Ahhhhh, Going Home

Drew's choir got invited to be the "Featured Honor Choir" at an honor choir day at the University of Alabama. The day happened on Monday, but I decided if I was going there with them, I might as well go a day earlier than the group (they went on Sunday) and spend gameday on campus Saturday. Mama, Scott, Brittany, and Carly came and joined Little Bit and myself and we had a no-stress BLAST on campus. (Although, according to my dr., I did develop a raging case of "tailgater's wrist" pushing the stroller so much for 3 days straight.) It was really fun to be bak on campus, visit my favorite places and see how much has changed. It was also weird to be there as a "Ma'am" not a student. haha! Here's some pics of the experience. :)

Strollers all loaded-up. The girls are OVER waiting on us, as you can see in their expressions. ha!

Poor Carly had a spill into the sidewalk first thing of the day and that goose-egg got bigger and bigger all day. :(
The "behind the scenes" of a picture with the babies. No one's looking at the camera. :)

THERE we go.

Such neat eaters

Tucker was FASCINATED with this fountain. Cried everytime I tried to walk away.

The "money shot" - That's the Bear, for those of you who can't tell. :)

If you look closely, you can see Drew in FULL SPRINT playing with Tucker up the walkway.

Apparently I'm better and getting a 1 year old to look than 30 teenagers. ha!

L&S,

Leslie

I Heart Faces

The I Heart Faces challenge this week is "Halloween Dress-Up"! I decided to pull-out my favorite from last year (especially after spending Saturday withTucker in this cute outfit at the Bama tailgate). I love the costume, and the child, of course, but my favorite part of the picture is how excited she looks to be holding that trunk! (Pretty impressive with a 4.5 month old!) I also love how BIG the feet look on this elephant. So cute!!!

L&S,

Leslie

Ahhhhhh

Tucker has finally gotten into a very good routine at bedtime. We can finally put her in the bed, turn on the crickets (a white noise machine), and leave the room. Bedtime done. We haven't rocked her to sleep in ages, but we did spend a long period of lying on the floor beside her crib (usually reading a book) while she fell asleep. This new routine is good and makes my evening hours more productive to no longer be spending 30 min.+ at this activity. Life goes on, children grow and mature.

However, tonight, after an entire day off-schedule and a horrendous (antibiotic-driven) diaper rash, T NEEDED to be held - not to go to sleep, but just for the love and comfort of it. She didn't play (like usual) or go to sleep. She just let me hold her and rub her back (with her caressing my shoulder and ears) for a good, long while. Here's the thing. After about 10 seconds of this, I realized that I NEEDED to be held as well. I had forgotten how comforting it could be for ME to just hold her and rock her while she's still and peaceful. (We don't get still and peaceful much anymore. ha!) It was all I could do to lay her down in her crib to actually go to sleep. I wanted to take her into my bed with me and hold her all night long, being needed and loved, adored even. Oh that sweet girl does me good. And what a wonderful God to give me, not only this little girl, but this magical moment of love with her tonight.

L&S,

Les

Fashionista

Tucker working the jean skirt/leggings look!

Her shirt reads, "I'm so cute it's scary!" I happen to agree! :)

Such a prissy walk she's developing there.

L&S,

Leslie

Love That Granna

Drew's fall concert at school was Tuesday night. I like to always take Tucker to the school with me because the kids always want to see her (as do a large number of the parents). However, the last 2 or 3 concerts, Mommy hasn't gotten to hear more than a song or so of the concert because Tucker's not so good at the sitting still and quiet thing (and she's certainly not going to go to sleep with that many kids to watch). So, I decided that for this concert (and from now on), I was gonna take me a Granna to sit with Tucker in the hall outside the auditorium and play with Tucker during the concert so I can enjoy the concert rather than run in and out getting looks from people who think I don't know to leave when my baby makes noises during a concert. It was so nice for me to be able to relax and just enjoy the concert, and Tucker and Granna had a BLAST playing outside. Win-Win-Win!

"Getting" Granna


Giving Granna kisses

Thanks for the help, Granna!

L&S,

Drew, Leslie, and Tucker

i Heart Faces

I'm trying my hand out at some thing new. I found a page called


that is a photography blog and there are themed photography contests every week. This week's theme is "Excited!" I took this picture of Tucker the first time I put her in her new ladybug swimsuit. She was SO excited about being in the new suit and getting stuff together to go to the pool. This expression - half squeal, half laughter - it's one of my favorites. It can melt away any troubles weighing me down. I heart her!!! :)

If you have some free time, go search around here for some good photo fun!

L&S,
Leslie

What a Difference a Year Makes

I was trying to print some pictures from Tucker last Halloween to put around the house as part of the Halloween decorations. In the process, I ran across some videos from October last year. I had forgotten how little she once was. It's amazing how quickly our brain can alter what is "normal" in our day to day lives. :) Thought I'd share with you the BABY Tucker (since she clearly no longer is one).

L&S,

Leslie

Roll Tide

Tucker is working on learning that an elephant says, "Roll Tide!" She doesn't have the words yet, but she's got the number of syllables. Progress! :)

L&S (and Roll Tide Roll),

Leslie

Supreme Cuteness

Tucker LOVES for Daddy to hide. She thinks it's pretty much the funniest thing in the world.

Tucker decided that playing hide and seek with Daddy was so much fun that she would try to do the hiding. Of course, to her, hiding means looking away, but the result is still pretty stinking cute!

L&S,

Leslie

Berry Patch Farms

We went to Berry Patch Farms today. It's a local pumpkin patch that has hayrides, face painting, cider, boiled peanuts, animals, and of course, pumpkins. We decided to take Tucker today because a.) we have no more free days between now and the end of the year, best I can tell, and b.) we hoped to beat the Halloween crowds this early in October (and mostly did). Here's a bunch of pics. (They were all too cute to leave-out. Believe it or not, I DID edit some out.) :) They aren't in order because you have to pay attention WAY too closely for me to have done that uploading them. (You have to do them 5 pics at a time and they upload in the opposite order that you select them.)

With the "Tucker size" pumpkin. I said, "These are Tucker sized." And I swear to you she babbled in syllables that sounded just like "This is Tucker." (Even Drew thought so.) She's getting very good at immitating sounds of sentences we say.

She really liked the turkey. She kept trying to get her hands IN the fence. :)

On the picture-taking wagon

Climbing on pumpkins with Daddy



Sitting on pumpkins with Mama




This is the CUTEST expression and pose. I love this picture!

She was sizing-up this pumpkin.

"It's THIS big." (Almost as big as she is)

Such beautiful colors at this place!

Trying to get on a pumpkin by herself

The sky is postcard blue in this picture!

Sticking her tongue out at Daddy (our new favorite game)

On the hayride to the pumpkins

Her first pumpkin discovery

I love this shot! (You can even see the scarcrow in the background!)

Her first awkward attempt at sitting ON a pumpkin

L&S (and Happy Fall),

The Bowers Family

"Everything you make is either Crimson or Houndstooth."

Poor Drew was feeling neglected in my sewing efforts for T. :) I went the very next day (after this comment) and bought some cute purple and gold and popped this baby out. :) I'm going to add some yellow rick-rack (sp) to the bottom of the pants and maybe an LSU somewhere on the top, but even without those, it's cute enough to wear. :)

L&S,

Leslie

Double, Double, Toil and Trouble!

I've been on a "making Tucker clothes" kick lately (in case you haven't noticed). I found this Halloween fabric through a friend and could not resist making something from it. It's fabric with a literary reference on it. COME ON!!! There's a close-up of the fabric at the bottom, but you can't see my favorite little square. (They're all little Halloween-y images.) One of them has an old, craggly witch and reads, "Double, Double, Toil and Trouble". SO FABULOUS!!! Also, this is my first attempt at pants on my own. I made these and some purple ones for an LSU outfit at the same time. I think they turned out pretty well. :) Thanks to Paige for showing me how to do them. :)

*This huge smile you see isn't for the camera. It's because she THINKS she is very stealthily getting the remotes without my knowing. ;) haha!

L&S,

Leslie