Come and shop!

One of the fun things about having a little girl is all the cute clothes that I can dress her in while she is young. In my latest venture I have taken on becoming a rep for an adorable yet affordable hand smocked children's clothing line called Shrimp and Grits Kids. I am so excited! I will be hosting my first show January 20th & 21st to show off their new spring and summer line. Please come and shop if you live nearby! If not, you can view the clothes at http://www.shrimpandgritskids.com/ and I will be happy to place an order for you. Feel free to email me at lilmason128@gmail.com with any questions. Happy shopping and thank you for your support!
Here is a sneak peak...

Four Months and Growing...

On December 27th Lucy Mills turned 4 months old. Every month with her just gets better and better as she is more active and alert. She smiles all the time now. My favorite time of day is in the morning when I start to hear her stirring in her room. She has now learned to turn over from her tummy to her back and when she wakes up, she usually flips herself over. When I peer over her crib I have the two brightest eyes looking back at me followed by the biggest smile. It melts my heart. It's as if she missed me all night. I thought I would document the things punky has now learned to do...

Here is her monthly birthday picture - all smiles :)

Still all about those sweet little hands.

About a month ago she started sucking her thumb! I never thought this was something that I would be excited about because it's a habit I will have to break one day. BUT it saves me from getting out of bed in the middle of the night to put that darn paci back in! Plus, she looks so sweet with that thumb in her mouth.

Believe it or not she just recently noticed this little fur ball hanging around! Maggie LOVES Lucy Mills. In the mornings Maggie goes with me to see Lucy Mills when she wakes up. She will sit by her crib and whimper until I pick her up and show her the baby. Lucy Mills lets Maggie lick her fingers and toes - they are turning out to be two peas in a pod!

Waking up happy has been new this month. She no longer cries but starts "talking" to herself when she wakes up. Also new this month was turning over from her front to her back.

She has also been holding her head up better and sitting up like a big girl. Don't you just love this expression?
Another picture in the Bumbo chair - who could resist this face (or hat)?!?!?

At 4 months we introduced rice cereal. Lets just say its a work in progress...she is not too excited about using a spoon...or the rice cereal.

A few weeks ago she started this thing where she brings her hands together, and then pulls them apart, and then brings them back together in a fist. She is mesmerized by watch what her little hands can do.

Also new this month is her "Sassy Seat" aka bouncy seat. She has been standing up in our laps when we hold her, and for Christmas she got this fun toy.

"how high does this thing go?"

And this made me chuckle so I am adding it on here. I went to check on Lucy Mills during her nap one day and when I walked in her room the first thing I saw was her sweet little hand coming through the bedding!

There is a body to go with that hand!

Well those are the four month happenings around here. We will see what the 5th month brings our way!

Christmastime in '09!

I feel like I am finally coming up for air after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays. I knew this Christmas would be special because it was Lucy Mills' first. But I have to say that I am already looking forward to the Christmases to come where she will have more of an idea of what is going on and be able to participate.

Our first Christmas celebration was with my small group Bible study. I have mentioned this wonderful group of women before. We meet Tuesday mornings for fellowship and to discuss the book The Mission of Motherhood. Both the book and this group have been a HUGE blessing in my life as I have adjusted to life with my sweet baby girl. We have lovingly referred to our group as "The Baby Girl's Club" because between 8 of us there are 9 baby girls! Fellas better watch out once these babes start walkin' and talkin'! Here is a picture at our last get together in December...

That same week I hosted a dinner party with my other Bible study/group of girlfriends. I have been friends with these ladies for several years now and I was in a weekly Bible study with them. But after Lucy Mills came on the scene her nighttime nap interfered with me participating in this group. But lucky for me I still see these girls often. And three of them are expecting babies soon! This group has been such an encouragement to me and I am blessed to call them my friends. (Alicia - we missed you!)

Before we headed to Georgia, we celebrated Christmas with my mom and she surprised us with a wonderful family gift! You see, ever since I tried to find the perfect wedding photographer to capture our wedding, I developed an interest in photography. I am drawn to pictures that tell a story and that allow you to see the personality behind the photograph. Once I had a child, I wanted to be able to take great pictures throughout her childhood. While I have been saving to buy a nice camera (one better than the point and shoot Trav bought the day I went into labor!) Suggie surprised us with the Canon Rebel Xs. Thanks Suggie! I am enjoying figuring out how to work my new gadget!

So as Christmas drew nearer we loaded up the car, this time with presents in tow, grabbed this little punky

and headed on the road again to the Masons. We enjoyed a relaxing, family-filled, eating extravaganza, unending present opening, movie watching, loving on Lucy Mills time. Did I leave anything out?

We enjoyed introducing Lucy Mills to the rest of the Mason family in Georgia and Alabama.
Here is Travis and Lucy Mills with her Great Grandmaw Mason... Trav and I helping LM open up some of her presents...(we had to rent a uhaul to get them back to SC! )

Uncle Daniel and Lucy Mills - all the single ladies, Daniel is available! And he even looks cute first thing in the morning...see?

Lucy Mills "talking" to her Grandmother and Grandfather testing out her new "Sassy Seat" loving her new tummy time mat

So after our time in Alabama, we headed back to SC to have Christmas with my dad. Sadly I did not take pictures ( I think I was so tired and brain dead by this point), but I will post some soon of his birthday celebration!

After being away during the holidays it's always nice to be back home in your own bed. Even Maggie Mae can attest to that...

All in all, I can say that the three of us are incredibly blessed. Travis and I are still in awe of our little girl and enjoyed having her here this holiday season. I am also thankful to have such wonderful family, especially two sets of grandparents that love us and Lucy Mills. Thank y'all for everything you did this Christmas to make it so special. Lucy Mills is a lucky little girl to have family that shows their love for her in countless ways. I will never stop telling her how loved and adored she has been, even before the day she was born.
Love,

Lil

Lucy Mills' 3 Month Pictures

I know I am a little behind in posting sweet girls' three month old pictures, but I had to keep them top secret as they made for wonderful Christmas presents - especially for the grandmothers! I hired a photographer to capture Lucy Mills' three month milestone. I know I am a little bias here, but I can't stop staring at the gorgeous girl in the pictures...even though the real thing is right in the next room! Enjoy!

Bright eyes...

Sweet cheeks...

lovin' those hands again!

I wanted to get some outdoor pics of the family in hopes of snapping a Christmas card shot.

all bundled up...

while we did manage to get some sweet smiles...

...I can't say the day was free from meltdowns...

we did capture some pictures to remember these moments of love the three of us share

after all, we do have the sweetest girl in the world!

I am so glad that we will have these pictures to remember this time in our lives while it's just the three of us. I will do another post soon to show our Christmas adventures...stay tuned.

"Leading a Quiet Life"

I can say for sure that motherhood is on the job training. No one can tell you what to expect until you just go through it and experience the joy yourself. I am learning things as a mom that I did not necessarily expect to learn. You see I always thought that once I started having children that my life would be this crazy busy, on the go, life in the fast lane sort of style. While I do have moments like that (and I am sure more to come as she gets older), I am discovering the simple peace that comes from just being at home. The Lord continues to remind me to"be still and know that I am God" (psalm 46:10) Be still, be still, be still I tell myself. Be still? But I have always liked being the early bird type. The type that likes to get up and go and usually accomplishes more by 9am than most do in a day...how can I just be still???

The thing that I did not anticipate in having a little one is the importance of being at home for tha majority of my day. While we do get outside and enjoy nice days, run errands, and plan fun dates with friends, I like Lucy Mills being on a schedule and napping in her own bed. I like the comfort and security her routine brings us both (which happens to also lead to 11 hours of her sleeping through the night!)

This morning I read 1 Thessalonians 4:11 which says "Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands..." I think that we have a choice as to how we spend our time. Everyday I am trying my best to learn to lead a quiet life and to be busy at home.

Because when she can do this...

...then we get this...

...and this is just plain cute so I added it :)

O Christmas Tree

It's December 1st and the holidays are officially here! I typically have the tree up and house decorated for Christmas no later than Thanksgiving weekend. But have no fear, the tree went up last night so I am not too far behind. Although I have to say that maybe I should have taken my time instead of rushing to get that darn thing. Let me explain...

Last year was our first married Christmas together and I wanted our house to be perfectly decorated with no details overlooked. I insisted that we put the tree up the Sunday after Thanksgiving which ironically happened to be a cold, dreary, rainstorm of a day. I was not going to let the weather interfere with our Christmas spirit so Travis and I got in the car, tree stand in tote, and headed down to Harmons Tree farm to cut down the exact tree we wanted. After an afternoon of chilling temperatures, wind gusts, and monsoon like rain we brought home an enormous Christmas tree. We actually had to cut off some of the side limbs (the tree was still bagged up at this point) to get it in through our front door! Once inside the house and standing erect, our den looked like the great outdoors. Literally. I guess when you cut down a tree outside and it's standing next to other trees of similar height, you do not notice how large that particular tree is until you get it inside. I almost started crying when Trav cut the ropes and bags off the tree. The limbs shot out like arrows and my nice den suddenly transformed into a greenhouse. Immediately the movie National Lampoons Christmas Vacation came to mind and I just waited to see if a live squirrel was going to leap out of this monstrous tree! If that was not bad enough, over the course a week I had to decorate and redecorate the tree 4 times! Since the tree was so big I had to put countless boxes of lights on it and every few days the lights would trip the circuit and burn out all the lights on the tree. Needless to say I was ready to skip over Christmas and head into New Years!

After all the madness of Christmas '08 I swore that this year we were going to have a smaller, modest size Christmas tree. Well modest it is!

I had visions of me, Travis, and Lucy Mills heading out to pick out her very first Christmas tree for her very first Christmas. Bringing it home, sipping on hot chocolate, decorating our tree, all the while Christmas music softly played in the background. Well let me just say that is not at all what happened!

Lucy Mills was fussy, not napping, and irritated by her tummy troubles yesterday so when Travis got home I said that I would go get the tree just to make it easier on all of us. I didn't make it to Harmon's this year, but I did find myself in Lowe's (yes, they sell Christmas trees). I picked out lights and a few ornaments, had Marty (Lowe's employee) help me put our new tree on top of my car and back home I went. This tree was a lot easier to get in the house. I spent some time last night trimming the tree and I must say that I'm not pleased. I asked Travis if it looked like Charlie Brown's Christmas tree which he proceeded to laugh. I guess that's my answer.

It's not pitiful but I supposed in my fear of getting one that was too big I got one that was too small. It just looks kinda wimpy in the corner where Chevy Chase's tree stood last year. Oh well, I tried! Hopefully next year we will finally have the perfect Christmas tree...or maybe even an artificial one??? I've had it with this comedy!

So here it is...it looks better at night than it does here...
Daddy and Lucy Mills - decked out in her reindeer hat, but looking somewhat like a lumberjack?

sweetness!

I put a blanket down under the tree and let her lay down so that she could see all the lights twinkling...she loved it until Maggie bopped her in the head.

So there it is - at least all the lights are still working and have not burned out this time!