Simms & Stitches

Oh what a day we had Friday afternoon! Simms and Minnie (my mom) took a little tumble down some brick steps. My mom came back in the house with her thinking all was fine because she saw no blood on Simms' face, however, Sissy and I noticed huge stains of blood on her shoulder. Once we all looked, we found that her ear had pretty much been gashed open. WIDE OPEN. LOTS OF BLOOD. MY BABY. It wasn't a fun place to be. Mama kept Bennett while Sissy and I loaded Simms up to head to the emergency room. She really seemed ok and several times I thought about turning around and just cleaning it up myself. I am glad I didn't. The ER experience wasn't THAT bad. We did have to wait, as is expected, but we at least did most of our waiting in our own ER room. I just let Simms go to town and color the sheets on the hospital bed with pens from my purse. When the doctor told me she would need to be sedated in order to have the ear cleaned to determine if stitches were needed, I almost lost it. I did NOT want her put to sleep. His nurse kindly explained he meant concious sedation, and it really was the best thing as it allowed them to clean it very well, and then of course she ended up needing stitches and dermabond. So I was definetly glad she wasn't awake for that. Or the 3 shots in her ear. It was a rough 4 hours and I was so glad that Dru got there right as she was falling into that deep sleep. I didn't like seeing her that way. I only had one major breakdown and that was in the bathroom alone imagining her conciously sedated. Dru was incredible and so calm and you can thank him for the pictures you are about to see. I am so thankful that the Lord was protecting Simms and my mom because it truly could have been A LOT worse. We waited about 2 hours for her to come out of the sleep and then she was fine! We still went to the lake with my family and had a great weekend. The fun part comes later this week when we have to go and get the stitches out!
**Don't look if you have a weak stomach**

Getting sewn up

Almost done

Finished and she never knew what had been happening!

Good as new today and the swelling is almost gone!

And Happy Father's Day! I am so THANKFUL Simms has Dru as a Daddy. His heart is full of love for her and it is the most precious thing in the world to me. They both are!

Busy & Lazy

First of all, thank you for all your sweet messages about our newest blessing! We are thrilled! Since that last post ALMOST 2 WEEKS AGO, we have either been really busy or very lazy! Sums up summer perfectly!

These pictures are from today, and are how we normally spend every afternoon after lunch and before nap time. Simms has so much fun in her pool and with the hose pipe and goes down so easily for her nap. Although that good nap is interfering with her wanting to go to sleep at night, so it may not be worth it! It is summer though, so maybe it's OK if she stays up a little later!

I have been feeling great and most days am so busy with Simms that I have to remind myself I'm pregnant. I haven't been sick, just really tired. I'll be 11 weeks on Friday. I had a doctors appointment earlier this week and all seems well. She did say it was too early to listen for the heartbeat with the Doppler, BUT, little does she know I am ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE and have rented my own. SO...we were able to hear it at 9w3d. Of course it is one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. I have to do it another room than Simms though because for some reason she is terrified of the Doppler and the noises it makes. It is usually in the high 160's. Any guesses? We are just so excited and thankful for this baby and for Simms to have a sibling (or we'll just go ahead and say sister, since that's what we both think).

Speaking of babies, last night Dru and I drove over to Opelika to meet sweet Merrill Huddleston who was born Monday. She is just precious. While we were there I was able to indulge in a pregnancy craving- Cock of the Walk. Yum Yum Yum!!

We are headed to the lake again this weekend. Dru's parents have been out West for the month but have been sweet enough to still let us have access to the house and boats. We are taking my parents up with us this weekend, and Sissy and Drew and of course Bennett also. It should be fun!

Simms is keeping us BUSY BUSY these days. She is into everything and wanting to climb anything she sees! And she is fearless when it comes to water. Oh the fun it is though. I know we'll never get these days back so I just try to soak it all in! Poor thing is also cutting 3 molars at the same time. She is still enjoying her summer though!

Sweet Simms...

has BIG news! She is going to be a BIG SISTER! We are beyond thrilled that we are expecting a baby that is due in early January.

We found out the day Simms turned 18 months, May 1. It has been so much fun having this secret that only we knew.

We told our families last weekend and they are excited too! I am 9 weeks today. We saw our sweet baby and its heartbeat which we were so thankful for!

We ask for your prayers for a healthy baby and pregnancy. We of course already have a feeling it is another girl, which is perfectly fine with us!

Simms is going to be the BEST big sister!

19 months

Simms was 19 months old yesterday! She spent the evening doing what she loves to do most, riding horses with Daddy! These have been fun days at our house. I love this age. She communicates with us so much now, and being able to tell what she is saying or wanting makes things a lot easier! You can ask her now, "Are you ok?" and she will respond with, "I'm fine." Then we say, "Are you sure?" and she'll say, "I'm sure." So clearly. It is hilarious! She is so loving right now, and will FINALLY hug and kiss us when we ask. She used to only do it when she was willing! Her eating habits are fabulous now and that is a blessing considering she has 4 molars trying to come in. Ouch! I am definitely seeing the tantrums come out, and those can make for some long afternoons. It seems she gets her fussiest in the time after her nap until Dru gets home. While I'm trying to cook. Fun. That is why we usually are running to meet him in the driveway. She may have fits, but she's still as sweet as honey and we love her SO, SO much!

These pictures were taken this morning on the new swing set that Daddy lovingly bought and put together for her. This swing set comes totally unassembled. In 2 boxes. Nothing is already pieced together.

It was a lot of work, but Daddy is the best! Our photo session was abruptly halted when I noticed a HUGE snake in our yard. I chased it around like a nut until Dru could get home and kill it. I didn't want to loose it and let it get away. Luckily he and a friend from work rushed home and killed it. What a morning!

I had some great pictures from the lake but that camera died! We're going back this weekend so hopefully I'll get some of our little fish in the water! Happy 19 months sweet little girl!

A Perfect Party

We celebrated Bennett's birthday last Sunday with a wonderful party! It was the perfect party for a 2 year old and his cousins!


What a precious birthday outfit AND precious boy!


Bennett's invitation. I covered the address up because I knew I'd be putting it on here! Hee hee!


Adorable birthday hat. That he wouldn't wear. It always works out like that!


Delicious cake!


Simms arriving at B's party.This is the only picture that I got of them together! Her daddy got her dressed for church, undressed and then dressed for the party all by himself, even finding the right bow! He is wonderful!


Still camera shy!


Bennett with his other cousin Adaline.


Waiting on cake.


Simms (and Daddy) sure enjoyed their cake!


Simms wasn't interested in B's new swingset/fort. She would rather play with the same toy she always plays with there.


Happy birthday Bennett!

On B's actual birthday, which was the 22nd, Sissy and Mama took Bennett and Simms to the Wild Animal Safari. I wasn't able to go, but the stories are hilarious. Apparently these animals truly run wild, including after, up to, and into your car! Here is a peek at one of the animals that tried to get in the car with MY CHILD:


We are headed to the lake this weekend and can't wait. We weren't able to go up over Memorial Day, but I heard the weather wasn't great anyway. I think it's supposed to be beautiful this weekend. Simms loves the water, so we will be very busy with her. Hopefully some boat rides will happen too. Those always bring on great naps for Simms!

Birthday Boy

This sweet little boy will be 2 tomorrow! I cannot believe it! It seems like just yesterday we were all in the family waiting room and out walked Drew holding their BEAUTIFUL son!

One day old
I had no preparation for how much I would love this little boy. From the second I saw him I loved him as if he were mine and still do. I was 15 weeks pregnant with Simms when Bennett was born and just full of anticipation that I was about to experience that too!

One year old!
He has brought so much love and laughter into our lives. He is the most loving little boy I've ever seen, not to mention the prettiest!

Almost 2!!
He greets Simms every day with a hug and kiss unprompted. She is so lucky to have him as her cousin. We are so lucky to have him as our nephew.

Happy 2nd birthday Bennett!

Let's talk about THE cup...

THE CUP. Those 2 words RULED our life last week, and I am not exaggerating. After Simms' doctor told us last Monday that is must be done now, we knew there could be no looking back. We had to do it, no matter how bad it was going to be. I let her have one bottle Monday evening, as we would normally do, and then that was it. I started offering her one of the MANY cups we have stored away, and of course she knew what was happening as soon as she saw it. And she immediately showed GREAT disdain for it. Each and every time she saw a cup, no matter if I had changed the kind I was offering or not, a FIT would ensue. These were BAD fits.

I had read that it would happen. That children who develop an attatchment to things, be it a blankie, bottle, paci, etc... do not take it well when these things are taken away. I felt bad for her. I really did. But I also knew every other 18 month old around is on a cup, and has been for a while. So we stuck with it. The days were long, and the nights were too. But the days were probably longer since I was doing it without Dru. The fits got worse every time she saw a cup, and nap time was awful.

I got more and more frustrated, because I couldn't understand it. What she wanted was IN the cup. Why wouldn't she drink it? I prayed A LOT. I had to remind myself that the cup wasn't her bottle, which is what she found comfort it. I also had to remind myself we'd taken the paci away the weekend before, so that was a lot to deal with. We finally decided we had to choose one cup and stick with it, so the NUBY, which is just like a bottle in my opinion, is what we chose.

We kept giving it to her and by Thursday she'd at least carry it around. Progress. Friday night as we were leaving dinner I told Dru a story I'd read online (imagine that) about a little boy that finally just gave in and started chugging from his cup. As soon as I told him that he said, "Don't look at her, but she's drinking from it." I of course thought he was making fun of my story, but she WAS! I just knew she understood it! But she still threw a fit that night when she saw a cup.

Saturday she went all day just like the days before with NOTHING to drink except water from water bottles, then Saturday night she went and picked up her cup, chugged, drank it all, had another cup and chugged it all, and now here we are. JUST LIKE THAT. She's done it! Mastered the cup at 18 months and I couldn't be more proud. It was a hard week, and I think with our next child we'll go straight from nursing to the cup! I know this whole story may sound crazy to some but it really was this big of a deal for her (and us) and it's over!

Here is a picture of Simms' silhouette that I had done for my mother's day gift. Silhouette artist Clay Rice, who is a 3rd generation silhouette artist and one of the best in the silhouette world, did it. He was incredible. He had Simms done in 10 seconds. I was amazed because Simms has never looked at all like me or my side of the family. As soon as I looked at her silhouette I immediately thought it looked like my profile, my Aunt Nancy's profile and my cousin Hillary's profile. That is talent. Here is also a picture of the children's book that he wrote. He put a silhouette of Simms in the back of the book too! Now I have to find a place to hang it!