Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas Update Coming~Until then..

here are some pictures that were taken while we were in Montgomery celebrating Christmas. We were there Friday thru Sunday. Dru's sister Becca took these pictures. And speaking of Becca, she and Grover are expecting a baby!! We are so excited. Becca's due date is July 31! They were able to hear the heartbeat today. She told everyone on Christmas night. I will toot my own horn though and say I have known since Thanksgiving and didn't utter a word, not even to Dru! He was SHOCKED to say the least that I didn't tell him!

Christmas Post will be done tomorrow. I was ready to get it done tonight, but the CD Dru burned the pictures onto did not copy. Luckily, all of the pictures are saved on his computer at work. I would be one unhappy person if Simms' Christmas pictures were deleted! Does anyone else get overwhelmed about updating their blog? It is driving me crazy that I haven't done a Christmas post yet. We had such a wonderful Christmas and I can't wait to share our pictures. It is coming though!




Monday, December 22, 2008

Christmas Card 2008


Since everyone has gotten their cards by now, I thought I would post the picture of Simms that we chose for our card. I can't get a good picture of the entire card with the picture attached, but here is the picture. Merry Christmas!

Picture taken by Kim Foster at The Studio by Kim Foster, www.thestudiobykimfoster.com

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Santa Claus is coming..

Simms and Bennett are going to see Santa tonight! We are so excited about taking them. Bennett sat in Santa's lap last Christmas, but since Simms was only about 5 weeks old I didn't want her exposed to all of the other children (overprotective, I know). Tonight is the night Simms will meet him for the first time! We are taking them to Fantasy in Lights at Callaway, and hoping for some good photo opportunities. Simms and Bennett both say "Ho Ho Ho" all of the time whenever they see a Santa, so hopefully they will warm up to him and not be terrified. I am not counting on it! Here are some pictures of Simms before church this morning. She has discovered the fridge and magnets and occupies herself playing with them!





Sunday, December 14, 2008

Sweetness..


Simms walking around our church fellowship hall tonight after the Christmas Cantata..She was so proud of herself!

Friday, December 12, 2008

Christmas Greetings...

..from one of Santa's elves, Miss Martha Simms Goodwin!



Going to meet Daddy in the driveway after work


"Hmmm..which one should I take off?"


"This one looks safe."



"Mommy doesn't need this present to take to a Christmas party tomorrow night."

Monday, December 8, 2008

Pictures...

...of a sweet, growing girl and Christmas scenes around the Goodwin house.







These pictures are of Simms trying to "sneak" behind her chair. She knows she isn't supposed to go back there. Humpty Dumpty has a special story. When Sissy and I were little our grandmother made us a Humpty Dumpty that looked just like this. When Sissy realized she was having a baby, she "snatched" it for her nursery. Well, a few months later I found out I was having a baby too, so our mother had a lady make an exact replica of Humpty and she gave it to Simms last Christmas.

And now for some Christmas pictures:

Our House~ Dru did a great job hanging the wreaths and positioning the spotlights in 20 degree weather!



Back door:


The stockings are hung!


Our table is set!


That sneaky elf Pixel is still managing to hide in places that are harder and harder for Simms (really Dru) to find!


And I was so excited to get my first Christmas card the other day! Whose adorable nephew is that?


Merry Christmas!

Monday, December 1, 2008

13 months...


And what a fun 13 months it has been! I know I used to say, "I can't believe she is a year old," but now I really can't believe Simms is over a year! Time flies when you are having fun!

Simms isn't walking as a means of getting places, but she does walk when she wants to. She really prefers crawling, but she definetly has walking down! I guess when she is ready she will choose that over crawling!

Eating is my source of stress! Simms just isn't interested in table foods, and most baby foods even turn her off! We are really trying hard not to force foods on her, and to let her figure it out on her own, but the baby has to eat! I worry so much about it! One reason for the worry is because she has already transitioned to whole milk. Well, if she isn't eating solids, and she isn't getting formula either, then she is missing out on lots of important nutrients! She will eat the YoBaby yogurt, but other than that she sticks to the pureed baby foods. So, we have now starting doing 8 oz. in the morning and at night of the Go and Grow formula, for older babies, just to ensure she is getting those nutrients! I know one day I will look back on this and be amazed it was ever a problem! And I do have to give her credit for eating one tiny potato and one butter bean yesterday!

She has 6 teeth now and they are so cute! She pokes them out when she laughs, which she does alot!



Simms is as vocal as ever! She loves saying: mama, dada, uh-oh, baby, and I do believe she has begun repeating no when I say that to her. Discipline really hasn't been an issue yet. She is such a sweet, loving little girl. When I do have to get on to her it is usually for trying to climb up onto something, or pulling something down, which is really just her exploring!

She still wakes up once during the night, but I am really ok with that. She has always done this so it is something that I am used to! We love getting her to sleep at night. That is one of the only times she likes to cuddle. She sits beside Dru in his chair and falls asleep most nights sitting up. It is hilarious! She wakes up around 8, sometimes 8:30 every morning. She naps once during the day, usually for over 2 hours. Some days she will nap in the morning too!




She does wonderfully in the car. She didn't cry once during our 4 1/2 hour trips over Thanksgiving. We were amazed!

She continues to delight us each and every day! It has been an incredible 13 months! I don't think either of us could put into words just how much we love Simms.

And now for some Christmas pictures. I will up some more as I get them taken. It is hard to do with no camera! The phone has to do for now!



This was the first year I have done colored lights and I LOVE them! They look like gumdrops on the tree! It is kind of hard to tell in this picture.



Simms checking it out! She really doesn't know what to think of the tree. She loves staring at it.

Simms' little friend, Pixel. (Dru LOVES making fun of the name that I chose. I thought it sounded elfish.) Although Simms doesn't really get the concept yet of the Elf on the Shelf, it is fun for me, and something that I know one day she'll enjoy!

Sunday, November 30, 2008

Our Thanksgiving


We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We went to McShan, AL (west of Tuscaloosa) to celebrate with Dru's sister Becca, her husband Grover, Dru's parents and brother, and a lot of Grover's family. It was a lot of fun and we were glad we were able to spend some time at Becca and Grover's house. This was the 1st time we had been back to McShan since they were married.

It took us a while to get there on Wednesday, due to road construction and holiday traffic, but once we were there, Grover and Becca fed us a delicious meal which included the biggest steaks I have ever seen!

We had Thanksgiving lunch at his parents house which is close to Grover and Becca's. It was delicious. We even had oysters and smoked salmon for appetizers, which was new for me on Thanksgiving and then 3, yes 3, turkeys with lunch.



Later that day Grover planned a hay ride, so we loaded up and road their land, and then ended up at a bon fire! It was so much fun! All in all I think Simms did well being gone and around a lot of people that were new to her. Besides still not wanting to eat, me forcing her, and her throwing up in my hands twice at the dinner table Friday night, we didn't have any major disasters! I always worry when I am at someone else's house. And of course, as the pictures show, she still shys away from the camera! Such a funny, sweet, adorable little girl!




We headed home Friday, after I participated in a skeet shoot, and did horribly! Dru still hasn't stopped laughing because I have always claimed to be a sharp shooter!

Saturday we watched football. The Goodwin house wasn't a happy one during/after the Auburn game. Saturday night we celebrated a friend's 30th birthday, and had a great time!

We went to church today, lunch at Meme's, and this afternoon we got our Christmas tree! We had so much fun decorating it! I can't wait to put up some pictures!

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!


That is my sweet girl's sweet handprint! We made these turkey cards for her grandparents and great-grandparents! We will be leaving today to spend Thanksgiving with Dru's family at his sister's house in McShan, Alabama. We will be there until Friday. Then all of the Christmas decorating will begin! Yay!! I left my camera in Montgomery last weekend, hence the lack of posts, but should get it back today! Hopefully I will get lots of pictures of sweet Simms celebrating her 2nd Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for~especially her! I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Christmas Pictures..

Sissy and I had Simms and Bennett's pictures taken yesterday. A great local photographer, Kim Foster, took them at Sissy's mother-in-law's house. Her house is great for taking pictures inside and out. They turned out really well, and you can view them by going to:

www.kimfoster.smugmug.com

Click on the folder that says Bennett & Simms. We both chose our Christmas card pictures from these, but we'll keep that a surprise! Enjoy!

Monday, November 17, 2008

A Fun but Busy Weekend


What a weekend! Friday Simms and I were in Columbus most of the day with Sissy and Bennett buying this and that for the tailgate Saturday. We left for Auburn Friday afternoon and joined Dru's parents and some of their friends for dinner on campus! It was nice, with lighted tents and candlabras! Definetly never pictured myself sitting on campus by the colesium one day eating under tents! Simms did good during dinner but was getting fussy. We changed her into her PJs then went and saw my brother, Simms' uncle, Miles, at his apartment. And I thought I had a decent apartment my first year at Garden District. If you haven't seen Creekside in Auburn, check it out. It is incredible!

Saturday we were up bright and early to get everything ready for our tailgate. Dru's parents were out of town for this game, and they graciously agreed to let Dru be in charge of the bus. We even slept on it both nights! It was fun, but I am not sure RV life will be for me! We definetly appreciated them letting us use it! Dru, Simms, Becca, Grover and myself all began getting things ready EARLY! We had a huge crowd most of the day, and TONS of food! I think most everyone that came by brought something! Too bad we didn't end up with a win, but we did play MUCH better than I thought we would! Tailgating all day was fun, but it was SOOOO cold and windy! It was definetly harder than I expected it to be trying to keep Simms entertained for 2 days on the bus! I probably should have been brave and left her over night with my parents for the first time! She was bundled up most of the day and even had on her first pair of shoes that I got her Friday. They are so cute. The highlight of Saturday had to be finding out our special friends Beth and Bobby Huddelston are expecting their first baby! I cannot tell you how happy and excited I am for them!

We were home by lunch Sunday, and we relaxed most of the day. Well, I say we, but poor Dru trimmed all of our bushes so that there will be no blocked views of our Christmas wreaths in a few weeks.

Today was spent doing laundry and things around the house. Simms and Bennett had their pictures taken this afternoon for Christmas cards, so I am crossing my fingers some turned out! I will post the link when they are up!!

Friday





Saturday



Sunday


Monday, November 10, 2008

A Special Dress...


Simms was given a very special dress for her birthday! Her Aunt Becca sewed and smocked her a beautiful gown! This was the first dress Becca had done, and it turned out beautifully! I have included some pictures that I tried to take of Simms in the dress today! She runs from the camera now because of the flash, so it was very hard to capture her! Simms had her 12 month portraits made in this dress last Friday. Boy was that fun..having a child terrified/amused by the flash!

Simms also had her 12 month check-up last Wednesday. She weighs 21 lbs. (50%) and was 29 in. (45%) so she is getting longer and leaner! She had 3 shots which was horrible this time! It was so sad! My goal given to me by her pediatrician was to get her off of the bottle and onto the sippy cup, pronto! Easier said than done! It has been a disaster! I am not sure why she won't take it! The doctor addressed Simms' lack of interest in real food also, and said that wasn't a primary concern. Simms just needs to develop a curiosity for it first and then she'll want to eat it! For now, it is still baby food! I still can't believe she is 1!!





Sunday, November 2, 2008

A Beautiful Day for a Beautiful Girl...


We celebrated Martha Simms' 1st Birthday on Saturday! Simms woke up Saturday morning and Dru and I gave her a toy cake in bed that unzips and has tiny birthday toys in it and we also gave her a card. I read her a letter that I wrote to go in her baby book and then her fun began! Her party started at 12, and she had lots of family show up to help her celebrate! She even had 3 of her great-grandparents here which was extra-special! We had lunch and then did cake and presents. We also watched a wonderful video that my friend made of Simms' first year. It was such an emotional video (or it may have been the songs in the background: Celine Dion's Miracle, Allison Krauss singing Baby Mine, and Third Day's I've Always Loved You). I would love to upload it on here if I can figure out how. I am sorry to say that our sweet girl did not feel good on her birthday! She was having some stomach issues, but I might add that after she went to the bathroom (finally) at 4:30, she was a different baby! All of you moms know what I mean and am talking about! I hated it for her that she felt so badly on her birthday! Our families were extremely generous in the gifts that they gave Simms! She is one lucky little girl! I cannot believe she is 1 now! It truly has been the best year of our life. She has added so much love, joy, happiness and fun to each and every day and we are so thankful to have her as our daughter! I will upload some of the pictures, but hope to have some better ones off of Becca's camera soon. Enjoy (there are quite a few)...