Rachel's First Day of 4K and Soccer

Rachel had a very exciting day yesterday. She started back to school yesterday morning and started soccer yesterday afternoon.

She couldn't wait to start school. She had so much fun last year and was ready to go back. We met her teacher and got to tour the new school building at her preschool last Thursday. The new building was under construction during the last year. Her 3K classes were held in a preschool Sunday school class all last year. When I dropped her off yesterday, I was able to take a few pictures before she said, "Okay, Mommy, that's enough pictures. Now, you and Abigail can leave." She had a great first day. Here she is posing by herself, with her teacher and with Abigail.

Yesterday afternoon, she had her first soccer practice. She has never played before, but she has been begging us to play since she went to a friend's game last November. She loves wearing her shin guards and cleats. She asked me why she needed cleats after we bought them and I explained that they would help her not to fall when the grass was wet. Well, she was so scared that she would slip and fall. She did just that when she was running to kick the soccer ball into the goal. She was a little embarrassed. Her first game is Saturday. It should be fun! Here are some pics from her first practice.

An update...

Abigail got her second tooth today. She has been a little fussy since her gums are sore. She hasn't wanted to nurse at times so she has been taking more bottles than normal. Hopefully, she will be better in a few days. I think that the worst part (with these teeth) is over. I'm sure that it will be a while before she gets more teeth. Here is a picture of her eating some frozen banana to sooth her sore gums.

Here are a couple of pictures of her teeth coming in.

Abigail's first tooth!

Abigail has been teething for a while now. She really started drooling and chewing her hands about two months ago. In the past few weeks, she started chewing toys and trying to chew on our fingers. Well, Friday I could see bumps under the surface of her gums. And today when she woke up, I saw that her first tooth had broken thru. I can just feel the sharp edge of her tooth when I rub her gums. When it comes in a little more, I will try to update with pictures. When Rachel got her first tooth, the second one came days after it. I don't think it will be long before Abigail has two teeth.

5 Month Old Abigail

Abigail was 5 months old on Sunday. She is getting so big. After she learned to roll over last month, she has been busy rolling from one side of the living room to the other. She wants to crawl so badly. She pushes up with her bottom in the air and puts her weight on her feet and scoots. She is able to get to her toys in the floor by doing this. She has also started playing with her feet a lot. She is very vocal and lets you know whether she is happy or not. She is a happy baby most of the time. She only gets a little fussy when she is tired or hungry.

After her 4 month checkup, I started feeding her baby food two times each day. She seems to like everything that we have tried so far except peaches. We only started trying those yesterday. Green beans and peas are certainly not her favorites, but she tolerates them. She loves squash and bananas. This month, Rachel shared a sucker with her, too. Needless to say, she liked it...LOL!

Labor Day Weekend in Arkansas

The girls playing at Grandmom's.

We left Friday afternoon for a trip to visit family in Arkansas. Friday evening, I had a Premier show to do that was hosted by my sister. We were running a little late getting out of town so we drove straight there so that I would have enough time to change my clothes and setup for the jewelry show. Rachel had a great time playing with her almost six year old cousin, Haleigh while we were there. After the show was over, I packed up and headed to Mom's for the night.

Mama, Jeremy's great-grandmother.

Saturday morning, we got up and headed for Monticello to visit with Jeremy's grandparents and great-grandmother. Jeremy's great-grandmother was celebrating her 99th birthday so that was the main reason for our trip. We had lunch there and visited for a while. Then we headed back to Pine Bluff to Jeremy's aunt's house where a 50th birthday party was being held for Jeremy's uncle. Everyone hung out around the swimming pool and visited. Since we decided not to take a vacation this summer, this was Rachel's first time in a pool this year. She was a little scared at first, but then she didn't want to get out of the pool. That evening, we headed back to Mom's for dinner.

Abigail is unhappy with her hat (with her Nana B., aka Jeremy's Mom)

Snowy after a dip in the pool.

Rachel swimming with Jeremy's Aunt Julie.

Rachel swimming with her Aunt Moriah.

Sunday morning, we got up and went to church with my step-dad's parents who were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. After church, we went to eat lunch. We returned to the church for their anniversary party that was being held there. After spending some time there, we returned to Mom's house to get the truck packed up to head back home. We were all extremely tired by the time that we got back to Southaven.

An update on my employment...

Well, let me begin by saying that I haven't worked at Gymboree at all since last October. In September, I was having some problems with my pregnancy and was diagnosed with placenta previa. I decided at that point that I would step down as assistant manager and continue to work there as a sales associate because I wouldn't be required to work as many hours. I worked until the beginning of October and it seemed like when I worked, I would have spotting so I just decided to take off until Abigail made her arrival since the risk of bleeding would be greater as my pregnancy progressed. The store manager was great about it and allowed me to keep using my discount throughout my pregnancy and then thru my maternity leave. I spoke with him about returning in July and he was going to work me back onto the schedule on a very limited basis. I planned to work one shift every two weeks and he was fine with that. He ended up putting in his notice a little over a week after I spoke with him. To make a long story short, he was replaced and the acting store manager just deleted me from the system without even calling me first. When I spoke to her, she said that she had no idea that I was planning to come back, but that I was welcome to reapply for my job. Whatever! I won't be reapplying for a job that I held since the store opened about three years ago.

At the end of July, I decided to start selling Premier Designs Jewelry. I can continue being a stay at home mom and get out of the house at night sometimes, too. I can set my own hours and make some "fun" money for extras around here. (Everyone that knows me knows that I love to keep my girls dressed cute...LOL!) So far, I've had two shows in addition to my training show. Things are going well and I plan to have my initial investment (for jewelry samples and my application fee) paid for by the end of September.

Our baby is 4 months old...

It seems like it was just yesterday that Abigail was born. She is growing up so fast. I'm not sure exactly how long she is or how much she weighs since she won't get her checkup until next week. She rolled over for the first time on July 17. I was able to catch the second time on video the same day.

There's no stopping her now. We can't keep her on a blanket. She rolls all over the floor. If she could just get that baby belly off the floor, she would be able to crawl, too. It's just a matter of time. After all, she has a big sister and a puppy to chase around. She also found her feet and held them the other day, but she really hasn't looked at them too much since. I guess that they aren't very interesting!

This month, she watched fireworks for the first time. She really did watch them and wasn't startled by the sounds. She seemed to be staring at the sky. She also went to the zoo for the first time.

Here are a couple of pictures from the 4th of July. We watched the Southaven fireworks from the amphitheatre at Snowden Grove.

Jeremy's trip to Jamaica & our trip to Arkansas

Jeremy just returned from a mission trip to Steertown, Jamaica. He went July 9-13 with a group from our church. He had a really good time, but I won't elaborate since I wasn't there...LOL! He brought Rachel a t-shirt, a green outfit (her favorite color) and a Rasta hat (w/ fake dreadlocks). He brought me two sets of jewelry. He also brought back a painting and some carved wood pieces for the house.

Here are pictures of the girls showing off the souveniers.

While he was away, the girls and I went to stay at Mom's house. We got to White Hall on Thursday evening. We went to my sister's on Friday afternoon so that Rachel could play with her cousins. On Saturday, we drove to Jeremy's grandparents' in Monticello and visited with them and his great-grandmother. They always enjoy Rachel's entertainment!

Abigail's first trip to the zoo

Since Jeremy was going to be out of town for a few days, he took the day off from work to spend time with us. We took the girls to the zoo. We had a nice day together even though it was the hottest day of this summer so far. While we were there, we enjoyed the sea lion show. When we went to see the monkeys, one came up and played with Rachel. It was the cutest thing. This was Abigail's first trip to the zoo.

Abigail is 3 Months Old!

Well, time seems to have flown by. It doesn't seem like Abigail should be 3 months old already. She has grown a lot. She now measures 26" and weighs about 14 lbs. She loves for us to talk to her and enjoys playing in the floor with her sister. She smiles and "talks" a lot. She has been trying very hard to roll over, but hasn't succeeded so far. She has started showing some signs of teething (drooling and chewing her hands) so I am guessing that she will get some teeth earlier than her sister did, but we will just have to wait and see. A little over a week ago, her tear ducts opened. We are so thankful that she won't have to have surgery for blocked tear ducts. I must say that I am very excited that she just started sleeping up to 9 hours at night.

Here are her 3 month portraits and a few of the girls together in their matching dresses.