Aaaahhhhh.....The Holidays!!!!

Okay, so I've been away for awhile. A very long while! It wasn't until I looked on my cousins' blogs to see it had been 2 months since my last post. WOW! I'd like to at lease explain why....as a record, as Marina would say ;)

Since the second to last week in October I have been on the road with work. I am installing the two largest projects our company has ever done. I have managed them for over two years and am now finally seeing them come to fruition. Though there is some satisfaction in this the time spent away from my family has been trying. Physically, emotionally and mentally it has been some of the most trying months of my life. I have learned a lot in the process about myself and a lot about the next stage in my life. I will say that my family has been a rock of support and the Lord has been a shoulder to lean on.

My Annabelle has grown leaps and bounds and I can't wait to show you all the new pictures and tell you of all her new adventures. We had our first visit to the pumpikin patch, our first Halloween, a wonderful Thanksgiving and a couple of weekends ago took her to her very first lights before Christmas. I refused no matter how tired to not miss anything and to create those first memories that we will all treasure for years to come.

Matt and I have come to find a renewed sense of companionship. Where things were taken for granted before we now cherish every moment with her and every moment together. He has been wonderful these past couple of months and I've loved watching him grow into a wonderful father.

I am hopeful for the New Year. Hopefull that the Lord will open new doors and create opportunities to share my talent while allowing me more time with my family. I have missed you all and I look forward to a wonderful Christmas holiday!

I'll be back to do a posting marathon for you to see how we spent our fall!

Love,
Christie

The ABC's of Me...

Okay, so Marina tagged me so this will be fun! Here goes......

A. Attached or Single? Attached to my honey
B. Best Friend? Matt, my mom, Tyson
C. Cake or Pie? Cake of course...oooo I'd give anything for some chocolate cake right now!
D. Day of choice? Saturday: I can play with Belle all day and spend some time in the evening with my honey
E. Essential Item? my pink blanket
F. Favorite Color? Pink
G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Both
H. Hometown? Lexington, SC
I. Indulgence? A great handbag or a new pair of shoes
J. January or July? July absolutely!
K. Kids? YES...my sweet Belle
L. Life is not complete without? Family/Love
M. Marriage Date? June 11
N. Number of brothers & sisters? 1 sister
O. Oranges or Apples? Apples: crisp, cold and a mix of sweet and sour
P. Phobias? Losing my parents
Q. Quotes? This is sad, but my brain is so fried right now I can't think of one meaningful quote...sad, but true!
R. Reasons to Smile? Lots of things. You can find smiles all around if you take the time to enjoy life!
S. Season of Choice? Spring
T. Tag some Peeps! I think Tyson has already been tagged so I'm tagging LizAnn!
U. Unknown Fact about Me? I'm a little of a control freak, and a little obsessive about small details.
V. Vegetable? Green Beans
W. Worst Habits? I'm a packrat
X-Ray or Ultrasound? Ultrasound...still one of the neatest experiences of my life
Y. Your Favorite Food? Dito the pasta Marina ;)...actually any carb would be good by me!
Z. Zodiac Sign? Taurus

Hopefully, Belle and my future children will look back on this some day and find it amusing.

Labor Day Weekend....7 under 7!

I know, I know, posting a week later but I'm a busy girl, what can I say? Well, Labor Day weekend Matt, Belle, and I headed up to Village Creek in Beaufort for a weekend with the Richardson family. There were 21 of us in one house!!!! And as you can tell by the title of this post, we had 7 children under 7.

Lisa and Leigh brought their daughter Janie and twins Ella and Bo. Kristen and Kevin brought along their daughter Kaleigh. Laura and Bobby have Morgan and Emma and of course Matt and I brought Belle. What a wonderful way to have all these little cousins get to know one another and create memories that they will remember forever.

The weekend was really low key. We swam, played with the babies and ate some wonderful food. The one eventful thing that happened to us was that Belle decided to begin teething on Sunday....the day we had planned on taking family photos! I could tell she was a little out of sorts for a couple of days prior, but nothing really out of the ordinary. Then on Sunday, she was just crying and I knew her little mouth was hurting her b/c she was sticking everything in there. She's been doing that for weeks and drooling excessively so I shouldn't have been so surprised, but seeing her in that pain just killed me! She's not a cryer so seeing her like that was hard. Lisa and Kristen stepped in and gave me support and Belle some Tylenol. Man did that do the trick! But, she never slepped good (naps or at night) while we were there so it left for a very tired mommy. Who knew all this could be so emotionally draining! I'm sure I'm just experiencing what all new moms do. All in all looking back I think we both handled it all really well, but at the time I didn't think so.

I'm happy to report that Belle now has two little teeth cutting in on the bottom! I haven't seen them but I have definately felt them. I can't believe it all is happening so fast! She's just growing by the day. I'm including some pictures from the weekend, including Belle eating her first veggie: Sweet Potatoes!

The 7 under 7

Miss Belle

Morgan and Little Emma

Kaleigh and Janie

The twins:Bo and Ella

Fun Times!!!!

Belle and Daddy

In the big pool with her turtle float!

mmmmmm...Sweet Potatoes!

Look who's sitting up!

Playing with momma

Silly Girl!

Exciting Times

I have so much to tell you all, but I don't know where to start! Most days my life is so chaotic I find it hard to find time to just sit and be, much less put it all down in writing.

My Belle is growing SO fast it is exciting and heartbreaking all at the same time. But, oh I have to tell you all the things she's doing! She's rolling over! She's grabs her big toes and pulls them up towards her head (just precious)! Lately she is sitting up so much and last night I let my hand go and she sat on her own! It seems like all these things are happening so quickly. She is just the most amazing thing I have ever laid eyes on and I'm overwhelmed by my love for her.

It is amazing how your children teach you so much about life and so much about yourself. Every achievement for her is such a joy for Matt and me. Watching her grow and learn new things is so fascinating! I always say my favorite time of day is when I can come home and be a kid with her....singing, dancing, playing the itsy-bitsy spider. Making her smile melts my heart.

I've got a couple of pictures of her on her tummy, grabbing her toes and playing in her Einstein gym. I don't know who loves that Einstein gym more....me or her....HA!HA! I love the music it plays. I will be surprised if this child doesn't love music. Everything she has plays music!

I'll keep you all updated since she's doing something new every week it seems!

Belle's 4 Month Check-up

I can't believe my little peanut is 4 months already! They grow SO fast. She had her 4 month check-up this week. She weighs 12lbs. 4 oz. and is 24 inches long. She's in the 25th percentile in weight and 50th in height. With her cheeks and little chunky thighs I think "Lord have mercy, what would she look like if she was in the 75th percentile in weight?" HA! The doc said she had excellent head control and gave me the clear to start rice cereal. I'm still nursing so I will only begin with a tablespoon of that a day. He wants it the consistency of oatmeal....nice and messy. Matt and I are video taping her first feeding, so I will post that once we do it.

She has definately found her voice and loves to squeal and giggle and try to talk. She loves to sit up like a big girl, but I love those moments when she lets me cuddle and rock her to sleep. She is rolling from side to side and any day now I think she'll just roll on over. She puts everything in her mouth...her hands, your hands, toys. I don't think it will be too long until she's teething, but I'm not rushing that one ;) She's finally out grown all her newborn clothes and is in 3-6 months. Exciting and kind of sad at the same time. Everyone tells you they grow fast but until you have one of your own you just don't realize how much.

July 4th!

Ooooo, I'm a slacker! I'm just now getting around to telling ya'll about our July 4th weekend. We went to the Richardson family vacation home in Beaufort, South Carolina. It is located on St. Helena island and we affectionately call it Village Creek. I love it there! It is so quiet and just such an escape from our busy hectic life. We're on "Island Time" when we're there.

We took some friends with us and enjoyed playing in the pool, going out on the boat, shopping and eating some incredible food while we were there. We had around 40 people show up to help us celebrate the 4th. Everyone brought dishes and we had some spread....reminded me of a Del Priore Easter...though still not as loud-HA!!!! Did you know that fireworks are illegal in Beaufort County? Yeah, neither did I. So, miss Belle didn't get to see any fireworks but I have a feeling she would have loved them.

Belle did join in on the festivities, sporting her sun hat and swimsuit and seemed to love all the excitement of the weekend. Hopefully, this will become a tradition for us as a family.

I've included some pictures of Village Creek and us playing around the pool!

Well, here it is my first post!!!! I can't tell you all how excited I am to have our own family blog where I can update you on all the things happening with Matt, Belle and me. Annabelle Grace Richardson (a.k.a Belle) was welcomed into this world on March 19, 2008 at 6:47pm. She has been such a delight. She is funny, inquisitive and loves anything that makes noise! I absolutely LOVE being a mom and feel so blessed to have her in my life. I'm including some pictures from the hospital when she was born. You will see many of her cousins who were so thoughtful to come see her, her grandparents and her aunts. She is so lucky to have you all in her life! I hope you enjoy this blog as much as I'm going to!

Love to all,

Christie