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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Papaw's Birthday

My Papaw has not been with us for over 2 months now, and I miss him so much.  Today is his birthday, and he would've been 71 years old - definitely too young to be gone.  : (   Sadly, I never got around to writing a special birthday blog for him when he was around to see it, but I would still like to write one in his memory.


The picture above shows the one and only trip that Papaw got to spend time with my daughter.  He loved to hold her when she wasn't crying, haha.

If you had the pleasure of knowing my Papaw, then you know there were many different "sides" to him.  Rough and tough to those who he thought deserved it, and cuddly as a big teddy bear to his family, whom he loved dearly.

So here's to a Papaw who:

Threatened to kill and/or shoot every past boyfriend I had in the foot (including my husband, haha)
Always made me sit on his lap, no matter how old I got (and he always had to let me know that my baby butt used to fit in his hand, but not anymore)
Bought my Granny and my mom a dress for every occasion, even if they wanted pants, lol
Took me dress shopping at a young age and bought me 2 dresses, because I told him "Papaw, I love this dress you just bought me, but I REALLY love this dress over here!"   ; )
Chased me down the beach when I was a toddler
Never let me forget that I accidentally lost one of the diamond earrings he bought me when I was 2.
Always let someone know "What you NEED to do is..."
Took me and all of my cousins to Disney World
Grew the best tasting tomatoes ever
Referred to the Young and the Restless as the "Young and the Useless", but still watched it
Came outside to direct our parking up until he had trouble standing/walking
Made some delicious food!!!  Scallops, lamb chops, mmmmmm
Loved sitting in his disco light jacuzzi
Took us on countless trips to the beach in the RV...we had so much fun!
Listened to jazz music in the car on Sundays
Would always claim that "the midget did it" (My family will understand this one...)
Always told me I needed to buy darker lipstick because I looked half dead, lol
Would always answer the phone by saying "FBI" or "Sheriff's Office"
Enjoyed watching Dog the Bounty Hunter, Swamp People, Storage Wars, and any other redneck TV
Also enjoyed watching sports, NASCAR, and criminal investigation shows
Bought my brother and I all the pets we ever had growing up - first 2 hamsters, Jimmy and Trouble, who were not with us very long, haha, and then our dog SweetPea, who was an irreplacably special part of our lives for 13 years.
Would say "Listen to this..."  if you told him something he thought was funny, stupid, or unbelievable
Taught me to target shoot with his BB gun
Always ask me if I wanted to take his diabetes shots for him
Loved driving his Lincoln
Would strongly advise you on what to order at a restaurant
Told the best and funniest stories about his experiences when he owned his own motel at Myrtle Beach
Was a retired veteran in the US Army
Could talk to a stranger for hours
Would give you the shirt off his back

I could go on and on with all of these.  I truly have so many memories of my Papaw.  He and my Granny were always such an active part of my life and were always there for us if we needed anything.  He provided us with lots of love, fun, and advice.


I love you and miss you Papaw!  We all wish you were here for us to have a birthday party for you, but we at least have the comfort of knowing we will see you again one day.

Love, Holly

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Emily - 8 Months

Emily, you are 8 months now and summer is here!  From now on, Mommy is going to stay home and be with you all day, every day.  That may be a difficult task at times, but I know that I won't have to miss spending time with you and I'll get to watch you learn & grow every day.  I am so excited!!



You sure had some pretty significant "firsts" this month!  Way to go baby!
This month:

You started CRAWLING!  uh oh...
You are trying to pull up on things
You even stood up a couple times on your own when we were barely bracing you!
Your first tooth FINALLY popped through!  It's on the bottom and still barely out there, but trust me...I found out the hard way it was there when you bit my chin, haha.
You got to spend a month with Nanny while she was here to watch you during the day
You had your first experience with bubbles!
You are getting into everything you aren't supposed to have...pulling DVDs off the shelf, picking up sneakers to chew on, yanking decorative strings off of our Pier 1 pillow grrr!, trying to stick your fingers into electric outlets (we had to baby-proof those), door stoppers, and more.
You unlocked the door to Katie's kennel and let her out after we had put her in there.  This was a very funny moment, as I think you pretty much conveyed to Katie that you two would be partners in crime.  : )
You want to play with anything that is NOT your toy, lol (cell phones, nail files, bottles, remotes, etc)
You accidentally turned the volume all the way up on the TV by holding down the button and completely freaked out.  It. was. hilarious.  You started throwing your body around and gasping over and over, haha.
You learned to clap, and it is so adorable!
You love me to sing the same songs to you with the motions that Grandma and Grandpa sang to me when I was a baby - Ride a Little Horsie, Patty Cake, Round and Round the Garden, There Was a Little Mousie
You finally started to sleep through the night again...cue the church choir "HALLELUJAH!"
You like to live dangerously by leaning over the edges of things as if you don't realize or care that you will fall...in fact, you would if I weren't holding you! This applies to all couches, chairs, and beds.
You like to stick your fingers up our nostrils....sigh....
You are still saying "mama" and "dada" very well, and unfortunately, yes, the "diva scream" is still around
You love rocking on your Tigger rocker!


I love you SO MUCH, Emily Grace!  I am so blessed to have the sweetest girl in the world!
~ Your Mommy