Nana Day 2009

This past Saturday would have been my Mom's 54th birthday, the first one that we have celebrated without her. In honor of her birthday, my brother thought of having a "Nana Day" where we could celebrate her life by taking our kids around town doing all the things she loved. This year it is still hard and bittersweet, but I loved this idea as a way for the cousins to grow up knowing what kinds of things she liked and doing things with us that remind us of her. It's my hope that through all the stories and pictures and things like Nana Day, that they will have some kind of idea of who she was or feel like they knew her even though she passed away before they could remember her.

We braved the chilly and rainy day to start out at Crabtree Valley Mall, to shop around a little bit (since we all know Nana loved loved loved shopping!). Ironically, Alisa pointed out that on rainy days, the first thing Mom would have done was go "breathe some mall air." We met up at Panera, and as we turned the corner, the first thing we hit was Lindt Chocolates, Mom's favorite chocolate store! I remember Mom and I always hitting up Lindt for their free sample of a truffle ball (and somehow always ending up buying more to take home!).
Of course, we had to eat a few in her honor! Evan ate his all in one bite, and Kenna rode sweetly in her stroller, amazed at all the different colors. Grannie bought us some for later!
Next, we stopped off at Alisa's and my favorite kids clothing store, Janie and Jack, to ooh and ahh over the totally unaffordable but gorgeous kids clothes! If I had $48 bucks to spend on such things, this would have been my pick for Kenna:
Instead, we tried a few pairs of sunglasses on her. This little girl will probably be tortured by her parents with funny pictures like this the rest of her life!

She loves the mall, just like Mommy and Nana!

Somehow in the store, Jason and Alisa either misplaced their camera, or it was swiped off the top of their stroller. We regrouped at Auntie Anne's with a pretzel and a coke while Jason went to leave their information at lost and found.
Ironically, most of the things we could remember as Nana's favorites or that we loved to do with her involved food... so somewhere right after our pretzels, we decided we needed some real lunch, and headed back downstairs to Panera, Nana's favorite!

The girls (all 5 of us!) at lunch at Panera!

The main event of the day, (as planned by Jason!) was meeting up with some of Nana's good friends at the tearoom in Wake Forest. Anyone who knew Mom knew she had a big thing for tea cups and tea parties (pretty much any kind of party), and she really enjoyed trips to the tearoom for special celebrations. We met up with Chris, Sue, and Jeannie for a ladies' tea and stories about Mom.
In true Nana fashion, I had to make sure the party had some kind of handmade party favors. For Mom, making the party favors was enough of a reason in itself to have a party! So I made some fabric-covered button magnets from her stash of fabric in her signature colors, brown and pink.
We concluded the night with dinner at Red Hot and Blue, a great barbecue restaurant that Mom liked. Of course, the boys didn't mind, since it's their favorite too! Despite the cold rain, Grannie, Jason, Alisa, and Evan (and baby girl!) ended the night at Goodberry's for Mom's favorite ice cream- she always got vanilla and almond concretes- but Matt, Kenna and I had to get on the road back to Randleman. It was lucky that we did... it snowed 5 inches the next night!

The day was fun because of our sweet family and happy memories of Mom, but also sad and bittersweet to be doing all the things she loved and that we used to do with her while she couldn't be there. It seems like all the things I do that remind me of her have an element of that... the sharp pain of being reminded that she "should" be here and isn't. I don't think that will ever get any easier this side of heaven. But I'm happy to cling to these little memories of Mom, and they will become more and more important to me as Kenna gets old enough to start hearing them.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Tubby Time!

Kenna has graduated from her bear-shaped sponge we used to lay her on for her baths to her own big bathtub! We love our Primo bathtub that we got for 5 bucks at the Kid's Exchange! It is molded with a bump in the middle so you can use it for infants laying down on one side, then turn and use the other side when they're sitting up! I think this is genius. (Picture thanks to amazon.com!)
It has only been recently that she has started to like the bath. I think the fact that she can be submerged in the water a little more with this bathtub makes a big difference! I made Matt come take some pictures of her while I bathed her. She didn't love it at first, to be honest (this picture is actually from one of her baths last week- I can tell she is growing!)

But then realized, hey, this could be good!

I love how chubby she looks!Big chillin' in the bathtub! She was all grins today. She's starting to kick and splash but doesn't realize yet that she's doing it.

I love that little foot!

This picture is purely hilarious to me. It shows her little personality so well!

We love this silly little monkey!

3 Months Already, and Catching Up!

Today our little squirt turned 3 months old! You always hear everyone talk about "how fast they grow" but I had no idea it would go by THIS fast. It's still so amazing to see her development each day and her little personality grow by leaps and bounds. Nowadays, she can turn or lift her head to look at us, can recognize our voices, and will smile and talk back when we talk to her. It is such an incredibly fun and entertaining stage! She's also starting to play a little more on her own, and will sometimes give me a little while to get things done while she's in her bouncy seat or playing with this little jungle mat that Beth Anne gave her at my baby shower. She loves it, and I took some pictures of her playing today. She is such a ham for the camera!
I also used the boppy pillow to play on her tummy some, but she doesn't like that as much. We have to work a little on strengthening those little arms to hold herself up!
Speaking of Aunt Beth Anne, Matt met with a friend for coffee in Raleigh last week, so Kenna and I tagged along so we could kidnap Beth Anne away from work for a little while to catch up! Because of the flu season and life being so busy, this was the first time she's gotten to meet her! We got to have lunch and coffee, and a nice long girly chat!
I had to laugh when I put Kenna in her swing today, because it became so obvious to me how much she is growing! It seems like she's getting longer all the time. Check out these pictures for comparison:

Kenna at one week old, so tiny and not able to hold her head up yet (don't worry, we didn't let her fall out!)

Kenna at three months and a day, hanging out in her jammies while I cleaned up the kitchen! Huge, right?! I can't believe just a few weeks makes such a difference!

Floridian Adventures

Matt's week:
Just over a week ago, Lindsey and I set out for separate adventures to Florida. Lindsey set out for Orlando, Florida to finish sorting through her mom's things, and I and Jon Ferguson, the senior pastor at Forest Park Baptist church, were headed to the SBC Pastor's Conference in Jacksonville, Fla. On Thursday I set out to take Lindsey and Kenna to Raleigh to catch their plane to Tampa for our first real week apart and then head right back to catch my ride with the Fergusons to the airport Friday morning. Before leaving town, I was able to get together with Matt Creech for some pizza and then head back to Randleman. Obviously my mind and my body did not have the full conversation, because by 1 in the morning I was sick as a dog. I ended up at the ER of Randolph Hospital in Asheboro and there was told I probably had food poisoning or the Norovirus.
While I don't know what it was for sure, I do know that I felt better after being hit by the car back in October, than I did after 2 full days of whatever that was. After phoning Matt Creech to make sure he wasn't sick, he decided to come down and bring his PS3 down to keep me company. What a great friend. Then, Saturday, my parents who had been keeping Pontouf, brought her back down so I could have some company. Thanks Mom and Dad! My faithful companion would follow me to the bathroom and crawl between me and the toilet, lick my feet, and curl up beside me while I slept. I love my dog! Needless to say, I never made it to the conference, but heard from Jon that it was amazing! One of my youth ended up catching the Novovirus and had to be hospitilized for 2 days and so on Sunday, after missing church, I ran up to see him. After two hours of being propped up on a wall, everyone told me to go back home. I got home and slept for what seemed like forever. During all this, Linds was so awesome to keep texting and calling to make sure I was alive and send me pictures of my awesome baby girl. Her week away was MUCH better though, despite the incredible emotional nature of the trip.

Picture of Kenna being goofy, sent to cheer me up while sick!

Lindsey's week:
I decided while Matt was gone it would be a good time to go down to Orlando with my Grannie to sort out more of my Mom's stuff from my parents garage. With my Dad still out of the country, we hoped to get some things cleared out so that the family heirlooms wouldn't get lost in the rush when he moves internationally this summer. Also, we wanted to take the opportunity for Kenna to get to spend a little more time with Grannie, to get to meet her Pop Pop, and to see the places where we grandkids spent "Grannie Camps" in the summer growing up!

The first half of the trip was daunting and a little discouraging, to be honest. Kenna did great on the flight, but sorting through the garage ended up being a much larger job than we really thought! Just walking into Mom's house again and seeing all her things again was emotionally heavy. It really struck me this trip that this is the last time that there will be a house or a place where all the memories of my Mom can still exist. After my Dad moves, that place will be gone. It was also really hard to get anything done with Kenna there... she is still in the stage where she can't entertain herself very long and nurses so often.

Kenna in the garage- her face says it all.

I kept wanting to take pictures of Kenna at Nana's house, even though the fact that Nana was not there broke my still-hurting heart all over again. I took a few pictures anyway, mostly for posterity and so that I can show Kenna someday.

Kenna and Mommy at Nana's house

Kenna taking a nap in beautiful blankets- Nana loved her blue and white!

We found some family treasures, and I was grateful for that, but by the third full day there, Grannie and I were exhausted and emotionally spent, and decided to call it quits. We still miss Mom so profoundly.

The second half of the trip went better. At Grannie's house, the weather was gorgeous, and the beach was only a block away! Kenna got to meet her great-Pop Pop for the first time. He hasn't been able to travel much in the past year, so we were glad to be able to have the chance to go to him! I think all of us grandchildren have pictures of Pop Pop holding us like this as babies... now we are having babies of our own! I feel so lucky and blessed that three of my grandparents are still healthy and active enough to be a part of my children's lives!

Between Kenna's naps, she gave me about 30 minutes a day to enjoy the beach on the two days we were in Clearwater. The weather was perfect! The first day I didn't time it very well, and she screamed half the time, but Grannie was incredibly sweet to hold her for a bit so I could take a little walk on the beach! The second day, Kenna snuggled down out of the wind and slept on my chest, so Grannie and I were able to take a longer, leisurely walk together! I think Kenna (like her Mommy) enjoyed the loud sound of the wind and the crashing surf!

The neighborhood beach access in Clearwater... can you imagine living a block from this? 76 degrees and sunny in February!
I'm learning as a mom that sometimes you just laugh and try to enjoy it anyway, even if your kiddo isn't cooperating!
Gran keeping Kenna company while Mommy takes a walk!

Such beautiful weather! I forgot how good it feels to wear flip flops- I could have stayed for a month! I can't wait until Kenna is old enough to enjoy the water!

Suddenly, it was time to go back to the airport and say goodbye! I'm so glad that Kenna is a good traveler... unbelievably, she slept silently from takeoff to landing on all three of the flights it took to get to Tampa and back (we went through Nashville on the way there)! We'll get to see Grannie again when she comes to Raleigh later this month.

The flight attendants on Southwest airlines gave Kenna a "my first flight" certificate to put in her baby book!

Daddy was there waiting for us at RDU. We missed him so much! It won't officially be Kenna's first Grannie Camp until Daddy can go with us!

Although it was too cold to swim on this trip, it's rumored in our family that all you need for Grannie camp is a swimsuit and a smile... if so, Kenna is all set for this summer! We can't wait to go back!

Starting to Smile!

Kenna has started a new stage where she is starting to smile in response to us talking- and we LOVE it! I'm constantly hovering over her with the camera trying to get the good shot. It's amazing to see her personality blooming more and more by the day, and if I'm honest, it feels so great for her to start responding to us. Sometimes as a parent it's easy to feel like they're just little blobs of "gimme gimme" that don't realize you're a person too, desperately trying to figure out what they need!

Everyone at church says she's the spitting image of Matt, but I'm not always sure. Is she a perfect mix of the two of us like the rest of the babies in our family? Then sometimes she makes a face or opens her eyes really wide and she really does look just like her daddy. I love it! She is already almost 10 weeks old, and I can't believe it!
Like her parents, she is happiest right after she eats a nice big meal! She talks and laughs at me, and usually sticks out her tongue!
Watching the superbowl with Daddy:
Silly girls snuggling on the couch! We love this little peanut!