Life of Lils

HELLO AGAIN!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:10:00 +0000

OK... So it has been almost a full half year since I have blogged. Crazy and I am sorry! I figure I need to get back to it because I still have people ask me why I have not blogged.

One reason, and I know it is not justified, is that Lily hates my computer. I must blog and check my email ONLY when she is not around, otherwise, the top of my laptop is shut by her. Another reason is that our camera broke (yes and we still have not gotten another one) and I don't think people want to read my blog with no pictures, we are not that interesting. Which brings me to my last reason, we really are not that interesting so I don't know what to blog about.

But here I am again, back to blogging. A lot has happened since NOVEMBER, which is when I last blogged. Lily has sprouted up like a bean but still has no hair. She has gotten so funny, talking about everything all the time, just like her mommy. I will post pics on the next blog when I get some from my mom (or figure out how to fix the camera). I have started selling clothes on Ebay, in particular new Gymboree clothing, so if you are interested and want a good deal, go to Ebay under kate889 and buy some up! They are just like from the store, but cheaper! Chesley has been the busiest of all of us.... He started graduate school in May and has been really busy with that and work.

OK, that last paragraph just sounded like one of those letters you send out at Christmas to update everyone on your life... what are they "brag letters". Sorry. But that is what we are doing... I am going to try and get back to the blogosphere and write some more, but that is about all I know right now!

Lily's Tea Party

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:14:00 +0000

So Lily just got a table and chairs set in her room so she could play tea party. Maggie was her first guest! Lily is an entertainer already and a good host!

Hope everyone is having a great Friday!

Poor Maggie!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 22:44:00 +0000

As I mentioned before, we have 2 dogs, Maggie and Harlie. We have had Maggie our entire marriage (which will be 6 years November 30! Time flies by!) and have had Harlie four years. Maggie is a purebred Golden Retriever and Harlie is a beagle mix. Harlie had some issues when we first got her and continues to have them, though they are not as bad. Maggie is SO hyper, even at her age, and has never met a stranger... She loves anyone. Harlie, however, does not like strangers at all and you are lucky if she meets you and likes you. So they are pretty opposite personalities.

Even though they have their differences, Maggie and Harlie stick together. They are ALWAYS with one another. Now that they have a little "sister" (Lily) I will admit that they are not quite as spoiled as they used to be. They stay outside during the day and pretty much only come inside to sleep. Oh yeah, they used to sleep in our bedroom as well, but that stopped the night we brought Lily home from the hospital. Once all 5 of us got in our tiny little bedroom, I think they knew that it was time for them to sleep somewhere else... Then when Lily cried for the first time that night, they just left the bedroom, went into the den and that is where they sleep now.

ANYWAYS... Enough background history about my dogs and onto the real story. Like all sisters, Maggie and Harlie get in little arguments sometimes. I mean, how can you spend that much time with another person (or dog, in this matter) without fighting? So last night, around 7:00ish, I heard them fighting, but thought nothing of it because usually their fights end quickly with no injuries... Well at about 8:00 Chesley goes to lock the back door and he finds Maggie sitting there with blood everywhere... Seriously it looked like a murder scene. We found several places on Maggie where we thought there was injury, so we decided to take Maggie to the All-Night Vet down the street. Actually, just Chesley took her. The vet figured out there was only one open wound, and that was where all the blood was coming from, the bottom of her ear. So she had surgery. She was supposed to stay the night, but she was too nervous to spend the night there, so I had to go get her at about 11 last night.

She isn't doing much better today... She has the cone around her head and a big bandage, but I think she will make it. She has been moping around all day because she has to stay inside. Of course Lily just loves that she has a new playmate. Usually, Maggie is too hyper for Lily to be around by herself but they have been great together today. Here are some pics of her...

Lake Guntersville

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:24:00 +0000

Last weekend we took the Berryman family annual trip to Lake Guntersville. We go with 2 of my mother in laws sisters and their families. We usually go to Tim's Ford in Tennessee, but this was a GREAT place that we went instead. Now at Tim's Ford, we would have 3 different cabins for each family, but this year we rented a house so everyone could stay together. The house was incredible. It was two log cabins combined to make one huge house. I will admit I was a bit nervous because included in the group was a 4 year old, a 3 year old, Lily and Chesley's cousin's triplets.

The triplets were really good about sleeping, but Lily did not do too well, I think there was too much excitement that she was not used to, seeing that she stays in our quiet little house with just Chesley, me and the dogs. With the triplets it was go go go the entire time! Like I have said before, there is a special place in heaven for parents with multiples. They were great though... I am so glad we have them since Lily is an only grandchild on both sides so far, so she loves playing with her triplet cousins! We are actually about to go over there now. Here are some pics from the trip...

Grocery Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 13:14:00 +0000

Lily has always been a big fan of the grocery store and is usually quite happy sitting in the cart and looking around at everything. My mother and mother in law have both taken Lily in the little car while shopping. The first time my mother in law took her and Lily PITCHED A FIT about getting out. The pic above was taken my mom and she got out just fine. Maybe they stayed a bit longer.

We are back!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 22:59:00 +0000

Hello! No, we have not gone away somewhere or fallen off the face of the earth... I have just been a BAD blogger the past couple of months. I am not even going to try to make excuses because everyone else I am sure is just as busy as I am, if not more. My one big excuse though, is I do not have any pictures from the past few months because I have a cheap camera that no longer will download pictures to my computer. I think I have figured out a way to download them now, so my next post I will have some to share.

Well, a little update from the Hugheses... Lily turned 16 months yesterday!!!! It is amazing how much she has grown, each and every day it seems like she is saying something or doing something new. She was a late walker, didn't start until she was about 15 months old... I attribute this to the way that she crawled. She crawled with one leg under her and actually scooted on her butt. She was FAST! Sometimes when she really wants to get somewhere fast she converts back to her crawl. But she is walking everywhere now and in to everything. Luckly she knows the word no pretty well, so she knows not to get into too many things.

The other big thing about Lily is that she is a TALKER!!! I was talking to someone at church the other day who had never met Lily and I said Lily was a late walker... The woman proceeded to tell me that late walkers are usually big talkers. This is a HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT for Lily. She talks constantly. The only time she doesn't talk is when she is asleep. Even while playing by herself she constantly is talking. (Wonder where that came from??? Maybe 9 months of being in my tummy listening to me???) In addition to her "Lily language" she has a huge vocabulary. She copies anything that you say, so her big things right now are War Eagle (not that that is helping this year), ball, swing, dada, mama, papa, baby, dog and paul. Yep, Uncle Paul made it first of all the aunts and uncles. She is just learning her Js, so John and Jenn Jenn are starting to be said more often. She even does what we call "Lily cussing", when she gets mad. She will just start talking in a mean voice to you.

Other news from us... Chesley's grandfather, Papaw Flur, who we have talked about and shown pictures of on our blog, passed away in September. It was really sad, but I am so thankful that Lily was able to have him in her life, if even for a short time.

Also, I have taken up a new hobby and hopefully will start a business with it soon. I purchased an embroidery machine a few months ago and LOVE it. Haven't done too much with it because I really just started understanding it really well. I also have started sewing so hopefully can do some of that as well. I have started an Etsy site but haven't put anything on it quite yet. I will definately let you all know about it soon.

Well I am going to work on getting some pics up, my next post may just be pictures from the last few months!

Hope all are doing well and would love to hear from some of you!!!

Lily's First Birthday!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:24:00 +0000

Hi!!! Long time no write! Sorry I have been so MIA lately... I had a small surgery, that went very well, but took a little more time to recover than expected, then the entire Hughes/Goodman clan came down with the tummy bug, So right after I recouped from my surgery I had to bug, now Lily has it. But anyways, miraculously, NO ONE WAS SICK for Lily's WONDERFUL 1st birthday! We had a great time. My parents just built a house in Mentone Alabama, so my mom, dad, Chesley, Lily, me, Chesley's brothers John and Paul, Paul's girlfriend Lauren and David and Cathy all spent the weekend up there for a family birthday! Jennifer and Todd were unable to come because of prior commitments, but we will be having another family get together with them, my grandparents and my aunt and cousins this weekend. The next weekend we are going to have a Kids Party at KidsGym. Cannot wait!!! It was great. Seeing that Lily was born the day after the 4th, our annual crazy beach trips have come to a halt for a while :(, but celebrating her and how wonderful this year has been was incredible. Chesley and I still look at her in amazement that Lily is actually OUR child!!! This year has been a whirlwhind of emotions, I have had the most amazing moments of my life along with the most down moments of my life this year (because of my PPD), but we are getting through it and it gets better each day.

Well, I do not have all my pics organized to post yet, but PROMISE I will today! It looks like I haven't posted since June 17, so I have a lot to catch up on. Well, Lils did not make it to her first birthday as a walker, but she JUST needs that boost of confidence!!!!! She is standing on her own, but then just sits back down. We have taught her to do the wave, where she will stand up and raise her hands, then sit back down. So whichever game we do decide to take her to this year, I hope they do the wave. Well, we are friends enough with our section, that we can have our own section wave just for her. Another one of her "tricks" is to "give love". You say to her "Give daddy love" or "Love on Aunt Jenn Jenn" or something like that and she will hug you real tight and give you her impression of a kiss which is actually just a big mouth wide open! So Flash (John's dog) joined us as well in Mentone and Lils and Flash were were playing on the porch and we said, "Lils, give Flash love".....

I cannot believe she is one! Yesterday when she was sick, she let me hold her like a baby. For all you new moms out there, don't take advantage of this!!!! It is the most precious moment between a mother and a baby. Most the time it is just go go go!!!!

OK, There is one funny story about the birthday party that I have pics for. Since we initially had not planned on a big party, I decided to go all out on a cake, get it custom made, everything. So as most of you know, I worked at Klinger's in high school and still know the cake baker and everyone pretty well. So she made me a cake that was three tiers, in squares caddy cornered (like those Allison Wonderland cakes), the lowest the largest, with white icing and pink decoration. The middle in purple with white decoration. And the top as "Lily's piece" in pink (of course) with white decoration. Well, Edith (the WONDERFUL cake baker at Klingler's) had it for me to see when I got there and it was AWESOME... just as expected. This was Thursday, to be used for Saturday and I told her I had to travel with it that afternoon to Mentone. Well, she packed it up for me and gave me insructions to lay it flat and freeze it once we got there until Saturay morning. Well, my mother and I decided not to leave until Friday morning, so we move the cake from my car to my parent's freezer, then moved it back again to the car Friday morning. Well when we got to mentone, this is what the bottom layer looked like....

Of course it was still wonderful, just not put together quite right. So I did some work on the top two layers, which gives NO justice to the original AT ALL, I still HIGHLY recommend Klinger's for their cakes, just go in there and look and you will see what I mean. But as an unskilled cake decorator, this is what we ended up with. Not bad, seeing that she just grabbed on it anyways!

I will say I loved all of Lily's presents but Gram's was the cuteset and most creative. She did an A - Z book of all Lily's first year and it is adorable. I am going to try to scan some in, because you all will just love it!!!

I will have some b'day pics up soon! Hope you are all doing well! BTW... if you are looking for some cute B'day supplies, they have adorable stuff at Klingler's, I got this cake plate for a great price and they had someother really really cute b'day stuff as well!!!

Dear Lily... Great night with the Great Grandparents

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:44:00 +0000

Dear Lily,
You are so precious, happy and make everyone smile. Today we went to Atlanta see your great grandparents, Grandmother Lily (who you were named after) and Grandfather Ralph. I am sitting in the room next to you as you sleep at their house right now. The joy you have brought into our lives is amazaing... And the joy that you bring into others is as well. I feel terrible, we have not come to visit Grandmother and Grandfather near as much as we should... but it was like you somehow knew they were your grandparents. You immediately took to Grandfather Ralph and he immediately took to you. He LOVED you! Grandmother said it was the first time in a long time that he has interacted with anyone or anything in a very long time. Y'all played ball, counted toes and just had a great time together. As squirmy as you have been lately, it has been hard for me to get you to sit still and give me a hug or kiss, but you wanted Grandfather to hold you and cuddle. You definately have a bond! We love you little miss and I am so happy for all the wonderful opportunities that you get to have with your family members... generation after generation!

Love you Miss Lils... Mommy

Father's Day - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:03:00 +0000

So what prompted me to buy the redneck plastic above ground pool? My boredom on Saturday while Chesley and his brother John played with machinery. They were doing something to our backyard... Hey Father's Day Weekend... Let boys be boys all weekend long! Anyways... Lily did get her first ride on a tractor (backhoe, excavator, whatever)... Thought it was cute!

"I love the smell of plastic pools in the summer"

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:07:00 +0000

Quote - Chesley Hughes, Father's Day 2008

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!! Yes, Chesley really did say that. Hilarious. It was in context of our father's day activity we planned for the day. Yesterday we decided we needed more than a plastic baby pool to play in... we needed a bigger plastic pool that we could all play in. So after a trip to Wal-Mart with Laura, Lily and I got Chesley what I know he has always wanted for Father's day... An above ground 8 ft. wide, 3 foot high plastic pool...

The happy family that inspired us to buy this pool... The dad looks like Jim from The Office and the mom looks like Vannessa Hudgins. Don't they look so happy?

So Ches set out to set up our pool. It took more tools and was a bit more complicated than the box let on. Of course. Hey, this thing has a pump!

So the pool finally retained enough water for us to play... Lily was able to get in her float and I actually got on my float as well as soon as the water was deep enough. Here are some pics. Yes, the three of us did get in at the same time, but there was no one to take our pic (and I was NOT about to ask the neighbor).
So needless to say, we all enjoyed our first "real" father's day (I guess you could say this was Chesley's 2nd since Lils was about 2 weeks from being born, but this is the first one she was with us in person). Hope you all had a great Father's Day as well!

Dear Lily... Plastic Pools

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 11:52:00 +0000

Dear Little Miss Lily....
So yesterday evening your Grandmother, Grandfather and I got the plastic pool out so you could play outside (IT HAS BEEN HOT... I feel bad for all you other pregnant girls out there right now... I was in your shoes last year and this may year may even be worse!). I was unsure you were going to be that into it because you had a huge day yesterday. We woke up early to meet Jennifer R., Tate, Jennifer N. and Drew. Drew has a lot of girlfriends, so you are going to have to fight to get his attention. You and Tate played so well together. (Tate is 6 weeks older than you... I hope that you and Tate stay friends for a long long time.) I think you are finally starting to interact really well with others your age. Well, you and Tate were on a mission... I don't know what type of mission, but you were on one. Jennifer and I chased y'all around the coffee shop, probably complained at the time, but quickly remember how lucky we are to have such active, healthy babies.

Well, if that were not enough for one morning... At 10 a.m. we started your summer session of Kids Gym. We haven't been since March and as soon as you saw the place, your legs started kicking and you were ready!!! I had to sign you up for the "walkers" class because the "infants" class was at a time we couldn't go to. You had no problem keeping up with the walkers... Your little crawl/stand/walk kept up with all of them (I HAVE GOT TO GET THAT DOWNLOADED ON VIDEO... you has the funniest, cutest crawl ever and I am going to miss it if I wait too much l0nger.) Well, your current 2 obsessions are dogs and balls. You wake up in the morning asking for your ball. Then walk to the window and scream out for the dogs. I had forgotten about the ball pit at KidsGym. But you QUICKLY found it and I had to force you to leave it to do the other activities. (For those of you needing a visual... it is like those big pits of balls that they have a Chuck E. Cheese... quite fun, Mrs. Wendy at KidsGym lets adults get in them as well!)

You slept a lot of the afternoon, but when you woke up you were ready to go again so we pulled the plastic pool out. You had a blast!!!!! Your first favorite thing to do was kick your legs... We may have a little swimmer out there!!! You loved the splash it made.

The next thing you figured out to do was to slide around on your tummy. I kind of looked like a slip and slide move (which you will not be able to do when you get older... I knocked out a tooth doing it once... here comes my strict mommy side! I guess Daddy, Uncle John and Uncle Paul can let you do that while I am not looking.) You are SO adorable.
We had a fun first pool adventure today Miss Lils. You are a little pistol... You never stop! After the pool last night you were not the least bit tired and wanted to play with puppets. I love your energy (even though sometimes it zaps mine), your love for exploring new things and your never ending happiness about life! In your short time on earth so far (11 months to the day!) you have taught me so much! The world through your eyes must be so exciting and I love to see how enthusiastic you are about living it to the fullest!

Well, I am about to wake you up for another fun filled day! Grams is coming this afternoon to keep you while Aunt Jenn Jenn and I go to a Baron's game with church. Daddy is out of town again tonight, so we will miss him... but that is just part of having a job in Georgia!!!!

Love You Lily Marie and cannot wait to see what life brings us today!
Mommy

Dear Lily... Great Grandparents

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:21:00 +0000

Dear Lily...
Well Sunday, you and I attended our first family reunion on your daddy's side of the family. I THINK it was your first family reunion ever, I cannot think of another one you may have attended, but I know this was the first one of daddy's we have ever gone to. This reunion was the Berryman reunion... which is Grams' side of the family.

The best part of the reunion is your interaction with Pa Paw Flur, Grams' dad, which makes him your great-grandfather. Now let me just tell you, Pa Paw Flur does not take to just anyone. But he LOVES you. Even though Pa Paw is not my blood grandfather, he has become very special to me as well. He is 92 and has many stories to tell. He is a very special man to your grandmother, your dad and to me. Actually, your middle name comes from his wife, Marie, who passed away before I got to meet her.

As I said before, Pa Paw loves you. I loved to watch him interact with you. It makes him so happy. He absolutely loved giving you water and was really good at it (I, on the other hand am not that great at it... later that day I spilt it all over you!) He smiled and laughed the entire time.

Now Pa Paw's memory is not that great, but later that day he was talking about you to one of Grams' sisters. He kept saying that he played with you while you sat in your wheelchair. The below picture is one of my favorite. He LOVED playing ball with you. It makes me so happy to know that you get to spend this special time with him and that he enjoys it as well!
So back to the reunion... Your grandmother is one of 11 children. He has first 18 cousins on that side. Only 5 made it to the reunion so that puts it in perspective of how many family members you actually have. Well, they started taking pictures down the line... first cousins, second cousins, then third cousins... which would be your generation. I have never seen anything like this. I am sure this is not a full picture, but here is a picture of you and some of your third cousins. I think it hilarious that you actually have a picture with all these people. You may never meet them again...
Well Miss Lils... Your first family reunion was a successful one! My favorite part was seeing you and Pa Paw Flur together. I think it is very important for you to spend as much time as possible with Pa Paw Flur, Grandmother and Grandfather (Grandmama's parents), and Pa Paw Bill and Ma Maw (Papa's parents). I only knew one of my great grandparents...Mimi, and I actually have tiny memories of her. Your great grandparents love you so much, even the ones in heaven (Grandfather's parents, Granny, who I was lucky enough to know until 4th grade, and Grandpa, who I never knew)... just like your grandparents and your parents and your aunt and uncles!!!!!

Love you my little snugglebug! Mommy

Out with the old... In with the new!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:22:00 +0000

So a few weeks ago I was faced with a very important decision. I needed to decide if my Lily was ready for a Toddler seat. All signs pointed to yes. However, I was reluctant in doing this because a year ago, in my pregnancy blinded mind, I bought "THE BEST" car seat that would last "THE LONGEST" because it held up to 23 lbs. Forget the length... I did not even take a second look at that. So there I was one year later with a baby who looked absolutely miserable in her little 23 lb. car seat (she is 17 lbs., which is 5th percentile in weight, but a whopping 29 inches, which is 95th in height) and decided to relieve her of her misery. This is what she looked like.

Big change from the day we brought her home from the hospital in the SAME EXACT seat...

So the seat has seen many happy times with us over the past 12 months. We have carried her out of the hospital in it.... we have gone to engagement parties and weddings in it... and have even suffered through some illnesses in it. But the time has come. We have graduated to a bigger, roomier, much more comfy seat! Lily likes it, I like it because it swivels, so we are all happy!

Mommy's Night Alone

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 04:09:00 +0000

So John and Ches went fishing in Decatur tonight and took Lily with them (Yay for excited uncles wanting to hang out with their precious little niece. So I have had an absolutely WONDERFUL night watching movies on the couch. Actually, my night included the afternoon as well. The only time I have gotten up was to go gorge myself on Fried Ravioli from Leonardo's with Laura. Tomorrow we will join the Hughes family in North AL for the Berryman family reunion.

I NEVER watch movies. Today I have watched 3!!! I usually do not even have the patience for one, but with the invention of DVR and TiVo I have been able to control my ADD enough to watch a movie. So... In order of favorites, first being the least favorite... 27 dresses (still good), P.S. I Love You (chessy but good) and August Rush. Oh my gosh LOVED it... It was Laura's second viewing and she still loved it.

Be on the lookout for those few nights I may have like this again... Western now rents movies for $1 a night. So I may become a big movie fan.

Have a great Sunday everyone... Enjoy the day.. supposed to be nice!

Dear Lily.... Weaning from the bottle

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Sat, 31 May 2008 19:51:00 +0000

A friend of mine and an old high school classmate of Chesley's, Ginny Pylant, has given me a wonderful idea of a blog post. She has two beautiful daughters and treats her blog as a journal to them... things they did that day to make her smile, her feelings and thoughts she had that day about being a mom, etc. It is a great blog.

One thing I have been working on is journaling because I feel so much better after I do it and my therapist has said that it should help with my PPD. The way I journal is by writing letters. So who knows, I may have written a letter to you sometime:) Kidding, they are mostly just to family members and my self. I have been journaling separately from this, but would like to share some of my letters to Lily every once in awhile on the blog so she will know the love that her dad and her have for her. Thanks Ginny for this wonderful idea!!!

Dear Lily,
One of my most favorite times that I have had with you since you have been born is feeding you. Especially the first 8 months when I nursed. But still, when giving you a bottle, you still let me "hold you like a baby" and we still look into each others eyes until you (or I) fall asleep. This has been a very special time for daddy because he always gives you your last bottle while rocking you asleep.

Unfortunately these times are coming to an end... You are such an inquisitive little girl and always need to know what is going on around you! So it has been harder and harder for me to have all of your attention, there is so much energy for you to share. Another thing is that you are learning how to use a sippy cup, so you can actually give yourself your bottle!!!! This is both positive and negative. Positive in that when we are running late (like always), I can just hand you your bottle in the backseat and off we go. Negative in that our special feeding times are coming to an end.

I am going to treasure each feeding time I have with you from now on because soon you will be doing it on your own, like many things that we have worked so hard for since the day you were born.

I love you my little bugleboo.... Mommy

Beach Trip Pics...

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Sat, 31 May 2008 04:22:00 +0000

The Goodman Family (notice the Dora ball has to be in the picture)

So it is Friday night and I think we have FINALLY recovered from the beach! We had a great time... but it was non-stop! As I said before, we go with 30 people so there is never a dull moment. This is the 6th year that we go and several traditions have come about from them. One of the most popular is our luau night, which we have the day of the Bocce Cup. I have never participated in the tournament (you know how athletically inclined I am) but Lily seemed to be a fan of the bocce balls. Every time we would put her on the beach she would be crawling over to the balls. So beware other beach goers, we may have a future bocce winner in the future! A bocce trophy was introduced last year and the winners get their names engraved (taped) on the trophy. I forgot who won this year, so someone remind me and I will post it. Here is a pic of Lily and her bocce balls...

On our way to the bocce ball court

Found the balls!!!!

Yummy!!!!

Another popular tradition that we have is "favorite food" night. This began in 2002. We each wrote down our favorite meal, put it in a hat, drew the meal and had to guess who's meal it was. The last meal to be drawn would be prepared for the next year food night. The person had to come up with a theme for the night as well. Well, all my life my favorite meal has been tereyaki chicken, fried okra and Kraft macaroni and cheese. Well last year I was eight months pregnant, throwing up all day every day and did not have a taste for anything. So I put steak and potatoes. Not that I don't like steak and potatoes, just not my favorite meal. So of course I win. Without my favorite meal. And the thing is, I cannot put my name back in the hat until ALL names have been chosen, which may be 45 years from now!!!! So we have steak and potatoes (plus I begged my mom for the macaroni and cheese just because that was a brain lapse or something that completely messed me up). I also had to choose a theme so I chose tailgate theme. The ONLY reason I chose this is because I wanted to get Lily a Giants Eli Manning jersey and needed to have an excuse for her to wear it. I am a huge Manning family fan. Especially Eli. So cute. So I ordered one for her and she looked absolutely adorable. Here are some pics from the night....

We Love Eli Manning!

Anna & Lily... best dressed of the night!

Last year we also began an obsession with guitar hero... Well, I became obsessed with it. If I had one of these in my own home it would be trouble. I absolutely love the game. Maybe it goes back to my American Idol obsession.

These were the amatures... me at guitar, Rick singing, Michael at bass and Kathryn doing drums (notice the crowd laughing at us)

I once tried to sing and play guitar at the same time (not easy). Maybe this is why I didn't make the American Idol cut.

Michael passing it on to the next generation... watch out world!!!

The rest of the trip was great! It seems like each year we start counting the days down until the next year before the trip was even over. Lily was somewhat of a fan of the beach, but when she was ready to go, she was ready to go. She would put her whole head in the sand then start rubbing her eyes and crying... That is when we knew it was time. But she had a great time, especially with Anna and Finn. She also LOVED Mr. Nebrig and Mr. Reed and really had a thing for Parker as well. Thank goodness she is just one... she loves those boys! Here are some pics from the trip. There will be more... I broke my USB cable to transfer pictures so do not have all of them, but these are some cute ones!

My Favorite...

Jordan, Lily and me...

Finn showing Lily how to get places she probably does not need to be :)

Lily and Aunt Jenn Jenn chillin' at the beach

Cousins Anna and Finn relaxing between beach trips!

History of the "beach trip"

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Tue, 27 May 2008 18:06:00 +0000

For some reason I cannot get my pictures from the beach to upload, so I decided to do a post on our beach group and how it came to be.

Sometime a long time ago (maybe 1995-96, I was in high school) four couples, the Reeds, the Goodmans, the Howards and the Nebrigs, won an auction at church for a weekend at a beach house. No kids, just adults. They would come back with these strange tales about trips to Bingo parlors and dances they had made up to YMCA (for anyone who was at my wedding, you know what I am talking about). No kids went for a few years, then kids started going every once in awhile.

2002 became the big trip when all the family members made it. When we first started going, there were 5 in our family... Pat, Charles, Jennifer, me and Chesley (we were engaged), 5 in the Reed family... Rick, Natalie (whose blog is here), Shelby and her boyfriend at the time Mike Thompson and Nick, 4 in the Howard family... Kent, Lisa, Jordan and Patricia and 6 in the Nebrig Family... Janet, Al, Emily (her husband Troy could not come), Michael and Krista Shands (who were engaged at the time) and Kathryn. Total of 19 people.

Skip to 2006... We added and deleted people through the years, but 2006 our group seems like it doubled. By this time, the Goodman family had grown to 7 (cousins Michael & Mareda joined us). The Reed family really expanded to 9... Rick married Susan Grissom the year before, so she joined us along with her sons Parker and Peyton, who brought along his friend Matt. Shelby and Mike had also married in 2003. The Howard family stayed at 4. The Nebrig family had a big 2006 and expanded to 8 people... In January 2006 Michael and Krista had baby Finn and in February 2006 Emily and Troy had baby Anna. So total of 28 people.

2007 we decided to add another "apartment" because we had a total of 29 people. Mareda did not come, but we added Jennifer's boyfriend Todd Jackson and Katherine's boyfriend Rusty Herring. The apartment was especially nice for me because I was 8 months pregnant and was able to SLEEP!!!!

So this year we have two houses. We added Lily but Peyton was unable to come so we have stayed at 29 people. Rusty and Katherine are engaged, Nick is engaged to Kathy Wolfe (who was unable to make it because she is in China) and Krista is 14 weeks pregnant with Finn's little brother or sister. The above picture is this year's group!

So we know the count for 2009 with at least be 32 (with the addition of Peyton, Kathy and baby Nebrig). And who knows... maybe more!

I will do a good post on this when I figure out how to upload my pics... But for now, here is a cute pic of the babies of the group on the beach.

Off to the beach!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:32:00 +0000

First off... thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers during my most recent hospital stay related to my post partum depression. I had some medication problems that needed to be sorted out in the hospital and LUCKILY I was able to make it a quick trip and will still be able to go to the beach tomorrow! I knew this was going to be a rough road and that there would be down times, but I really felt like I had this under control, and out of nowhere it hits you. But that is where my wonderful friends have come in to help. Thank you so much... especially Jennifer R., you have been such a wonderful friend to me in this whole process and if I do not tell you enough, I appreciate everything that you do for me and value our friendship more than you know. And thank you to my parents and Chesley, who I quite frankly have put through hell the past few months and they have been patient and understanding. I love you all so much.

SOOOO... Here we are, beach eve. Do not worry, I will have my computer so hopefully both Krista and I can upload pics from the beach. Cannot wait!!!! I am all packed up for Lily... So excited with all her adorable outfits!!!! It will be a blast... and a very needed relaxing vacation for us all!

Looking Outwawrd... (We are going to let her back in:)

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:38:00 +0000

Busy Weekend and good news!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:04:00 +0000

Of course I have misplaced my camera (AGAIN)... actually I know where it is, I left it at Jennifer's house during Tate's birthday party. But I wanted to link to Jennifer's blog so you could all see HOW CUTE and fun the birthday party was... Here is the link. It was absolutely ADORABLE... a farm party theme with farm animal balloons, hats, everything!!! It was fun for everyone! I will download some pictures of mine when I get my camera.

Another piece of good news, as some of you may or may not know, I had melanoma about 6 years ago. It was so deep that they had to take some lymph nodes out, but thank goodness it had not spread any further. This was SUCH a blessing because melanoma is one of the fastest spreading cancers and usually people do not even know they had melanoma before it had spread. Well I had several surgeries a 6 years ago this fall, and since there were lymph nodes involved, I have had to go to the oncologist each year for a full body scan and blood work. Since I was pregnant then nursing for so long, I have had to postpone my scan until I was no longer nursing. Well today I went and got the clear... I am officially on the books for being cancer free!!! So no more oncologist appointments ever again! Great news for our families... Just one more way that God has blessed us!

I promise I will have some pictures tonight or tomorrow. I have become a bit of a slacker here and I apologize. I will be back to my normal blogging self soon!

Missed Everyone!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Fri, 16 May 2008 03:03:00 +0000

Hi! Sorry I have not posted in so long... I have had an awful sinus infection all week long and I have done been doing well just to take care of Lily, not to mention get on a computer and blog. But today I finally started feeling better. It did kind of scare me a bit though. Ever since my PPD (post partum depression) issue, every time I feel the least bit "not normal", I do start to worry. And so does everyone around me. I am so scared sometimes that I am going to go back to that place. But thank goodness I did not this time, I really just was sick. The depression is just something I am going to have to struggle with for awhile... baby steps is what Chesley tells me. Most people do not know this, but you are still highly susceptible to having PPD up until a year after you give birth. Most people think you can only have it right afterwards, that is why it is ignored. So I have about 2 more months to be on "watch", which means I have to go to the doctor often and could really have a relapse. It has been a struggle for us all, some days I wake up still and do not want to be here, but through dealing with my problem and with support, I have really done well.

On to brighter subjects... Congrats to Michael, Krista and Finn!!!! We found out the great news that they were expecting a baby Thanksgiving day! So next week at the beach we will have much to celebrate! And this weekend Lily has her first birthday party to go to.... Tate is turning one! We are also going to Doo Dah Day (I guess with the dogs... they loved it last year) to see some of Chesley's old co-workers. So be on the lookout for some pictures next week. Hope everyone has a great Friday!!!

Lily's first trip to the beach

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:45:00 +0000

Gotcha! This picture was actually of Lily's first "official" trip to the beach last Memorial Day. With our yearly beach trip coming up, I thought I would do something I promised I would never do and post a picture of me pregnant. This is actually one of the only, and definately the LAST picture I have of me preggers. I guess I was about 8 months along here. I got A LOT bigger and refused to have my picture taken.

I actually do wish I had taken a picture right before she was born so I can remember how big I actually was. Actually, the picture I wish I had was the night of 4th of July. As you all know, Lily was born the 5th of July, but we actually went into the hospital the 3rd and waited around until the 5th to be induced and have her. It was funny because a bunch of couples came to the hospital either the night of the 3rd or the 4th, but no one went into actual labor so a doctor never had to come in, so they never induced anyone on the 4th. Then they induced everyone the 5th, but no one actually had their baby until about 6:00 that night (me, 7:27 p.m., which meant 13 hours of labor). But going back to the picture that I wish I had (of course we forgot our camera, relying on everyone else the next day to have theirs... only I would forget to pack my camera for the birth of my child). So anyways, in Birmingham each year they have Thunder on the Mountain each 4th of July, which is a fireworks show that you can watch from many places in Birmingham and they put it to music on WZZK. I have been going to this since high school. Well, one of the best places to watch the show is right outside the labor and delivery ward of Brookwood Hospital. So guess what they did... They let all the pregnant people and their families wheel outside and watch the show. Of course we were all hooked up to medicine and all that, so we each had to be in a wheelchair. It would have been one of the funniest pictures ever, imagine about 10 girls about to give birth the next day and their families all sitting outside the hospital watching a fireworks show. Hilarious. But a great memory for Chesley and me.

As we prepare for our annual Memorial Day trip I think back to last year. Lily hated the water. She didn't really move around much during the day... she was a night baby and would start to move at about 7:00 p.m. each night (and boy did she move, I am the only person I know that had an actual visible bruise on my rib where she would kick constantly... She also got her foot lodged in my rib and had to have it pushed out by the doctor). But I would get in the water and she would start to go crazy. My stomache would be jumping everywhere. We will see how she likes it this year. Today I bought some baby toys for the beach and a little float for the pool... I cannot wait!!!

This actually will not be Lily's first trip to the beach. Last November we went to Brian and Kristen's wedding down in Seaside. The picture below was taken by their photographer, Sheila Goode, which is just adorable. But this will be her first time to actually play in the sand and the water. I am so excited!!!! We go each year with 3 other families, so there will be two other little ones, Anna and Finn, who are cousins about a year and a half older than Lily. They have been to the beach with us twice and I am sure they will be more than excited to show Lily the ropes! Can't wait!

Family Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:41:00 +0000

Like I promised, here are some pictures that Laura took Tuesday night... This is the first batch... We needed some updated family pics, I think the last one we had was from her baptism in January! More to come!!!!

Goodbye Jason... I called it

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Thu, 08 May 2008 02:07:00 +0000

I called it, it was obvious. I think everyone knew he was gone. I am not even going to post a picture of him because it would not be worth it if I broke some copyright law or something. I would take that risk on either David, but not Jason.

OK... so what was up with Jason Cook and his guitar back pack on the plane? That thing was huge. Was he carrying everyone's guitar? Did he need his guitar with him on the ride just in case he was suddenly inspired to play some Jimmy Hendrix while in the air? I think the guy's hair has gotten to him.

So I have to be honest... with the results shows, I fast forward through the majority of the crap that they do and just stop for the results. But I did watch Bo Bice, I guess because he is from Birmingham (or officially, Helena, since they did not want to say Birmingham, Reuben's hometown.) I just cannot believe that he almost beat Carrie Underwood... Look where she is now.

I know I am obsessed. My blog obviously didn't make it to some important person's hands because I did not get any free tickets to the American Idol final. Until next week, that is all I have to say about my favorite show of all time.

Stay At Home Mom

noreply@blogger.com (Katie Hughes) — Wed, 07 May 2008 17:26:00 +0000

Whoever coined the words "stay at home mom" really wasn't thinking. I cannot think of another word to describe the position, so I guess I cannot really say anything, but some days I feel like we never stay at home. Especially since Lily has given up her morning nap. For all you other moms out there, you know that your day revolves around a schedule and the only real "free time" you have is during naps. Well, Lily now only naps at 2 in the afternoon, but takes a pretty long one so we are good. But that is about the only time there is to do other chores like paying bills, cleaning, laundry, etc. I am lucky because Lily does go to Mother's Day Out, but those hours fly by and I rarely get to be at home because I am running other errands.

Anyways, back to my point about stay at home moms, I am extremely lucky to be able to stay at home with Lily. We have such fun days... but rarely we are at home! We are running errands, having playdates or going to Kindermusik or Kids Gym. And today I think it caught up with poor Lily. Lily is such a great baby that I can take her anywhere. So of course with my new exercise habit, I am taking her to the gym day care while I swim. Then I sneak a shower in there as well because honestly that is a lot easier than taking a shower at home with her running around. So this morning we had to go to the grocery store after breakfast (at 8:30), then went to the gym, then immediately went to Kindermusik. Well, the gym must have WORN HER OUT because once we got to music she wanted nothing to do with it and she usually loves it. (And it didn't help that during free play we blew bubbles and I accidentally blew a bubble right in her eye.) So she was completely worn out. To tell you the truth I was worn out too.

Being a mother has changed everything. It especially has changed my respect for ALL moms, whether they are stay at home or working moms. I have always had a great amount of respect for working moms, having worked for women who had children and watching them juggle all the demands of work and motherhood. In fact, if you had asked me a year and a half ago if I would work once I had children I would have said yes. And I respect these mothers even more now first hand how demanding motherhood can be. But being a stay at home mom has made me have a great amount of respect for those who choose to stay at home as well. As we all know, it is a job in itself. Babies don't just find things to do for themselves during the day and chores don't just get done. We have all have huge job to do... Raise a child! So early happy mothers day to all. This mom is about to take advantage of nap time to work on bills!

(And by the way, Laura did come over yesterday and took some GREAT pictures! I just need to organize them on photobucket to make an album, hopefully will do that tonight!)

Oh yeah, and for those of you asking "If stay at home moms are so busy, why does Katie spend so much time blogging?" Good question. I have found that I blog more for me than for anyone else. With not as much "adult time" as I used to get, blogging is like journaling for me and has kind of become a quiet time activity for me. I did begin doing it to keep everyone updated on our lives, but now I find it relaxing. Hey, we all have to do something for ourselves each day too, right?