Come On Over!

Today was a wonderful day full of visitors . . .

Heather Harvell and her darling daughters Kathleen and Sydney came over to have lunch with Mommy and Meg today. It was so fun to see them . . . even if we don't have much of a kitchen for hosting a lunch! Our countertops are gone for templating . . . new ones to arrive next week . . . so for today we played in the family room and had sandwiches and chicken nuggets for lunch. I even had a chance to shoot some shots of Sydney, the 8 month old, in Meg's new tutu!

After lunch, Tricia, Ryan, and Daniel Alford all came by for a wonderful surprise visit! Tricia was home early from work, so she came by to see the house (since she last saw it without furniture!) . . . and we made cookies and caught up while the kids played. When they were leaving to take Ryan to soccer . . . he and Meg had a little altercation on the porch . . . the storyboard tells the story . . .

We had a busy, fun filled day, that is for certain. Tomorrow the landscapers are coming to do some work in our front yard . . . including the moving of a big tree that blocks the house . . . I'll post more pictures of our house once they are done!

GO DAWGS -- 3 days and counting!!

HD

What a Week!

Last week flew by . . . we had so many exciting things happening!

Meg did start preschool on Friday. Mind you . . . I use the term "preschool" lightly at her young age . . . it's one day a week for 3 hours with 7 other children. But -- who cares? -- she love it! She is the youngest child in her class . . . but the teacher said she held her own and had a great time! When I dropped her off, she could have cared less about mommy standing there . . . she got down out of my arms and went straight to all the toys. She had music class, art, outside play, story time . . . it was certainly an action packed 3 hours. I'm so happy to report that Meg loves school!! (What did mommy do with her 3 hours off?? Went consignment sale shopping -- what else?!)

After her super-fun Friday preschool adventure, my dad came to get Meg and take her to Newnan for the weekend. Jim and I had a wedding to attend, so we had planned to have my parents keep her . . . which, again, she enjoyed very much. Is there anything this kid doesn't like?! She had a great time with Grandaddy and Grandma . . . they went to visit some of Meg's great uncles, aunts, and her great grandma while she was with them. She came back home on Sunday . . . boy, I missed my boogie!

While Meg was galavanting off in Newnan, Jim and I went to Cliff Robinson and Erica Langford's wedding in Cartersville, GA. What a beautiful affair! Those two are so in love -- it's adorable. The wedding itself was outside . . . which was certainly warm, but rain-free and just beautiful. Congratulations to the happy couple -- and thanks for inviting us to share in your big day!

What ELSE did we do this weekend? Painted Meg's bedroom and bathroom! I'm working on getting the house in shape . . . which will take a while. Her room looks great -- pink, naturally -- and her bathroom is so cute with a new, monogrammed shower curtain. The kitchen is next . . . we are having new countertops and a new sink installed over the next week. It should look SO fantastic when we are done!!

Please check the Picasa site for new pictures . . . I've been very dedicated to pictures lately :) I also had 2 shoots this week . . . so I've put some new pictures from those up, also.

Have a GREAT week!!

HD

Preschool is Pending

This is a big week for little Meg . . . she starts her one-day-a-week preschool class on Friday. Last night, Jim and I went to the "Parents Night" get together and heard all about the procedures and guidelines . . . and this morning I took Meg to meet her teacher and her new classmates. Do you think she was shy? Scared? Timid? NO! She couldn't wait to jump out of my arms and into her new classroom toys. She had a great time . . . and I hope that she enjoys it just as much when I'm not standing in the room with her :)

Jim has been cute -- last night he kept saying, "Our little girl is going to school . . ." I told him to hold on to the tears until REAL school (like Kindergarten!). He even asked me what Meg was going to wear on the first day!

Check back later this week to see how Friday goes . . . but I'm pretty confident that it will go very well.

-HD

Each day is better . . .

Woke up feeling much better this morning . . . I guess each day will get a little better. The surgery center called to check on me, and I mangaged to get through that conversation without a tear . . . and I had to call and schedule my follow-up with my doctor, which I also did without crying . . . so maybe today will be a good day.





On a totally different note . . . people have been asking to see a picture of the new place, so here it is . . . I finally got around to taking a picture!

We love it, and we are getting settled in slowly but surely. As a matter of fact, I should really go do some work now while Meg is napping . . .

Have a great week --

HD

Today is the 3rd Day

Today is the 3rd day since the miscarriage . . . and it's been the hardest day for me so far. It happened on Thursday . . . Friday was a blur because of the DNC first thing in the morning and the after-effects of anesthesia all day long . . . yesterday I was just trying to think of everything else . . . and today I can't stop crying. We'll get better and move on -- I know we will -- but right now we are just stuck in sadness.

Life just doesn't seem fair. We worked so hard last time, and this time was so easy. We were elated at our accomplishment! And I was so blissfully excited about having 2 little ones back-to-back -- no matter how hard people told me it was going to be. Now I feel like we are back to wondering IF we'll get pregnant? when? on our own? It was so awesome to have had it happen all on it's own and as a total surprise. But, it was not meant to be.

Jim has been busy working all day . . . he put a new faucet in the bathroom sink, installed the new dishwasher, and is going to tackle hanging a new light fixture for me later today. I unpacked about 10 boxes and just left stuff lying around the house. At least it's out of the boxes. We are still trying to get settled around here, so for now that is keeping us busy.

Thanks for all the well-wishes from you, my family and friends. I appreciate them all. I can't respond right now . . . and I really am not in much of a mood to talk to anyone . . . so just know that I really do appreciate it and know how much you all care.

Thanks -- Jim, Heather, and Meg

Did you Think we Disappeared??!!

You probably did -- and with good reason!

I'm finally back in full swing . . . June and July were a total blur, and I'm sorry to my (one or two) faithful readers that have not heard from us in a while! Let's see . . . June was packed full of fun things like a trip to Hilton Head and Meg's big first birthday celebration. In July we took off for a 3 week mid-west tour including Chicago, Kansas City, and Lake of the Ozarks. Oh yeah -- and in the middle of everything we sold our house and bought a new one! So, we returned from our trip and frantically packed and moved to our new place. Whew! Is it August already??

Most of you know by now that we also got some great news in early July . . . we are expecting another beautiful baby Dahlby in early March 2008. Jim, Meg, and I are thrilled to bits to be welcoming another baby into the family. And, now with the bigger house, we have enough space for him/her! We find out in October if we'll be decorating in blue or pink . . . of course, Jim would LOVE a boy! I'll be sure to keep everyone posted of our pregnancy events as they unfold . . . I certainly hope this pregnancy is as uneventful as the last one was.

Now that we are in the house, we are busy settling in and getting ready for the fall. Of course, fall means FOOTBALL SEASON around here, so we are anxiously awaiting opening day. Georgia plays at night and Tech as a 3:30 match-up, both of which we will most likely watch with my dad down on his big screen TV in Newnan. Meg and I are also getting lined up with all of our fall activities, such as Meg's one-day-a-week preschool class, swimming lessons, and music classes. We keep ourselves very busy! The new place is in a great location for us . . . and the neighborhood is fantastic . . . so we also hope to do more things around here this fall and get to know our neighbors.

Life is good . . . finally settling down a bit . . . and we are going to keep writing more faithfully! Thanks to everyone that has asked "Did you stop your Blog?" -- it made me feel like people really ARE reading!

With Love -- More to come Soon --

HD

Lots to Tell!

Hello Everyone!

It's been too long since I've written . . . I guess we've just been busy! What have we been up to? Let's see . . . .

We had a great Memorial Day weekend and just stuck around the house. We swam in the neighborhood (COLD) pool and did little house projects . . . and waited for someone to call about coming to see the house. That's right -- it's OFFICIALLY on the market now. We have a sign in the yard and everything! Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well and FAST . . . we are so anxious to move. Now that the house is semi-packed, we just can't wait to get into the new place.

Meg and I have been keeping busy lately, as usual. This was a long week for Mommy and baby because Jim has been in Canada since Monday (it wasn't a holiday there, eh?). He's due back tomorrow night . . . finally! We've missed him. Make wakes up every morning and looks for him -- "Hey Da Da?" she says, no joke. While Jim has been away, Meg and I went to see some of my good ole' Newnan buddies (high school friends). We had such a great visit with them! Then today we were off on a photo-taking adventure to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens. An old college friend of mine and her daughter joined us. What fun! They have a huge kids area that Meg just ran all over. It was a great day.

Speaking of Meg . . . I think that she is going in fast forward these days! The walking is no longer a new thing for her . . . she's really getting good. She can now stand herself up in the middle of the room with no problem at all and do complete direction changes on a whim . . . so there is simply no stopping her. Last Friday she DID CRAWL . . . she decided to teach herself how to crawl in the traditional manner, which has now been added to her list of talents. I can't believe that this time 2 weeks ago she didn't even walk. She is everywhere now . . . I kid you not . . . my dad says that NOW I'm going to see what it's like to be a mom!

This weekend is going to be fun-filled . . . we have Ryan Alford's 4th birthday party on Saturday, and then I am off to a bachelorette party on Saturday night. I'm planning to stay in Atlanta with my girlfriends, which will make it my first night away from Meg. Wow!

Just waiting for the house to sell and missing daddy . . . I guess that what's been keeping us busy! Hope all is well in your world :)

She just SKIPPED the crawling thing . . .

It's official . . . we have a walker in the house! Meg is now full out walking around. She turns herself loose from the furniture and takes SEVERAL steps . . . she's even learning how to adjust for a surface change (carpet to hardwood, grass to patio, etc). There are still plenty of falls onto that padded little behind (is that why diapers are so bulky?!), but she's doing great. We are all in awe! It's in the baby books forever . . . Meg walked at 10 months.

The Dahlbys (Stan, Paulette, and Julie) were in town visiting this weekend. They were all an enormous help in getting our house ready to sell. We have found a realtor and now we are in the process of getting the papers signed and the sign in the yard. We are moving for REAL! The house is so de-cluttered . . . I hope we move soon! I miss my pictures. And, if we don't sell by winter, Jim and I are going to be in a world of hurt . . . all of our winter stuff is packed away in storage! We should have a lot of luck . . . other homes in our neighborhood are selling without any problem.

So, by the time we move, Meg can WALK to the new house! Well, I guess we are moving a little too far for that . . . but not by much!

Have a great week :)

And Now About the Beach . . .

I mentioned in my last post (I think) that we were going to the beach . . . and we did! We had a great time! Some friends of ours rented a beach house and invited us along. It was a lot of fun for everyone.

The fantastic right-on-the-beach house we rented was just outside of Panama City Beach. It was newly remodeled and SO beautiful . . . and did I mention it was RIGHT on the beach? We spent 3 days there with the Kibbe family (Holly, John, daughter Lexi) and the Winbush family (Allyson, Randy, son Jackson). Three kids and six adults made for an action-packed beach adventure! Everyone had a blast! We did nothing but hang out at the house and sit on the beach. We caught crabs, bbq-ed, relaxed . . . it was a great Mother's Day.

Jim's buddy Will Kline and his family came to visit us on Saturday afternoon. It's always nice to see them . . . they brought their two daughters, so ALL the kids played like crazy on the beach that afternoon.

Enjoy the pictures that I've posted on our Picasa site . . . I've linked the album on the left.

Next Trip: The 3 of us are going to Hilton Head for 5 days in mid-June. Can't WAIT!!

Reunited . . . And it Feels SO GOOD!!

Reagan is BACK!!

A neighbor called at about 8:30 tonight to say that he saw her in his yard . . . we ran over and within about 15 minutes she came back into my arms!!

What a good kitty . . . she is skinny and so skiddish . . . Levi doesn't know WHAT to do with her . . . but the family is all back together again.

Happy Mother's Day to me! Mommy's kitty has returned!! :)

(Sigh)

It's been exactly one week since Reagan went missing :(

I've combed the neighborhood and talked to several neighbors . . . we put signs on mailboxes . . . but she is still not home. Levi is lost without his sister kitty! What am I going to do without her??

I'm never going to forget that loving cat. She was the best cat I could have asked for, and I'll ALWAYS miss her. As long as we live here, I'll never stop looking for her.

Off to the beach tomorrow . . . I hope she doesn't come back while we are gone and then run off again . . . all I can do is hang my head.

Hope you are having a better week than we are . . . of course, the beach will be fun . . . it will get my mind off of Reagan.

We Are Sad Around Here

Reagan is missing . . . she got out through a window on Wednesday night, and we haven't seen her since. I'm so sad about it, I can't stand it. It's been 5 days now . . . I'm losing hope that her "cat senses" will bring her back home. Everyone has a theory . . . she is just out wandering, another animal scared her off, she started chasing another animal and got lost . . . whatever happened and wherever she is, it's not home with us. It's so sad. I've been moping around for about 2 days now.

We did have fun this weekend at my cousin's son's birthday party . . . little Jackson turned 2 and had an adorable Puppy Party. It was so nice to get up to see my family! (And it took my mind off Reagan for a while.)

In other IMPORTANT news . . . our house is on the market. Yep, as the Jefferson's said, "We're moving on up . . . " and actually, we are even moving on up to the east side! The east side of Cobb County, that is. We've found a beautiful neighborhood that is just perfect for us, now it's just a matter of selling our house and finding one in that neighborhood. Since the sign went in the yard on Saturday, we've had 3 families come look at our house! Wow! If this keeps up, we'll sell it fast. Keep your fingers crossed for us.

And, keep your fingers crossed that Reagan finds her way back home. Say a little prayer for my loving kitty . . . I miss her so much.

Have a great week :)

Happy Tuesday

Isn't she the cutest?

Today was a fun-filled day . . . my dad came up and played with us all day long. We went out to lunch, Meg napped, then we let her jump in the pool for a while. Dad even stayed for dinner, which I loved!

Jim is in Houston all week . . . and this time next week we will be getting ready to go to the beach! We are headed to Santa Rosa beach for my very first Mother's Day weekend. Can't WAIT. We are traveling with some friends who were kind enough to invite us along . . . it will be a great weekend for everyone.

Just had to share how cute Meg is when she is swimming!

Hope you are off to a great week :)

Bragging (Again)

I won another on-line photo contest!

Okay, it's not glamourous and there is no real prize, but I still am so flattered when other photographers vote ME the winner of a photo contest! The theme for this one was "kids in action" -- and I submitted this photo (which was a lucky shot!) --

This photography thing sure is fun! Happy Thursday, everyone! I'm glad tomorrow is Friday -- Jim finally comes home from Alaska :)

TEETH

So, last post was full of excitement about the new teeth . . . today, not so excited . . . .

Meg has had such a terrible 24 hours! I'm not sure if it's the teeth, but I'm guessing that's what it is. She never fusses . . . but yesterday she hardly napped and was up quite a few times during the night. Today we went to get the "teething tablets" my friends have told us about . . . hopefully they'll help! She took a decent morning nap today and her current afternoon nap is going on 1 1/2 hours . . . so maybe they did the trick?



Anyway, all of you mommys out there can commiserate with me!

Hope you are having a GREAT day. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA DAHLBY!!

BIG Week!!

This has been a big week around here!

Meg finally . . . after 10 long months of gnawing . . . has sprouted a tooth!!! It's the lower right, and it's just cutting through the gum as of this morning. Wow! I saw it sitting there -- waiting to make its debut -- way back on Monday. Now today it is official . . . my toothless wonder is toothless no more. What a big girl! Today was actually not that bad . . . she was only mildly fussy, and really only at meal time. Can't say that I blame her :)

And, in other news, Meg is taking steps! Not solo, mind you, but she is pushing her little toy around the living room and acting like the big girl she is. She did it yesterday for the first time -- starting with 4 steps -- and today it was all she wanted to do. I guess most of you were right -- no crawling for our little monkey! If I can figure out how to get video up here, I'll try that so everyone can share in the excitement.

Meg and I just said goodbye to Great Grandma Abernathy (my grandma) this afternoon . . . she'd been here visiting since the weekend. Tomorrow Grandma Dahlby (Jim's mom) arrives for business and is going to spend a few days with us. Wait until she sees how much Meg has changed since her last visit (only 2 weeks ago!).

Below is a picture we took last week at the Dogwood Festival -- it was such a fun evening! We met up with our buddy Sabrina and her brother Matt to enjoy the festival down in Piedmont Park. Meg loved it . . . she loves just about ANYTHING where she can people watch (she takes after her mommy & daddy!).

What a week!

(Technical difficulties -- I'll have to try to post the dogwood pic later!)

MORE New Pictures

Check out the links to the left -- I just updated them, and there are a ton of new pictures up if you are interested!!

I got a new camera lens -- I think I've already mentioned it -- and there is a new album dedicated solely to my new shots. Let me know what you think! I welcome any suggestions I can get :)

Happy Wednesday (almost Thursday!)

G Day and Easter -- What a Weekend

Meg has officially be baptized into the tradition of GEORGIA football!! That's right, family and friends . . . my dad and I took her out to Athens to attend Georgia's spring football game (AKA G-Day). The weather was chilly, but do you think Meg minded?? Not only is she always warm (like her daddy), she was so busy watching all the Georgia stuff that she didn't have a moment to think about cold weather.

Grandaddy had the BEST time with her!! Believe it or not, he said he hardly watched the game because he was having so much fun with Meg. She was her usual GOOD self . . . except she did whine a bit on the car ride home. My dad and I think it was because we made her leave Athens -- she wanted to say and cheer for the Dawgs some more.

And Easter was today . . . what a busy weekend!! We went to church and had some friends over for lunch to celebrate the holiday. Meg, of course, was all dressed up in pretty Easter attire. It was her first stay in the nursery at church!!! What a big girl she was . . . they said she was great . . . of course, I dropped her off fed, changed, and rested . . . so imagine she just played for the hour or so that she was there.

We hope you all had a great weekend . . . we sure did!!

Sorry So Long!

I just realized it's been a while since I posted! Everything here has been good. Jim's family was in town Mar 27 - Apr 4, so that kept us busy for a week or so . . . we had a great visit, and we look forward to seeing them again.

This week was Spring Break for our local schools, so I got to see many of my friends that teach. Meg and I had a great week! And, at the end of the week, Daddy (Jim) came home and was able to spend Friday with us. We didn't do anything terribly exciting . . . ran errands, mostly . . . but it was extra nice to have him home for a day.

I got a new lens to help me further endulge in my photography hobby! It's a 50mm, and I love it so far. Check out the new pictures from this morning above (and link over to Picasa by clicking a pic to the left).

Hope everyone is doing great! Next week is busy for us again . . . we start swimming AND music . . . and Meg goes for her 9 month check up :)

Nine Months

If you can believe it, Meg will be 9 -- yes 9! - months old in the morning. I can't even believe she is growing so fast. These days, she spends her time flirting with the idea of crawling and attempting feverishly to pull herself up to standing. She has all of the sudden started babbling like CRAZY -- especially when she is riding in the car. I love it! I miss the HECK out of Jim when he is away, but I am quickly finding that I don't feel alone with Meg here . . . she is a bundle of energy and keeps me busy! Tomorrow we are going on our first adventure to the Georgia Aquarium, so you'll have to check back soon for more pictures. I hope Meg enjoys it! Our neighbors (Holly and Alexis) invited us along . . . and I hope we don't mess up their trip!

Happy Spring, Everyone!