Belly and Baptismal Gown

So one of my MANY followers (ha) has requested to see a picture of my belly and the baptismal gown that my mom handed down to me. I don't want to disappoint my followers soooo, here they are...

The above picture was taken last night before we went out to eat for Steve's birthday. This is what my belly looks like at 6 months and 3 weeks. It's hard to believe that I am going to get even bigger! Ahhhhh! Funny story... the other day, I was walking down the hall at work and I was carrying a big poster board and a few other items. Some IT guy was walking behind me and ran ahead to open the door for me. Nice, right? I thought so until as I passed, he had to suck in and slide over so I wouldn't bump into him and he said "wide load". I laughed because I was pretty sure he was just referring to the poster board but still, he probably could have been a bit more cautious with his wording. Ha!

The above pictures are of the baptismal gown that my mom passed to me and my grandfather's bonnet. All 3 of my siblings and I were baptized in this gown. I can't wait to put James in this beautiful gown and get him baptized!

The bonnet was actually my Paw Paw Sanborn's bonnet. That means, this bonnet is over 80 years old. How special.

Merry Christmas Cheech

Soooo, you are probably wondering what in the world I'm going to do or say about Cheech. Hold onto your butt!

First let me say that I really prefer reading posts that include pictures. It could be some sort of psychological thing from when I was a kid and read books with pictures. Who knows? It is what it is.

So, about Cheech. Here's the story. On Christmas Day 09, my mom and I were in the kitchen getting dinner prepared while dad, Dan, and Steve sat on the couch in the den playing with their new Ipods/Christmas gifts. It was about ten minutes after 1p and I heard a rap on the door, the door open and someone walk in. Being that it was around the time Uncle Ron (our only guest we were expecting) was supposed to arrive, I assumed it was him. Right?

About 3 minutes later, as I was bringing something to the dining room table, I caught a glimpse of my dad walking towards our front door with a man that looked exactly like Cheech (the picture you see above). WHAAAA? I ran back into the kitchen and was semi-freaking out. Mom hadn't seen what I'd seen so I quickly told her that the guy that came in our house was NOT Uncle Ron!!! My mom blew it off and said "Uncle Ron lost a little bit of weight. It's him". And I said "No, you dont understand. It's NOT Uncle Ron. This guy had a huge moustache" And again, mom blew it off and said "YOUR Uncle Ron has a moustache. It's him." Finally the third time was a charm and my mom finally believed me. She ran towards the front door to see what was the matter.

By this point, my dad was outside with Cheech. Mom met them outside and conversations were had. When mom came back inside I was so anxious to see what the hey was going on. Apparently, Cheech was headed to some house on our street but due to a severe burnout, I suppose, he didn't know the address or what the house looked like. So, he gave our house a shot and just meandered straight in. He beebopped into the den where my dad and the others were hanging out and just stood there. My dad looked up at him and in typical Wild Bill fashion, asked "wrong house?" Yup. Wrong house.

So, dad walked him out and tried to help him locate the correct house on our block. But, to top it all off and before Cheech could ride off in the sunset, he had to get his mode of transportation (his bicycle) off of the lock and chain from our back gate. Classic.

We don't really know what happened to Cheech, his blue vintage puffer jacket, and his bike but we do hope he had a blessed Christmas.

James was on the nice list

James must be a good boy because Santa and our family brought him alot of great gifts for Christmas. We are so lucky to have such supportive and caring family members. Here is what James got this Christmas:

My Granny and Aunt Reenie gave James this really adorable stuffed rocking horse. They had it sitting under the Christmas tree and it didn't even occur to me at first that this was CLEARLY for me. Ha!

My godchild, Allison, and her family gave me this totally awesome diaper bag! There are so many options when it comes to diaper bags and I've been keeping my eyes open for something that I like. As soon as I opened this gift, I knew I was going to love it... and I do! It's made of vinyl so it's totally washable and has all sorts of accessories inside. I love love love it!

Grammy and Pops (my mom and dad) gave James these ridiculously adorable leather moccasins. They look like they came right off the reservation! I can't wait to put his little fat feet in them.

Part of this gift REALLY made Steve a bit uneasy. Ha! It's pretty awesome that James got Saints gear before he even got Titans gear. I told him not to worry because James would definitely have his fair share of Titans stuff in the future. The other little white outfit in the picture is something my mom handed down to me. My brother, Michael, wore it when he was a baby and it means ALOT to me. I think James will look adorable with these shortalls and a tall pair of socks. Ha!

My mom also gave me a few other family hand me downs and they mean the most to me. The above picture is a little crocheted sweater and bonnet that my brother wore as a baby. She also gave me the baptismal gown that all 4 of her kids were baptized in and the bonnet my paw paw wore to his baptism. There are a few other things and all of them were so touching. I love them!

We had a wonderful Christmas and couldn't have asked for anything better.

Company Christmas Party-2009

Maybe it's the maternal instincts in me kicking in already but at my company Christmas party in December, I held the photographer captive as I insisted that my HR coworkers and their spouses pose in a group picture. I don't think I was TOO annoying about it! Ha!

The picture came out good and I especially like the pink flamingo prop. Nice touch--- kind of reminds me of when my mom had pink flamingos outside of our FEMA trailer after Katrina. Nothing says "class" like pink flamingos and a sewer pipe running through your front yard. (I'll have to post those pics later.)