November for the Clelands

I seemed to experience every sort of emotion to the fullest in the month of November. I cried tears of joy at Felicity's baptism, sobbed (many times) on Thanksgiving after Sully was badly injured by a pit bull, and had a good bit of anger and confusion in the middle. Anger because I have never seen so much urine in my life as I did this month! Sully and Felicity seemed to be out to pee all over everything (okay Felicity was not out to spite me, but Sully was!), and they just about succeeded. Then, we found overnight diapers for Felicity and Sully seems to be getting the attention he so desperately wanted, so the problem has been solved (: Deep down though, the urine was not the issue, but it was more like the straw that broke the camel's back. However, the camel's back is now recovering and doing much better (:

The confusion came from wondering what to do next? Where to turn? I was abruptly discharged from physical therapy so that I could do it on my own time and had some bad physical pain right about that time, so that left me feeling quite alone in my journey with pain. But, I am extremely overjoyed to say that I have had little physical pain for the past week. God has not only given me relief from pain, but I have also gotten some clarity regarding my pain and caring for myself. It has been amazing beyond words. I can't thank God enough.

So, rather than being too wordy in my review of the month, I will show some pictures and hit the high and low points of the month:

This is a terrible picture. Forgive me. It's more of a reminder of what we did than anything else. Daniel and I had a perfect date up in Blairsville where we did some apple-picking, shopping, eating, and lots of talking and driving. It was so refreshing to get out on a sunny, beautiful, perfectly Fall day. Thanks to Gigi and G-Paw for taking care of the little one and Sully!

I always look forward to Saturdays, but usually end up missing Daniel and feeling the tiniest bit disappointed on the 2 Saturdays a month that Daniel has to work. Though sometimes Felicity and I stay at home and get work done, some days we make fun plans. We had no fun plans the first Saturday in November, so we went to the park! I really should have taken advantage of the neighborhood park much sooner. Better late than never! Felicity absolutely loved swinging on the swingset for the first time! Can't you tell? Above, she is clapping out of sheer excitement!

Felicity and Sully became friends with 2 brothers we met at the park! They loved petting Sully and even helped push Felicity while I was tending to Sully. I also enjoyed talking to their mom, who has 4 kids and fully understands the woes of motherhood!

Thinking baby. The little girl winds down after lots of swinging.

The Big Fight

Sully ran free on Thanksgiving morning (he has a history of getting loose) just as we were about to drive to Auburn to see lotsa Clelands. He entered the territory of 2 pitbulls and got in a fight with one of them. If you know Sully, you know that he is pretty tough for a small dog. But, he is still a small dog. So, needless to say, he didn't fare well though he did put up a good fight. He came home on 3 legs with blood all over the place. (Let me clarify: he still has 4 legs! It's just that one was injured. The blood was from the bite wounds) For a little bit we wondered if he would make it. I am so proud of Daniel for acting quickly and making decisions that proved to be spot-on, though he was emotionally drawn into this emergency case. He and my father-in-law took great care of Sully and brought him out of shock and to a point where he could begin to recover. Sully is now acting like his crazy self again with only a few little hindrances! Hooray! Gosh I love that dog!

Though I was initially very very upset over Sully's injuries, I ended being more upset when the owner of the pit bull angrily came looking for the man who had kicked his dog. That man, of course, was Daniel. He did the kicking in an effort to break up the fight. Daniel's mom and I got down on our knees and prayed that this situation would smoothly work out (thanks Gran- I was a mess!). Things really couldn't have worked out better. Daniel and his mom visited the dog owners once Sully was a little more stable, and the man's wife and Daniel's mom ended up hugging and sympathizing with one another! The pit owner didn't seem to mind having a veterinarian do a free house call, either!

The patient and the doctor. Tired after a couple of rough days.

Pitiful pain med Sully.

Thanksgiving Festivities

Caring for Sully slowed down our holiday plans, but we still fit a lot in. We spent a couple of days with the Clelands and still traveled to Auburn to see more Clelands after Sully's big fight. We had planned to spend 1.5-2 days with the Mardis family, but ended up just getting doing a day trip to visit them. However, it was great to have some quiet time at home with them, since we are usually on the go with the Mardis fam! Sully's recovery also allowed us to decorate for Christmas during Thanksgiving weekend! To the best of our recollection, Daniel and I have never decorated that early. It was especially fun now that we have a baby, a house, and a more realistically sized Christmas tree!

I will always hold a special place in my heart for the 4 foot tall tree my parents loaned us for the past 4 years. However, it is fun to have a more "grown-up" Christmas tree this year!

Love them and love this. What a special time. So precious.

Well my honey's almost home so I'm going to tidy up and get ready for bed. I hope you all are enjoying a wonderfully frigid December and Christmas season.

I know it's a bit early, but I can't help it:

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love y'all,

Kirby Lynn

October Recap

October was a busy month for us, and we are very glad for that! It has taken us a while to get into a somewhat normal lifestyle since the our sweet little girl was born, so we decided to be very intentional about getting out of the house and having some family (and Mommy and Daddy!) time. Here are some of the things we've been up to:

Mountain Day! Daniel ran the 5k at Berry early in the morning and then Felicity and I attended a reunion with my Bible study ladies. Then it was off to the mountain for food, the Grand March, and reconnecting with old friends. This is always one of the best days of the year for us! It is such a great way to begin Fall!

We had some visitors this month, including the Clelands, our pastor and his wife, and G-Paw. Here is "Aunta" with her favorite little niece.

More time for Mommy and Daddy! My sweet husband made a date schedule for us through the month of January, so I could plan for babysitters in advance. We go on one "nice date" (like a show or nice restaurant) a month, one regular date a month (like dinner then to the park or coffee shop), and have a date night in on the weeks we don't go out. It is working out very well, thanks to our kind babysitters and the planning we do ahead of time! I'm so thankful for this special time with my man.

We've also been having more "us time" at night since Felicity now sleeps from about 7:30 p.m. until 6:30 or 7 a.m.! We like to do goofy things when the baby's in bed (see above!) (:

Corn Maze and Fall fun with the Newmans! We love every bit of time we get with my sister, Katie and her family, especially when they are super busy during marching season. We "met in the middle" since they live about 2 hours away in Colbert, GA and went to a Corn Maze. We loved bundling the kids up and getting to celebrate Fall with some of our favorite people!

This is Sully's new friend, Scruffy.

Oh wait, that's Felicity hiding in that dog costume! Thanks Aunta! I had grand plans to make a monster costume, but as it was getting down to crunch time and I couldn't find the sort of outfit I was planning to sew on (bad grammar I know!), Anna called just in the nick of time to let me know she had found this super cute costume on sale! It arrived on our doorstep the next day! It was a hit!

And finally, here's me and the cutie having fun cuddling in the rocking chair while Daniel and Sully greeted trick-or-treaters and handed out candy.

Halloween weekend was extra enjoyable for me because I finally got to meet a lot of Daniel's clients, who also happen to be our neighbors! We attended a walk/run benefitting the Briarcliff Animal Foundation and also a neighborhood Halloween party. After getting to know some neighbors, I love this neighborhood even more than I did before. I so love the diversity and the small-town feel. Egan Park is a great place to live!

And of course we've been up to the day-to-day stuff...Felicity and I both continue physical therapy. Her for her neck (torticollis) and me for back pain. Though she was looking like she might need a collar to help her to heal, her last appointment went great and the PT noticed that she is getting much stronger on her left side. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouragement! I had some relief from pain during October, but some days I was in a lot of pain. However, I visited my friend Janna the other day and she definitely helped a lot! She is an integrated massage therapist and she is surely gifted at what she does. Thankfully, I will be able to do aquatic therapy on my own without the PT in the near future. This will cost less and take less time since I will be able to go to a pool in Forest Park instead of going to Buckhead. As always, things are falling into place just as they should (:

I hope you each had a great October and that as the holiday season approaches, you feel peace (and not anxiety!)

Love!

Kirby (:

Recent Happenings for the Growing Girl

Felicity has been very busy lately with growing, laughing, squealing, trying to talk like Mommy and Daddy, rolling around the floor, physical therapy, walks, grabbing Sully, and more. Here are some of my recent favorite pics of "Little Girl" in action:

Being goofy!

Eating solid food (blech!) Okay...it's more like attempting to eat rice cereal. Eww!

Swinging from the blinds. Wheeee!

Playing at Mountain Day at Berry College

Turning 6 months old (Before and after photo...in reverse order!)

Eating Mommy's hair yumyumyumyum...

Gotta go shower while I've got the chance! We've got lots to do today! Love from the Clelands! (:

P.S. Does anyone know how to get rid of that photobucket box on my screen? I posted then deleted a picture in my last post and now that little box won't go away!

'Bout Time!

Felicity and I after church in mid-September

Felicity on her Daddy's lap wearing her monster hat for the first time. I'm thinking that might become part of her Halloween costume?!

Oh my gosh I am blogging! I am seriously as shocked as my few sweet followers are. I know that I am not the blogging type; I can no longer pretend that it is my sort of "thing". However, just a few minutes ago, while sitting in the quiet on the couch next to Sully, I suddenly got the desire to blog again. I better do it while I'm feelin' it! And this really shouldn't be long...it's past my bedtime and I've got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow!

Just the other day, I was at a friend's house and she told me that she keeps a blog and then prints it out into a hardcover book, so now she has books detailing the growth of her children and happenings of her family. What a fabulous idea! I don't know if I will do that, but I will write about Felicity because I know that years down the road I will not remember what this sweet baby is like at this moment. So, here is some insight into this precious little girl called Felicity:

Felicity is about one week short of being 6 months old. This really blows me away, but I have actually gotten used to constantly be amazed by how quickly she grows and how fast time flies. No wonder parents always say, "They grow up too fast!" About a week and a half ago, I allowed F to gnaw (is that how you spell that?!) on my finger to ease her pain caused by teething. She has been gnawing and drooling for months but still saw no teeth. When she was chewing on me, I felt something sharp! It was a tooth! One had finally popped out! I was so excited because 1)this is such a big milestone and 2)that explained her fussiness for the past few days! Growing a tooth isn't easy! Just a few days ago, we saw tooth number two show up right next to it- two little bottom teeth! When I pull her lip down to look at them, she puts her tongue over them so I can't see them, so I have to catch glimpses when she's smiling really big (which she's been doing a lot lately!)

Felicity experienced her coldest weather yet this morning. Not like it was THAT cold, but it was colder than anything she's felt (maybe in the 50s?). I bundled her up in a blanket, a jacket from her Gran and a hat made by Kathryn Neidhardt and she enjoyed looking around the neighborhood as she always does when we go on walks.

Felicity now eats 4 times a day, which makes for a pretty easy schedule for us! She has always been a champion eater, except when reflux kept her from it! But that's some good news too- she hasn't take her medicine for reflux in 5 days! She spit up twice but that was only because she was really worked up before eating. I think she has grown out of reflux! And as far as feedings go, be encouraged new moms! One day your sweet baby will go many hours in between feedings and you can do lots of fun things in between feedings!

Felicity loves to pet Sully. She is always reaching out to him when he is nearby. The trouble is that when she pets Sully, she often grabs a chunk of his skin and pulls on it. That's when I gently pry her away from him while telling Sully again and again that's he's a very good dog. And then he gets a treat! So, he's happy in the end! But really, he has done GREAT with Felicity. For his sake though, we are working on gently petting Sully (:

One of my favorite things to do is to go into Felicity's room, not long after she's woken up from a nap while she's just kind of looking around the room, and crawl on my knees just below the level of her mattress. Then I pop my head up into her sight and surprise her! Then she smiles/laughs and I laugh and then we do it again and again! It's SO fun! I really think I might have more fun than she does!

I really could go on and on about the changes she's going through and the thoughts that run through this new mom's head. But, like I said, I should go to bed and keep this at a more desirable length for my readers (: Writing this has been fun, and who knows....maybe I'll feel inspired again soon?!

Love to you all!

P.S. Despite the fact that I try to disperse pictures throughout my blog, they always just show up at the top...sorry about that!