Life.

We have been enjoying life around here -- to the fullest! Here is a little update, accompanied with pictures, on what has been going on in our world!

For starters, about 3 weeks ago I was driving my car and as I entered the on-ramp a deer (doe) ran into my front right passenger headlight and then ran back to where she came from! I was accelerating to get on the freeway so I was probably going about 40-50 mph. It scared me b/c I did not see her coming at all, which was best case scenario. If I had seen the deer then I would have probably swerved and it would have been a lot worse! Anywho, it just jarred my car a little bit and that was it. Lincoln was with me and after that he just kept starring at that side of the car like "what just happened?" Luckily we got it fixed pretty quickly, but here is a picture of what it looked like before it was fixed.

Secondly, 2 weekends ago one of my best friends and her husband came to visit and meet Lincoln! Beka and I first met at CBC where we played basketball - or as we joke we sat the bench, we didn't play! We became fast friends and she was actually the maid of honor in our wedding. Beka married Clint three year ago and they reside in the great city of Memphis! Beka will be graduating this month with her Master's in Communications and Clint is currently in his fourth and FINAL year of dental school! These two stay busy! Also, the big news with them is that -- they are expecting a baby on February 12th! (The day after Lincoln was born I might add!). Very exciting! We had a great time catching up and laughing with them. Here are a few pictures of their visit.

Crazy to think that this time next year this will be them with their own

Baby Conner who will be about the same age.

Thirdly, Lincoln has teeth!!! Two to be exact. His lower central incisors (yes, I know I'm using technical terms thanks to the baby book that helped me out on that one!) are both in. Just the little tops of both of them are showing but hey -- its a start. The first one broke through on July 31st and the second one on August 2nd. He has been pretty fussy especially yesterday and today he is running a very slight temp. We are just ready for those two to show themselves - completely! Here is the best picture I could get of them. He is not fan of me looking and poking around in his mouth, but really who is? (I think you can click on it to make it a little larger)

Fourthly (is that even a word?), I got all my hair cut off. With these three digit temps I needed something much cooler! I had Cory take a few pics so that my mom and MIL could see it. No pony tail for me for a while, but I hope it takes me less time to get ready in the mornings!

And Fifthly, we are gearing up for school to start back which means a whole new routine will be taking place at our house! I will only be working part time this year! Yay!! I am excited about this opportunity! Lincoln will be attending "school" for the days I am working! We went last night and met his teacher. It will be a whole new experience for him but one that I think once he gets adjusted to will love. He is quite the people-watcher and I know he will enjoy seeing all the new people and things around him. Here is Lincoln in his back to school gear! I mean, doesn't everyone in NWA wear a Razorback outfit to their first day of school? Ok, maybe not. Just had to do a little photo shoot before he outgrew this cute onesie and it seemed like the perfect place to share them.

Hard to believe that in a week he will be half a year old. (Man, that was hard to type!)

Our own Story.

Today, our niece Story Leigh O'Dell arrived weighing in at 7 lb, 12 oz with a length of 19 3/4 inches. She is beautiful and I can hardly wait to meet her in person. Unfortunately that won't be for another 9 weeks or so! I'll be DYING by then to hold her. With Story's birth, Lincoln is officially the "big cousin." And Lincoln now has five cousins with his sixth cousin due in just a month! Too fun. Here is a picture of her from today.

Happy Birthday, Story! We can hardly wait to meet you and give you lots of love! Lincoln wants to play with you and show you all his cool toys when you visit in July! He already noticed that your lovie and his lovie are just alike -- except yours has pink polka dots and his has blue. He says you have good taste! You are joining a very fun family with a great big brother and adorable sisters. We know you have many fun days in store for you.
Love -- Uncle Cory, Juie and Big Cousin Lincoln.

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My return to work today went well. I was greeted with this on the wall behind my desk.

Talk about making a girl feel good about herself! This sign accompanied several warm greetings and hugs. And this was all from only one of the three schools that I serve! I didn't make it to the other two today. I definitely felt loved. When I dropped Lincoln off this morning, I felt some anxiety rising but I just kept praying to overcome it. It was raining so that made it even more difficult to get him in the house. It was quite comical. No tears were shed the entire day. (Go me!) By about 1:30 or 2:00 in the afternoon I started missing him a lot and I was itching for the day to be over so I could go pick him up. He got a glowing report and did great today! I think he enjoys the other 2 babies that are there. She said he just stares at them.

Once I picked him up, we headed to the eye doctor. Yes, the eye doctor AGAIN. Two weeks ago I thought I had pink eye and went to the eye doc. Come to find out I had a piece of metal in my eye! I know, crazy! Not sure where that came from! Well, this morning I woke up with the same feeling but with a lesser intensity. So back to the eye doctor I went. And come to find out another piece "surfaced" from where the first piece was removed. He thinks that it was the other part of it and was embedded below and took the last two weeks to come to the surface. So he removed that part and assured me that he feels he got it all. I hope so! That has been a very painful experience. So, for those of you who thought of me and prayed for me -- thank you! They were felt and appreciated.

And in 4 weeks, or 20 work days, I'll be back off to enjoy the summer months with the little man that I love so much.

Happy Monday!!

Trial Run.

Today we had a trial run with Lincoln's childcare. I did not want the first time I dropped him off to be my first day back to work. Instead, we made it today while I ran errands, got a pedicure (orange, of course) and got a haircut. Surprisingly, I feel like I did a good job! I was anxious as I drove away but soon decided to make it a positive day and had happy thoughts. I thought of him tons while I was gone but knew he was having a great time! I have a great feeling about the lady keeping him and know she is doing a great job. She gave Lincoln a glowing report and is excited about keeping him over the next four weeks.

I know you were all dying to see my orange toes and here they are! They look stark orange in this picture but I promise they are a fun and pretty spring orange! So cute. There is a place in town that does an AWESOME pedicure. I would say $35 for an hour and 20 minute pedicure is totally worth it. Last time I went there was February 1st and I was very large and in charge ready to have Lincoln. The lady kept asking me where my baby was. Too funny.

And here I am with my little man sportin' my new hairdo!

Lincoln and I plan to live it up for my last week of maternity leave. As much as you can live it up with an almost 3 month old. Then back to the grind for four weeks and two days --but who is counting? O, me! Not only will I be back to work a week from today but also my new niece, Story Leigh, will be born! It will be a fun distraction to keep my thoughts off being back at work!

Tomorrow is the day!

Summer break is over. Tomorrow I return to work. I have had a fantastic summer of fun and relaxation to which I am extremely grateful! I actually feel somewhat ready to get back in the routine of work. I have started to feel a little more like myself lately so I am praying that I continue to feel well. I already got a call today from one of my schools with a situation to take care of tomorrow! It was definitely a reality check that tomorrow is the day! Here's to a fantastic school year.