Stripes and Dots

  LG has been enjoying having her Grandma N here.  They have been waking up bright and early together with jet lag.  :)  Here little LG is up early playing with my new planner for the year.

The Long Trip Home

Today Daddy, LG, I, and Grandma all packed our bags and hopped on the plan to go back over the ocean.

We were concerned about catching our first flight because it was overbooked.  They kept announcing that they needed someone to give up their seat in exchange for a $200 voucher and food vouchers for Atlanta.  LG has a seat booked, and I knew that she would end up sitting in my lap anyway, so I offered her seat.  Now we have the voucher, and we all ate in Atlanta for free!

In between flights LG enjoyed walking Grandma around and carrying her purse.

After an upsetting start, LG finally settled down and fell asleep for the big flight.

Traveling Again

Today it was time to go back to Grandparents N's so that we can get on the plane tomorrow.  Before we left town, we had time to stop by the visitor's center and take a picture by the Golden Peanut.  I wanted to do this last visit, but we ran out of time.  Maybe this can become a tradition.

Dentist

This morning LG went to her very first dentist appointment!  Her grandmother and I took her, and she had a great time in the waiting room sitting at a table and chairs and playing with a tea set. 

I took her back when it was time to see the dentist, and I was very happy with how the dentist examined her.  The dentist and I sat on a bench, and I held LG.  I then laid her back onto the dentist's knees, and he looked in her mouth.  The dentist had good things to say.  Her teeth look good.  There is no decay or discoloration.  He gave LG a toothbrush, and he sent us on our way until next year!

When we got home, LG and Granddaddy went shopping around the house with a "big" basket.  :)

Busy Day

This morning, LG got up and read with Grandmother.

Then Daddy, LG, and I went to visit her pediatrician.  This was a scheduled appointment to act as her 12 month check up.  The doctor was very happy with LG.  She gave her one more shot, and said that next year (if her umbilical hernia has not healed on its own) we would schedule a surgery for that. 

After the trauma of a doctor's visit and a shot, LG deserved a special treat.  We took her to Landmark's Park.  It's a historical farm not far from my parents' house.  We took LG to the cotton patch.

We took her into the farm house and took a picture near the preserves that my mom donated from LG's great, great grandmother.

We also took her to see the farm animals during feeding time.  She got to feed the pigs!  (Sadly, the camera died before this big event.)

Church and More Spoiling

This morning I had creche duty at church!  Not really, but they needed another Sunday school helper, so I stayed.  LG only had one other little friend to play with.  How sad!  There were always tons of us when I as in Sunday school.  LG normally has at least 15 others to play with at our church.

When we got home, we played and played and played.  Granddaddy did more spoiling by letting LG play in the kitchen cabinets. :)

And we played ring-a-round the rosie.

Granddaddy Spoiling LG

Granddaddy is letting LG do the ultimate no-no...play on the computer! (And she knows it, too!)

Portraits

We are at Grandparents' E house now, and LG is back on schedule!  She woke up at 7 AM!  This was great because today she had a portrait appointment at Sears.  She didn't fall asleep waiting to have her pictures taken like last time, so I was hopeful that this pictures would be good.  Sadly, the photographer didn't really know how to make LG smile.  She kept pinching her cheek, which I think frightened her a bit.  When I got to look at the pictures, there was not one where she was really smiling.  I was so upset!!!!!  Oh, well.  She won't have more another portrait made until next year.  :(

More Fun and Traveling

Today LG woke up at 6 AM (yesterday it was 5 AM), so she seems to get an hour closer to the right schedule each day.

She has discovered that she loves running 'round and 'round the house with Grandma...laughing all the way.  :)  (She still hasn't taken any more steps on her own since the Skype call, though.)

Gandpa has been good about keeping Miss LG's first Christmas tree alive.  He planted it in the back yard, so we took a picture of it.  LG and the tree are still the same size!

Here is a final picture of LG and her Grandparents N before we left to go visit Grandparents E.  We will miss them, but we will be back before we leave the States.  And guess, what?!  Grandma N is coming back with us for two weeks!

Adventure Day

Today was quite an adventure day!  We took LG to see her old pediatrician in the morning because she is getting sick.  I think it's the combination of jet leg and the change of location, but the doctor says she has the beginnings of an ear infection!  Poor LG, not only does she not feel well, but when the doctor saw her shot record, she gave her 3 shots to make up for the lack of shots that she gets at home!  :)

To make up for the morning, we took LG to the Pro Bass Shop in the afternoon to see all the animals and the giant fish tanks.  She wore her new overalls that her Grandpa gave her, and although she fell asleep in the car on the way over, and it took her a bit to wake up, I think she had a great time!  She was kind of clingy around the animals at first, but when she warmed up to them and realized that they weren't moving, she started pointing them out to us.  If you have never been to a Pro Bass Shop, you must.  It doesn't matter if you are outdoorsy or not.  It is truly an amazing store...something you would only find in America.

We also took LG to KFC today.  Do you know that they now have a chicken buffet?  LG loves chicken, so we thought she would like it.  Nope.  She threw a fit and would not each the plate I had fixed her.  So, I took her to the buffet and let her point to what she wanted...crackers and shredded cheese.  That was it!  She did try a spoonful of banana pudding, but I will have to say it wasn't the best banana pudding I have ever had.  (Here is a picture of her sippy cup that I got her for the trip.  Even though she drinks just fine from a big cup, the sippy cup has been handy while traveling.)

Ponytail and Waffles

Today Miss LG woke up at 4 AM.  Since I was up with her, I thought I would try out the new hair accessories that I got for her yesterday at Wal-mart.  I bought a whole bunch of little bitty clips, and a whole lot of pony tail holders.  The clips are great, and the ponytail holders seem to work well, but LG would only let me put one in.  Isn't she cute with her first ponytail?

For breakfast, we took LG to Waffle House...the definitive American breakfast restaurant.  She tried real quits (she had only had instant ones that people had mailed us before), eggs, and waffles.  She liked the grits, wasn't keen on the eggs, but LOVED the waffles. (Note that the ponytail didn't last this long.)

After breakfast, LG, B, and I all went over to Pascagoula to visit our friends and to arrange a place to stay the next time we are in the States for a couple of months.  It was so good to see those that we got to see, and we wish we could have seen more.  Short trips like this one are always hard.

When we returned, LG got to have more grandparent time today because B and I had dentist appointments.  After experiencing the pain associated with dentists over here, we decided that we will try to see our dentist in the States during holidays.  We are both happy to report, "no cavities!"  Our dentist is also happy to know that he does a better job than big city, foreign dentists.  :)

First Day Home

Well, so much for sleeping well last night.  LG is JET LAGGED!!!!!  She woke up very early this morning...3 AM.  I got up with her because I figure we might as well go with her body clock for the next 10 days since we aren't here for long.  Hopefully, this will make her transition back easier.

Today, we all had a great time enjoying the SUN!!!!  Even though it is cool here, the sun is fabulous!  Just having this much light around us lifts our spirits soooooo much! 

Some of our activities today included taking LG out to visit Grandpa's puppy dogs.  At first she was a bit skittish, but she warmed up to the quickly.

We also drove to a friend's restaurant for lunch.  LG tasted her first pickle.  Sadly, she was not a fan.

LG also enjoyed getting gifts from her grandparents.  She got new shoes, a toy computer, and Daddy's old truck.  Let the spoiling begin!

USA!

Today we got on a plane and flew home to the USA for a quick 10 day visit.  LG did well on the two flights, but we are all exhausted.  We wound up going to three different terminals before we found the correct one.  We would have been late checking in, but thankfully the flight had been delayed.  Then when we went through security here, we followed the signs to our departure gate only to be told that we were not at the correct gate.  Our gate was on the other side of the terminal.  We practically ran to that gate, only to be told when we arrived that our flight had been delayed again.  Whew!  B was able to go back to the food area and get us some food.  Just as we finished up eat, we boarded.  When we arrived in Atlanta, we had to collect our luggage to have it rescanned through security.  This would have been no problem, but there was some sort of delay, and we waited for our luggage for 45 minutes!!!!!  We rushed to our departure gate again and thankfully we made it about five minutes before we boarded.  When we landed in Mobile, we were so thankful!  We will sleep well tonight!

Giggles, Blocks, and Strawberries

LG has started saying a new word, although I don't think she knows what it means by the way she is saying it.  She says, "giggle."  But she says it repeatedly and very fast, so it comes out like this, "Giggle, giggle, giggle, giggle." 

She can also now stack 5 blocks by herself!  Smart girl!

She also tried a strawberry for the first time.  It was a big hard to eat at first, but I think she likes them.  :)

Front Facing Car Seat And Sweet Kisses

Today we went ahead and switched LG's car seat to face forward.  She is a much happier little girl now while riding in the car.  :)

This evening at bedtime, LG did the sweetest thing to date. 

We have a pretty regular bedtime routine.  We change diapers/nappies, put on new pj's, then LG is rocked by Daddy while we give her her vitamines, let her brush her teeth, and we read her a bedtime Bible story.  After the story, we pray, give her a kiss, and Daddy puts her to bed.  Tonight after the prayer, LG leaned in for a kiss from Daddy and then from me!  How sweet!

Impatience and Cuteness

Impatience (LG bit the orange because she couldn't wait for me to peel it.)

Cuteness (Enough said.)

14 Months!

My, my how Miss LG has grown!

And here she is sporting her crocheted wear.  :)