Photo Challenge- Days 6,8, & 9

Been pretty busy this week, so it's time to play catch-up on my February Photo Challenge!

Day 6:  Dinner
Yummy pasta casserole I took with me to work Monday night.  I crumble tortilla chips on top and it is soooo good!

I'm going to skip day 7's "Button" because I couldn't think of anything...

Day 8:  Sun

It wasn't very sunny here in Memphis on Wednesday.  It has been pretty cold compared to the last few weeks.  I shot this out my car window as I was on my way to pick up some lunch for all my co-workers.

Day 9:  Front Door

Here we are on our front doorstep this morning about to leave for work (that explains the scrubs.)

Update & Big Girl Food

This week has been pretty crazy and busy.  I got up bright and early Monday morning to take Anniston to the pediatrician because I felt she was being a little "off" on Sunday.  She was fussy at times when she normally isn't and because of past experiences with this- I could feel an ear infection brewing.  I wasn't due to be at work until 10 am so we hightailed it to the pediatrician's office when they opened.  I was right- both ears were infected.  Here we go again.  Another round of antibiotics.  I did mention to my doctor that she has pretty much been on antibiotics since Christmas (minus a few weeks in between rounds of it.)  Thankfully, she said we needed to sit down and talk about our options for getting tubes put in if this is going to continue.  Anniston was really pretty good even though she felt bad.  Even when she's sick and I know her ears must be hurting, she is still a very good baby.  Bless her heart.  I raced to get her prescription filled after leaving the doctor's.  Luckily, one of my friends was filling in as pharmacist at the nearby pharmacy so I was able to pull some strings to get it filled and ready before we got there.  Then it was off to the babysitter's to drop her off, give her a dose of antibiotics before I left, and race in to work.  Whew.  I was worn out by the time I got therek.  I worried all day about how she was doing.  Thankfully, the lady who keeps her is awesome and sent me a couple of emails throughout the day to update me.

The pediatrician did say that I could start her on some solid foods at any time.  We discussed if she was actually ready to start and pretty much concluded that since she looooves to eat- all the time, anytime, anywhere- she was most definitely ready to try some solids.  This put me in a very good mood.  I've been so excited about getting to feed her solids and was so anxious to see how she would do.  We gave her her first taste of rice cereal Tuesday night.  She absolutely loved it!  She would get cranky in between bites and start flailing her arms and legs and then gobble it up when I offered her another bite.  It was so much fun to watch her.

Apparently the rice filled her tummy up because she took a very long nap soon afterwards.  I actually had to go wake her up to take her last bottle and change her into pajamas before bed.  I don't know if the rice had something to do with this or not- but she worked up a really good (and really, really smelly) poopy before bedtime.  I had to do the work myself to change her diaper and clean her up because B was about to be sick from the smell.  You would think he would be used to it by now.....ha ha.  I just had to snap this pic because it was too funny!

Photo Challenge Day 5

Day 5: 10am


At 10 am today we were heading off for a run. It was a chilly 44 degrees outside but we warmed up fast and ended up running 3 miles today.  This was our fastest 3 miles we have done since I've started back running!  Yay us!  Here is a pic we snapped before we headed out:

 Of course I don't Ruby to feel cheated with all the pictures we take of Anniston so we snapped one of her too.  She loves to have her picture taken, by the way.  She always tries to get in the pictures if she sees us take the camera out:)

Busy Saturday

Anniston and I had such a busy Saturday.  We woke up early to get some quality one on one time with each other.  We played in her jumparoo, read a book, and she sat in her highchair to watch me clean the kitchen and fold laundry.  Next up was a much needed Target run.  She didn't sleep much but instead was quite content watching me shop.  She decided she wanted to talk (very loudly) as we strolled down the toy aisle- was that a hint?  She was being so good that I decided to get a few more errands in on the way home.  We ran by Walgreens to pick up some photos and then Old Navy to use some coupons I had been saving.  By the time we made it home she was ready to get out of her carseat and eat.  Aunt Allie stopped by to visit with us and take some pictures.  Here are a few we took:

Then it was time to get ready for a dinner celebrating my cousin's homecoming and job promotion.  This was also Anniston's first "official" big girl dinner at a restaurant.  We did bring her to Brandon's grandmother's birthday dinner back in November but we had a private room so it didn't really matter if she cried nonstop (which she didn't, by the way.)  So last night was our first "real" trip to eat out in public.

  My extended family lives about an hour and a half away so I'm glad they all made the trip to Memphis so we wouldn't have to drive there.  We ate a yummy, carb-loaded dinner at Carraba's Italian Restaurant (kid-friendly, thank goodness.)  As we were pulling in to the parking lot, I noticed a "foul" smell in the car.  I immediately assumed it was Brandon (he is a guy after all!)  When I took Anniston out of her carseat once we got inside, I could still smell it- and it had gotten much stronger.  Apparently, she had been very busy on the ride there!  Mom and I hauled her off to the bathroom to change what turned out to be a very impressive poopy.  What luck- I had just changed her diaper before we left for dinner.  Oh well...

Anniston was so well behaved throughout the dinner.  I wasn't really worried about it because she is so good these days.  She didn't disappoint me.  She looked around at everybody and everything going on in amazement.  She was so good-natured about being passed around while everyone took turns holding her.  I had a couple of strangers come over to look at her and tell us how adorable she was.  Just what every mama wants to hear:)

It was so fun getting together with everyone.  It's so hard to see my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandmother these days since I've gone back to work and they live in a different city.  We are a very close family and I love spending time with them all and catching up.  I am so proud of my cousin, Will, and his new promotion. I'm glad we got to celebrate with him!

Getting ready to leave for dinner- I swear I didn't match us on purpose!

Poppy and Anniston

My Aunt Nancy and Anniston

Allie and I with our handsome cousins, Will and Jake

 The girls:  me, Mom, Allie, Nancy

February Photo A Day Challenge- Day 4

Day 4: Stranger

For today's photo I thought I would post some pictures of Anniston on the day she was born.  At the time she was born, she was like a stranger to me.  We didn't really know each other- aside from the fact that she had been growing in my belly for the past 9 months. Even though we had never met before this day, I instantly loved her more than anything.  The first time I held her in my arms all aspects of selfishness disappeared.  I had my first real experience of unconditional love.  But we had to get to know one another.  It took a little bit of time for me to learn what her different cries meant- if she was hungry, needed a diaper change, etc.  Now, at almost 4 months old, I know she recognizes me.  She smiles at me all the time.  Her eyes follow me in and out of a room and she knows that I'm her Mommy and I will do anything for her.  We are no longer strangers- we are mother and daughter.

February Photo A Day Challenge- Day 3

Day 3:  Hands

Anniston grabbing my finger on the day after she was born:)

Great shot of Anniston's sweet little hand courtesy of my wonderful (and talented) sister- Allie.  This was taken in December 2012 when she was about 2 months old.

February Photo A Day Challenge

Ok- so I'm definitely not a photographer but I saw this challenge on Fat Mum Slim's blog and thought it looked cool.  It might be kind of fun to post some random and creative pictures that I wouldn't normally take and have them to look back on over the years.  So, I'm going to try to do my best to keep up!  I am a day late so I'm going to do days 1 & 2 together.  I might have to post some days together a few times because some days there is just no time to blog- work and Anniston keep me pretty busy these days!  

Day 1:  Your view today

Because of HIPPA laws (aka privacy issues) I'm not able to post any pictures of my workstation inside the pharmacy.  But here is my view when I look out into the store!  We will soon be getting a top of the line BRAND NEW store soon.  It's going to be a "Kroger Marketplace."  I've heard that it's going to be two stories.  I cannot wait!

Day 2:  Words
I saw this on Pinterest and had to repin it.  It is so sweet and expresses exactly how I feel about my little girl:)

Source: shopquickquotes.com via Kelly on Pinterest