MY FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

Okay I think Mommy went a little OVERBOARD on my first birthday party. She and Daddy rented the Lynches River Park Building. The theme was going to be "UNDER THE BIG TOP!" They decorated everything like a Circus. We had carnival games, balloons, favors, cake, ice cream, hot dogs, barney, music, popcorn, and a balloon clown. It was completely over the top! I had alot of cousins there and some friends. I really enjoyed playing in the birthday cake. Mommy let me put my hands in it. I am sure I will not remember this party when I get older but it was quite an event!

First Christmas

I liked the boxes and bows best this Christmas. I got so much that I didn't know what to do with it all. PopPop gave me a John Deere Gator. Which I love. Meme gave me a leap frog table. It makes lots of noise. Gaga gave me lots of clothes and a baby doll. Santa came to see me and he bought me lots of little people and a bouncy horse. I did not like anything about Santa this year. My Mommy and Jen Jen took me to have my picture made with him at the mall. I screamed, arched my back and pitched a fit. I was so bad that my Mommy was in such a hurry to get outta there that she grabbed the diaper bag, me and the stroller and forgot to get her purse. One of photo center workers at the Magnolia Mall stole Mommy's purse. Jen Jen caught him coming out of the public bathroom with the purse. He threw the purse at her and ran out of the mall. He had taken all of the cash money out but left the credit cards and drivers licence. Mommy and Jen Jen had to go press charges against him at the court house. Mommy says she will never go back to the photo booth again...I bet she will thou.

DaDaddy Mac Had a farm E I E I O!

Today was a sad day for our family. Dadaddee Mac passed away. My granddaddy McLaughlin was 54 years old and he was recovering from colon surgery at Carolinas Hospital. This morning, Mommy and I went to the hospital to check on him and he told Mommy he didn't feel well. Mommy called doctor Miller and he came right over. They thought he had an inner ear infection. As they were moving him to a special unit, he had a pulmonary embolism and passed away. My Mommie, Gaga, Bubba and Sissy were very said.

While Dadaddee was in the hospital this month, my Mommie would take me up to visit him. Sometimes, we would take walks with him up to the 9th floor hospital lobby. From there, he could see everything he had worked on his whole life. He would walk me over to the window and point things out to me and tell me things that were going to happen in the years ahead. He liked to sing to me and play games. One of our favorite games was the one where he would stick his tougue out and them I would do the same thing. Then he would blow and then I would blow. We laughed alot together. I liked to lay on his big belly and nap. He was always good for a nap. Since we had been working together for about 7 months, I enjoyed when he took me in his office and put my bouncy seat up on the BIG desk and fed me while we watched the news or he talked on the phone to clients. He had worked with me for 9 months on the "GRANDADDDY!" thing. That is what he wants me to call him. Since he has been in the hospital I was afraid of the IV's he had in his arm but every tim I came in the door, he would hold his hands up in the air and say, "Granddaddy!" He really wanted me to say granddaddy. Lastweek, I decided I would make him happy and just do it. I actually held my hands up on my own and said "dadaddee!" back to him. Thus, he will forever be in my heart as "Dadaddee!" He thought that was really something special. He thought I was really something special. My Mommy worries about how his passing is going to effect me and my future. She also wonders if I will remember him. I am sure I will...who could forget him!

First Celebration

This was my first Celebration. What a TRIP!! Mommy had this great idea that instead of staying in the house at Cedarhill if we bought a RV, parked it in the yard, stayed in it we would have more room and everyone would be much more comfortable. Mommy bought a camper (NOTE-->not an RV--there is a BIG difference) sight unseen from Mr. Tim Brooks. This idea would have probably been a good idea if the "camper" had been just a little bit bigger and we hadn't been planning to stay in this camper for 12 days and 14 nights. The camper was only big enough to have a double bed, a packnplay and our clothes in it. Mommy's shoes were actually in the stove and under the kitchenette sink. My clothes were in the kitchette cabinets. There was only enough room in the camper for one of us to stand up at the time. You had to stand sideways to get into the bathroom and then once you got in the bathroom you had to be careful as the floor was weak and about to fall through. Everytime someone sat on the potty they had to wonder if they are going to fall through this time. The shower was the size of a small metal wash tub and the waterpressure left so much to be desired. Oh, and did I mention that Mommy brought Babbs with us too? The absolute best part of the whole camping experience was that if the air conditioner in this camper runs for longer than three hours, it will freeze up. To maintain the AC unit, one must get a hairdryer out and blow warm air into the unit until it unfreezes. If you don't do this, it gets VERY hot in the camper. Usually, this all takes place in the middle of the night. What a joy! Dadaddy Mac did get out his cattle troph (his pool) and fill it with water. We got in and I love to swim. That was my favorite part of the entire trip. My Daddy is looking for a Holiday Inn and he says that we will NEVER camp again. My Mommy says "you have to do things you don't enjoy so that you can appreciate the things you do enjoy more". Basically Daddy says "Mommy just doesn't want to admit she was wrong about camping for 12 days being a good idea." What a Celebration!

Lets Go To Work!

Mommy went back to work at McLaughlin Company part time in March. I go with her most days. She has a pack-n-play set up in her office. She also has a high chair for me. When my Dadaddy Mac is in the office, he takes me in his office and puts me in my bouncy seat on his desk. He likes to feed me baby food and a bottle. He and I also blow raspberries at each other. He has a really BIG tongue. He taught me to spit and blow raspberries. When I do nasty things....he screams "MAMA!" That means he wants my Mommy to come deal with whatever it is I have done. He likes for me to come to work. He calls me his "Little Real Estate Salesgirl". He says it will make me smart to come to work and hear people talking about business. My Mommy isn't so sure about all of that. Mom has lots of toys for me to play with at her office but I prefer highlighters, her files, and her business cards. My Gaga keeps me on some days when Mommy and Dadaddy have to go to meetings. Sometimes, my Mommy takes me to meetings with her in my carrier. I am so quiet and hardly ever make noise. Mommy loves having me at work with her, except when she is talking on the phone and I am screaming and there is no one there to help with me. The best day was when I was in my pack in play taking a nap and I decided it was time to relieve myself. Somehow I managed to get my diaper loose and put my hands in it. Mommy was sitting at her desk and she thought she smelled something. By the time she got to me, I had baby poop all over my body, all in my hair, in my mouth, all over the pack n play and all over the wall of her office. Mommy gagged and gagged. Jen Jen had to help Mommy get me into the tub at the office and wash me off. They then had to take my pack n play outside and wash it off with the hose.

In May, Mommy went back to work full time. She hired Jennifer Stroup to help out at the office answering the phones, filing and keeping an eye on me. Jen Jen and I really hit it off and I quickly figured out how to occupy 90% of her time. Some days, Jen Jen just comes to my house and watches me. We play all day. Jen Jen likes to change my clothes and fix what little bit of hair I have. There are days when she changes me 4-5 times. My Daddy says she just likes to make dirty clothes. I have lots of teeth coming in and I am eating both baby and soft foods. I am a very messy eater. However, when I get it all over me, I want someone to immediately wipe it off. I do not like to be dirty long! I love spaghetti O's, Squash,mac-n-cheese, fruit and veggies. I do not like meat. If my Mommy or Jen Jen tries to feed me meat, I purse my lips very tight and if any gets in, I spit it at them. They are about to give up trying to make me eat meat.