My Little Momma

Cheyenne got this cabbage patch newborn doll from Santa. I've showed her how to hold the baby and give her the bottle and then hug it and burp it. She's so funny. She hold her right, but takes the bottle and beats her on the head with it. She can't just hold it still to her mouth. Then she'll turn the baby towards her and squeeze her (hug). Cheyenne is great at giving hugs. She'll put her arms around your neck and just squeeze!

My walking shoes

My mom brought over these pair of shoes yesterday for Cheyenne. We were talking about how Cheyenne can stand for long periods of time with tennis shoes on. When she's barefoot she tends to wobble and fall. Mom and dad bought me these shoes when I was Cheyenne's age. They were mine! Then Jenny wore them and Katie. They have been through 3 kids...they look like it too, but work just as good! I put them on Cheyenne for a while this morning hoping she would maybe take a few steps or let go of the furniture she was holding on to, but no go. She still will just drop and crawl. Anyway, I thought it was so cool that Cheyenne is wearing the shoes that I learned to walk in.

Taking a Break

Cheyenne decided to take a break from playing and lay down and watch some t.v. She loves the shows that come on Noggin. Franklin, Jack's Big Music Show, Wonder Pets, etc. She'll sometimes watch for 5 minutes or so at a time. But this time she just stopped, layed down on the floor and watched. I just thought it was too cute.

Christmas!

We had a great Christmas! Cheyenne got so many new things and I'm going to put some away and rotate them so she doesn't get bored of them all at once. On top of these great toys she also got a savings bond and some money to put in her savings and 529 college savings. Mommy and daddy had a great Christmas too. We got a personalized door mat for our front door from my parents. It's so cool. It says "Hollifields." We also got some gift cerftificates which are always great to get. Daddy made me a really neat stand. I didn't get a picture of it yet, but I will. You have to see it. He made it himself. I'm so thrilled to have it. We spend the morning at mom and dad's and had a big breakfast. We do it every year. Eggs, bacon, sausage, gravy, etc. It's so good! I look forward to it. We came home and rested for a while before heading to my aunt and uncles for the annual Joyner get together and dirty Santa game. We had a great time. Cheyenne was great the entire day and was exhausted when we got home. She went right to sleep and it actually making up some of that tiredness today. She's taken great naps today! We hope everyone had a great and safe Christmas. Thanks to everyone!

Cheyenne on her new riding toy!

Cheyenne and daddy playing with the Clippo table.Cheyenne and mommy.Cheyenne got a popcorn popper from Nana and Poppa!
Chey got a laugh and learn puppy from Uncle Josh, Aunt Jenny and Emma.

It was so warm outside on Christmas that Cheyenne got to swing and slide!

Cheyenne sliding with Poppa.

Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve Cheyenne and I spent most of the day at home. William had to work and then finish up some Christmas shopping. Men, always waiting until the last minute. Anyway, Cheyenne and I made cookies for Santa and then we went and got pedicures. Well, Cheyenne sat on my lap and she got her feet dipped in the water some. At 5:00 we headed to Grandma Katherine's house and spent Christmas Eve with her, Miles and Jessica, and J.C. We had a great dinner and opened lots of presents. Cheyenne got a princess towel, a shopping cart, a vacuum cleaner and a weeble wobble tree house! She had so much fun playing with everything.

Cheyenne helping me make cookies for Santa.

Cheyenne and her new vacuum cleaner and Nathan.

Katherine and Cheyenne with her new shopping cart.Cheyenne and daddy.

When we got home we played Santa and put out Cheyenne's toys. This was quite different, at least for me. I've never been the one to put out the toys, just wake up in the morning and find them! William and I did our Christmas that night while we were alone. We knew we would be too interested in Cheyenne the next morning. William got be a beautiful charm bracelet and 2 seasons of "Friends" to complete the set. William was surprised with a trip to Chicago to see the Cubs play at Wrigely field in May as well as a cubs hat.

Look what Santa brought!

Our house Christmas eve
The bracelet William got me.

Climbing Stairs

Cheyenne's favorite thing to do is to climb the stairs. She's gotten really good at it too. She's fast. She doesn't know it yet, but we're going to get a gate this weekend. It's tiring chasing her up all the time!

New teeth!

Cheyenne now has 6 teeth! 2 more on the bottom broke through. Must have been overnight because they hadn't come through last night, but they are there this morning! She's going to have one of those Joyner grins...like dad and I. It'll take a couple of weeks for them to come completely out but I'll get a picture of all these teeth for ya.

Special blankie

Lately, if we are upstairs close to Cheyenne's nap time she will crawl into her room and get her blankie, telling me she's tired and ready for a nap. She loves this blanket. It is her best friend! She snuggles up with it on my lap and holds it while going to sleep. Usually she holds it in her mouth as well. I have 2 of them and wash them every other day because they tend to get nasty after she has them in her mouth so much. This is definetly her comfort item. I gave her this to sleep with when we got rid of her paci at around 5 months. She was waking for her paci all night long and I decided to let it go. Since getting rid of it and replacing it with this blanket, she sleeps 11.5-12 hours at night by herself. She goes to sleep easily for naps and bedtime with it. Sometimes when I've had all I can take I can put her in her crib early and she'll talk to her blanket until she gets tired enough to go to sleep. All the time spent getting her to sleep independently was so worth it! Anyway, I just thought it was cool that she went and got her blankie. Sometimes she'll even lay down in the floor with it and try to go to sleep. She's so awesome!

Reaching for the blankie

Got it!

"It's nap time mommy!"

Surprise!

We were planning on waiting until Christmas, but I couldn't wait any longer. We spilled the beans yesterday to my family. We put a shirt on Cheyenne that said "Big Sister." Yes, we're pregnant again! Baby Hollifield is due in August. I'm about 7 weeks along. I'm having an ultrasound tomorrow to confirm the due date. Cheyenne and the new baby will be the same age apart as Jenny and I are! How cool is that? We are really excited and a little nervous. Things with Chey have been great for so long that it's a little scary to add another baby into the mix, but we're ready!

Mom and Dad's 25th Anniversary Party

Tonight, Jen, Katie and I gave Mom and Daddy a 25th wedding anniversary party at the Polo Farms Clubhouse. Friends and family came and ate and had cake. We heard stories of mom and dad when they were younger and Jenny and I gave a "toast." It got a little teary eyed. It's amazing to be married 25 years. I hope they see 50! My sisters and I couldn't be happier for them. We love you!

All the babies were great. Emma slept through most of it in a chair, Cheyenne was entertainment and Noah came towards the end.

Ear Infection...2 of em

Today made 2 1/2 weeks Cheyenne has had a cold. She has developed a cough in the last couple of days and woke this morning with a rash all over her body. When I talked to a nurse, she said it was probably hives and asked me to bring Cheyenne in to be seen. Well, Cheyenne has an ear infection in both ears. Finally, we have ananswer for her recent mood! Here is a picture of part of the rash she had.

Santa

We took Cheyenne to see Santa last night. Before I could even get her to his knee she started kicking and crying. I was able to hold on on my lap while I knelt down next to him. We didn't even get a picture. But we got it all on video! Grandma Katherine went with us. We went across the street and ate dinner at Tex and Shirley's.Well, actually is was breakfast. Don't you just love breakfast for dinner? Hopefully next year's visit with Santa will go a little better.

A Baby Is Your Heart Walking Around Outside Your Body

The other day while Cheyenne and I were in town we stopped by the Bicentennial Garden. I had to meet some ladies from my online class to work on a collaborative paper. Anyway, I had my SLR with me and thought I would try to get some pictures of Chey. When I got home I put them in my Photoshop and played with them. Here's what I ended up with. I love how it's black and white, but there's still the hint of blue in Cheyenne's shirt. I think they turned out pretty awesome!

This little girl is my life. We love her so much and she amazes us every day.

I've been tagged!

I was tagged a while ago and I'm just now getting around to the 7 things about myself you may not know.. Here is goes...

1. When I was working as a receptionist for Starr, I actually answered the phone in my sleep. Apparently I said "Good Morning, Starr Electric"! William had a field day with this one. I still get teased for it. I guess repeating that over and over, day after day, you really can do it in your sleep.

2. I hate wearing shoes. I wear my rainbows in the winter time. Yes, my feet freeze but I guess I'm just too lazy to actually put shoes on.

3. I have never had a broken bone. I dont know if this is odd or not but I think it is pretty impressive.

4. I drink milk straight from the jug. No one else in the family drinks it, so why not?

5. I hate cleaning. I guess most people do, but I despise it. I'll do a little here and there but you won't find everything in it's place at my house unless I'm expecting company!

6. I eat quaker chocolate chip granola bars like they are going out of style. Probably go through 2 boxes a week. At least they are the 90 calorie ones!

7. I've been known to grind my teeth when I'm sleeping or make a "clicking" sound. That's what William says anyway. How would I know...I'm asleep!

Tag Amanda!

Christmas Tree

Our tree

Cheyenne hanging her "Baby's 1st Christmas" ornament

Digging into the ornament boxes

We put our tree up today. We put the lights on and we let Cheyenne help us decorate it. She was more interested in playing with the ornament boxes and getting into wrapping and tissue paper. Then when the tree was done and I was trying to take her picture, of course she pulled the ornaments off. That's okay. I put some plastic ones at the bottom for that very purpose. The tree is beautiful.

David's Birthday Party

Cheyenne had so much fun!

Kristie and David (birthday boy-3 yrs)

Cheyenne and Alicia (Allie)

Cheyenne and daddy playing

By the end of the party, Cheyenne was exhausted. She had so much fun playing, she wore herself out!

This afternoon after we went Christmas Tree shopping, we went to David's birthday party at The Little Gym. David is the son of our good friends, Jason and Kristie. He turned 3 years old! When we walked in the door, Cheyenne knew exactly where we were. She got so excited, clapping and squealing. She had a good time playing at the party. Happy Birthday David!

Christmas Tree Shopping

This afternoon we went and picked out our Christmas tree. It was awfully cold outside so we bundled Cheyenne up in her new coat and the scarf that Grandma Katherine made her. It is so soft. Thanks Grandma! We got a beautiful 9 ft tree. It set up in front of the window in the dining room. Between getting dinner ready and Cheyenne's bath, etc we haven't had time yet to decorate. I'll put some pictures up when it's all done.

Thanksgiving

Yesterday we celebrated Cheyenne's 1st Thanksgiving. We went to the Joyner gathering at noon and to my Aunt Nancy's at 4. Cheyenne had a good time playing with Kaylan.
Cheyenne and Aunt KatieCheyenne loved playing with the dogs at Nancy and Mark's house.This year we have so much to be thankful for. The birth of our beautiful baby girl, buying our 1st home, William reconnecting with his father have 20+ years and the support of all our family and friends. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.