Ahem

"Here we are again. Me in this chair. Mom with her camera. Not to mention that I have on this RIDICULOUS hat and a sweater."


"Anybody getting hot in here? Seriously. It's warm. I'm feeling a little fuzzy and cozy and....yawn...sleepy."


"ZZZZZZ........"


"HA! Just kidding. I'm awake."


"But seriously, Mom, the hat has to go."

Creature Of Habit

I know I've said it before, but my little girl is SUCH a creature of habit.




She displays this character trait in many ways throughout our day, but bedtime is when we really see that Nora likes things to be a.certain.way. Always. Everytime. Every night.



For example, we have a bedtime routine that occurs most nights when we are home together as a family. We start to settle down after bath around 8:15. Kids are cleans, jammies are on, Liam has his last bottle.

The routine continues as Nora's teeth get brushed. Sometimes I do it, sometimes Jonathan does. Typically while one is brushing teeth, the other is putting Liam to bed.

We pick up any toys that are laying around in Nora's room, set up Nora's heater, and turn out the lights. The light from the bathroom gives us just what we need to get Nora settled in her bed.

Her sheep pillow has a particular place in the bed. Her bear has a designated spot as does her baby. Finally, she has her blanket that we must cover her up with.

Jonathan starts with prayers. Then I pray, and if Nora is in the mood, she'll pray too.

After prayers, we give last minute kisses. These evolve. They started out back in the day quite simply. Just smooches on the cheek, one for Momma, one for Daddy. We'd whisper I love you and head out the room.

Now we have what we call "sticky kisses." Nora asks us to get stuck when we kiss goodnight so Jonathan and I take turns getting stuck to Nora's cheeks.

As we walk out into the hall and shut the door, Jonathan and I wait in anticipation for what we know is inevitable. "Momma." That's what we hear most nights. Sometimes it's "Daddy." If it's me, I open the door to see that Nora has thrown her blanket off and needs me to cover her up again with the blanket. That's all she needs, just to be recovered.

Most nights this covering up of the blanket happens just once. However, some nights she tries to push the limits and will call us several times. We go back in and tell her that it's the last time. She smiles, looks up while we tuck her in, then rolls on her side to fall asleep.



If I'm honest, sometimes the repetition and the going back in for the 5th time can be quite frustrating. It's my selfishness, I know, because I'm tired and I just want the girl to go to sleep.

I realize that this "creature of habit" is who she is, and it probably frustrates me because she is just like me in so many ways. It's scary.

Over time, say the past few months, I have also come to the realization that Nora will not always like things just the way she does now. She has proven this over and over again over the past two and a half years. Her dislikes change. Her likes changes. And right now, I need to cherish the routine, the repetition, because in an instant, these things will be gone and we will have moved on to something else. And I will miss the things that we are doing now.



She will not always call "Momma" or "Daddy" once we leave the room.

It honestly won't be long before her beloved white blanket is just too small to cover up her little body.

I know pillow, baby, and bear will be cast aside in coming years.



But, my love for my girl won't change.

And I pray her love for her Momma and Daddy won't either.

I hope we're a habit she can't break!

Webb Babies!

As I mentioned yesterday, our great friends, Dalyn and Jessica, are expecting twins this spring! They have tried for several years to have a baby, and God has seen fit to bless them with two: a boy and a girl! We couldn't be more excited for them, and I can't wait to get my hands on baby Finley and baby Landry!

Jessica and Dalyn came home for the last time before the twins' arrival to have their BIG family and friends shower in Dillsboro, NC. Naturally, we wanted to be in on the fun, so Jonathan and I made the trek to be there to celebrate with them.

I was so impressed with how my love is felt for Dalyn and Jess. They were showered (no pun intended) with love and hugs and gifts and care by their families and friends. Obviously, much is needed to care for ONE baby, so since two are on their way, Dalyn and Jess need LOTS of things. They were definitely blessed with so much, and the shower was absolutely beautiful.

I was in charge of the invitations (whew! I am not creative and definitely love administrative stuff, so that was the perfect role for me). Jessica's best friend, Ashley, was in charge of the cupcakes and cake topper, and she did a phenomenal job. All of the decorations were made to look like the shower invitations.




Jonathan, Tony, and Dalyn waiting for things to get started. They initially thought they would go hang out during the shower and play golf or something, but instead they stayed. It was so fun with them there, so I am glad they did!


More shots of the cake table.


Beautiful maternity pics of Jessica and Dalyn. And do you see those mints? Homemade by Dalyn's mom. I cannnot be held responsible for how many of those things I ate. Two words. Cream cheese. Yes, there was cream cheese in them.




Teresa, another hostess, made these adorable table centerpieces! She hand-painted the ribbon to go with the theme! Super-talented!



Dalyn's Momma.....she is indescribably excited about her coming grandbabies!

The Cupcake Tower!


The precious couple.

They had the biggest smiles on their face all day!



This is Dalyn's grandmother loving on Jessica. She kept petting her...it was obvious that she just adores Jessica!

Ashley and her little girl, Reeslyn! She was one of the hits of the party!







Reeslyn helping her Aunt Jess and Uncle Dalyn open gifts!



More of Teresa's handiwork!

Sweet Friends!

Over the Mountain, and Through the Woods

This past weekend, Jonathan and I headed over to Dillsboro, NC, to attend a babies shower for some really good friends of ours, Dalyn and Jessica. After battling a few years with infertility, Dalyn and Jessica are so blessed with two miracles: a baby boy and a baby girl! Jessica is due June 5, but we all think that Finley and Landry will make their arrival before then. This weekend, I helped to host a shower for Dalyn and Jess in their hometown, so Jonathan and I took advantage of the opportunity to have a night away from the kids! It was my first night away from Liam, and he and Nora stayed with Granna and Geegaw so we could travel over the Smokies to North Carolina!

I have much to post about this weekend, but I'll start with the drive that Jonathan and I took to get to Dillsboro. As many of you know, there have been some rockslides which have affected interstates and other roads that lead from the Knoxville area into North Carolina. Also, with the abundance of snow that our region has been experiencing in the past two months, traveling difficulties are even more increased. We thought there might be a chance that we wouldn't even be able to attend the shower if weather or travel conditions didn't cooperate. Thankfully, however, we were able to get to North Carolina by traveling through the Smokies and the weather for the weekend was GORGEOUS! Some of our warmest and sunniest weather in weeks!

Because there is no snow on the ground in Knoxville, I didn't even think about the fact that snow would still be around in the National Park. As we started making our way in the park and up the mountains, we were blown away by the beauty of the snow-covered mountains. It was breath-taking. I packed my camera in the back of our car, but it wasn't too long into our drive before I insisted we pull over because the landscape was just too amazing to miss!

It was around 5:00 pm when we were making this drive, so we would come in and out of sunlight depending on the direction we were facing or what side of a mountain we were on.












These are some I had fun with editing. I just LOVE tunnels!






Jonathan and I were so tickled that our drive was so beautiful! We had a blast cruising through the mountains, listening to some great music, sipping on Cherry Limeades, and holding hands. It was great start to a fun weekend.

More to come....pics from the shower!