I HEART the Duggar's!

Yep, that's right! I love the Duggar's and I'm not afraid to say it! I'm sure most of you know who the Duggar Family is but for those who do not, let me fill you in.  They are the family from Arkansas with 19 kids (and counting) hence the name of their TLC reality show "19 Kids and Counting". They are very religious, conservative and modest. Early on Michelle (the mom)  found out she had miscarried because she actually got pregnant while being on birth control. Since then they vowed that it was god's will to determine how many children they had.  And boy was God willing to give, give and give some more!

Anyway, since I am home during the day now with Savannah I tend to watch a little more TV.  They play re-runs of their show at 7 & 7:30 which is always the time I feed Savannah her morning bottle (like clockwork).  I have become so incredibly inspired by this family.  I think it is so easy to say "this family must be crazy to have so many kids", or "they must be freaks", "be in a cult", etc.  Believe me, those thoughts went through my head when I heard of them years ago.  But that is a very ignorant way of thinking.  I have never seen a more respectful, kind, giving and loving family.  They truly amaze me.
Now, just so you know I am not a religious person. The church was not a part of my upbringing.  My parents were extremely young when they had my sister and I and I just don't believe that it was something that was important to them at the time.  So I want to be clear that this isn't about religion.  This is about me loving the Duggars! :)  So back to that.  With all the horrible, nasty degrading tv shows out there... ie. The Bad Girls Club, Teen Mom, Toddlers and Tiaras (I mean hello, Dept. of Children & Families)  The list goes on and on of disgusting people willing to go on television in pursuit of celebrity but all the while humiliating themselves, their families and our country.

The Duggars are actually a breath of fresh air.  It's great to see a group of such well behaved respectful kids.  They are raised to have a "serving heart", to be kind and not only be respectful to others but most importantly of themselves.   These are parents who shouldn't be condemned for having so many children but rather commended for giving the world 19 great kids, who will grow to be honest, contributing members of society. And let's be honest, we could use a few more of those.  Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.

Something has changed in me now that I'm a mom.  I want so many things for Savannah.  I want her to be happy and healthy but I also want her to be a good person.  I don't like the kind of teenager I was, I did things and acted in ways I'm not proud of.  And I feel I never had much respect for myself.  I want that to be different for her.  And watching a family like the Duggars gives me hope and inspires me every day that I (we) can be great parents and raise a great daughter.

Thank you Duggar's!

Goodbye Swing Hello Jumperoo!

Just Pictures

Just lookin' cute

Happy girl

Out to lunch, she was such a good girl

3 Month Old Smiles

This was my 14 week update video but the only part of it I liked was the end....enjoy :)

Cha-cha-cha-Changes ....again!

So yes, I know that I just changed the look of the blog but at that time I couldn't figure out how to customize it the way I wanted.  I had to use one of the regular backgrounds that blogger offers.  If you're not super computer savvy; customizing your blog is not easy! Editing HTML, codes, gadgets, backgrounds and headers, copy this, paste that, pixels..... oh my! my head was spinning!  BUT I still wanted to have my own personal touch on the blog.  So it took me some time but I finally got it figured out (sort of).  It's still a work in a progress so you'll probably be seeing some more changes here and there.

Hope you like the new look :)

Mama's Getting Back in Shape!

So Ive been putting it off for over a month now but FINALLY got back to the gym yesterday.  I had lost some weight leading up to my wedding in December of 09' where I actually reached my lowest weight in ...well...a long time. I kept it off and kept up with my workouts until I was 5-6 months pregnant.  I  decided that working all day and being pregnant was enough for me so I froze my gym account.  A few weeks after Savannah was born I was down 23 lbs (YAY!) I was so excited since I had only gained 35 total.  I thought, "what a great jump start to my weight loss" but I have kind of given into this stay at home mom lifestyle of not working out and not eating all that healthy (not that all SAHM are like that or anything).  So my weight has started to creep back in the wrong direction.  I haven't been back on the scale since mothers day but the way my clothes are fitting is a clear indication that I need to get my butt back in the gym.  And that's what I did.  Yesterday.  One work out down and only a lifetime of them left to go.

 I was going back and forth with whether I wanted to blog about my getting back into shape or not.  I kept thinking that if I fail (yet again) then everyone will know about it.  But I finally decided that maybe that will be more motivation to follow through. The hardest part for me is that even when I was doing everything right, the weight came off so incredibly slow. So I have to learn to be patient with it and just keep going.

This time around things are a little different.  I have an entirely new inspiration, which is our beautiful daughter.  So instead of putting a picture of myself when I was thin up on the mirror, I'll be putting a picture of Savannah.  She is reason enough to put forth the effort and hard work to be a healthy, fit, and functional mom who can keep up with a very active little girl.  And that is just the kind of mom I want to be.

So there it is, Mama's on a mission to get back into shape!!

Daddy's Birthday!

Yesterday was Shane's 36th birthday.  We had a nice relaxing day at home then went to his parents for dinner and cake.

Hi pretty girl!

Wow, she looks like such a big girl here

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Yummy!

Nothing like new jammies  to end the day

Play Date, 3 Months Old & First Pictures!

The Rice's stopped by for a visit last night.  We had pizza, caught up on the kids and got to see Anthony kiss Savannah; it was adorable!

Our baby girl is 3 months old today!! She's getting so big, and learning more and more every day.  She smiles all the time, she's rolling over, sucking her thumb and sleeping through some nights.  She loves playing on her mat and in her crib.  She also loves to watch tv with mommy and daddy.  She's a very content and happy little girl and we are so lucky to have her.

Savannah had her 3 month pictures taken today at JC Pennys.  She did so good! She sat so contently and gave us lots of beautiful smiles.  She had 3 outfit changes and never made a peep. Mommy and daddy were so proud of her.

"I'm ready to have my pictures taken mom"

Outfit Change

Nap time (while mommy picks out the pictures) what a great baby!

Morning Smiles are the Best

The half asleep smile

The "i love my mommy" smile (my favorite)

Mommy's Always Watching...

Mama's Too Short.

So this is my view when pushing the shopping cart.  Hmmm, looks like I'll need to start wearing platforms ...

"Move it! Lady with a baby who can't see over the cart coming through!!"

Savannah's 12 Week Update

My Week in Pictures...

Monday - 1st 4th of July 

Mommy playing photographer & Visit from mema and papa

Tuesday - It's official: I'm a mom & waiting at a doctors appointment

Wednesday -
Getting ready to go over mema & papas for the afternoon & She started sucking her thumb this week!

Thursday -
My little cutie pie playing in her favorite spot

Friday - Happy girl this morning!

Life is Good.

There is something so incredibly peaceful about this picture to me.  Our little girl playing in her room so contently while I clean the house.  Every so often I hear a cute little coo or a playful cry;  I love it and I love that it's part of my life.

Happy 4th of July from America's Sweetheart :)

New Toys & New Restaurants

Savannah got a new toy- it's great, all she has to do is kick anything on it and it lights up and plays music.  Perfect for our little kicker!

 First time at Shrimp Shack..

(why do my pictures sometimes look blurry on the blog? Is it just my computer or what?  Tony, I know you're reading this, do they look a little blurry on your computer?)