thanksgiving, long weekend, and recovery...

The past four days have been full of family, food, fun, and football.  We've either been really busy or really lazy - no in-betweens :)

Thursday morning we woke up early and had my parents and sister over for breakfast.  Jeffrey did most of the work....when it comes to breakfast, he is "Chef Jeff" ;0)  He even made homemade biscuits that were a pretty close match to Cracker Barrel's, in my opinion. :) 

notice the festive mixing bowl :)

We had a great time together and enjoyed catching up with my sister, aka Auntie Biotic.  She had many interesting stories to tell.....don't worry, I'll definitely share some of those later :)

Libbi loved being the center of attention and showed off every toy and trick known to man - let's hope that she learns how to share the spotlight within the next six months.....

After breakfast, we got ready to head to Jeffrey's mom's house.  Libbi took a really short nap, so I was a little worried about how her mood would be, but she was actually very pleasant the entire time (thank goodness!)  We had lots of delicious food and ate way too much.  I think Libbi ate more than I did.  Jeffrey fixed her a huge plate and we both commented on the fact that she would never eat all of it....but, apparently she was up for the challenge.  She enjoyed looking at their dogs....she wasn't quite ready to pet them, but she really liked watching them (I think she was also just really glad to be on the other side of a babygate for once).

Friday morning we woke up bright and early to "celebrate" Black Friday.  My mom met Libbi and me around 6:30am and we headed out to the mall.  It was kind of a disappointing trip.  There were not near as many sales as I had anticipated and the crowds were ridiculous.  Black Friday is a tradition with the women in my family.  Although, we didn't go shopping last year since my dad had just had his neck surgery and my mom stayed home to take care of him. So... this was my first Black Friday with a baby/stroller.  It's definitely a whole new world trying to maneuver through the crowds with a stroller.  People were not very accommodating.  We ended up buying breakfast, a cookie (to appease our miniature shopping companion), and a candle.  Definitely not your typical "Black Friday" purchases.  Oh well, there's always next year.

Saturday was a very lazy day.  We all stayed in our pajamas all day long.  Jeffrey brought some blankets downstairs and made a pallet for Libbi on the floor.  To the surprise of both of us, she actually laid down on it and relaxed for a little while.  She took turns putting herself to bed and then her babies/dogs/elmo to bed.  We ate leftovers and just vegged out all day.  It was a great day :)

Sunday, Libbi woke up around 6:15 and was ready to go.  We usually have to wake her up to get ready for church, so this was unusual.  We aren't used to getting ready for church while she is up and running.  Luckily, Elmo comes on at 7:00 so he helped us out and kept Libbi company for a while.  After church, we spent our Sunday doing laundry, watching football, and playing.  There were a few naps thrown in for good measure.  We had to do a bit of furniture rearranging, because our little monkey found herself a new "obstacle course."  She would climb from the ottoman, across the end table, and flip over the arm of the couch.  She is such a daredevil.  We have to keep a close eye on that little stinker. :)

Today has been a rainy, cold, dreary day.  Jeffrey went back to work after being off for five days.  We were a little sad to be on our own again and missed having him home here with us.  Libbi and I have stayed in all day.  They are repaving the road in front of our house, so our driveway was blocked for a good portion of the day.  Libbi watched through the window and said, "bye" at least 500 times as the trucks moved up and down the street.  

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were so thankful to be able to spend it with our families.  Our blessings are too many to count and we are grateful for all the Lord has done in our lives this year and the promise of what's to come.  I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family, too!

**Thank you for all the sweet comments and emails about our exciting news!  I will do a pregnancy post sometime this week and try to answer all your questions** :)

say what?!

ex-cuuuuuuse me?!?

Did you just say what I think you said?

I think I need to sit down....

Seriously???

I'm gonna be a big sister?

As long as this baby remembers who's boss.....

We'll get along juuuuust fine ;)

17 months...

Libbi Jane, you are 17 months old today!!  I can't believe that in just one short month you will be half-way to two years old!

This will be the second Thanksgiving that we celebrate with you, but I have a feeling you will enjoy this one a little bit more.  You will definitely get your first true "taste" of Thanksgiving! :)

You are wearing a size 4 diaper, but those size 5's are just days away.  You wear mostly size 18 month clothes and a few of your 12 month dresses still fit.  I would guess that you weigh around 27-28 lbs (even though it can feel more like 50 when I'm carrying you up and down the stairs).

You are recognizing more and more family members and it's fun to see you start to put names with faces.  You are our little Miss Independent - you want to do everything by yourself.  You walk around our house like it is your castle and you are the Queen.  I wonder if I should worry, because when we ask you your name, you will point to yourself and say, "Ma-Ma"..... I have a feeling you are going to keep us constantly on our toes for years to come. ;)

This month your mischievous side has come out in full-force.  You are into everything - especially those things that you should not be.  Your current favorite "no-no" is to climb up on the dining room table.  Anytime I leave the room (to go to the bathroom, take out the trash, fix your lunch, etc) you make a bee-line for the dining room and you are up on that table in no time.  We discipline you each and every time, but so far it has not deterred you in the least.  You have just recently started taking off your diapers, so your days of lounging around in just a diaper are no more.  It also makes diaper changes difficult, because as soon as we fasten one side, you're undoing the other.

You still love Elmo and ask for him from the moment you wake up.  We have a lot of Sesame Street episodes on DVR and you always want to fast-forward straight to Elmo's World.  You then request to skip through Mr. Noodle and the "cartoon" portion of Elmo's World - you know what you like.

You love to sing and dance.  Some current favorites are "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "5 Little Monkeys" "Old MacDonald" and "If You're Happy and You Know It."  Most of your dancing consists of spin moves and some curious stomping, but you definitely give it your all.  And we enjoy the fact that you clap every time we finish singing a song - it's always nice to have an audience that appreciates your efforts. :)

Your eating habits are....fickle....to say the least. You are constantly changing your mind about what you do and do not like.  For instance, some days you'll eat spaghetti like it's going out of style and then other days you'll act like I'm trying to poison you.  Unfortunately, you're like your momma and you've got one serious sweet tooth.  You have never met a cookie/candy/pastry that you don't like.  The only other thing that you always have a taste for is....Chick-fil-A - you are definitely a girl after my own heart :)

Although you are a sassy little thing with a mind of your own, you are still sweet as pie.  We are so blessed, because you really are such an easy-going little girl.  Everyday around 12:45 you get your lovey and your paci and go stand at the bottom of the stairs.  You tell us "night-night" and you're ready for your nap.  You do the same thing every night around 7:45/8:00 when you're ready to go to bed.  We read a few books and you go down without a fight.  Most of the time you sleep like a rock until 7:30 the next morning.

Libbi Lou, we love you more than anything on this Earth!  We are more than thankful that the Lord chose us to be your parents.  You make us laugh every single day and there is nothing sweeter than your hugs and "sugars."  You are our "sweet girl" and we love you bunches!

girl talk....

I have written about my sister before, the ever popular "auntie-biotic."  some of my favorite moments with her are our phone conversations.  there is never a dull moment, that's for sure.  here is a brief excerpt from a recent phone call between myself and auntie biotic.


Me: hey miss, whatcha doin'?


M: nothin'...just restin.'  i've been working a lot lately.  they been makin' me work every day...except for tuesday, wednesday and saturday. {she's a courtesy clerk at kroger}


Me: wow.  you must be really tired.  anyway, i just wanted to let you know that mom fell and broke her wrist this morning.  i know you've probably tried to call her and that's why she's not answering.  dad had to take her to the emergency room.


M: yeah, right.  


Me: no, really.  i'm serious.  they are at the ER right now and she's getting a cast.  she's fine, but they can't use their cell phones, so i was calling to let you know that mom or dad will call you when they leave.


M: why do you always do this to me?  you know how it makes me worried when you call and make up stories about people being hurt.  i hate when you do that.

{click....  she hangs up}


For the record, I have NEVER called my sister and made up stories about anyone being hurt.  ONE time, and one time only, when she was mad at the family (which is not all that uncommon) she wouldn't speak to anyone (again, not uncommon) so I called and left her a voicemail.  In that voicemail, I may or may not have stated that she needed to call me back ASAP, because Libbi was asking for her Auntie Biotic and that she had learned how to spell her name all by herself and was practicing writing it in cursive.  Somehow, this got turned into me "always" making up stories about family members being injured.....go figure.


She even went as far as to call our brother and leave him a message asking him to call her back as soon as possible because I was making up stories again and she needed to know if mom was really hurt.  Because, if our brother says it's true, it's true.  No questions asked.  He's obviously not a liar like I am.


Come to think of it, she never did apologize for accusing me of making up stories.....I guess that's because she thinks I owe her the apology since, you know, I do that all the time. :)

the (honestly) injured mom, the witness dad, and the investigator auntie biotic

wordless wednesday....

reflections of motherhood.com

(thanks, nicole for sharing! :))

creativity(?) at it's finest....

Libbi seems to find many other uses for her toys other than their actual intended purpose.  Does anyone else's toddler do this?  I guess I should just be glad that she has an imaginative mind and some original ideas. :)

She loves (and I mean loves) getting in her doll stroller.  The only way she's allowed to do this is if she's sitting....but that doesn't mean she doesn't try her hardest to STAND in it when she thinks we're not looking....stinker. ;0) 

She desperately wants someone to push her while she's in the stroller, but that's where I draw the line (although I can't say the same for her Buddy....)

She likes to read the book, The Mitten by Jan Brett.  Her favorite part is when the mouse climbs up on the bear's nose and the bear sneezes (ah-ah-ah-CHOO!) and all of the animals fly out of the mitten.  She loves reenacting this scene in two different ways.  First of all, she is constantly sneezing (ah-ah-ah-CHOO!) and expects someone to say, "bless you" each and every time.  Nothing like encouraging our little hypochondriac. :) Secondly, if we're at home, she will gather as many of her dolls/animals as she can and then dramatically "sneeze" and throw them all up in the air (just like the animals flying out of the mitten).  Our little actress.

Libbi also enjoys putting things over her eyes.  I have no idea why this is fun to her (especially since she has received many a "boo-boo" from crashing into things) but she enjoys it nonetheless.  Her blindfolds of choice include her lovey or a hat.  If neither are convenient, she will just shut her eyes tight and wander around aimlessly until she bumps into something.  Here is a little video that Jeffrey took of our "blindfolded wonder"......

 

{small disclaimer (aka an excuse for the mess): in the effort of full disclosure (ha!) on this post, you can obviously see how "hard" Libbi plays throughout the day....our house is a never-ending playground no matter how many times we pick up during the waking hours.} 

'tis the season....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the Tippins' house!!  This is absolutely my most favorite time of the year.  Along with putting up our decorations, I also enjoy preparing our Christmas Cards.  I love sending Christmas Cards almost as much as I love receiving them.

It is so much fun to display them and see how families have grown and changed over the years.

This year, we are ordering our Christmas Cards from Shutterfly.  I love Shutterfly, because it is so easy and user-friendly.  One of my favorite features is the "preview" feature so I am able to see what our cards will look like before actually placing my order.

Here are a few of this year's contenders...

Another of my favorite shutterfly products are the gift tags.  Not only are they super cute, but they're convenient, too!  I can just attach/include one in any gift and not worry about it effecting the look of the packaging.

I think I am going to order these for our family this year:

and these for Libbi:

The only drawback is having to make a decision....there are SO many perfect cards to choose from! Everything is appealing!  Hopefully I'll make my decision soon, so our cards will be delivered in time (and if you're on our Christmas Card list.....just try to act surprised if you see one of these designs again!) ;0)

{Legal Disclaimer: all opinions are mine, but I was offered 50 free cards from shutterfly in exchange for this review.  If you would like more information about this promotion, click here.}

beware...

Hobby Lobby is probably one of the most dangerous places on earth.  Especially during the Holidays.  I could literally spend every penny I have in there and not think twice about it.  Libbi and I made a quick trip to Hob Lob yesterday to exchange a few things (of course, "quick trip to Hob Lob" is sort of an oxymoron since I can NEVER go there without browsing up and down every. single. aisle.)  


I have to confess that the rows and rows of Christmas decorations literally speak to me.  There are few things that I love more in this world than Christmas decorations.  Walking up and down the aisles of ornaments, pre-lit trees, and holiday knick-knacks is almost a religious experience. Between my collective, "awww's" and Libbi's constant "ho ho ho's" I'm sure the other customers thought we must not get out of the house very often. :)


We walked up and down the aisles at least a handful of times.  Libbi admired all the "balls" while I imagined how those ornaments would look adorning our tree(s).  Libbi "ho ho ho'd" at each and every Santa we saw while I imagined how that particular Santa would be treated and inadvertently deconstructed if he happened to come home with us.  I envisioned gloriously themed holiday rooms in our home while Libbi tried her best to adorn herself from top to bottom grasping at everything within her reach.  I was quickly brought back to reality when Libbi pulled an entire display of ribbon spools off the shelf.  I thanked God they weren't breakable as they rolled in every possible direction across the floor.


After picking up yards and yards of ribbon (and thanking the employees that helped us - yes, employeeS) we made our exchanges and took one last look at the splendor that is Hobby Lobby.  I gathered my purchases (all $1.04 of them...I told y'all I could spend every last penny there - it just so happens I don't have very many "pennies" haha!) I took one last look at the splendor of Hobby Lobby, and went home to put up a Christmas tree.
Hobby Lobby is a dangerous place.

monday...

Just a random list on this November Monday.....

*Libbi has been cracking us up (even more than usual - ha!)  She has been doing new things every day and it's amazing to see what she picks up on.  She has been very into her babies lately.  She wants to feed them, give them sips from her cup, and share her paci. The other day she came back from the dining room holding all of the placemats from the table (thank goodness nothing was on them!) and she proceeded to cover/wrap all her babies, elmo, and cookie monster in the "blankets" that she had found. :)

*Libbi now wants all of her "boo-boo's" kissed.  It all started when she bumped her head on the cabinet and started to cry.  I did what any momma would do, and I kissed it to make it all better.  The next thing I know, she's (gently) banging her head on the same cabinet and then running to get a kiss....over, and over, and over.  Now, she frequently "injures" herself in order to get her "boo-boo" kissed.  In my family, she's what we would call an "attention seeker."  I have no idea where she learned this from..... ;)

*One of my favorite things that she does right now is when she says "come here."  She beckons with her little hands and says, "c'meeeeere" in this high pitched little voice that is just too cute to resist (and she definitely knows it).

*Thanks for all of the comments, emails and suggestions regarding Christmas gifts.  They were all SO helpful!!  My friend Amy sent me this link and I thought I would share it, because it was so helpful!  This is the link for toy suggestions for 18 - 24 month olds, but there are also other age groups listed as well.  Thanks, Amy! :)  

I'm still on the lookout for fun/educational/productive/developmentally appropriate toys for 18 - 24 month olds, so feel free to email me if you have any suggestions!

*This time change is not going over well with Libbi.  We've tried our best to keep her up later so she stays at her "normal" bedtime, but she still woke up at the crack of dawn this morning.  All day she looks at me like I'm crazy, because she's hungry (only it's still an hour until lunch) or she's soooo tired (but it's not naptime).  The other night, she literally got her paci and her lovey and walked to the bottom of the stairs and said, "night-night."  She basically begs to go to bed - poor thing!  Hopefully her schedule will adjust within the next few days....

*Finally, Libbi has recently discovered a love of climbing....

She seriously stands and climbs on everything!  The other day we caught her standing in her baby's stroller.  She loves to stand on chairs and tries her best to get in her highchair all by herself.  Last night Jeffrey and I were in the kitchen and when he looked out to check on Libbi, she was sitting at the dining room table.  She had climbed up on one of the chairs all by herself.  I'm just praying it will still be a looooong while before she learns how to climb out of her crib (or over the babygates!)

Happy Monday! :)

friday wrap-up

The last half of this week has been pretty low-key.  Libbi finally seems to be feeling better - thank goodness!  Today was the first day that she's actually had an appetite and her energy level seems to be almost 100%.  

I'm thankful that our little spitfire is back - we've missed her spunk! :)

We've mostly stayed around the house the past couple of days since Libbi wasn't feeling well.  Not to mention the weather was not ideal for getting out....cold, rainy, and windy.  It always seems like "Fall" is forgotten here in GA.  The temps go from the 80's to the 50's within a week.  

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days:

Libbi watching "Elmo" and relaxing

We did make a quick trip to the mall to meet Uncle Justin and Blakeley for lunch one day.

This is Libbi pre-nap....what a cutie!

And post-nap.....bless her heart.  That hair just has a mind of it's own ;0)

Libbi helping me "fold" laundry

she loves the smell of fresh laundry.... ;)

And today she enjoyed hanging around the house and flipping channels.  I'm sure it's just pure luck, but somehow she manages to find the DVR'd episodes of Elmo and start them all by herself.  I'm never sure if we should be impressed or scared - ha!

again....this is "post-nap" hair :)

This weekend Libbi gets to hang out with Mimzy and Buddy while Jeffrey and I go out on a date.  It should be fun for everyone!  Hope you have a great weekend, too!