Splish-Splash

Miss Abby took her first dip in the neighborhood pool this past weekend, and I'm elated to find that she loved it! We were concerned about the chilly water, but it didn't faze Abby. Whew! (Sadly, it took her mother a few minutes to get used to the icy temperature!)

Here she is in her floaty.

She loves being thrown in the air!
I didn't throw her in the air. I'm not that athletic. :)

"Daddy, I want to go over there." Matt perfects his balancing act.
I tell you what: the pool is much cheaper than driving to Target!! Looks like instead of cruising the aisles of the ol' Bullseye this summer, Abbster and I will be taking the wagon down to the pool!

Just Some New Pics

Abby's blankie is her other BFF.

This is typical "Torment Millie" time. Abby's new hobby is taking Millie's Mean Kitty away from her. Millie is not too thrilled with this new game.
Abby decided Thursday morning that Mean Kitty needed to experience a baptismal dunk.
Here she is leaving the scene of the crime!
Look where I caught Millie hiding Mean Kitty. In her dog food bowl! Hilarious! Poor Millie.
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Models, watch out!
What is it with babies and remotes? Abby spotted it while I was taking her picture.
Hmmm...I wonder what this does?
Oh. That.
With a face like this, who can be mad??
She has such a difficult life.
Later, dudes!
Happy birthday, Evelyn! My how Abby has changed since her one-week-old message last year!
Happy Memorial Day, everyone.

Memorial Day

This is a link to my dad's column from today. I think it's worth reading, as it's a reminder as to what this weekend is really about. Have a safe weekend.

http://www.news-journal.com/opin/content/features/stories/2008/05/24/05242008_craddock.html

One Year Old!

Miss Abby Mae turned one on Sunday, and she's only slightly changed since we took her home from the hospital... :)
I still can't believe that it's been 365 days since she was born. Absolutely unbelievable! (If you read my last post, you already know my thoughts on Abby's birth. Let me say it was QUITE nice getting a full night's sleep this May 17th and not waking up to water breaking! What a difference a year makes!) We had a wonderful day with our family (and our friends, The Cappettas) in order to celebrate Abby's first birthday. Here are some highlights of the cookout and cupcakes.

My mom always took Chris' and my picture when we first woke up on our birthdays. I plan to carry on the same tradition. Here is Miss Abby's first photo as a one year old! Check out that bed head! :)

After a bath and a morning nap, it was time to party! Here she is greeting the fam at the front door.

Right now, Abby is really into textures. Anything remotely soft she puts up to her face and rubs. I'll say "So Soft", and she will pick up whatever is the softest thing that's close and rub her face on it. I guess that's what she's doing with her BFF Ellie!
A tad unsure what this thing is in front of her. Even though she attempted to touch the flame, she didn't succeed. Whew!

Time for an outfit change!
Abby also shares a birthday with my mom (who says that her first grandchild was the best gift she could have ever received!) and Matt's mom's birthday is May 25th, so we celebrated their birthdays as well.
As you can see by this picture, Abby is super excited about the Pooh Storybook her Auntie Kathy and Uncle Cary sent her for her birthday! I mean, who wouldn't be excited by this gift? It's Winnie The Pooh for goodness sake! :)
Abby with the grandparents immediately before she dozed off. It was a busy day for Sweet Pea. I think we all needed a nap at that point! :)
Matt and I are officially parents of a one-year-old. Yikes! Where has the time gone?!
Here is Mama feeling just a tad better and a bit more dressed up this May 18th. :)
Nana and Papa got Abby this red wagon. We've already taken it around the neighborhood a few times. She loves it! I'm pretty sure she's making all of the other wagonless kids in the neighborhood jealous!
Grammie and Pops got Abby an activity gym, and Abby really enjoys it too! Now if I could only get her to understand that you don't try to go down the stairs and up the slide!
This girl walks in laps around our house. I think I walk through my kitchen about 30 times a day! :) So, Matt and I got her a shopping cart. If only I could send her to Kroger with a grocery list...
And finally, here's our little TV star! I sent in Abby's picture to Fox 4's Good Day morning show (hey, I have a lot of time on my hands, remember?!), and they ran it this morning! I rewind it over and over and play it for Abby. She sees "the baby" on TV and laughs! :)

Happy birthday, Abby, my little one year old!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well!

The Miracle of Birth

Exactly one year ago today I had no idea that in less than 24 hours, I would become a mother. A mom. The mother of someone. I was going to have a baby. No matter how I said it, I was terrified! We had wanted a baby for so long--we had exhausted ourselves in prayer, but after all that we went through, I realize that God is always teaching lessons. Lessons in faith. Much easier to realize now, but all along I knew that He had a plan for us. I say that I had no idea that less than 24 hours later I was going to become a mom, but the truth is, God had given me signs all during my pregnancy to let me know exactly when Abby would come. I think that when I saw those signs, I labeled them as "just coincidences," but I think that in the back of my head, I knew what was going to happen all along.

You see, every week--many times throughout the week--the number "38" would arise. And I'm not talking once or twice a month. I'm talking several times a week. It seemed that each day when I happened to glance at my watch, look at the clock on the oven, check out the clock in the car, or the clock that jutted out of the wall down from my classroom, it was in the 38th minute of the hour. Don't get me wrong: it wasn't like this every single time I looked at the time, but the truth was that it happened frequently; enough for me to take notice. 10:38, 3:38, 5:38, I saw them all. Once I started to pick up on this, I tried to figure out what it meant. The more I thought about it, the bigger I grew, and the bigger I grew, the more I began to contemplate that the timing coincided with my pregnancy. And you know what? I was right. How far along in my pregnancy was I when Abby was born? Yep, 38 weeks. Like I said, I think I knew she was going to come then, but I chose to block that out. After all, I wasn't prepared! I NEEDED (and I mean NEEDED) the 39th week as a resting period. My ankles were swollen. I walked with a waddle. I had the worse acid reflux imaginable. I couldn't see my feet. I also was exhausted. And don't get me started on my heartburn. (Thank you, Pepcid AC!) So, I was so looking forward to that 39th week. I was looking forward to no more school, no more grading, getting the nursery put together, getting our house in order. But God had other plans. As it turns out, I had absolutely no break at all. Truth is, I think it made me a stronger person.

May 17th was a regular school day, a Thursday. My classroom was still being packed up, I had printed off plans for my sub for the last week of school, I created final exams and keys, I passed out papers, signed yearbooks. Basically, I was winding down the year. That day, I reminded my kids about the party the next day, Friday. My classes wanted to send me off with a bang (or perhaps just using my pregnancy as an excuse for a free day!) Some students were bringing chips, others drinks. One of my girls in first period was even bringing cupcakes just for me. (They had gotten used to bringing me sweets as I devoured anything chocolate-y within sight! :) ) Sixth period surprised me that day with a cookies, drinks, and a pinata. While that sounds like a sweet gesture, the pinata was actually that of a little girl. So, I asked for their forgiveness if I didn't participate in beating the small child until it busted open. It didn't seem quite appropriate given the reason for the celebration. That was QUITE typical of sixth period though!! Here's me holding what's left of the pinata. Poor thing.
Friday, May 18th was going to be a fun day: party, say goodbye to my kids, a real day of closure for me. I greatly anticipated it. I should have known that that would be too easy for a Planner Extraordinnaire like myself.

That night, on my way home from work, I stopped at Subway and got a footlong sandwich. My plan was to eat half that night and take the other half to school for lunch the next day. Quite a treat! Sadly, that turkey sandwich spoiled in our refrigerator as it sat there untouched the next few days. :( I worked in Abby's nursery (Thank you Emily for all of your help that evening!!), attempting to get things organized. (Oh, let me interject here that we had just moved into our house 16 days earlier. I think there were more boxes in our house than there were pieces of furniture! Matt and I apparently like to make things as stressful as possible for ourselves! :) ) I became exhausted, called it a night, plopped myself down on the couch, and Matt and I watched the season finale of The Office. Strange I remember that. I then went to bed around 10:30. I fell asleep anticipating my last day of teaching for a while, thrilled about having a break, getting the house ready for our little bundle of joy who was due to arrive in two weeks. Little did I know that little Miss Abby was gearing up for making her entrance into this world a little sooner than expected.

11:45. I rolled over in bed. And then I felt it. I won't go into detail, but for those of you who have had your water break, you know what I'm talking about. I KNEW what was happening. I just laid there, clenching my legs together, PRETENDING that this was not happening. Not now. I think I laid there for a full minute, petrified. And here's the funny part. And I know you're going to laugh, but a part of me (a LARGE part of me) thought that if I just rolled back over and closed my eyes, that what just occurred would be erased. That if I just closed my eyes tight enough and tried to forget about it, then fluid would stop flowing. That's what I HOPED.

I remember running into the bathroom and sitting there for about two or three minutes, my mind racing, DREADING waking Matt up, telling him that it was time. Poor guy had JUST gone to bed about 30 minutes earlier! And as scary as labor is for a soon-to-be mom, I think it's just as terrifying for the soon-to-be dad. When I realized that no amount of praying was going to stop my labor, I uttered, "Matt?" Silence. "Matt??" A little noise came from the bedroom. "Uh, I think my water just broke." And then it was like you see in the movies. He came into the bathroom, surprised and wide-eyed. We called the doctor. Matt had to get a bag together for me (one of those MANY things on my To-Do list during the 39th week!! Oops!!) What a trooper Matt was. As I still sat on the toilet, I called out to him where to find my socks, PJs, etc. It was like a bad comedy taking place before my eyes. We drove to the hospital, calling family on the way. And I was terrified. I had never been more scared of anything in my entire life. I wasn't ready. The nursery wasn't ready. I had to go to school the next day. What was I going to do about a sub? Thoughts raced through my mind as we drove down 75 after midnight that night. I was a scared little girl, so worried about what was about to happen.

I look back at that ride, that "girl" who had no idea what to expect, who was so scared of the reality of becoming a mom. And I look at the person I am now, one year later, and if I could tell that girl anything, it would be to stop, take a breath, and relax. To have faith in God and in myself to know that everything will be OK. Do all soon-to-be moms feel like that right before they bring their child into the world? Of course. It's natural. And the truth is, that as scary as labor is, when that beautiful child is pushed (or pulled!) out of your body and placed in your arms for the very first time, all of the worries in the world are swept away for that one moment. It was like for that one moment in time, a wave of emotion that I had never felt before rushed over me. I sobbed. I sobbed like I had never sobbed before. I was overcome with emotion at the process that had just occurred--at the miracle that had just occurred. I looked at that little baby on my chest, and for that moment, I knew that my purpose in life had just become greater. I was somebody's mom. I am somebody's mom. I always will be somebody's mom. Scary? Sure. Exhausting? No doubt. Overwhelming at times? You bet. But is it the most rewarding job I could ever have? Absolutely. And I wouldn't trade a minute of it.

Happy Almost Birthday, Abby. I thank God for you. I love you to pieces. More than you will ever know.

Abby: Ap-PEAR-ant hider of food!

Abby apparently grew tired of eating her pears for dinner tonight. And it now seems clear that she has almost mastered the "But-Mom-I-Ate-My-Vegetables-See-They're-Not-Left-On-My-Plate." While most kids would hide their fruits and veggies under mashed potatoes or in a piece of bread, Abby found the next best spot: below on her high chair. While she wasn't nearly as inconspicous as she will probably grow to be (after all, Practice Makes Perfect!), I will give her an A+ for "Effort" and "Ability To Lay The Blame On Others." After you watch the video, check out the picture below.

I took this picture after I removed the high chair tray. I call this "Exhibit A." You be the judge! Athough I'm pretty sure those eyes prove that she's 100% guilty! :)

First Mother's Day

I celebrated my very first Mother's Day yesterday. I only had to wait 51 weeks to do so! :) We had a wonderful time in Longview with our families, which made the weekend more special. Here are a few highlights.

Me and Roo

The fam
Mom, Chris, Grandma, me, Matt, and Abby (Dad was the photographer!)

The adorable reason I get to celebrate Mother's Day! :)
Abby has become a pro at walking with her little car. She can't be stopped!

My cousin Holly and her family came to Longview on Saturday for a quick visit, which included their twins Rachel and Sarah.
Baby on a mission
My new favorite picture of Abby
Here's to a great rest of the week! I will be busy preparing for Abby's first birthday on Sunday. Time sure does fly, doesn't it?

10 Year Anniversary

Exactly 10 years ago today--on May 7, 1998--I met Matt. It's sometimes difficult to wrap my head around the fact that we've known each other for an entire decade! I was 17, and he was 19. We were just kids! That Spring day was beautiful. My senior year of high school was wrapping up, I had already been accepted to A&M; basically I didn't have a care in the world at the time! (Ah, remember the good ol' days??) Thanks to my good pal Meredith, I met Matt at Casa Ole in Longview. At the dinner was me, Meredith, Moody (I never knew he was good friends with Matt!), Matt's brother Jason, and their friend Ben Fenton. I had no idea that gorgeous Spring evening that I would meet the man I would spend the rest of my life with. I was just planning on meeting this guy who I had chatted with online, thanks to our mutual friend Meredith. It was a dinner that we both will never forget. And here are just a few reasons why:

1. Matt told me (much later) that when he first saw me that evening, he knew that he was going to marry me. Isn't that sweet?! Too bad I didn't feel the same way! I mean, don't get me wrong: I thought he was the hottest thing I'd ever seen, but he was a Big College Man. I was a measley little senior in high school. He went to Tech, I was going to A&M. In my eyes, I didn't see anything working out. Good thing I'm usually wrong. :)

2. I finished off his plate. Yeah, that's right. I can eat Mexican food like it's going out of style. Keep in mind that I had JUST met him. And I finished off his plate. I was starving. We still joke about that. Hey, nothing gets between a girl and her mexican food. Not even a hot stranger. ha.

3. I realized that Matt was ridiculously tall. Mind you, he had been sitting when I sat down across from him, so I didn't see him stand up until we got up from dinner. When he stood up, my eyes searched up, and up, and up, until they finally reached the top of his head. That made me like him even more. ha.

We hung out all summer long. We had a blast. But then August rolled around and he went his way, and I went mine. In College Station, I waited for my phone to ring. It didn't. I waited and waited and waited. Finally, I picked up the darn phone and called him. And, well, the rest is history.

I could not have asked for a better partner in life. Here are some of the highlights of the past 10 years. Oh, and speaking of highlights, check out Matt's hair in the third picture. :)

This is me on May 7, 1998, just a couple of hours before I met Matt. I was even wearing that dress when I went to Casa Ole. I doubt it still fits. :(
This is our very first picture together. Matt came down to College Station to surprise me in October.
Here's us on our 6 month anniversary. Matt took me to Oxford Street. Hey, you Longview folks know that that was a FANCY restaurant back in the day! Matt looks like he could be the sixth member of The Backstreet Boys, doesn't he?? :) Not that I'm one to be talking. At this point, I had gained the Freshman 25. And no, that is not a type-o. :(
Here's us after a year of dating.
Engaged! July 6, 2001. (My 21st birthday)
Wedding! (July 20, 2002)
Our first house. (Spring 2003)
Our first glimpse of Abby. (October 6, 2006).
Our first family photo. (May 18, 2007)
The Tenner Trio now.
Do you ever feel blessed beyond belief?