye, Halloween!"






And, "Hello, Christmas!"







Yes, we will celebrate Thanksgiving first. But I only have 3 or 4 Thanksgiving outfits (GASP!) and I will be SURE to let you see them before Thanksgiving.

Annistyn has some exciting news to share tonight.

Annistyn, share your news with everyone!



Annistyn is holding (or eating) a sign that says, "Welcome, Blakely!" because TODAY- November 4, 2009, Annistyn became a big cousin!!!



Blakely Blair McCrory was born this afternoon (around 4 pm) at Baptist East in Montgomery. She weighed 6 lb. and 15 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long- almost exactly Annistyn's birth size!!! Her Mommy and Daddy (Chad and Kelly) are doing good- just tired! I will be taking LOADS of pictures when we visit tomorrow. So I will DEFINITELY be posting those! We are so excited that she is finally here!

I know I promised another giveaway this week- but I'm going to save it for the weekend because I think that is easier than starting in the middle of the week. So maybe Saturday I will post it.

Hope you had a great "hump" day! Now we're getting closer to the weekend!!!

Trick or Treat- Here's Something Sweet!!!!

Well, today was Annistyn's first Halloween! I initially wanted to invest in an expensive costume, but talked myself out of it.

We always have trick-or-treating at our town square. The first few years it was really nice, but last time I went- I didn't know anyone there! We don't live in a very big town, so that was little weird to me. There were a lot of older teenagers and adults dressed up- kind of gave me the creeps. And with all the sickness going around- 500 hands touching the same pieces of candy... that has SWINE FLU written all over it. No, I'm not one of those people freaking out about swine flu- but I don't want my baby to get any sickness- including that. We didn't opt to have the shots. I was a little skeptical, since this is the first time they have ever done them.

So- back to the original story- I didn't ever buy the $60 costume I wanted because I knew we wouldn't be anywhere special tonight. I bought a $3 jack-o-lantern onesie from Wal-Mart, an $8 tutu off the clearance rack at gymboree, and these $1 tights from Target and I think she is the cutest pumpkin that I ever did see!






We went to her Grandmommy's and then rode over to some friend's from church's house and visited. We ate at David's Catfish and made the weekly Wal-Mart trip. That was about it. As Annistyn gets older, I know she will care more about a costume. But I thought my bargain costume turned out pretty good.

Well since we've checked Halloween off the list- we're officially in Thanksgiving season. I like Thanksgiving, but I always get excited this time of year for other reasons. To me, Christmas shopping starts right now! Thanksgiving is the last day of my yearly Christmas season countdown. When Thanksgiving is over- the tree goes up and Christmas time officially begins!!!

I have another fun Christmas giveaway- but I'm going to wait until tomorrow or the beginning of next week to do it.

Right now- I think I'm going to head to bed and enjoy "falling back" and HOPEFULLY getting that extra hour of sleep. I just hope the time change doesn't effect Annistyn's sleeping habits!

Hope everyone had a very festive Halloween!!!!

Like a Kid on Christmas Morning!

I LOVE taking pictures. It's like wrapping a bunch of presents (without knowing what they are) and running home to open them!

I took pictures today of McKena, Derek, and their beautiful daughter, Abby. McKena's brother, Ross, is Shelley's boyfriend. Of course, this huge storm cloud rolled over and killed the PERFECT afternoon lighting that we would have had. I was unsure how they would turn out! I thought in spite of that- they turned out pretty good!

I haven't had a chance to sort through all 300 of them! Yes, 300! But I just couldn't wait. Here is a preview:





I will create a complete online gallery for McKena later- and if she says it's okay, I'll share the link!

Thanks for letting me photograph your beautiful family!

It's late and I'm going to bed. I just wanted to put those pictures up. Like I said- I feel like a kid on Christmas morning!!!!

Cabbage Pumpkin Patch Kid

Yesterday was one of those days I have fantasized about my whole life! I have always dreamed of strolling through the pumpkin patch with my family and picking the perfect one right off the vine!

We had sooo much fun. We got to pet the farm animals. It was the first time Michael and I had pet a sheep also! Annistyn liked the goat and the chickens, but wasn't crazy about the bigger animals! We rode the "cow train" and played in the grass. She found a friend on the hayride- they talked and waved at each other all the way to the pumpkin patch. We took Annistyn around to each pumpkin until she picked her favorite. It was neat- I had never been to a pumpkin patch before. I think she had a lot of fun. She was a very tired little girl last night!!! I hope that it will become a "Page Family Tradition".

Here is a small sample of the pictures we took:






I have prepared a slideshow of the rest of the pictures since there were so many. Just click play and enjoy! (I put it together REALLY fast- sorry it's so unprofessional!)



Hope your Monday was as good as a Monday can be! :)

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas... At Wal-Mart anyway!!!

Can you believe the Christmas decorations are ALREADY out!? I get so excited when I see those stockings, ornaments, and boxes of cards being put on the shelves!!!!

Here is some things I've already picked up from Wal-Mart:



I usually do a white, silver, and blue tree. This year I'm going to add some brown in it to compliment my walls.

Here we are last Christmas:



Annistyn got more gifts than I did last Christmas and she wasn't even here yet! I can't image what all she will get this Christmas!!!

I LOVE Christmas. I think that every season should be a season for giving- but isn't there something magical about Christmas???? I just can't get enough of it! I literally have a Christmas shirt or sweater for EVERY school day after Thanksgiving! I know it's sad to admit...

Moving on...
I promised to announce the winner of the "giveaway" today! I used a "random number generator" website
to pick a number. It's really neat if you ever need a random number for any reason! I'm not sure what other reason you would need to use it...but just in case! I numbered the comments in the order that people left them (1st comment was #1, etc...) I asked the number generator to select a number between 0 and 7 (because there were 6 comments)

The number was 4. The 4th comment was left by The Mitchell's. Yay! So, e-mail me at thepagesofourlife@gmail.com and we'll get your gift tags going! :)

If you are interested in the gift tags- I am making several different ones for my gifts this year. It's a great personal touch! I am selling sets of 25 custom designed tags (you pick color, etc...) for $20.00. You can put a picture on these! Just e-mail me if you want some! If you had rather get more for your money- consider the sticky back "to-from" labels for packages. You can get 140 for $20.00. They are about 1 inch by 2 inch- a good bit smaller than the tags, but can be custom designed (with a photo) to match your packages. I think I'll put the nice tags on close family's packages and maybe the smaller ones on everybody elses.


I like doing giveaways, so maybe I'll try one every other Saturday. Next Saturday will be Halloween, so I think that'll be a great time for the next one. I already know what it is going to be....

By the way, thanks for all the comments that were left! I'm glad to know Annistyn is such a fashion idol! Ha, ha!

Here she is modeling her lastest apparel:









It's hard to make her stop and model. I can barely keep up with her! Today I walked out of the den for MAYBE 30 seconds and I could not find her when I got back. She had crawled off to the foyer! She usually follows me when I walk out of the room. Good thing I have a watch dog! He is always on her trail!



She has figured out how to sit back up when she is laying down.



She will do it over and over. She has FINALLY mastered the concept of waving "bye-bye" and she tells everything and everyone "hey!"

Before long you will see pictures of her with bumps on her head. She is way too brave and will pull up and walk off even though she can't walk yet! She "walks" around her crib holding on the side. I give her another month. She'll be running around like a wild girl!

And on a random note...we went to the new Burke's today for the first time. Annistyn picked out a toy, so I had to buy it for her. I decided I would take Finley one home too.




Her Daddy definitely approved of these toys!

And since my day ended beautifully, I wanted my blog entry to end the same way. Here is the beautiful sunset that God painted tonight:





I thought it was so pretty! Hope your day was just as beautiful! :)