Here Comes Peter Cottontail!

We had an absolutely fabulous first Easter with our Mayzie. I have ALWAYS loved Easter. I have such happy memories of fun frilly dresses, beautiful Spring weather, church with sweet family, delicious cooking from my amazing Granny and Easter egg hunts on the farm. I cannot begin to describe how exciting it was to start those same memories with our baby girl! We started the weekend meeting the Easter bunny at our church's Easter Eggstravaganza and dying eggs the Saturday before! Mayzie just loved the Easter bunny and was a little confused about the egg dying but I think she had fun!!

We woke up Sunday morning and were so excited to show Mayzie what the Easter bunny brought! Owen and I had so much fun picking out her fun gifts and had a little bet going. I wanted to get her a 'Sophie' teething giraffe and he got her a remote...yup...a remote. We were curious about which she would go for first. I'll let you watch the video at the end of the post to see what she did!

Later that day we met up with my family. My parents had gotten Mayzie her 2nd Easter basket of the day and she loved it all!! We took some sweet pictures and headed off to Greenbriar to spend the afternoon on the farm with more wonderful family!! My grandmother is an AMAZING cook and we let Mayzie try some of it this time and boy was it a HIT! I have SO many happy memories at my Grandparents and am so thankful for them! Granny and Grandaddy got her ANOTHER Easter basket too!! She still plays with the little duck from this basket all the time!! After all our food had settled we had a quick Easter Egg hunt inside because it had started to storm. My sweet Momma had put together some fun Easter eggs full of puffs, small toys and little phrases like "Aunt Kate loves you!" (She had one from everyone at lunch that day). We had such a wonderful wonderful day and I can't wait till next year when she can run around and tell us all about Peter Cottontail!

Spring Family Visits!

Over the course of the last few months we have been blessed to spend time with our families...both near and far! Way back in March we went up to Greenbriar to my grandparents 'friends and family' day at their church and got some precious pictures of Mayzie in 'the dress'. We wanted to make sure to get a good picture of Mayze, Dad, Granny and I while she was still able to fit into it. My grandmother had the dress made by an 80 year old lady before my Dad was born. Since then my Aunt Jenny, Uncle Todd, me, my sister Katie, cousins: Jeffrey, Jordan, Annie and Jacob have ALL worn it home from the hospital. I was so blessed that Mayzie was able to do the same and we got some great pictures!!

A little more recently we were SO excited to get to see Uncle Evan,( and Pops and Kelsey too of course)! We met them halfway at our FAVORITE bbq place, Big Bob Gibsons. We were sad GJ couldn't make it because she was feeling bad but appreciated her thinking of Mayzie. Evan and Kelsey got Mayzie a precious little camo lovey (Evan is in the army...so the camo was so stinkin' cute!) with 'Mayzie Moo' written on it...a sweet nickname they gave her! She loves it so much and loved seeing everyone!!! We loved getting to spend some time with Evan and can't wait till he's home for a few weeks in May!! We are SO proud of him and ask that you please keep him in your prayers when he's deployed in June. I have always been thankful for our military but now it is so much more real to me and I am amazed at the sacrifices these men and women make for our freedom. Thank YOU Uncle Evan!!! We love you!!

A week or so later we were so excited that GJ, Granbertha, Uncle Rob, Aunt Sharon, Will and Rebekah came and visited!!! Unfortunately my camera decided to be RIDICULOUS and I only got one picture...but we had a GREAT time! I sure do wish they could have stayed longer! We really enjoyed catching up with everyone and Mayzie loved seeing all of you (she told me so herself! :) )

Owen's Uncle Bill and Aunt Carol live in Indiana so when they are on their way down to visit their kiddo's and sweet Grandbaby Lucas they will stop by and see Mayzie. Mayzie ALWAYS loves it when they come to visit because they bring her SO many sweet gifts!!! (Not that she's spoiled or anything...yeah right!) She just loved playing on the floor with Aunt Carol and cuddling with Uncle Bill (which she NEVER does with us!) It was a great little visit and we're looking forward to seeing them again soon!!

Our sweet baby girl is growing up fast...nine months TOMORROW! We are SO blessed to have so many family members that surround us and love our Mayzie so much!

Beach Bums!

In February Owen and I decided we wanted to go on a little trip so we thought we'd go to Chattanooga...booked it and everything. Then we started thinking we wanted something a little more familiar so we changed our minds and thought we'd go to Gatlinburg. During this time we were getting snow days like crazy so after being stuck inside for weeks we knew where we wanted to go...ha! We cruised on down to Destin (a little anxious about how she would do since it was a LONG drive) but it was GREAT!! We at breakfast with GJ and Pops in Birmingham and then we ended up stopping half way at a park and eating a picnic lunch! We stayed at a great little place right near the beach (thanks Castles!) that was wonderful!! Our first day there we rented some bikes and biked down to Seaside. Mayzie did so well and we all had so much fun. Later that afternoon our Mayzie went to the beach for the first time! It was a little cold so she didn't make it into the water but she had fun watching all the waves and touching the sand!

The beach didn't last too long since it was a little chilly. Luckily our condo had a heated pool...another first for our Mayzie McClain! Boy did she love that water!!! She cried and cried when we had to get her out! Her little float was just perfect. That night we went to Stinky's (another fabulous recommendation from the Castles!). It was delicious and I got my seafood fix for sure!!

The next day we tried the beach again...still a little cold! Spent a little more time in the pool and took a nap!! That night we met up with some good friends of ours, Justin and Kayla and their sweet girls, Kendall and Addison. We met at the Old Bay Steamer...yum!!! I think I could eat my weight in crab legs and shrimp...and we did. Ha! We had a fabulous fabulous time and can't wait till we can go back to the beach again soon!!

6 month pictures

I'm doing my best to catch up on my blogging...the fact that our baby girl will be 9 months this month and I'm blogging about her 6 month pictures explains how behind I really am...regardless here goes!

We were very anxious to meet our photographer, Kim. I was concerned how Mayzie would do since she hadn't had a good nap but she was SUCH a trooper! Kim was absolutely AMAZING!! We had seen her work from SEVERAL of our friends and I never failed to be impressed! She had such a positive energy the WHOLE time so Mayzie couldn't stop smiling! We had so much fun! Here's some of my favorites:

I grew up looking at 'panels' of Katie and I in my parents' bedroom. I was determined to do the same with my babies. And for those of you who don't know what a panel is (my sweet friend Sarah says it's a 'Tennessee thing) its a frame with spots for a newborn, 3 month, 6 month, 9 month and 1 year pictures. So why am I explaining this?? We decided to use this chair for all those pictures. It was Owen's mom's chair growing up and I LOVE it. I also decided that for each picture she would wear a white dress. The one she happens to be wearing was also Janie's! We just loved her little foot hanging off...don't worry, I was RIGHT next to her the whole time :)

I absolutely loved this one!!!

My sweet baby girl!

My favorites :) Such a precious picture!

I love these two. Especially the one on the floor! That is her daddy's sweet smile and I love it! I was so excited about her wearing the dress I made her too!

Our sweet family of three!

Near the end of our session Kim told me to go get all of her hats! I think they turned out so stinkin cute! These are some of my favorites!

This one is my favorite...I don't know what it is about it but I absolutely LOVE it!!

We knew it was time to stop when we saw these faces! :) We had such a great time and can't wait for our next session with Kim!!

Fun with Friends!

(Disclaimer...I wrote this SEVERAL weeks ago and couldn't get the video to work, got frustrated and gave up...HA!) Found some time today to hopefully get it up and running so we'll see...)

We have had so much fun the past few weeks with new friends! Last week we went and met Foster and Garrett for the first time at Mrs. Renada's house and had so much fun! I was so glad to get to see Melissa and Renada and spend time with their sweet boys! Mayzie had so much fun chewing on all of Britton's toys (sorry again Renada) and clawing at Garrett...hoping that's not a sign of things to come!

Garrett trying to figure her out...

Foster's intrigued by her bow! :)

We had such a fun time and are looking forward to many more playdates to come!!!

We've also been having fun with our friends at church! Mayzie and I have been attending 'Mommy and Me' on Sunday mornings and just loving it! I get to sit with her in class and we sing songs and pray and play with yummy toys! ha! We've loved this class so much and I'm so thankful that my sweet friend Holly started it and her wonderful teachers Mrs. Lee Anne and Mrs. Lee Ann!! I taped the WHOLE thing which was like 20 minutes but cut it down to a shorter version.

Here's another quick video of all her sweet friends that are in Mommy and Me! I love knowing that she could possibly know these sweet friends when she's my age just like I have done! Aren't God's plans for his church wonderful?!

Valentines and Visits

We had a fabulous Valentines Day at the Slaughter household last week! Mayzie and I started by making some yummy cookies...she was much more interested in the cookie cutters than anything else. I can't wait until we can 'bake' together!!!

Mayzie also got a Valentines basket from Mommy and Daddy full of yummy baby food (which was somewhat anti-climactic) a teething necklace and some bows!! Needless to say she loved the filler paper at the bottom of the bucket the best...ha! Our sweet baby girl was showered with a ton of other fun gifts from Mimi and G'Daddy (some fun bath toys, a Valentines puppy, new pj's and a new sippy cup with handles!) and sweet cards and some money from Great Granbertha and Great Uncle Bill and Aunt Carol! She's surrounded by all her new sweet gifts in the picture to the left! Thanks for loving on our baby all of you!!!

As excited as we were to share this fun first holiday with our Mayzie my sweet husband didn't forget about me either! I told him I wanted an i-phone and NOTHING else but of course he went above and beyond; roses from my favorite flower place in Green Hills, a new Pandora charm, and some delicious Godiva chocolate!! Then he made us a delicious dinner at home: crab legs, filet mignon, lobster bisque, blue cheese and berry balsamic salad, and baked potatoes. It was FABULOUS!!! I am so blessed with such a thoughtful and giving husband!

We also had a wonderful weekend with MayJay, Pops and Great Granbertha!! Mayzie was so excited to see everyone and we had a fabulous relaxing weekend. We had big plans to go on walks and eat outside but the weather just didn't cooperate. Regardless we did go to a yummy new Hendersonville resturaunt, Nooni's, which we highly recommend! Pops wasn't feeling too well so he couldn't join us but Great Granbertha and MayJay had their hands full with our crazy Mayzie!

Our baby girl is eating all her fruits and veggies like a pro and sitting up now all by herself!!! (Which I am soooo excited about!) It's hard to believe she's almost 7 months old. Sure do wish I could slow time down!! Until next time!

6 months ALREADY!

I've been slacking on my blog posting because we've had an unwelcome visitor for the past two weeks...rsv. First Mayzie got it and then, of course, she shared. :) Needless to say we've been through quite a few tissues in this house! Thankfully we're both feeling better now and hopefully things will get back on track!

Our sweet baby girl turned 6 months old on January 27th! I know...it's completely ridiculous how these past three months have flown by. (Notice that I say past three months and not 6...the first three did NOT fly by...ha!)

We celebrated by setting up her 'Jenny Jump Up' thinking she would just love it. Now...it's not that she doesn't like it...obviously she's happy in the picture...but she doesn't jump like I thought she would. She really just swings and spins but we're hoping she'll get the hang of it soon.

We also went up to Great Grandaddy and Granny's church for family day recently and I got to get some wonderful pictures of all of us with Mayzie in 'the dress'. That's what we call it around here :) It's the dress that my Dad, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Todd, me, my sister, and ALL my cousins came home from the hospital in. Mayzie came home in it also but we wanted to get a picture of me, her, Dad and Granny while she was wearing it. They turned out great!

There's not much else going on around here. Our sweet girl has just about got the hang of sitting up by herself...she still tends to fall over to one side but I know she'll get it soon! Still working on that crawling...and I am in no rush for that to happen! She's cutting her two bottom teeth but really has been a trooper about it. She's been babbling a lot lately but unfortunately I can't seem to catch her doing it. By the time the video camera comes out she's so intrigued with it that she stops...it's a dilemma that I'm trying to solve :) But in the process of trying I got some cute video of her splashing in the bathtub!

We also had our first experience with fruit last week and I was so excited about it! I thought for sure she'd want to devour the fresh peaches I made for her...ha!! She was sick when we made the video so I thought that's why she didn't like them but she still won't eat them! She almost ate a whole bowl of green beans the other day but will have nothing to do with peaches!?! I'm gonna keep trying though...at least it made for a pretty funny video!