We have had a LOT going on around here over the past week, so this may be a long one........

First of all, my birthday was Jan. 19th & we just hung out, then went out for a very yummy dinner. My day started with some beautiful flowers from my wonderful Mom & step-dad.

Then, Jimmy comes home with a SPA gift certificate & one of those edible arrangements!! 1 hour massage & pedicure here I come!! I can't wait til this Wed!! The fruit was very good too!

The next day, we headed to Jimmy's parents' house for a little visit. His brother has an 8 mth old & he is a little stud. He's solid as a rock & wearing 24 mth clothes! He wasn't too sure about "his" granny/papa holding another baby...a little jealousy going on. It was really cute.

Unfortunately, our visit was cut short by some VERY sad news.......my brother-in-law's dad took his own life that afternoon. We immediately packed up & headed home to re-pack for a trip to Franklin. If you don't know, my sister & bro-in-law have been together since I was 8! His dad has been family to me ever since & has been a fixture in my life. He was such an amazing man that adored his family & was nothing but good to me. He was family & will be dearly missed. Family gatherings will never be the same without him. He ALWAYS kissed me on the cheek every single time he saw me & I will miss those kisses. Jimmy thought the world of him because he always made him feel welcome & accepted in our family. They had their own connection because they both grew up very poor & made something of themselves. He always had encouraging words & kind words. I loved that man! You will be missed Jimmy Byram! We love you!

Please keep my sister & bro-in-law & his family in your prayers.

7 weeks old already!

I truly understand how time flies now since having Finley. I can't believe she is already 7 weeks old! She is smiling at us, cooing more & more & watches us more now too. She is just so intrigued by the t.v. & will stare at it. We love watching her learn what is around her & just wonder what her little brain is thinking.

We'll be getting her newborn pics this week & I can't wait to show them off! She was only 8 days old when we had them done & it seems like yesterday! Where does time go??? We are cherishing every single moment with her & yes, even the sleepless nights are priceless. She makes life so much sweeter for us!

She gives those open-mouth smiles now & gets all excited when we talk to her! It's soooo cute! Check out the bed head in the 1st pic!! You can imagine how wild her hair is in the mornings...we love it!!

Our favorite pic right now.....LOVE LOVE LOVE this smile!!!

Lots of catching up to do

Here's the last pics we took of me being preggo!! This was Thanksgiving night after going to Jimmy's cousin's for dinner...very last minute. We hadn't planned on doing anything due to the fact I was a cow, had MAJOR cankles, and basically felt like dookie from all the swelling, BUT we ended up having a wonderful turkey day! I was very happy to get to have a nice home-cooked meal, because I was REALLY missing family...little did I know I would get to see some of them 2 days later! So, here's the last preggo pics....

CHRISTMAS 2009

Hopefully you can enlarge this collage (I still don't know why it won't enlarge most of the time???) Finley got to meet the rest of my family & she got TONS & TONS of lovin'. It was sooo sweet when we got to my Dad's because Betty (step-mom) & Steve (bro-in-law) could not wait to meet her! They could not get her out of the carseat fast enough! It was really sweet...guess you had to be there!

Had to include a recent pic of Tate & Tucker....my grown-up niece & nephew! They are such awesome, genuine kids & both drop dead gorgeous too! I miss them all soooo much!

My bro & sis-in-law welcomed their 2nd baby boy, Colten Reese, on Christmas Eve! Poor kid is going to hate his birthday for the rest of his life! Mama, baby, Daddy & big brother Caden are all doing great!

Finley also got to meet her other 2 "aunts" on this trip, Sam & Liz! I am sooo glad we got to see each other! It's very rare for the 3 of us to be able to get together these days, so it's always a treat for us!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Very quick

Here's the sneak peek from Finley's newborn session.....

www.shannontreadwayphotography.com & click on the blog! I'll be posting the link to the gallery as soon as she sends it to me! She is also giving us a CD with all the pics on it, so we can print whatever we want! Love this girl & she does awesome work! My Christmas cards might actually make it in time...I hope???? Can't leave you without a pic of "the hair!"

Yes, we are crazy!!!

Call us crazy, but we are very excited to announce that we had our 1st litter of bulldogs this past Saturday! We had 4 girls & 1 boy...all are healthy & doing great! Maggie did great through her c-section & is a very good mom. Thankfully, our good friend, Mandy has Maggie & the puppies until we get back from Christmas in TN. We tried keeping them, but it was waaaay too much trying to feed puppies every 2 hours & Finley whenever she decides to eat. Jimmy & I were both up & it wasn't doing any of us any good...too much grumpiness in a happy house for us!


Here are some pictures Mandy & I took of our beautiful baby girl! We had fun playing dress-up, but she didn't appreciate it too much...we will try more later. I did have some professional newborn pics done last week & you know I'll be posting those as soon as I get them! I found this awesome photographer in Little Rock & she got some great shots, even though Finley didn't want to sleep!



We are hitting the road to Franklin on Saturday & it won't come soon enough!! I'm going to see if I can talk Jimmy into leaving Friday???? I'm soooo excited for the rest of my family to meet Finley & get lots of lovin'....like she needs more. I am also meeting Sam & Liz on Sunday so they can meet her too!!! I can't wait!!! Lots of pics to come!!!

Oops

I had this picture on the last post, but somehow it didn't end up on there??? This is my favorite pic from the hospital, right after they got her all cleaned up....


She is one week old today & it has been the best week of our lives!

Finley Grace is here!!!!

We are so proud to announce that Finley Grace was born Sat. Nov 28th at 3:55pm. She weighed 7lbs 6oz, 20 1/2 in long & has a head FULL of BLACK hair! It is absolutely precious, but very unexpected. Jimmy does have dark hair & all those nice Indian features, so we wondered how much she would get??? Well, she got it ALL!! I would never have believed I would have a baby with a head full of jet black hair...if I wasn't 100% that I spent 2 hours pushing her out, I would question it. Don't get me wrong, I am loving all of her hair & her dark complexion. So far, the only thing I can take credit for is being the carrier & just doing all the hard work...Jimmy gets all the credit for her looks! No, wait, we did find a freckle on her right hand!!! Woo hoo for me!! I am hoping parts of me will come out in her as she grows...I'll take anything at this point! :) We are soooo in love with her & enjoying every single minute. I could enjoy those minutes a little better with sleep, but I know that's not happening for a loooong time. I don't care though, we have waited long enough for this little girl.
I promise to post some more pics soon, but we are trying to get back to a functional level around here. We are getting there & loving every minute of having Finley home!