Great Friends!

Well going to Zumba 2 nights a week isn't only helping me workout, it introduced me to a great new friend... Now I won't go into the details of it all, but she's a great person... We have a lot in common... Her little girl is a year old, and Greenlee is 9 months, so we have had a playdate or 2. We got to spend the 4th with her and her hubby and some of Justin's old friends. It's like we hit the friend jackpot here lately :) We all can't wait til we get together again and just laugh like we did on the 4th... Funny how things work out.

It's been awhile!

Yikes! It's been way too long since the last time I posted anything... Here's what's been going on in the Ballew house since mid-April:

Greenlee~ crawling... now trying to walk... she holds on to stuff and walks... I see her walking before she is a year old. Still no teeth... I can't wait til she gets a few so we can feed her other stuff. She does however eat some table foods.

I have been racking my brain with what her 1st birthday is going to be and I finally have a theme picked~ RODEO! I have so many ideas running through my head... stick horse races, "bull" riding, cow chips toss, rope toss, etc...

Me~ not too much. WORK WORK WORK! that's all that seems to be going on with me...

Justin~ see above...

We did however take a little trip these past few weekends... 1st we went to Savannah & Tybee. This was Greenlee's 1st trip. She absolutely loved the beach. This child LOVES anything involving water. Our other trip was an overnight trip to Jacksonville to see my 2nd oldest niece gradutate from high school... Again, Greenlee had a blast on the beach...

Maybe it won't be as long when I post again...


Enjoy the Summer!

Busy Busy!

It's been a busy time around our house here lately! On a rainy cold day in March, I was sitting in a Dental Hygiene meeting at the Georgia World Congress Center when I received a text from Justin saying that Greenlee had crawled from one side of our living room to the front door... It was just 2 days after Greenlee turned 6 months old... From there on, she's all over the place... Three days ago, she pulled herself up and stood straight up and looked at us. All she could do was smile. My baby girl is growing up so fast... We will keep you updated on everything as things progress...

It's official... Spring is here in Georgia! A few days that were in the 80s and then we drop right back down into the 40s... This weekend was beautiful, just a little windy. Since we had the worst storms in a long time a few days ago, all the yellow dusting (aka pollen) has faded a little bit. Our allergies (mine, Justin's, & poor Greenlee) have lessened. Justin cleaned out our front flower beds and now I get to decide what I want to plant... I want COLOR! I want something that will make me smile everytime I go outside and look at it. I finally got my hydrangeas, magnolia tree, & crepe myrtle last year... this year I think I'm going to go for anything that will come back and be colorful every year. The down side to the flower beds is that Justin decided to fertilize everything... with chicken scratch (aka poop)... it really stinks, but it really make everything pretty... Once we get everything planted, I'll post some pics... Take time to enjoy the sun...

Her 1st 6 Months...

Here is just a little journey through our lives...

Right after Greenlee was born...

Halloween 2010 at Heritage Park... We were all ghosts

Christmas 2010

Valentine's Day 2011... she is always a Happy baby

Greenlee at 6 months...

I can not imagine what our lives would be like if she were not part of our lives. I don't remember what we ever did before she was here. I don't like doing things that she can't be a part of. I am a mother 1st for the rest of my life, then a wife, then myself. I can not wait to see what all we can get into with this little girl.

'Til next time....

Later Gator...

Time Sure is Flying!!!

It's so hard to believe that my Baby Girl is growing up so fast~ 6 months old this month. I've heard other people say it, but I just didn't think it would go by so fast.

Here are 10 things that Greenlee is doing now:

1) Rolling ALL over the house (since about January)

2) Holding her own bottle (also since January)

3) Drooling ALL over everything... sure wish these teeth would come on in (my baby has been covered in drool since December)

4) Doing crunches ALL the time... our pediatrician (who is the best around) says she's going to have some great abs

5) Getting up on all 4s and swaying back and forth in an attempt to crawl

6) Scooted for the 1st time yesterday (I didn't get to see it~ I was at work)

7) Smiling from ear-to-ear every time she sees anyone (she doesn't meet a stranger~ that's not such a good thing)

8) Pulls herself up and holds onto things (fences, cross-ties, etc)

9) CAN NOT stand flowers.... I bought some for our photo shoot this past weekend and the poor Gerber Daisies and Tulips got beat into shreds...

10) and the Biggest accomplishment so far~~~ Greenlee spent the night with my Mama & Daddy this past weekend so that we could go to a wedding (that may not be one of her accomplishments, but more of mine)

We went for our 6 month photos this past Sunday and I have got to say, these may just be the best ones yet... I am partial to my little Sugar Bean... The older she's getting the cuter her pictures. I must say that everyone I come around says that I have the happiest baby that they have ever seen... I must agree... I will post pics from our photo shoot as soon as I get them back...

Happy Valentine's Day

What better way is there to spend Valentine's day than with the ones you love? This being our 1st Valentine's Day as a family, I didn't want a gift, flowers (although, I do joke around with Justin about never getting flowers), or chocolate. I just want to spend the day with the greatest husband of all and the sweetest little girl ever. Of course, we did get Valentine's pictures made and I did send out a Valentine's card. But, hey, I will be sending out "1st" holiday cards until our little girl is a year old.

Our 1st Valentine's Family Photo... Greenlee's all smiles...

She was amazed at the Hershey's Kisses... they aren't near as sweet as her kisses...

She was telling us "I Love You" in sign language... We didn't realize she had done it until we got the pictures printed...

She was finally able to fit into the tutu I made her right after she was born... It worked perfectly for her Valentine's pictures...

This one was made before I got to the shoot with all of her cute clothes...

It's hard to imagine what we did to celebrate Valentine's day before we had Greenlee... The most memorable one was the year that we went to the Gun Show at AMS and bought each other pistols... Of course, mine is a pink revolver... Would you expect anything else? This year, I just want to come home after a long day of work and spend it with the 2 most important people in my life. We didn't get each other gifts or cards or anything else... We went with the simple things~ LOVE and TOGETHERNESS...

Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day and share it with those that mean the most to you.

What a Surprise...

Now that I've recovered from the craziness of this past weekend, I can attempt to relive the moments that make me love my hubby more and more each day...

Friday morning I had to drive to Macon for a Dental Hygiene educators meeting... Not exactly how I wanted to spend my day. Friday's are my day to spend with Greenlee until I have to work at 2:30. So I wasn't in teh greatest mood to begin with. After the meeting, I had a 1:00 doctor's appointment. From there, I headed to my job at the elementary school. Dragging in, I thought to myself, "I'm going home and crashing".

I leave work right at 6 and turn onto our road only to see a yard FULL of vehicles... My loving husband had planned a surprise 30th birthday party. I quickly put a smile on my face and went about having a great time. Several friends had been at our house all afternoon helping Justin make homemade chicken stew and all the fixings.

Since I've been super busy with this new job and my sweet little baby girl, I haven't really had time to load any pictures... SO when the time comes, I can post pictures...

In my next 30 years

WOW! I always thought that I would have a mental breakdown when I turn 30... Well in about 12 days, I will be 30, so we shall see. So far I don't feel any different about turning 30 than I did about turning 29, 28, or 27. It's just a number.

I do have to say that I am proud of all that I have accomplished in my 30 years here on this earth. I have a degree in a field of work that I love... I have several jobs that I actually like going to... I found the most incredible guy that is the LOVE OF MY LIFE... Together we have an amazing little girl that surprises me everyday. And so much more.

So what do I expect out of my life in my next 30 years? Another child, still at my same job, spending the rest of my life with the most incredible man? All I can do is keep on living my life the same way that I have been and we shall see...

What Were We Thinking?!?!

I think that Justin & I were just wrapped up in the Christmas spirit too much when we made this decision... Let's get Greenlee a puppy. We knew we wanted to get her a puppy eventually, but who knew it would be this soon? Not me for sure...

Some friends of ours got their little boy a puppy a few days before Christmas. Now their little boy just turned 1 in November, so he understands what a pet is. Greenlee, not so much. So we got in touch with the same guy that they got their puppy from. We now have a new addition to our family... An 8 week old Jack Russell/Tree Feist mix named Rosco...

He's a cute little fella, but lord at the energy he has. That is one reason that I wanted to go ahead and get the puppy and have him somewhat trained while Greenlee is still a little baby. I didn't want to have to chase her around and try to keep him from messing up the house.

All in all, he's a good little puppy. He just has seperation anxiety and can move a 3ft by 5ft pen from one side of a room to the other. He barked all night the first 3 nights that we had him. I broke down and told Justin to get him and put him in our bed to see if that would stop the barking. It did. He now has a permanent spot in our bed cuddled up next to Justin; sometimes under the sheets.

That's it for our crazy decision... I will keep you posted on our "little family"....

Till Next Time...

Winter Storm 2011

Well, we are sitting here on day 2 of our "winter storm"... Cabin Fever is setting in and all we seem to be doing is eating.... We ventured out in to the ice/snow yesterday and had a little fun. Since we live in Georgia, we dont have all the necessary snow supplies (i.e. sled, pants, etc.), so we made the best of what we did have, an old truck bedliner. We used it last year when we did get the snow, pulling it with a 4 wheeler, but this year, the 4wheeler was at the hunting camp. Here are a few pics of our day yesterday...

Being pulled by our truck through our front yard on the redneck sled...

Greenlee wasn't a fan of the snow & ice... I guess it was too cold for her... (and before anything is said, she was only out in the cold for a few minutes, her cheeks were rosey from rooting around and wiping drool all over her face)

Ice hanging from our mailbox...

If we get back out in all of this again today, I will post more pics...

New Opportunity....

Well, it finally happened... I am going to be a teacher, so to speak. I already "teach" in the clinical setting in a Dental Hygiene program here in the great state of Georgia. Recently some things have happened on our totem pole that opened up a spot for me to teach in the classroom. I can't wait. It all starts on Monday (if we don't have the blizzard everyone keeps talking about).

I'm sitting here in bed listening to Justin, Greenlee, & Rosco all snoring away as I get everything together for my 1st day. It's like I'm a kid again, getting ready for my 1st day of school~ pens, paper, notebook, etc. etc. etc.. We even went out and got me a new laptop, being as mine crashed 2 years ago and we never really got it fixed.

The students may be a little surprised to see me walk into the classroom; they have only really seen me in scrubs and all the clinical attire we are supposed to wear. I know I can do this, but I'm just a little nervous. What if I leave things out that are important? Do the students think I will be too hard? Is this really happening? Not that what my very own husband said makes it all better: "I just can't picture you up there talking in front of all those people. When we go places, you don't hardly say anything and you're quiet". My response to his comment was, "it means a little bit more money for us. Hush, I get up in front of these people all the time and teach them stuff for clinic".

Keep Your Fingers Crossed... I'll update once the 1st day jitters are over!

Greenlee's 1st Christmas

Just a few pictures of our Christmas Season:



Greenlee Christmas morning with all of her presents from Santa!

Greenlee got to meet 2 new cousins this year...

Greenlee and Addy!

Greenlee & Audrey

Happy New Year!

Well, that was fast! I can't believe that 2010 is already over... I look back and think about all the great things that happened to us during that year... I was pregnant from January to September, so that is the one thing I am the happiest about.


This year has already been great to us...

On New Year's Eve, we decided to add a new member to our family... We got Greenlee a puppy (are we crazy or what?). So far he's been a great little addition (minus the crying & whining all night).

We spent our night ringing in the new year with some great friends, met some new friends, and caught up with an old friend. That was the latest we have stayed up in a long time... 1:30 came fast, but neither of us felt the urge to sleep.

As we have done the past 2 years, Justin & I went to the Whistle Stop Cafe` in Juiliette. Yep!~ it is the same one that was in the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes". I absolutely love going there and spending a few hours walking around and taking pictures. I think I've taken the same pictures everytime we go.

I'll post pics very soon of our newest edition...
Hope your New Year has been as great to you as ours has been to us!