Girls Night

Last night was a Girls Night for Cortlyn and I. I had invited a co-worker to come over, with her daughter who is about a month older than Cortlyn. I had no batteries for my camera, and I don't know how to transfer photos to computers- that is Corey's sort of thing!

Megan and Stella arrived and Cortlyn immediately hugged Stella. After about 5 minutes of being here, Cortlyn was saying "Stehlla" and they were having a very good time! They were so excited to play with each other, although, Stella had to figure out what this place was before she really got down to business! We had a cheesy pasta for dinner and then for dessert, Megan brought stuff to make strawberry short cake! YUM! We let the girls help with their whipped cream which was SOOO much fun! Cortlyn first took the tiniest little scoop and wanted to eat it. I grabbed her hand and showed her how to get a scoop of the cream and place it in her half of the little cake. Then, the four of us proceeded to eat the whole package of fresh strawberries! They were really good. We hung out and played with the girls and they even cleaned up some of their mess- of course, they IMMEDIATELY messed it up again, but we're looking at the positives here!

We knew the night was over, when they started arguing over toys when they each had a similar item. We decided that meant it was time for jammies and for Meg & Stel to go home. Cortlyn was very upset to see her new friend leave and screamed for about 2 minutes after I put her in the crib. And then she was OUT for the night. Silly girl!

Today will be spent (Hopefully!) at USM watching the Women's softball tourney! Shelley & Addy are in town, since Addy's daddy is the coach for the Belmont softball team. Julie, Micheal & Caleb will be there as well so it should be a lot of fun! I'm hoping for nice weather, although the forecast said 60% chance of rain. BOO! I'm tired of this crazy weather! We had SNOW FLURRIES again this week. SNOW FLURRIES!!!!!! Is the cold weather following me? I really think it was snowed more here in Mississippi then it did in GA last year! Sigh.

So Proud!

Cortlyn is just getting bigger and bigger. I can't believe that this little girl was beginning to pull up on everything this time last year! Its amazing that she runs around the house and chases after us to tickle mommy or runs to hug her daddy. Her hair is finally starting to grow, but man it has the weirdest pattern. I'm sorry baby girl- that would be something you inherited from me!

She's getting very interested in putting on her own clothes. However, this new "talent" is still a work in progress. Shirts become skirts and shoes on the wrong feet. But she is proud of what she's doing! She recently found a pair of our socks and successfully put them on and was running around the house with her latest fashion statement! Mommy's little trendsetter!

Our sitter has been working with her own daughter preparing for preschool with flashcards of letters and numbers. Cortlyn is always close by in the highchair and while they are doing their lessons, Nita includes Cortlyn in all of their studies. This week, Cortlyn counted to 8 using the flashcards with Nita. I feel so blessed to have found such a wonderful woman to care for my daughter. It broke my heart to leave Stephanie *MiMi* behind in Georgia (and this is a different Steph from the one we are seeing this weekend!). I'm glad that we were able to find Nita just in the nick of time!

Cortlyn and I are excited to be headed to Birmingham, AL this weekend to spend some time with Stephanie and Alaina. Steph's family lives there and have allowed us to crash there so we can get the girls together! Cortlyn loves her An-yah! And we have the DVD player ready with Poppins ready to play. Corey will be home focusing on a Paper, Project and Test that he has next week. My hard working student is doing so well down here in school. I'm proud of how hard he is working! We are a pretty good team, if I say so myself. We have found a routine that works for us and we are seeing that light at the end of the tunnel beginning to shine ever-so-softly!

Oh, it's a lovely holiday with Mary...

So, we have found the movie that leaves Cortlyn spellbound. And I, for one, couldn't be more happy about what movie she has chosen to be her favorite movie. Its Mary Poppins- which is a childhood favorite of mine! I have always enjoyed watching the movie with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. I have already decided that when she is older, we will read the books together. It's something I always wanted to do- I remember my cousin telling me about reading them when she was a child, but of all the books I read growing up, I missed the Mary Poppins series.


We haven't actually hooked up the DVD player to the TV in the living room, so the only way that she can watch the movie is on the portable player we bought for the car. Which for now, is just fine. She has watched it while on long car trips, but she found the case for the movie and flipped out, saying PEEZ! repeatedly while pointing and shaking the case. I had no idea that she would even know what the movie was by just the case. I'm so happy that she enjoys this movie so much!

They are calling for snow in Hattiesburg AGAIN! I tell ya, I really didn't think I'd see this much cold weather, especially after the LONG hot summer! People here say that this rarely happens, but I have a feeling the weather wants to follow me here, because it knows I don't like being cold! Bah!

Cortlyn also got her first taste of a coastal tradition! A Mardi Gras King Cake! It was VERY tasty and she enjoyed her little bite.