Beach Time!

It was bound to happen, and now it has! We have a beach bunny on our hands! Cheryl and Emily were in Pensacola for a volleyball tournament and we went to go watch Emily kick some hieny and then tagged along with the Volleyball girls to Pensacola Beach.





















It was warm, but VERY windy! If the wind hadn't been so bad, it would have been a perfect day at the beach. I was very glad that I brought some knit capri's for myself! Cortlyn thoroughly enjoyed playing in the sand! This is where she proved that she isn't my kid! She was pouring the sand on her arms and rubbing it in her hair- She LOVED the sand! Bring it on!

She was very excited about the water too! When she saw the water she was ready to get in there! So, Cortlyn and Daddy headed towards the water! Of course, we knew it was freezing, but how could we keep her out of the water? And this wasn't a bath- she wasn't slowing down on her way towards it!

She had no problem being in the cold water! She was not happy when we took her out! Crazy girl... I see a lot of sand in my future!

So excited!

So, we have begun potty training around here! We are letting Cortlyn guide us, and trying not to push it. She has started asking to sit on the potty, and we are more than willing to let her sit. And Sit. And Sit. Get the picture?

The other morning, she said she needed to sit on the potty. So, Corey took her in her bathroom and TA-DA! She peed on the potty! She was sooo excited! She came running in our bathroom, where I was getting ready for work and said "I peepee!!" and I was sooo excited. Daddy was excited! We put on her big girl training pants and she was so excited- that she peed in them too! Well, we're getting there! She is asking to sit and that's okay with us! We'll get there sooner or later, right?

I have to ask again, for your help with my friends at Homes of Hope! The voting goes on all month long. We have been in first place for over a week and then today, we were down to second place. The group that is in first now came out of NOWHERE! I hadn't even seen them in the top 5 before today. Please share with friends and co-workers, use every email address you have! Currently, I am voting 6 times a day! That's a lot of votes, but I truly believe in this organization and their ministry! They have a heart and passion for what they are doing!

Homes of Hope for Children

Shelley and Addy came to visit along with the Belmont Softball team (ok, ok- the girls on the team were here to play softball & Shelley tagged along with them). While they were in town, we went with our friends Michael & Julie Garrett to the Homes of Hope for Children campus. In the picture, you can see the building that is housing the offices and the house parents (And actually, the house parents are almost cut off in our picture there!). This is going to be an AMAZING ministry to the children of southern Mississippi. They are currently trying to win a grant from Pepsi for $250,000. If they win this money, they WILL open DEBTFREE this summer! Please visit the website to see more about their incredible vision and vote daily in the month of March for Homes of Hope for Children. I'd love to be a small part in helping them change the lives of 7 young girls this summer!

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.

Just an update!

Things have been quiet yet busy around the Southern most Francis household! We've been enjoying the bipolar weather, with a trip to the playground last weekend and bundling up in the puffy jacket this weekend! Crazy. I really thought the weather in Georgia was crazy, but I believe that Southern Mississippi has the corner on that now!!!

Cortlyn is getting more vocal everyday. We're struggling some with her extremely good manners. "Peez!!" is said several times in a row on a daily basis, yet we have no clue what she is wanting when she says it! We're getting better, but we are hoping that she figures out some other words to help Mommy & Daddy out here!

We've got a busy spring ahead for us. Corey's school schedule is full of concerts, events and recitals (well... they haven't quite made it all on the books yet- but he is trying to schedule them!). We're trying to enjoy as much family time right now as possible! We've been cooking dinners at home a LOT and sitting down at the table together. I know that this won't always be possible, but I do love it!

We made it out to Target today with the sole purpose of purchasing shoes (Can someone tell my kid to STOP growing??? We're going to go broke here!!). Of course, the shoes are past the dollar spot and really- who can resist a stop at the Dollar Spot? I searched to see what we needed (a new spoon for the kitchen, a counting book for Cortlyn) and then I saw some silcone cupcake holders! I had already decided with Cortlyn's newest interest in helping and how much fun she had with cookies for Santa, that for her birthday, we'd be decorating cupcakes as the cake AND game! Well, these cupcake holders are colorful and come in different shapes. I got flowers and butterflies! I'm so excited! Strange that cupcake holders would make me so happy, but I'm a mom- isn't that what we do? I also happened to see some sprinkles that were pink and red for Valentine's Day! So, I grabbed those too! I'm thinking I'll have to check back, because they may have some green and gold sprinkles at St Paddy's day and pastles at Easter if I'm lucky! :) We'll be ready for lots of cupcake decorating by the time May rolls around! Oh, and in case you were worried, we DID end up buying some shoes for the girl! She's now comfy in her size 6 shoes.

Our Little helper!

We have a budding chef on our hands! Cortlyn has become quite excited about helping make dinner or lunch as of late! Its been interesting as we try and figure out (quickly, I might add!) how to let help. Sometimes, its easy. We made meatball subs the other night, so we let her sprinkle the cheese on the bread before we toasted. Othertimes, its harder, but we are figuring it out as we go. She is an EXCELLENT cheese sprinkler though. Maybe we should open a pizza place...

Melting for "chalk"

I know... I'm terribly behind in updating the blog. Has it really been over 3 weeks from Christmas? 2010 is already going terribly too fast, and I wish someone would find the slow down button!

We haven't taken too many pictures lately, I know. We're bad parents! We've missed 3 whole weeks of her life at this point. Honestly, our biggest task has been cleaning up after her with all the toys she got spoi- er- blessed with at Christmas. She has enjoyed her activity table and loves when we change out the top of the table for her. There is one small problem that I wasn't prepared for... See, she now understands that she can easily open the bins herself. Oh, and that she can carry said bins. Which means, the contruction bin will end up in the living room and the nursery bin in the kitchen, while the kitchen bin is mixed in with doctor bin on the floor in her bedroom. I thought these bins would be great, but I'm starting to think that MAYBE they should be kept in the closet and brought out one at a time. Oh well, live and learn!

Daddy has been busy prepping for his qualifying exams. He has spent time studying at home and at the office. Its a good thing he has stuck around the house. I mean, how else is Cortlyn going to be able to help him study and show him what he is missing if he's always at the office, right??
Isn't she just adorable sitting there with him? I could really just scoop her up and squeeze her to death!

We have now entered the stage where Cortlyn is getting increasingly more frustrated because she KNOWS what she wants to communicate with us, but her language skills aren't there yet. Its hard, when you can see that she wants something. (I know there is a difference when she is just whining!) Tonight was a prime example. Cortlyn walked into the kitchen, while dinner was cooking, and started fussing. She wasn't hungry (as I had watched her stuff her face with cheerios when I picked her up from her sitter's house!), but she didn't want milk or water to drink. I picked her up, thinking maybe that is all she wanted and when she was in my hands she THEN reached towards the cabinet where the Ovaltine is kept. Sigh. Well, I reached in and got it out and she started clapping and wiggling with excitement. I went ahead and put some in her sippy with her milk and she was happy as a lark. I wish it was always that easy to help her find a way to communicate with me. We worked on saying "chocolate" but it turned out to sound like "chalk." Chalk works for me though.

Cortlyn & Alaina

Alaina belongs to one of my best friends, Stephanie. Alaina survived very grim odds when she was born and is our little miracle! Stephanie decided spur of the moment to drop everything and run away for the weekend and visit me- something we both were overdue for!!! Cortlyn LOVED Alaina!

Stephanie got here late on Friday night and then Saturday morning, we decided to follow USM to New Orleans and spend a few hours over there. It was SOO much fun to have Alaina around! I can't wait til our next girls weekend!

Our Christmas!

We had to make a few more cookies for Santa... Chef Cortlyn was on that!

 When we woke in the morning, Cortlyn had so many things under the tree that Santa had brought (And a few things Aunt Cheryl had sent!)

  

Cortlyn was VERY excited about her very own telephone!

 

Santa left one half eaten cookie... which Cortlyn promptly took care of! 

 

After baby got her new outfit on, Cortlyn shared her winter cap that she got from Santa

 

Doctor Cortlyn making sure baby is okay (she is!)

 

 I think this table is going to be a lot of fun for her, she has enjoyed it so far today!

Cookies and Santa

 I decided that Cortlyn needed to prep for Cookies for Santa... since he would need some for Christmas Eve, right? So, last weekend we had our first trial run!

Cortlyn was not all that excited about cutting the cookies... So, Mommy just had to cut them out and let her get on to the fun part anyway...

 THE SPRINKLES!!!!

 She got the idea of the sprinkles, right?

 And we had to let her taste the yummy-goodness!

Due to the traveling back to Georgia at the time when Santa usually comes to visit, we have arranged for him to visit us a little early. It is a little early, but Santa made the necessary changes to his schedule to help us out! So, since he is coming tonight, we went to visit him today. Cortlyn seemed very excited about visiting with Santa, so I was sure we'd get a great picture like we got last year. 

 

Except someone didn't want to sit in Santa's lap!!!! So, instead of freaking her out, we decided that Momma would just stay close- and in the end we got a GREAT picture... that we can crop!

Snow in Hattiesburg???

First things first! Big Mama Blog is giving away $100 gift card from Hersey Kisses! I could always use a little extra cash, and if you are interested, go comment here!

So, they had been talking about it on the TV all week... but do you really expect in Southern Mississippi to wake up to this outside your front door??

Cortlyn has a little cough and a runny nose, so I couldn't let her stay out for long, but she has to play in the snow a little right?

Here Daddy is giving her a little snow to see what it looks like, and how cold it is!



This is the view from our back yard... the sky doesn't look real, but I swear it is!



And then, she was done... she had walked in it, touched it, but like her mother... she wanted where the WARM is!!!
And this week we went to the Tree Lighting at USM, the pictures I took came out horrible, so this is really the only one. You can't see the tree and the ornaments very well, but it is a beautiful tree!

Oh Christmas Tree!!!

Today was the day... while Cortlyn took her afternoon nap, Momma & Daddy worked hard to rearrange the living room and put up the Christmas tree! Cortlyn was VERY excited to see her surprise when she woke up...

I hope we have the "touch, don't throw them to the ground" part down... Since our ornaments are all from Ikea, they are plastic, so they *shouldn't* break. We'll see.

She was so excited she kept covering her mouth! It was cute!

She really wanted to have the "Tar" but, it was just out of her reach... darn!

I can't wait for the rest of the holiday and for her to enjoy this Christmas. Last year was so much fun, but this year will be even better! Now, if the USM athletics would decide what Bowl game we're going to, that would be great!

Thanksgiving 2009

Sorry its taking so long to post another blog! Last weekend Nana & Pops came to visit last week, and do you know, I don't have a single picture from that visit?? Sigh. I do have a picture of Cortlyn and daddy hanging out on the couch from that saturday morning (Cortlyn is in her USM t-shirt, although, she had to miss the last game of the season due to freakishly cold & wet weather)


We were able to find a parade on TV (stupid DISH), the Chicago/McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cortlyn LOVED to watch the parade and the floats.


She sat there and watched, until I said "Look, Cortlyn! It's Santa!" I didn't expect her to remember Santa or even know what he was about. Well, she shocked me and JUMPED to her feet and pointed at Santa and dancing around. Who'da thunk it?

This is Daddy carving our delish crock pot turkey!! It was SOOO tasty, if I do say so myself!
And this was my shot of the table. We didn't decorate much, but SOMEONE couldn't wait for the meal to start...

Little Miss...

Today we took Cortlyn for her first pageant. It was a small local natural one. She did pretty well, so I thought, but she got 3rd place. She had a blast playing with the other kids that were in the pageant!

These were the three girls in her division. The girl in the middle won.

There was also a little boy in her division... he was a cutie!

Exciting month ahead!

So, the ice cream truck stopped by again on Sunday!!! YEA!!!! Although, it was RIGHT at naptime but it was a nice day and I want Mr. Ice Cream Trusk to know we're a good place to stop in the spring! I thought we could just buy the ice cream and then put it in the freezer and she could have it after nap... Wrong! She figured it out and was NOT happy that we were planning on not giving her the Push Pop right then! So... Momma was the pushover this time. I gave her the ice cream. I figured she was going to eat it anyway, better now than around bedtime, right?

Cortlyn sharing with daddy!

Is this the spitting image of her father or what?

In other exciting news, I found a local beauty pageant to put Cortlyn in! It's not a glitzy, makeup and hair piece thing... just a natural little pageant. I promise... Cortlyn will NOT become a pageant kid! I just think she's so adorable!

The Zoo

As previously mentioned... there is a Zoo in Hattiesburg. Its nothing terribly exciting, and it only cost $2/person to go, so at least its affordable! But we don't have gobs of animals to look at. But Cortlyn seemed to enjoy it, even if she could understand why she couldn't go play with the big cats and birds...


The monkey didn't seem very happy about being in a cage with the parrots...Peeping at the prairie dogs
Super Cortlyn!

I wish this had turned out a little better... but the guy who drives the train took it.