Where to begin...

I had NO idea it had been so long since I had posted on our blog! At this point, I'm not sure where to start with everything that has happened over the last several months.  I'll attempt to start at the beginning - and just hit the major points!  If you read Nekayeh's blog, or perhaps have seen on facebook, etc., you know Dad was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at the end of April.  He spent most of May in the hospital at Vanderbilt undergoing treatment.  While he did get to be home a good portion of the summer, on September 1 he had a stem cell transplant and has been in Nashville since then.  Today is Day 86 of his 100-day-stay.  There is light at the end of the tunnel!!!  He is doing well, but your prayers are coveted as he presses ahead in his recovery.  You can read more about his progress at www.carepages.com/reidpennington. 

My last post I mentioned Lexie was (then) 11 mos old.  She turned 1 on May 12.  We had a great time celebrating with family and friends.  Dad wasn't able to be there, so we skyped with him so he could see her eat her cake.  (Technology CAN BE wonderful! ;) )

This is Lexie at Mom and Dad's house this summer after I got my new camera.  (I was playing with it.)

These are a couple of pics that my friend Allison took at Lexie's party.  There were so many more great pics and we were very thankful Allison took them for us!!!  (Not to mention how excited we were that she and Drew came to help us celebrate!)

While Dad was in between treatments, we were able to do Lexie's baby dedication (and celebrate his birthday).  This was a family shot after church.

We all (Mom, Dad, Nekayeh, David, Norah Kate, Jamie, Lexie, and I) got to go to the beach this summer - even though I was working on my capstone paper a good bit of the time.  This was on our 5 year wedding anniversary! 

And....FINALLY.  GRADUATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
At the end of July I graduated with my Master of Arts in Education degree!!!  I still have to take a mentoring class this year to complete my TN state licensure, but it is nothing compared to what I've been doing the last 2 1/2 years!  Whew! 

The week of graduation we also bought a different house and moved mid-August.  (Still in Savannah, just across town.)  I'm in my second year teaching 1st grade at Savannah Christian Academy and Lexie started in the 2-year-old class at KIDS preschool (which is in the same building as the school where I teach!).  There have been some challenges to having Lexie under the same roof as me during the day, but overall it has been great!  She is now 18 months old and at  her last check up weight 25 lbs and was 33" tall!!!  She has developed quite the personality and keeps us on our toes.  She can say anything and we are always amazed at the things she comes up with - like when she walked up to her teacher at school last week and said, "I like your shirt."  HA!  She loves to sing and can fairly clearly sing the theme song to Veggie Tales, her ABCs and Jesus Loves Me.  I'm not sure what we did for entertainment before Lexie, but I do know that we are blessed beyond measure. 

I guess that was the short version of what we've been up to...perhaps the next post will not be so long in between.  Thanks for reading! :)

Late, late, late...

Really. I must be the worst blogger ever. If there were a vote, I'm pretty sure I'd win. :)

Lexie will be 11 months old this week! Whoa!!! Where is the pause button??? At her 9 month check up, she weighed 17 lbs. 13 oz. and was 29" long...(I believe that is the 95 percentile!). About a week later, after several days of a snotty nose and low fever she just couldn't shake, I took her back and found out she had RSV. Boo! The doctor did say that she was handling it better than any baby he'd ever seen. Thankfully she had none of the complications (pnemonia, etc.) that often accompany RSV. She just had a pretty bad cough and runny nose. A week or so after that, she ended up with conjunctivitis!!! (Or pink eye. :( ) A couple of days after we started using the eye drops all of the eye "gunk" was gone. Through all of this, she never acted like she felt that bad, which was a blessing!

She is feeling much better these days!!! Crawling everywhere, pulling up on everything, walking WHILE holding on to things, and saying a few words (most of the time). She says mama, da, bye (which sometimes means goodbye and sometimes means bite, she nods yes (but I'm not sure she always means it), and waves at everyone! I am constantly amazed at how much she is growing and changing! I have so many emotions when I think about her birthday coming up...which I will not discuss now, as I don't want to cry! Ha!

Jamie just got back from a quick trip to Minnesota for work. He clearly knows me too well...he brought Lexie the cutest stuffed owl! Ahh...I've trained him well. (j/k...) He is really enjoying his new position at work as the agency manager, but it has meant more hours, which Lexie and I don't like. We are very proud of him though!!!

I am quickly approaching the end of my FIRST year, teaching FIRST grade. I have learned a lot, cried a little, and slept even less. They are such a special class though, and despite the trials, there are a few moments when I'm not sure I'm ready to let them go. HOWEVER, I am very ready for summer and some time with Lexie!!!

I have one class meeting to attend and one online assignment to complete for grad school and then I have a few weeks until my classes start in June. I was SUPER excited when I got my registration form in the mail to register for my LAST classes and to register for GRADUATION!!! August here I come! (In fact, graduation is the only reason I want the summer to go by quickly!) Well, I guess that is all for now...maybe I'll update again soon!

Gatlinburg!

"Our Family"

This was on the porch of the cabin where we stayed.


Lexie and her cousin Taylor

Poor Lexie...she has to put up with us! :) Ha!



5 months old!

Over Fall Break, we were able to travel to Gatlinburg with Jamie's family for a few days. We had great weather and lots of fun! It was a quick trip, since we left after I got out of school that Friday and then we came back on Monday. During our trip we had a picnic, ate at some fun places and had some entertainment at a go-cart track. :)

Lexie is now 7 months old. At her 6 month check up she weighed 14 lbs., 12 oz. and was 27 1/2" long! (That is the 97th percentile...in case you were wondering!) I took her this past weekend for her second flu shot and to have her ears checked (which turned out to be fine!), and she is now 16 lbs. 2 oz.

Alright we are CLOSE to being caught up! One more post should do it! (Maybe we can work on that during naptime this afternoon! LOL...)

The Bridge

As you can tell from the lack-of-posts, this semester has been WILD! I completed 7 hours in the MAEd program at Union (all As I might add! Ha!) and finished my first semester as a 1st grade teacher at Savannah Christian Academy. Jamie has been busy selling insurance, hunting, and taking up the occasional golf game, and Lexie has...well...been busy! :) She is growing so fast and I am constantly amazed by watching her learn new things! So...rather than throw everything on you at once, I'm going to try to do a couple of posts! Today's is the "in between." Here it goes!

This is from our St. Louis weekend. This was at Grant's Farm.

4 months old! At her 4 month check up she was 12 lbs., 11 oz., and 26 in.!!!

Happy Girl!

Summer vacation...

We have wasted no time making Lexie a "world traveler." :) We recently took her on her first beach trip! She was a fantastic traveler and did great the whole week! She even laughed out loud for the first time on our trip.

This is Lexie's first trip to the pool! She only got in for a few minutes, but seemed to really like it while it lasted.

Lexie's cousin Norah Kate really liked the pool, too!

After eating one night, we found a place to take a few pictures. I guess we had a little photo shoot!

Jamie caught a smile in this one!!! Love that smile!!!

Family picture...Lexie was getting hungry by this point. :)

This was Lexie first time putting her toes in the sand...or having them put in the sand.

Lexie Catherine - 10 weeks old!!!

This past weekend we went to St. Louis to a Cardinals game and to Grant's Farm. Lexie did not appreciate the heat (or noise) at the game, but she is only 11 weeks old! Overall, we all had a really good time! And I got to meet some really nice people in "guest relations" at both places while feeding Lexie. LOL! :) Will post a couple of those pics when I've had a chance to get them off by camera.

Last week, I also had open house for SCA. Thankfully my mom came and spent a few days, and my Aunt Melody and cousin Rachael came to help me get my classroom ready. I only have a couple of minor things to do to my room before the first day of school. 1st grade here I come! :)

2 month check up!

The Friday before we left for vacation, Lexie went for her 2 month check up at the doctor. She weighed 10 lbs. 3 oz. and was 24 1/4" long! Whoa! Here is what Lexie did on her 2 month birthday...

Will post again after I finish my homework with pictures from vacation! :)

4th of July and 8 weeks old!

This past weekend we got to celebrate the 4th of July with David, Nekayeh, Norah Kate and Chula (along with other friends and family here in Savannah). Norah Kate decided to reclaim her vibrating chair since Lexie wasn't sitting in it...as you can tell...she may have out grown it! Ha!


This is how Lexie spent her time at our riverside cookout Saturday!
Sunday, we got to see our friends Allison and Drew...but somehow I didnt' get any picture from that day! It was fun though guys!

Today, Lexie is 8 weeks old!!! I can NOT believe how fast the time is going by!!! This was one of about 10 pictures I took of her today trying to catch a smile...better luck next time. I will be sure to post her stats after her checkup Friday.

LEXIE!

Well, I was just thinking the other day, how different things are around the Williams household from this time last year! WOW! Lexie is currently 7 weeks and 2 days old. :) I am shocked that the last few weeks have gone by so fast! I guess it's true...time flies when you are sleep deprived!!! HA! At her two-week check up Lexie was 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 22 1/4" long! Whoa! We go a week from today for her 2 month check up and I honestly cannot wait to see how much she has grown.

I have just completed my first summer course which required me to drive to Jackson 2 nights a week for the last 4 weeks. It definitely had some rough moments, but it's over! I did it! Mom was great to come help take care of Lexie a few nights. She stayed with her daddy (yes, by himself!) a few nights, and she even got to stay with Auntie Allie and Uncle Drew one night. I start my next summer class next week, but it is online. Hopefully that will be easier on all of us. We are also getting ready to take Lexie on her first trip to the tar...I mean beach. ; ) We'll be sure to post pictures from her first beach photo shoot!

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks!

We are making sure to give Lexie some "tummy time" most days. She usually just goes to sleep...as you can see.

Happy 1 month birthday Lexie!

On Father's Day...Happy 1st Father's Day Jamie! (Lexie got him a Wii game...she knows him so well already! Ha!)

Lexie is getting to be lots of fun and we are getting some really good smiles these days. I love this picture because it looks like she is cracking up laughing, but there was no sound.

This weekend we went to Henderson, KY for my cousin Nathana's wedding. Lexie was an all-star traveler! I seriously could not have asked for a better baby on this trip! She even slept through me screaming and jumping on the arm of my grandmother's loveseat when I saw a mouse!!! (Mom was holding her thankfully!...and yes, the mouse was eventually "caught.") Here is our family picture from the wedding.

Happy Birthday!

SHE'S FINALLY HERE!!!

Last Tuesday, May 11, we checked in to the hospital to begin the induction process. The plan was to start some medication at 5 p.m., then (if needed) start Pitocin the following morning between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Well, the Pitocin was NOT needed! Things began quickly around midnight, followed by phone calls to parents around 1:15 a.m. AND...our baby girl made her entrance into the world at 3:30 a.m.

SO...(drumroll please...)...we are excited to introduce Lexie Catherine, born May 12, 2010 at 3:30 a.m. 8 lbs. 10 oz., 20 1/2 inches

We have been doing really well at home so far - thanks in large part to help from my mom who has been staying with us! She is leaving this weekend and we will definitely miss her help!!!

Lexie asked me to wish a very special "Happy Birthday" to Mama Lynn (my mom) - who spent her birthday taking care of us!!! We love you!

39 weeks and counting!

Hey all!
Well, I tried to post some pictures from the last few weeks and couldn't get them to upload (???). Anyway, we are at about 39 1/2 weeks. I go back to the doctor tomorrow. Jamie keeps telling me I need to go into labor while we're in Jackson...ha...I told him I'd see what I could do. :) Will post more with new pics after baby gets here - unless she waits a long time...in which case I'll try the other ones again. Ha!

Almost there!

We are now about 5 1/2 weeks from the "due date"! I can't believe it!!! I feel like it has gone by so fast. I told Jamie I feel like I woke up one morning and I was 20 weeks all of a sudden. Now I'm almost 35 weeks!!! Whoa! I'm feeling really good (except for some backaches...but that's to be expected at this point!). I've had two showers and have gotten tons of great stuff for our little girl. We have one more shower scheduled at our church here in Savannah. Everyone has been SO generous with their giving and we can't possibly thank them enough! I go back to the doctor next week - which will start my WEEKLY visits! Jamie asked if I was nervous that we're getting so close. I told him no...but I probably should be! Ha!

I just finished one spring semester class at Union and will be completing another before the baby comes, so please keep all 3 of us in your prayers. The next 5 1/2 weeks will be packed full of activities and assignments! Here are a few pictures from the last few weeks.

This is at my shower in Pocahontas - about 33 weeks here. (Thanks Ms. Janna for taking this pic!)

At our last childbirth class, the guys had to wear the "empathy belly" - weighing about 35 lbs. They had to sit in a bean bag on the floor and get up out of it, then pick up several items off of the floor. Funny.

My sweet girls (a.k.a. "The Aunties") threw a great party in Jackson this past weekend. This is all of us and our first "nephew" Collin. Love you all!!! Thanks for such a fun day! (Left to right: Sarah, Allison, me, Kerra, and Crystal - w/ Collin)

Here's a sneak peak at the baby's room! My grandmother made our bedding!!! There is also a matching striped curtain w/ green trim. More pics of the baby's room to come...when it's finished! :)

Along the way...

Well, we are pressing on in preparations for the arrival of our little girl! We expect to meet her in about 10 weeks - wow! We actually started our childbirth classes last night, and I'm not sure Jamie will recover from his first birthing video experience...ha, ha, ha! We'll see. :) Below are just a couple of pictures of what we've been up to over the last few weeks.


This is me on Valentine's Day. Jamie sent me the flowers to work. Didn't he do good? (I'm about 27 weeks along in this picture.)

Jamie was off of work on President's Day. We actually had a pretty good snow and he decided to play in the snow on our deck. He made Charlie an igloo - and then made him pose with it. Poor Charlie...

We recently went to Kentucky to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday. They had gotten A LOT more snow than we had. So...Jamie decided to play in it. However, it was about 50 degrees the day he got to play (hence the short-sleeves). He and my cousin Jonathan built this snowman.

Oh baby!

Here are a couple of pics of our little one. The first is our sweet little one sucking her thumb. :) The next is the not-so-little foot. LOL...

This past weekend I travelled to Gardendale, AL for a Roomie Reunion and baby shower! Our trip started with dinner on Friday night and our 4th Annual Roommate Christmas (btw...can't believe we've been out of school 4 years!) Moving right along...Saturday morning we had a baby shower for Crystal. She is expecting a baby boy, to be named Collin, due at the end of February. We had a great time and she got tons of cute stuff! It really made me excited about our little girl - and motivated to get some stuff marked off my to-do list! :)

Here is Crystal and me - with babies in tow. Ha!

Here are the roomies before the shower. Can't get enough of these girls!!! Wish we could get together more!!! (From left to right, Sarah, Kerra, Crystal, me, and Allison)

I have already started back to school. I am currently taking a Jan term class at Union and will start a new class in February. While I am still working out the kinks in my schedule, the plan is to be finished with class by the beginning of April. Jamie and I are beginning to get some things marked off the list in preparation for baby. Picking out a name is not one of those things. Ha! I'm honestly not that concerned about her name at this point...maybe I should be! We have ordered a crib and I have picked out the material for the bedding. My grandmother has graciously agreed to make it for us. :) We will have pictures up as we make continual progress! Stay tuned...

Christmas & New Year's Fun!

We started our "official" Christmas celebrations by doing presents with Jamie's family a couple of days before Christmas.

This is our niece, Taylor, showing off her gift from Aunt Lauren and Unlce Jamie. She looks like she's not smiling...but that's because she's saying "cheese."

Our traditional picture in front of Jamie's parents tree.

We then left on the morning of Christmas Eve to go to my grandmother's house in Kentucky. Jamie and I both got houseshoes - his, of course, were camo. :) Here we are showing them off.

This is after church the Sunday after Christmas by my grandmother's tree. As I was putting these on here I realized we never got a picture in front of OUR tree. LOL... Oh well!

For New Year's Eve we headed to Nashville with our friends Allison and Drew. We then met up with another friend, Kerra for food and fun. :) We ate at Stony River Steak house.

Jamie and me by the fireplace at Stony River.

Allison, Kerra and I...

Kerra then took us to a place called Sweet Ce Ce's for some dessert. It was so good! And such a fun little place!

Me eating the last of my ice cream...

Jamie...being Jamie. Hiding behind the Christmas tree on the table.

We had so much fun hanging out with Allison and Drew, and getting to see Kerra! We spent the rest of the night watching the UT ballgame (and by WE, I mean...THEM), playing games and ringing in the New Year. Happy 2010!