Sunday, March 30, 2008

introducing mr. and mrs. hampton

We had the wonderful pleasure of going up to the Nash's this weekend and introducing Reed and Ada. They definitely hit it off. Reed was impressing Ada with his one legged push ups...literally. I am sad to say I did not capture it on camera but he definitely was flexing some muscles. Okay, now we have a pic. I just "thief-ed" it from Reed's Blog.Are they holding hands.......or did Reed want another hand to chew on?
Reed finally decided just to go to sleep thinking Ada only hearted him for his toys. (She was completely enamored by his crib mobile)Ada loved her time with Granna. Granna had Ada's full attention by speaking to Ada in her own language.Thank you for having us up. We had a great time and we look forward to Reed and Ada hanging out more in the future! We miss you Autie L and Uncle Whitty!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

kids (both goat & human)

This is too cute not to share. As part of our local 4-H club my nephew, Preston and niece, Peyton Carli have two female goats, Kiwi and Amelia. Kiwi just had twins, Victor & Lilly while Amelia is due any day now with what is thought to be triplets. These pictures are of Victor. With Victor weighing around 8 pounds Ada weighs more. Jimmy was not thrilled with Victor's proximity in this first picture nonetheless Ada looks like she is enjoying the company. Speaking of pairs. I promise there will not be a picture of Ada and Foy from every night of small group. They were too irresistible to refrain from a photo this week. (Last week Ada must have had a guilty conscience. She is sleeping so much better this week)

honorary household member

Fletcher, our favorite schnauzer friend (we love you too, Nellie), is here to visit for a week while his parents visit sunny California. We (Daisy especially) are so excited to have another four legged friend to play with. Daisy says in her perfect British accent, "Now this is the kind of friend I have been talking about (opposed to the two legged little human critter that recently arrived)". Now in defense of Fletcher's parents, Fletcher is usually well groomed and in perfect order. You see Fletcher and his wife Fiona are quit the pampered pooches. When Fletcher gets to our house he roughs it outside running around the dog track (designed and constructed by Daisy herself) laying in the dirt and barking at all creatures that come within a 100 mile radius of the fence. He and Daisy are great buds. Fletchy you are welcome any time.

This is the spot where Daisy says her hellos and good-byes as we come and go. This is Fletcher saying hello. We are terrified he is going to hang himself so we do not encourage him to do this but is it not amazing that he can jump this high? He literally looks like he has scaled the fence and is hanging on to the top. Since he has been here we have stayed far away from the "window" to the backyard. Here is a quick pic of Daisy Girl for those who have not had the opportunity to meet her

wordless wednesday

Monday, March 24, 2008

i admit it's a little long winded

This was a week of firsts. Ada took her first bottle like a pro. Our pediatrician reemphasized to us that their is a fine line with the timing of the first bottle. If one waits too long the baby may never take a bottle and if the baby is given a bottle to early then she may never go back. I am glad we cleared that hurdle, now to just maintain it. I believe we will do so weekly. While Ada was only confused momentarily, Jimmy enjoyed filling a role in this part of Ada's daily routine.Allison and her daughter Abby came to visit. Abby was too cute and continually checked on the baby and gave her kisses. Ada's new friend is good at her animal sounds. My favorite is Abby's rendition of a dog. Instead of the typical "ruff" "ruff" Abby makes a panting sound which is a perfect replica of Daisy Dog after taking a jog with Jimmy. We all had a great time.Ada and I took a nice walk with Shannon, Foy, Robin and Jenna around the Riverwalk. All three kiddos caught some nice zzzs while the "adults" made up new nicknames for the three dreaming sweeties using a combination of food and body parts. Acorn Ear, Avocado Head, Pizza Finger, Kumquat Nose just to name a few. The creative concept compliments of Shannon. We were also introduced to Shannon's little friends Maddox 3.5 years old and Bennett 10 mths old. Maddox had us rolling laughing with his very thick southern twang and talkative personality. He kept saying he was going to be Foy's "big brutter".

This was our first night back to small group and boy did we leave a lasting impression. Miss Ada was very talkative in a very outspoken manner. My latest theory (and there have been many) is the poor child was over stimulated with the hot potato-like fashion that she was tossed around the room by me, the mother, who was trying to introduce her to as many of her new friends as possible. Oh how I hope we will not be cringed at upon our return. Ha! No, really everyone was really supportive. I sometimes forget that I birthed a baby and not a robot which I am glad for bc babies are much more fun. Babies do cry sometimes and Ada was just doing what babies do. Thankfully she does not communicate in that manner too terribly often.
Pat and Jenni(the wonderful home host to our small group) had just returned from the Dominican Republic and were sharing about their time of ministry. I wish someone had recorded the time of sharing. Thankfully I did get to see pictures. Please pray for Pat & Jenni as they seek direction from the Lord and whether or not they are being told to relocate to the D.R. On another note, Ada's buddy Foy was at the "party". Shannon noted that this relationship was moving a little fast since the two have already shared a bed together :) The Dads
The Moms
Ada had her first long stretch of sleep this week. I am both thankful and very proud of her. Until this last week I had been waking Ada up every three hours to feed her instead of allowing her to wake up naturally. This week she was allowed to wake up on her own to be feed and she slept 7.5 hours. It was the best night of sleep for both females in the household. I hope this sleep pattern is a keeper. Until she is a little bit older she is not to go over 8 hours without filling her tummy so we will definitely take 7.5 hours.

Jessica and Antonio came down from Nashville on Friday to check out Miss Ada. We had a great time during their visit. The four of us (Jess, Antonio, Ada and I ) all rode together to the McKenna's. Me, being the wonderful chafer that I am, got us lost and turned a 5 minute commute into a 30. The McKenna's live 4 miles away from us and I have been to their house several times. How in the world did I manage? How embarrassing! Katie shared her exciting news with Jess & Antonio of how her and Kevin are the fourth of our college couples to be expecting this year. How exciting! Katie got in the car with us and I assured the group that I could manage to get to Blue Plate for our lunch date without making any detours. We arrived and were greeted by our other two preggy friends, Kristi and Melissa and our fab friend Becca. Poor Antonio endured several hours of 6 chatty women. While we were passing around pictures of ultrasounds he pulled out a picture of his new baby, a Harley Chopper (pretty sweet!). Thanks Jess and Antonio for making the trip down. Loved seeing you guys and can't wait to see you both again very soon. (P.S. Ada came too but was sound asleep so I did not want to wake her)This was Ada's first Easter and also our first time back to church since her arrival. We attend Calvary Chapel Chattanooga. Our church is fabulous. Jimmy and I searched for a church home for several years during the early part of our marriage. It feels so nice to be at home and be in a church that we are excited to see our daughter grow up in. {side note: Last Mother's Day Paster Frank asked all the existing mothers, expectant mothers and those who wanted to become mothers to stand up. I joined the large group of women throughout the auditorium in rising up while our head pastor offered a prayer over the assemblage. He prayed for guidance, wisdom and patience for those who were raising little ones and asked for wombs to be opened for those that would like little ones. May is the month that we got pregnant. Coincidence? Think not.} Unfortunately on our first day back we were late, extremely late and the sad thing is we really thought we were on time. We were so proud. The first day back, with a newborn. We were turning over a new leaf. Okay, I was repositioning the leaf. Jimmy's leaf had been turned in the correct direction many years ago. Yeah, the service started at 9:45am this Sunday instead of the typical 10:30 start time. So instead of walking in with the other laid back, casually dressed fellow patrons of Calvary Chapel we instead were surrounded by the over-the-top, dressed to the nines, hat flaunting, pumps strutting, 3 piece suit wearing, members of Olivet Baptist Church. In our casual garb we did the walk of shame.Ada did really well in the 30 minutes left in church. She did a little self talk which normally seems so soft and quiet, but in a virtually silent atmosphere her soft coos seemed quite loud. Jimmy took her into to the exterior hallway after a bit as not to disturb the quiet onlookers. I was forewarned that it would happen....I sat through church and did not hear a word of the message. I hope this is purely temporary and I will be able to focus in the future. Thank goodness for modern technology. I will be able to catch up as soon as it is posted online.
After church we headed over to my parents (Papa Campbell & MiMi) where we ate a light lunch. Also in attendance was Mark, Jennifer, Preston and Peyton Carli. Missing were Suzi and Roman who we will see in a couple of weeks. Preston impressed us with his knowledge of politics. I am certain, at the time, I knew nothing of the election between George H. W. Bush and Michael Dukakis. Peyton Carli insistently asked when Ada was going to wake up and when it was time, if she could do the honors. She also said that Ada had a really pretty head. It was all very sweet. I am so happy Ada has such wonderful cousins to look up to.This is the incredible train that Preston loves to run. Preston said the day MiMi bought it for him was the best day of his life. He is quite the conductor.
Ada turned 6 weeks on Easter Sunday. Milestones to date: lifts head for extensive amount of time before becoming a bobble head, smiles (have not managed to capture this in a snapshot yet), coos, bats her arms at her friends hanging from the sky (if we had to guess then we would say she is going to be a lefty but then there is a little ambidextrous action going on) and let us not forget her discovery of jewelry and long hair oh and the death grip that coincides. Beware all ye with long fringe and dangle-y jewelry.

Random Remembrance (sporadic interactions with Ada that I do not wish to be forgotten):
Poopy Diapers smell like scrambled eggs. Ada is scrambling up some eggs or laying an egg. So upon smelling eggs we no longer run to the breakfast table.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Monday, March 17, 2008

st. patrick's day weekend

The Moncrief's had a wonderful St. Patty's Day Weekend. Friday night was filled will rest and relaxation. I caught up on Ada's Baby book and my Belly Book (prenatal scrapbook) while Jimmy caught a flick and Ada caught some ZZZs.

Saturday was Ada's first girls night. We were suppose to scrapbook at our house. Ha! Yeah, we got absolutely no scrapbooking done with all the talking we did. For approximately 5+ hours straight we talked about babies. No subject change what-so-ever. How could we not talk about babies? Of the six Marketing buddies from college over half of us will have babies this year. This is a shot from the amazing shower that they blessed me with in early January. I am very thankful for each of you and am excited to transition into a new stage of life with you all. Becca, Melissa, Moi & Ada, Katie, Jessica and Kristi. This is not all of us but, it is St. Patty's Day 2007 in Hilton Head. I thought it very appropriate to pull it out of the archives. Sunday the three Moncriefs headed downtown. Our original intent was to simply pick up a custom onesie for Ada's up and coming friend and it turned into so much more. First, is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen. I absolutely adore Ada's onesie but Tobi, owner of Ivey Handcrafted, was even able to top that. I simply gave Tobi my requested color scheme and wordage and WOW!
Even better, Tobi is one of the sweetest and most sincere people you will ever meet. We love you, Tobi. It was great hanging out with you. See ya soon! Tobi, fashionista extraordinaire and Ada, onesie model(below).
Ada is back in her bunny tobaggon during a breezy stroll around Coolidge Park. Still a little big but definitely getting better. Maybe it will fit by Easter.
We ended St. Patrick's Day Eve with dinner at Aretha Frankenstein's with our Irish friends, the McKenna's. What better way to prepare for St. Patty's Day than hanging out with the Irish. Good eats and good times until the baby was ready for bed :)
St. Patty's Day: The Moncrief's headed over to the Harvey's to meet Baby Ty. The little guy was born last Wednesday so he is 4.5 weeks younger than Ada, but they weight the same. It was literally like holding twins. My mom is an identical twin so it definitely could happen. Don't even think about pinching this group. We have our green covered. Can you believe all this hair? Foy, now Ty. Maybe Tucker, due in April, will be bald. Not only does Ty have a ton of hair, he also has the most beautiful large brown eyes. He is precious!
Lastly, St. Patty's family shots: Ada loved pretending to be Irish with her "Kiss me I'm Irish" onesie. Obviously Jimmy did not think twice about yielding to the onesie.
Ada decided to take a little snooze in my shot. Happy first St. Patty's Day, my little leprechaun.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

oh, what a night

And not the kind that Billy Joel had. I know, more song lyrics (an ode to Becca's previous life when she did not have conversations but just sang songs to express her thoughts and emotion). The excerpt in the title describes my Friday night or should I say Saturday morning with my precious sweetheart somewhere in the ballpark of 2 a.m.ish. As normal, I change the little darlings diaper and midstream she had a minor explosion which called for an outfit change (nothing particularly new, but I have to say, it was her fault this time). The little doll is feed and I am burping the sweet angel when Mount St. Ada decides to erupt. One of my child care books reassures that many times the quantity of the spit up is not as vast as it looks but the milkshake that I see reassures me that all of that hard work had just gone down the drain. Starting from the beginning, this time Ada in only a diaper we begin again to fill that little tummy. Mid-meal another blow out this time from the other end. Leakage from the diaper solidified that I also would be receiving a wardrobe change. Two clean sets of p.j.s for each and a full tummy later we were both back in bed. Thankfully what little that was left of the night went very smoothly. {sorry for the double post}

Another non-related picture. First, it has been an enormous blessing to receive meals for the last five weeks while adjusting to our little one. I thank each and everyone of you for taking time to take care of our family in this manner. It has been amazing. I have not had to cook once since Ada has been born. Let's just hope I remember how : ) I can't wait to extend the blessing, this year to all of our pregnant friends. This is a picture of a sweet surprise that came with one of our meals. Thank you, Jennifer. This was such a special extra. You are too cute!

dr. dr. give me the news...

...I've I got a bad case of lovin' you. While I love Ada's doctor it is definitely not in this manner. Certainly more the platonic or philos fashion than what Robert Palmer was implying in this idiotic song I can't get out of my head...aah! Yes, Friday was Ada's one month check up and let me say our child is a weed or growing like one rather. She now weighs 9 pounds 4 ounces (60th percentile) and is 21.5 inches in length (70th percentile). The chick is a fatty muncher (Lindsay and Jessica can attest that this is of highest compliments and is in no means derogatory). She has gained 44% since 02-10-08. I am so proud and saddened at the same time. Of course I am thankful for her growth and good health but at the risk of sounding cheesy she is growing up so fast. Yes, I said it and it has only been 5 weeks. Dear Lord help me, please. The doctor commented on how laid back Ada is in general and during all of his poking and prodding. I completely agree. The chick is fabulous. {sidenote: tonight 3 special friends and a cuz saw a bit of a different side, but let's blame it on the Mommy. She was completely off schedule and was feeling a bit under pressure with the watchful gaze of 2 first time expectant friends, which was all completely self induced, but now in the wee hours of the night we are back on schedule and yes I am completely aware that this is a run on sentence. End of sidenote} While I did not take any pictures at the doctor (I know, don't pass out) a post just seems barren without one so...

This is a shot of her pre-appointment bath. Those long legs definitely did not come from my side of the family.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

happy one month, ada

One of my members at the credit union once told me, "Life is like toilet paper, the closer you get to the end of the roll the faster it goes." While I know I am not at the end of my "roll", life is going much faster than normal. I can't believe Ada has already been here for a month. She has grown so much. My mom, Mimi, has started calling Ada "Little J" due to her irrefutable resemblance to her father. I realized today that it is undeniable Ada has Jimmy's face shape. "Little J" is becoming more and more appropriate.


At one month, her repertoire ranges from engaging eye contact to raising her head and being the cutest cuddle bug ever.

Introducing, Foy Hamaker. Foy was born in January so he and Ada are just a couple of weeks apart but look at the size difference. Is Foy not adorable? I love his intensity while on Ada's activity mat. While the two stared at everything but each other Shannon and I planned their first prom. Ada is just happy that someone in the relationship has hair.



Flashback: This is a prenatal shot of Shannon and I while at the Ocoee with our Life Group from church. Yes, Pat is trying to put forth a preggo belly too.

Little did Shannon & I know that we were not alone this weekend on our pregnancy journeys. Jennifer just so happened to want a picture with us the same weekend. Jennifer was not quite ready to disclose her news at that point. Jennifer is due in April with Tucker James. We are anxiously awaiting."Someone's been sleeping in my bed and she's still there!" exclaimed Brittany Bear. This is Shannon sleeping with my Boppy Maternity Pillow (thanks Amy, for the introduction to my favorite prenatal accessory). I came in from hanging out at the lake and this is what I found. It cracked me up.
To finish off the flashback here is a picture of the whole silly group.