Pumpkin Patch

Weekend adventures

Today: Went and saw The Secret Life of Bees. Took Emma along and she did GREAT! Definitely recommend this movie!

Tomorrow: Going to a playgroup and then to the Bywater Arts Market. Hoping to stop by Coffea Cafe Bywater (a funky, cool coffee shop/cafe) as well.

Sunday: Church and then going to the pumpkin patch!

Should continue to be a fun weekend!

Just for fun!

Not Me! Monday

I've decided to play along with MckMama and make my NOT ME! confessions! If you want to join in on the fun, just click on the button above.

So, this week...

*I did not drive all the way to Gulfport, MS just to deposit some $ in the bank!

*I did not change a blowout diaper in the car and leave the stinky outfit in the car all week (yes, it's still there!)

*I did not go to a new playgroup and meet new moms without taking a shower. No, I would never leave the house without a shower!!!

*I did not tell my husband I was going to make him pumpkin pie and then not make it. I promise I'm going to make it today!!!

*I did not leave the dishes in the sink so long that there was mold on a bowl! We never see mold in New Orleans!

*I did not put Emma in the exercauser just to catch up on a few Momblogs...no, I would never forsake my daughter for a blog!

*My mom and I do not talk about blogs that we read, as if we know the people in real life! And I most definitely do not dream about people's blogs that I read! I'm not that stalkerish!

Come back next Monday for some "not me"s!

Angelina

Another reason why I love Angelina Jolie.

Jolie Nursing on Magazine Cover

One of Those Days...

"Well this day's been crazy
But everything's happened on schedule
from the rain and the cold
To the drink that I spilled on my shirt
'Cause You knew how You'd save me
before I fell dead in the garden
And You knew this day
long before You made me out of dirt."
[Caedmon's Call]

*Sorry, for some reason, Blogger won't let me take the italics off

Last night I began feeling a little sick. You know, the whole stomach bug thing. But life goes on as a Mom, no taking a sick day. This morning I had planned to drive to Diamondhead, Mississippi, which is about an hour away, to go to the Wachovia there. We have two bank accounts and most of our expenses still come from Wachovia (which there are none of in Louisiana). We needed to transfer some money from our Capital One account into our Wachovia account, but didn't want to wait the 4 days that it takes to do that online. So, I decided to make the 2 hour round trip to Diamondhead in order to deposit some money in our Wachovia account. Emma and I get up early, take Matt to work (his scooter is broken and that is another story in itself) and head to Diamondhead. We get to Diamondhead and I cannot find the Wachovia. After driving around for a while, I finally spot the Wachovia sign--lo and behold, it is just an ATM in a gas station. Know what that means? They don't take deposits. I call Matt up and ask him where the next closest Wachovia is. While he is looking it up, I decide to nurse Emma and get her out of the carseat. As soon as I got her out, I smelled IT. Yes, IT! She had a HUGE blowout and it got on her clothes as well as the carseat. I change her diaper and of course I don't have a change of clothes for her, so she has to sit naked in the carseat. I nurse her and all the while, she is very distracted and hot, so she doesn't eat long. Matt calls me back and the next closest Wachovia is in Gulfport, which is about 30 minutes away. I head to Gulfport. As soon as I get back on the road, Emma starts SCREAMING! I mean I haven't heard this kind of scream in about two months. I am freaking out wondering if the carseat is too hot on her skin (remember, no clothes!) or her skin got pinched in the carseat. Fortunately, by the time I get to an exit, she had fallen asleep, so I keep going. We finally make it to Gulfport and let me tell you, this Wachovia is not right off the interstate. I end up driving deep into Gulfport (like 20 minutes into a residential area) in order to get to the bank. But, we made it! As soon as I pull out of the Wachovia parking lot, Emma wakes up and starts screaming again. Oh, joy! I figure that she's still hungry since she didn't eat much earlier. I drive around for a while trying to find a place to park so I can nurse her. I finally end up in the middle of some random parking lot. Emma eats and we get back on the road. The rest of the story is good, but I was so exhausted and overwhelmed at this point, that I just want to cry. But, God is good! We got back home in time for me to feed Emma (yes, again) and take a shower (complete with hair washing and leg shaving!) before we have to leave again for a baby-sitting job. Whew! I sure do think that Moms need sick days!

What about you? Have you had any crazy days lately?

New Pictures

I added a bunch of new pictures here.

First cereal

Two weeks ago we gave Emma rice cereal for the first time. She did well with it the first and second time, but not so much the next two times (maybe because I made it a little thicker). We may wait a little while longer to continue...we'll see.

Random Things That Make Me Happy.

Got this idea from BooMama.

Random Things That Make Me Happy.

1. Pumpkin Spice Lattes/Pumpkin Spice Frappaccinos
2. Pumpkin Bread/Pumpkin Muffins
3. Okay...pumpkin flavored anything!
4. My daughter
5. Chubby baby legs
6. Cats (especially my cats)
7. Finding good deals
8. Coupons
9. Children's consignment sales
10. Fall (though there isn't much too it here in New Orleans)
11. My husband
12. Redeemer
13. Answered prayers
14. A good cup of coffee & a journal
15. Scrapbooking
16. Sitting on the porch and watching the people go by
17. Getting a real letter in the mail
18. Ice cold water (to drink that is)
19. Etsy
20. Pictures
21. Christmas
22. Walking into Whole Foods and smelling the flowers
23. A good walk around the neighborhood
24. Simply Limeade
25. Shopping local

What makes you happy?

Babbling

When Emma wakes up in the middle of the night, she doesn't cry, she just babbles and coos. It is the cutest thing ever. A few weeks ago Matt & I caught it on video.

P.S. She is now sleeping 8-9 hours at night, waking up to eat, and then going back down for another hour or two! Woo hoo!

4 month check up

Emma's 4 month check up went very well this afternoon. She is a very healthy girl! She weighs 14 lbs, 6 oz and is 24 1/2 inches long. She is almost in the 75th percentile for both. She got 3 shots and just fussed for a couple seconds and then even smiled at me (silly girl)! We are so thankful that we have a healthy girl!

Emma's baptism

This morning will forever be etched in my heart. It was a sweet time of worship and dedicating our daughter to the Lord. I pray that Matt and I will be Godly parents and be able to share with Emma just how amazing His love for us is.

Busy Weekend

The Parks have had a busy, but wonderful weekend. We started off Saturday morning by going to a playgroup (called Bayou Babies) at the park. We got to meet lots of other moms and dads and cute kids. I can't wait until Emma is actually able to play with other kids. We did put her in the swing for the first time and though it swallowed her, she loved it! I pushed her for about 20 minutes and she could have gone longer!

Matt had a ride with his scooter club yesterday. They rode the ferry over to the West bank to a new scooter store that was celebrating it's grand opening. After playgroup, Emma and I drove over to the scooter store & met some of Matt's friends. It was a fun time!

This morning, Emma was baptized at church. It was such a special time and we are so thankful to have such a wonderful church and church family. I will post pictures and write more about her baptisms in a seperate post (I'm uploading the pictures now).

We have another playgroup tomorrow morning and on Tuesday Emma has her 4 month check up/shots. I can't wait to see how much she weighs!

Blog Love

Here are some blogs I read frequent. Thought some of you might enjoy them too.

Big Mama: Mother of a sassy little girl who just started kindergarten. She is hilarious!

BooMama: Mother of a four year old little boy. She too is hilarious!

Ragamuffin Soul: Service Programming Director at Buckhead Church in Atlanta. I also enjoy reading his wife's blog. This family does some great themed family nights!

Dreaming Big Dreams: A mom who has two precious little boys, one whom they adopted from the US. Her husband and she are also in the process of adopting two children in Haiti. Amazing story!

Debra Parker Design: Mom of two and in the process of adopting. Also an amazing photographer.

it's the little things: Mom of two precious boys, one whom has CDLS. Also an amazing jewelry maker.

Bring the Rain: An amazing, inspriring, moving story of a family who lost their precious daughter.

Just some inspiring, fun blogs to read. :)

Four Months

(This is a day late because we were out of town)

Dear Emma,

You continue to bring such joy into our lives. You amaze us every day! You are learning and growing so much. You are getting better at grabbing things (toys, hair, blankets, etc.) and you smile all the time! You have such a contagious smile! You were sleeping through the night until we had to evacuate for Hurricane Gustav and that messed up your schedule. Now you are waking once a night, which Mommy doesn't mind because she loves to snuggle with you. We have spent lots of time with your Grandma and Grandpa Parks in the last month and you were so spoiled. You can now spot your Mommy and Daddy from across the room and follow us with your eyes. You can roll from your back to your side, but not all the way to your tummy yet. Today you rolled from your tummy to your back for the first time and you thought it was so funny. Speaking of funny, you love to laugh! Some things that make you laugh are your Daddy blowing rasberrys on your tummy, getting kissed on your tummy, washing your neck wrinkles in the bathtub, and anyone smiling at you. You love being naked on your changing table. You suck your thumb and your fingers, but still love that paci! You like to look at our cats, DJ and Peaches and even pet them sometimes. You are teaching your Mommy & Daddy lots about enjoying the simple things in life! We continue to be blessed by you!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Jump & Go

We put Emma in her "Jump & Go" last night and as you can see, she loves it! Thanks Uncle Micheal, Aunt Amy, & Cousin Will!

Oh, the randomness!

*My husband got up at 4:30 am to go get disaster food stamps for the wages we lost during Gustav. The place opened at 6 am and Matt knew he had to get there early in order to be in and out before he had to get to work. Last week people were spending the night just to get a good place in line! Matt got there at 5 am and was 5th in line (I'll let him tell you his adventures of finding the line). He got in and out with $423 worth on the food stamp card by 6:45 am! How awesome is God (and my husband)?! Matt even came home after that and made breakfast for us before he went to work! What a pleasant morning!

*I enjoyed a nice cup of iced coffee at home this morning thanks to this
and this
...and the awesome thing is that I can get 16 cups of coffee out of the Cool Brew, which cost less than $5. So I am paying about 31 CENTS per cup of coffee! That definitely beats the $2 at McDonald's or $4 at Starbucks for my iced coffee!

*We are heading to Atlanta this weekend for a Switchfoot, Third Day, and Jars of Clay concert. And we're going to spend some time with Matt's family too! It should be a fun time!

*I have decided that I'm going to make Emma's baby food. It's really not that hard and we will save a TON of money by doing this. I've found a great website that is full of resources on making baby food. I'm quite excited about this endeavor of mine!

*Emma will be 4 months old on Sunday. It's hard to believe that much time has passed! She will be getting baptized the next Sunday (the 28th) and we are looking forward to that special day.

So, that was a lot of randomness that I've been wanting to share. Hope everyone is having a great week! I've got some new pictures and videos of Emma that I will upload soon.

When you have a baby...

*sleep seems less important

*you become a morning person

*you talk about poop on a daily basis and even get excited about it

*you forget to eat sometimes

*you don't shower at normal times of the day (and when you do, it is a luxery)

*you find joy in grocery shopping without the baby

*you wear your worries and fears on your sleeve

*you find that your baby's pain feels worse than your own

*you no longer rely on a clock--the baby sets your schedule

*coffee becomes a necessity!

Prayer for Emma

*I found this prayer on one of the message boards I frequent...it's a good guide to help me know how to pray for Emma.

Lord I pray for Emma’s brain that it would be healthy so you can fill it with your boundless wisdom

Pray for Emma’s eyes that they would be able to see you and the mighty works of your creation

Pray for Emma’s ears that they would hear your word and hear your praises

Pray for Emma’s tongue that it would be full of grace and ready to be used as your instrument

Pray for Emma’s lungs that they would be healthy and strong ready to shout your praises from the mountains

Pray for Emma’s heart that it would be strong but have more space for you to dwell

Pray for Emma’s shoulders that they would be big enough and strong enough to carry the burdens of his brothers and sisters in Christ as they have carried us

Pray for Emma’s arms and hands that they would be willing and able to do your work

Pray for Emma’s body and all of that is in it that it would be a temple sancitified by you

Pray for Emma’s legs that they would be strong enough to run the race

Pray for Emma’s feet that they would look for your word for direction and that they would follow in your footsteps FOREVER.

IKEA

On the way back to New Orleans from South Carolina, we spent the night in Atlanta. One of the main reasons that I wanted to stay in Atlanta, was that I wanted to go to IKEA. I have been wanting to go to IKEA for over a year now, since I first heard about it. This was my chance. It was just as wonderful as I expected. Matt & I saw lots of things that we put in our "mental wish list". We bought some cute animal prints for Emma's room and a couple other random things. Even though we didn't buy a lot, the whole experience was fun. I can't wait until I get to go back (maybe when we're in Atlanta in two weeks?)!

Not too much going on

I don't have much to write about, but wanted to let you all know we are safe at home in New Orleans. We returned yesterday and had no damage (just a nasty smelling fridge!). Seems that most of the damage consists of trees, limbs, signs, and stoplights down. Our power company (Entergy) did an awesome job restoring power to the city. There is still lots of damage in other areas of Louisiana and many are still without power, so please continue to pray for them. We are watching Ike closely and praying him away!

Of course, I had to post some pictures of our evacuation adventures!

Emma and I at the Beacon in Spartanburg.

Our sweet friends made Matt a "Congrats" cake for his new job...it's a dig site!

Sorry Emma, you know Grant loves to hold you!

Emma holding her Grandpa Parks finger.

Emma's first real mohawk (and her crazy Daddy)!

Apparently, Emma likes computers too.

So tired.

Cousin Will cautiously touching Emma.

We had a fun visit with cousin Will, Aunt Amy, and Uncle Michael.

Our other babies (DJ & Peaches) sleeping at my feet.
They were just as glad to be home as we were!

Praise

I am thanking God for sparing New Orleans from the brunt of the damage from Hurricane Gustav. We are anxious to get home and will probably head back later this week. Pray for those who got hit harder than us.