Gobble Gobble

Even though Everly couldn't enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving meal this year her Daddy and I were very excited to start creating our own family traditions with our little dolly. We were also lucky enough to have Danny's brother, Casey, his wife, Jenn, and their daughter, Kaili join us all the way from Washington D.C. to celebrate.

I started the day by making sausage balls (a Southern favorite!) and serving cheese and crackers for a pre-meal warm-up. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade played in the background for a while (one of my all time favorite childhood memories), but was quickly switched to football as soon as the first game of the day started. The menu included ham and turkey (courtesy of Honey Baked Hams), Southern cornbread dressing (Aunt Mary's recipe), onion casserole (Maw-Maw Ponder's recipe), green bean casserole, corn casserole, cranberry sauce (Jenn Callaway's recipe), sweet potato casserole (another Aunt Mary specialty), and dinner rolls. I also served my homemade pound cake for dessert (made famous by Maw Maw Ponder).

Everly was quite content for most of the day and even took a nice little nap when it was time to eat so her Daddy and I could both enjoy a hands-free meal. After stuffing ourselves with the carb overload described above we all joined Everly in dreamland for a few hours in an attempt to recharge for round 2.

As our first Thanksgiving as a new family came to a close Danny and I reflected on all of the wonderful things we have to be thankful for in our lives. While our lives are not always perfect, we both agreed that we are incredibly blessed with love, happiness, good health, and amazing friends and family. Everly is truly the best thing that has ever happened to us and we are extremely proud to be her parents. There is absolutely no doubt that being a parent is the toughest job on this planet, however, I truly believe that it is also the most rewarding job in more ways than one. Over the past ten weeks there have been numerous times when I have doubted myself and had my strength, confidence, endurance and patience pushed to boundaries that I didn't even know existed until recently, but at the end of the day I am really proud of the people that Danny and I are turning into as parents and partners. Even though our relationship and our individual identities have been transformed and taken to an entirely different level since Everly's birth, we are slowly but surely finding new ways to define "us" again along the way.

Everly & Brookie Meet for the First Time

A few weeks ago Danny and I got together with our friends Brian & Kristi from Vegas so we could introduce our sweet baby girls to one another. Brian & Kristi both went to high school with Danny and over the past few years we have all become really good friends. We were delighted when we found out that we were expecting our sweet baby girls within weeks of one another. It has been a real treat to begin our journey into parenthood with our close friends by our side. It really helps to have another couple to compare notes with and to support one another as we adjust to all the changes that come along with a new bundle of joy. I keep threatening to call Bravo! and pitch a reality TV show to follow our journey and adventures because I know it would be "reality gold" for all of the viewers. Kristi and I are always texting each other and sharing our latest "OMG" moment.

I could not be more excited for Everly and Brooke to grow up together and become BFFs. I can only imagine the adventures the two of them will have over the years (and if the girls are anything like their parents then we are all in trouble!). :)

Dear Everly...

Dear Everly,

As we listened to your favorite lullabies tonight I danced with you in my arms and held you tight. I wanted to soak up every sweet second with you before bed because it feels like time is flying by so quickly. You are growing and developing into such an amazing little person right before my very eyes. I am in constant awe of your strong will, your sweet spirit, and your independence. You light up the room with your big dimples and your giant toothless grin. I melt every time you look at me.

As I sit here typing this letter I can actually hear your precious little coos in the next room as you lie in your bed and put yourself to sleep. Yes, Miss Everly Lily you are already confident and secure enough at 2 months old to soothe yourself to sleep in your very own bed. No rocking and singing for you! No 'mam! All you need is the quiet hum of your vacuum cleaner CD, the classical sounds of Beethoven, and the soft glow of your mobile in the background to help you settle into dreamland. When I peeked in on you a few minutes ago I had to snap this picture because I want to remember this moment forever.

I am so proud to be your Mommy, Everly. Always remember that the journey is most definitely the reward. Be sure to appreciate all of the wonderful blessings in your life, focus on the positive, and give more than you take. Sweet dreams, sunshine. I love you to the moon and back!

Love,
Mama

Namaste! Greetings from the Mini Yogi

Everly attended her first yoga class at the ripe old age of two months last week and is officially a mini yogi now. It's funny when I think about it because I've never jumped on the yoga bandwagon until now. As a matter of fact I actually got bamboozled by Danny about 4 years ago when he talked me into taking a yoga class because it was supposedly relaxing and good for stretching. Yeah, right! Let me tell you, the class we took was anything but relaxing. I had images of downward dog, deep breathing, and meditation poses and what I got was nothing short of torture. Needless to say, that was the last yoga class I considered taking until I saw a flier for a baby yoga class a few weeks ago. Since cabin fever was getting the best of me I decided to conquer my fear of going out in public with Everly alone and dig out my yoga mat from the back of the closet and see what this class was all about. I am happy to report it was quite the opposite from my first experience with yoga. This class was amazing. There were kids ranging in age from 2 months - 2 years old in the class and Everly loved it. She really enjoyed all of the stretching and was completely mesmerized by the movement and sounds of the other children, the flowy scarves, the singing, and the calm and soothing tone of the instructor's voice. She made it through an entire 45 minute class without one crying episode or meltdown. And in case you were wondering..."Everly's Mom" loved the class too! I even broke a sweat during all the stretching and moving around. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I was sore the next day either since the most exercise I have had the past few months consisted of shoveling food into my mouth, strolling at a leisurely pace around the neighborhood or bouncing on an exercise ball to calm Everly when she is fussy. Overall I would say that the class was a success and we will definitely be going back. Until next time... Namaste Y'all!

Funny side story: At first it took me a minute to realize the teacher was talking about me when she first referred to me as "Everly's Mom" when talking to the other kids and parents. I was like, "Hey! That's Me! I am Everly's Mom". Have you seen the show "Up All Night?" If so, you will get the reference to "Everly's Mom". If not, you should definitely watch that show.

Evelry's Visit with her Fairy Godmother

A year ago this week our family suffered a heartbreaking loss when my Uncle Jimmy passed away unexpectedly. This tragic loss caused many people in my family to step back and examine their lives and remember what is important in life. In fact, it was this loss that prompted Danny and I to start a family. And much to our surprise, a little over a month after we lost Uncle Jimmy, Everly was conceived. Our family believes that God sent Everly to us to bring some of the joy and happiness back that we lost the day Jimmy died. Everly is often referred to as "the angel baby" in our family and we are all convinced that she met Uncle Jimmy in Heaven before she was sent to Earth. I personally like to think that he is her Guardian Angel and that he watches over and protects her. Interestingly enough, a few weeks ago, on The Day of the Dead, Everly and I were talking about her Uncle Jimmy (well I was talking and she was listening very carefully). After we said a prayer for his soul, Danny said to Everly, "You already met your Uncle Jimmy in Heaven didn't you? He was a rascal and you are going to be a rascal just like him, aren't you?" On cue, Everly started to coo and smile, almost as if to say, "You bet I did! And let me tell you he is fabulous!"

I have always been close to my Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Mary, and their children (my cousins), Tracy & Trent, so when it came time to choose Godparents for Everly, Tracy and Trent were the obvious choice. When we were kids they were like the little brother and big sister I never had. Some of my fondest memories with Tracy include going to the beach (I will never forget the trip to Ft Walton and the Penthouse, teaching our Dads to play "Quarters" & "Chandelier", and rowing the boat at Salty's), hanging out in her room with her and her friends, cleaning out the trailer behind the Hitching Post so she could move in it, and letting her dress me up and do my hair and makeup. Trent and I have our fair share of memories too. From childhood birthday parties, trips to the beach, playing with match box cars and building roads out of crayons, swimming every summer and sliding down the hill while the pool was filling up with water, riding the scooter all over Hidden Hills (and a few places we weren't supposed to go) rolling our high school teacher's yard and getting caught, shenanigans in Indiana, and our many adventures in Chicago, there is certainly no shortage of stories that we could tell.


Back in July Tracy started traveling to Los Angeles for work and as luck would have it she was in town the day Everly was born (coincidence? I think not!). Since Everly's birth she has been back for work twice and last Sunday we were lucky enough to spend an entire day and evening with her before her work week started. After dressing Everly in her most fabulous outfit, we drove downtown and picked her up at her hotel.

After hanging out at the house for a few hours and soaking in all of Miss Everly's wonderfulness, we took a trip to the Grove. After a great dinner at Wood Ranch BBQ, we wandered around the Grove and took some pictures. Everly slept through most of the outing but we sure had fun showing her off in public.

It is really heartwarming to see the special bond that Tracy and Everly are building. I can already see that they have a special connection. From the moment they met Everly was comfortable in her arms. It makes me smile and feel all warm and fuzzy inside to see them together. I can hardly wait for Trent to meet her next month when we go home to visit for the holidays and for her baptism.

While the pain and sadness of losing Uncle Jimmy will never go away, we are indeed comforted by the amazing gift that God has given to us in Everly. I know that Tracy and Trent will be wonderful role models for Everly throughout her life. I cannot wait to watch as their relationships develop and grow over the years. I am proud to call them Everly's Godparents. I know Uncle Jimmy is looking down from Heaven and smiling too.

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet, Give Me Something Good to Eat!

Everly's first Halloween was a huge success. Of course she had no idea what was going on but Danny and I sure had a great time! We started the evening off by dressing her in her Bumble Bee costume and taking her to the Grove for dinner.

After an uneventful dinner at Cheesecake Factory (she hung out in her car seat during our entire meal and did not make a peep), we walked around the Grove and took a few pictures.

When we got home it was starting to get dark so we all bundled up, put Everly in the Baby Bjorn, and headed out for a little trick or treating in our neighborhood. Of course we took her up to a few houses and collected some candy on her behalf. We figured that we might as well get some goodies while showing off our Prize Piggy! ;) Of course she was a hit at every house.

If I would have had my wits about me this year then Danny and I would have dressed up as the Bee Keepers and Bama would have been the honey. Cute, right? We can hardly wait for next year. We have already started tossing around some ideas for a family costume theme (Bama included!). Will we go with the Alabama football theme - Danny as the quarterback, Everly as the football, Me as the cheerleader, and of course Bama as the coach? Or will it be the Nintendo theme - Danny as Mario, Everly as Toad, Me as the Princess, and Bama as Bowser? Who knows...I have a year to think about it and plan it so whatever we decide it will be over the top!