Eli's first fish

We took Eli fishing on Halloween weekend. We went to a pond where Dad works sometimes and happens to be by grandfather's birthplace. Papa, Dad, Troyce, and Chris and me were all there. Eli was very interested in what the long poles were doing in the water. Chris and Dad baited his pole and threw it out into the water. Then they let Eli hold the pole. It wasn't a matter of seconds before a fish took the bait and Eli and Boo were in a battle with a fish. We were laughing so hard the whole time because of the odds that Eli's first seconds holding a fishing pole would produce a fish! Eli watched the whole process and was fascinated by the fish. It was as big as he was!! It was a sweet little moment I was glad I captured on camera.

Halloween Monster

This Halloween Eli dressed as a monster and went to visit Baldwin Elem. and his Nene and Boo's house. He loved his outfit and looked at his hands often. We didn't go trick-or-treating because another little monster inside Mommy's tummy was making her feel horrible! Poor Eli...it was a laid back Halloween. He didn't even have a pumpkin this year. But he did get to try a piece of candy.

happy birthday chris akridge!

well, today my hubby turned the big 2-9. yes, he is younger to me...don't rub it in! in honor of his birthday, i will follow in my fellow blogging friends' footsteps and give 29 reasons why i love my hubby so much.
1. he makes me laugh
2. he is "my list" to the tee.
3. he is much more than my list...he exceeded all my expectations of a husband.
4. he leads our family spiritually.
5. he prays with eli and me every night.
6. he is a good dancer. he even has a couple of original dance moves which he has named.
7. he says, "i'm sorry" more than he needs to.
8. he drives a ford focus.
9. he wants me to stay at home with our children.
10. he loves sports.
11. he is a great story-teller.
12. he can't throw anything away...not even old white t-shirts.
13. he picks up the slack around here when things are tough for me.
14. he sees my needs and meets them.
15. he is tender-hearted.
16. but he is also "mean" if he has to be. (for lack of a better word...its late)
17. he can't keep a surprise very well.
18. he sits by me on the couch when we watch tv even though i know he is uncomfortable.
19. he loves being outside.
20. he likes to hunt and fish.
21. he is an alabama fan. (hey, it could be MUCH worse...he could cheer for an orange team.)
22. he is great at managing our money.
23. he is a cheap-o.
24. he is by the book and constant.
25. he has a hungry monster.
26. he is a hard worker.
27. he moved to georgia to be with me!
28. he is a great dad to eli.
29. he lives our vows out daily.

i love you chris akridge! you are my winning ticket on the marriage lottery. i wish for many, many more years together and pray God's best for you and our marriage.

I guess I will...

Ok, I guess since two lovely friends have now chosen to give me this "award" I will fulfill the requirements. The rules are listed below. And since I'm not up for always following the rules, more on that in a minute, I'm not going to adhere to rule #3. Here is how it works:

1) Thank and link back to the blogger that gave you the award.

2) Share 7 things about yourself.

3) Pass the award on to 7 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy.

4) Leave your recipients a note, telling them about the award.

Here goes nothing...

1. I don't always like to follow the rules and don't like when someone tells me I can't do things the way I want to. For example, I like making my own parking spot whenever I can, when I got married, I didn't register for a fine china (I know, living on the edge), I don't really care to follow rules of what to wear in what season, I often go without make-up (I guess this isn't really breaking a rule, but might be to some women), and I don't like punctuating or capitalizing when I'm suppose to.

2. When I was younger, I was a gymnast. I competed on the gymnast team until I was going into sixth grade. I like to say I retired for medical reasons (migraines), instead of saying I quit. I went back to tumbling class in tenth grade because my mom made me try out for cheerleading (I've never been so happy not to see my name on a list!). I can still do a round-off back-handspring, but see stars every time I do one.

3. I love to be comfortable. I love wearing sweats and sitting by a fire in the winter. I love t-shirts, gym shorts, and chacos or a knit dress during the summer.

4. I am one of three girls and didn't understand how dirty boys were until the day after I got married. I learned quickly boys make lots of weird noises, stink often, and don't always clean up after themselves. But I still love my man

5. I love to pack the car for vacations. It is almost like a puzzle to me. It makes me happy to get everything in the trunk fitting perfectly in place. I like the car to be organized and don't travel well if things are a mess in my car. If you saw my car right now, you would never believe this! But pregnancy pukiness is keeping me from doing lots of things these days...laundry, keeping a clean car or house, opening my frig, etc.

6. I love to eat,and I mean LOVE to eat. And right now I can't eat anything without getting sick. So that makes me depressed. I love trying new things and often get overwhelmed when going to a new restaurant because I want to order everything. I can't wait until I can enjoy eating again.

7. I am a horrible storyteller. I often mix parts up, forget punch lines, or leave out important information. I guess that is why I married Chris because he is a great storyteller. He is also my editor-in-chief. He usually tells me if my blog spots need anything fixed. And tonight he has a game, so if there are lots of errors, I'm sorry.

I would love to learn 7 things about you, but am not going to pass this award on to anyone in particular. If you are into these things, consider yourself tagged. I have enjoyed learning new things about so many of my friends.

birthday pics (with a surprise at the end!)

we had a great time this past weekend celebrating eli's first birthday with the family. we had his party at the cabin with lots of mickey pigg's bbq and cupcakes for dessert. eli had lots of eat...3 suckers thanks to papa and parker, a cupcake, lots of grapes and apples with heath bar dip (a.k.a julia's special crack dip), and sweet tea. its a wonder he didn't puke!

we are so very blessed to have eli in our lives. he is turning into quite the little boy. he is walking everywhere. he eats like a horse (though he didn't gain an ounce in the past 3 months...that makes him in the 10th percentile!). and he has the best little personality. he talks all the time and acts so serious when he talks. he laughs a lot and squeals a lot--especially when he is in the presence of one of his 3 aunts. he loves to be outside riding in his wagon or his new cozy coupe. here are some pics from the day. enjoy...and look closely at the last pic. it reveals a certain surprise eli shared with the family on his birthday.

park following in papa's footsteps

birthday cupcakes

singing happy birthday
(emily, we needed your harmony)

first bite of cupcake

love the mustache! doesn't he look like his name should be miguel?

loving the presents

bama shirt!

new lawn mower like daddy has

eli's very own uga jersey with his name on the back.

surprise!!!

eli scared by the reaction from the guests.

thats right, we are expecting number two! am i a bit overwhelmed? of course! am i sick? you bet! but we are excited as well. we went to the dr today and everything looked well. i am measuring 7 wks and 6 days. that gives me a due date of june 2. which just happens to be my dad's bday. keep praying for us and this new little one growing in my tummy.

*lucy, just so you know. i was preggo when you chatted me the other day. :) you must have a sixth sense.

happy birthday little eli!

today we took a little trip to the classic city in order to celebrate eli's first birthday with the bulldogs. i was a little leery about taking him to his first georgia football game so early in life but he did a great job and pulled the bulldogs through to their first sec win of the season! and what better team to beat than that hideous orange team from tennessee that never stops singing "rocky top".

during the game, he enjoyed watching the airplane circle the stadium. he napped through the second quarter and most of half time. when he woke up, dad and i took him down to the hedges to see the football players upclose, and he loved it. he also had his eye on a couple of cheerleaders. they loved him right back. they were all smiling at him and flirting. when the band played, he showed everyone his dance moves.

after the game, we headed over to loco's on the east side for some food, alabama football, and birthday dessert. the guests included both of my sisters and their men, and the harden family + david. we all sang eli "happy birthday" and then let him eat a choclote brownie sundae. eventhough alabama couldn't pull out a win, all and all, it was the perfect first birthday.

singing happy birthday
please note the following:
1. i know i have a horrible singing voice...awful really so you might want to close your ears while listening to this
2. eli was not given any "adult juice" on his first bday. :)

family pic
chris swears alabama lost because he was wearing this outfit today.

eli checking out the football players

pointing to the plane in the sky

my love for jimmy

recently some of my friends have posted their top 5 tv shows. i wanted to do this post for myself but i don't think i watch 5 tv shows. i guess you can blame not having dvr on that. so i am going to give a top 5 of all time...in no particular order

1. the cosby show
2. the office
3. saturday night live (90s and early 2000s)
4. party of 5/felicity
5. late night with jimmy fallon

and to explain why i love jimmy fallon with such a passion, here is a recent clip from the show. by the way, i might have a little crush on justin timberlake as well.