Because she loves her panda

If you haven't checked out my sister's blog lately, please do so! Her latest post had me crying and realizing how much I take for granted.

So, here is part of what I'm thankful for. I have a healthy, intelligent, beautiful child who makes my world beautiful. And because I love her so much, I want her world to be beautiful. Her world is very small right now, but a large part of it is her very large panda that goes everywhere she goes and sleeps with her every night. So, after reading my sister's post, I was watching TV and saw a commercial for the World Wildlife Organization. The spokesperson was none other than Noah Wyle (ahhh. He will forever be Dr. Carter to me. sigh.) and he was explaining how polar bears are going to be extinct in our childrens' generation if we don't do something. Where have I been that I didn't know this?@! So, I jumped on the website like Dr. Carter told me to and discovered more endangered animals that need our help that I thought were doing just fine. Of course, the panda is one of the animals but I did know they were not doing so well. The thought of R telling her children what a panda or a polar bear "was" broke my heart. I decided that starting in January, I will either adopt a panda for R, or join the WWF's Wildlife Rescue Team or both if I can talk my husband into it! :-) I urge you to check out the site and then imagine a world with no polar bears, pandas, meerkats, tigers, or orangutans. Please help the animals.

This is how much I love you guys.

I have a BABY and I should be SLEEPING WHILE SHE'S SLEEPING, but instead I'm catching up on my blog because I know some of you out there check it every day for updates on the most beautiful baby on earth. So, would you please do this tired Mommy a favor and leave a comment! I feel like I'm talking to a wall on here.

Ode to Crayola

A cute moment while Darrell and I were playing with Princess R and her crayons.

I read on the Crayola site that the average child in the U.S. wears down 730 crayons by her 10th birthday. That's interesting, but I want to know how many I can expect Miss R to EAT by her 10th birthday.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely.

I've been pondering Christmas family traditions now that Darrell and I officially have a family :-) All of my best holiday memories revolve around comforting rituals that I grew to love. The sight of the Christmas boxes coming into the house, Momma's cocoa and fudge, drinking orange juice out of fresh oranges through peppermint sticks, getting to see Tiffany and Lacey on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, desperately trying the find the Beloved Gingerbread Men Ornaments as soon as the ornament box came out and making sure the scent was still there, opening one gift on Christmas Eve, Daddy arriving on Christmas morning wearing a funny hat. I remember being so excited by the time it was finally bedtime on Christmas Eve that I couldn't sleep . . . long after Santa stopped coming down the imaginary chimney.

When is it that we begin to lose the wonder and anticipation of Christmas? I can hardly remember the last time I felt truly excited about the upcoming Christmas. The thought of those lost Christmases saddens me, now. Well, okay, except for last year. This time last year I was too busy willing labor not to start until 2010 to care what day it was.

Now Darrell and I get to create traditions for R to cherish. Of course, being the anal retentive person that I am, I have been busily researching Christmas traditions online, bookmarking sites with great ideas, jotting down recipes for possible treats, and overall stressing out about How I'm Supposed to Choose the Traditions R Will Love 30 Years Down the Road.

This is where my wonderful, easy-going, never in a hurry, drives me crazy with how s l o w l y h e m o v e s husband comes in. He makes one off-hand comment and the perfect Phillips tradition is born. We will cut our own Christmas tree!!!! Because he came up with the brilliant idea, my assignment was to find a place to acquire the tree. This led to an hour of research comparing the three tree farms closest to us, the types of trees each one offered, the fun "extras" at each farm and then a tangent of which tree is best for staying green, dropping fewer needles, holding heavier ornaments, having a better scent . . . you get the idea.

So, we ended up at The Kinsey Family Farm! I can't say enough about this wonderful haven of Christmas bliss. Hundreds and hundreds of gorgeous trees to choose from, free hot cocoa or apple cider, a cute ornament when you purchase a tree, and really great people. We had so much fun and R will have pictures and videos of the very first year we cut our own tree.



After Darrell cut down our tree, we got a tractor ride back to the barn! Our tree tagged along behind us.

The farm is humongous.




I saw this gorgeous scene as I left the farm. It made me glad I never moved to New York.

What I want most to show you in this post, I can't convey by words or pictures. I saw the lights from the tree reflected in R's eyes this morning as she gazed at her ~very first~ Christmas tree. At that moment, I would have found a way to give her the world if she had asked me for it.

My hope for all of us is that we rediscover the childlike innocence and wonder of Christmas.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas!

My little girl saw her first snow!! We had great big snowflakes falling all day Monday. R didn't know what to think. I held out my hand to catch some snowflakes, so she tried to, too! Very cute but unfortunately no picture available. Here is a picture of her looking outside at the Winter Wonderland. Well, not so much Wonderland as Ground Too Wet for Snowlakes Land.



Thankfully, she is not yet old enough for the "There's no
school tomorrow, right Mommy?" question. My poor Mother.

Phillips Elves

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

It's a Wobbly World!

Our baby is walking!! She took her first steps the evening of November 6th. She stood up in the kitchen, took 4 steps, laughed, and fell. It was priceless. I'm so glad that Mommy and Daddy were both there to see it!

Zoo Atlanta

R's first trip to the zoo was absolutely wonderful! We couldn't have asked for better weather and R was a perfect angel all day. She hardly stayed in her stroller at all with all the hands willing to hold her.

Her favorite animal was the giraffe . . .

until she saw the PANDAS!!!!!

She has a big fluffy panda that Pop Pop brought to her. And when Nana saw how excited she was about the zoo pandas, she bought her one she could carry around with her.

She enjoyed the petting zoo, too.

Taking a much needed break with her cousin, Tiffany.

Back to the pandas . . .

And the cutest panda video . . .

The sweetest picture of the day was captured by Chelsea.

Thanks, Chelsea! And thanks to everyone who shared the day with R!

"Rubber Ducky, you're the one. You make bathtime lots of fun."

"There's two things I know for sure. She was sent here from heaven, and she's Daddy's little girl."

Miss R has absolutely amazed me these past few days. Even though she feels horrible, she has done something new every time I look at her. First, and most importantly, she finally said, "Dada." Her father has been waiting for that for a WHILE!! She said "Momma" months ago. Now, she says "Dada" constantly, and if I say it, she instantly looks around Daddy. Darrell came home last night and decided to mow our lawn. R couldn't stand to be out of sight of him, so Daddy had an entourage for the cutting, edging, and blowing of our entire yard while R pointed at him and said, "Dada."

She has also tried to put on her own socks (really cute), shared her food with Dante, held Dante's toys out to him, climbed the stairs while holding something (yes, we were still behind her), laughed and "talked" to other babies, pointed at the pantry when she heard the word, "Cheerio's" and learned to drink from a straw. She cannot stand sippy cups because she is supposed to hold them, so Mommy or Daddy holding a cup for her with a straw is so much better.

Unfortunately, she has also moved up her time to wake up every morning by close to an hour, so we're getting up at 6:30. She has to have bites of whatever we're eating, which means we have to start eating better, and anytime she can make a break for the stairs or Dante's bowls, she does so at an incredible speed. Sometimes she looks behind her to see if one of us is coming after her, sees us, laughs, and speeds up!!

It's amazing how much fun we have together every day. Being a mother is, by far, the most difficult thing I've ever done. But, oh, it's also the most rewarding. I get paid in open mouth kisses, smiles, giggles, arms reaching for me, and a head asleep on my shoulder. Things I never thought I wanted and now couldn't live without.

My butterfly is sick :-( She has a cold. That, on top of her teething, is making her miserable. I wish I could go through both of them for her. She wanted to be held most of the day (another visit to the chiropractor for mommy), and she went from crying to laughing and back every few minutes. I'm doing everything I know to do for the teething and the cold, but if anyone has a magic cure, please share it!!

"You're so precious to me, Cute as can be, Baby of Mine."

Princess R has been very busy these last 5 days. She has managed to convince one tooth to show a tiny little piece of itself to the world, she has mastered climbing ALL of the stairs by herself (yes, we're right behind her), she has discovered that moving her feet while standing somehow takes her around the coffee table, and she thrills herself and us by standing unsupported for a few seconds at a time. All of this in 5 days!!! I wish I could accomplish as much in such a short time. Isn't she incredible?!

"Let 'em cry, let 'em giggle, let 'em sleep in the middle. Oh, but let them be little."

Has it really been a month . . .

since I last posted? Shame on me! I can't believe how much R can change in that amount of time. She went from just learning to crawl to standing, feeding herself Cheerio's, and pointing at things she wants (which is everything.) She went for her 9th month checkup today and she weighs in at 20 lbs, 6 ozs and is a very long 29"!! She's in the 90th percentile for height. I hope she's not like Mommy and stays taller than her friends until 5th grade when she stops growing completely. Crossing my fingers that she got her height from Daddy. Dr. Silverman said she is perfect, she will keep her gorgeous blue eyes, and told her to take longer naps. Mommy's hoping that hearing it from a doctor convinces her. Dr. Silverman also saw the beginning of her first tooth!! Hopefully, it will make an appearance soon. Or not. My toothless baby looks younger than all those babies with 4 or 5 teeth already!







Speaking of our pediatrician, Dr. Silverman's son is going to be on Jeopardy!!!!! Everyone watch the week of November 10-14 for Bradley from Alpharetta.

Her First Boo Boo

A paper cut from an envelope of all things. She didn't react at all when it happened. She just kept playing and babbling. I was sitting in front of her clipping coupons and looked up and saw blood all over her hand. The cut on her thumb did not want to stop bleeding. Luckily, Darrell got home at that moment and we got the crisis under control. R loved admiring her Hello Kitty band aid. Almost as much as she loved pulling it off right after I took this picture. She looks so proud of it, doesn't she?!

i love you, nana

mommy is teaching me something that might help you. she says to "just say no" to something you don't want to do. (i don't get it but maybe you do) so, put down those reports, take a week of vacation, and come stay with me!

How did this happen?

When I went in yesterday morning to get R up, I found her on her knees holding onto the top of the crib railing!
I knew it was time to lower the crib mattress, so Daddy did it last night. When did my little girl get so big? I still wake up some mornings expecting to be pregnant, and R is almost walking.

Waiting for Daddy

Cigarette Smoke and Our Princess

After much thought and research and too much time, I have made some decisions that are not meant to offend anyone but are solely to protect R's health. Her health and safety ALWAYS come first. I have been struggling with the issue of second hand smoke since R was born. I let myself be convinced that friends and family smoking outside would be enough to protect our precious daughter. It is not. We all love R, so these rules should not be too much trouble for anyone to follow.

Please do not hold R for at least one hour after smoking a cigarette. Those who smoke need to wear something over their clothing that can be removed before re-entering the house. An entirely new outfit would be preferred. Also, smokers need to wash their hands after smoking before holding R. Even if you have just washed your hands, under no circumstances are you to put them in R's mouth or allow R to suck on your fingers.

R will not be entering any house that cigarettes are smoked in. We appreciate all of the offers from everyone not to smoke while she is there, but it is not enough. Those who smoke inside their home may come to R's house or meet us elsewhere.

I know that all those who smoke have a right to do so. I have the right to protect my daughter. I am not punishing or judging by enforcing these rules for R. But, based on what we now know about the dangers to infants of second and third hand smoke, I would not be a responsible parent if I did not protect her from these hazardous chemicals.

Please read the following articles is you have any questions about the affects of second and third hand smoke on infants and children.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3476743.stm

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/shs.html

http://www.babycenter.com/404_how-can-i-protect-my-baby-when-theres-a-smoker-in-the-house_1430505.bc

http://www.babycenter.com/400_my-relatives-smoke-around-my-baby-how-should-i-handle-it_500582_1000.bc

She's getting faster!

In action! Poor Dante . . .

She's Mobile!

Miss R is crawling!! She finally put all the movements that she has practiced for so long together on Monday and crawled to Mommy's shoe. YAY! Thankfully, she did it when I was right beside her, so I didn't miss it. Darrell was at work and couldn't wait to get home for the show. She didn't disappoint this morning and crawled right for his shoe.

Apparently, her brother's food and water bowls are fascinating. She went straight toward them four times today. I think I already miss her staying in the place I put her.