"Good Night Sweetheart!"

I don't know what the deal is....

Tess refuses, will not, and can not be made to take a nap.

What happened to our good lil' sleeper??? We've worked so hard to be "Baby Wise" and our Tess has always been a good sleeper. I mean, she would go through stages- but overall.. a good sleeper. Lately (the past couple of months or so) she has been crying out in the middle of the night...."daddy", "DADDY!!" followed by a trip to our bed and then restful sleep the rest of the night. I however, can not sleep in a queen bed with 3 people (plus Tessie snores like a champ). We are trying to get the situation under control so she will return to our good sleeper. After talking to many "super moms" -here are some suggestions I have been given:

Make her lay back down, spank her, rub her back, lay down with her, hold her down till she goes to sleep, let her cry it out, pray for her....

I would love to hear any other suggestions from any of my blogging friends!!! Anyway, nap time is a disaster it is almost not worth it to me. I let her cry for 1 hour yesterday...i felt so bad. :-( plus she never went to sleep. Here is what she had to say "i ouwanna nap"...over and over!) I wold LOVE for her to take a nap, mainly for selfish reasons like I AM EXHAUSTED!!! Anywho, last night I laid her down (she always goes to bed easily at night) at 8pm and at 10pm she started crying out, etc. I went in there, hugged her and prayed aloud for her, made her lay back down (usually I have been rocking her-which is followed by her falling back asleep, me laying her down, her waking back up, her crying....repeat steps over again until I break and take her to our room....she wins..i lose) and rubbed her back till she fell back asleep...

and guess what?

SHE SLEPT THE REST OF THE NIGHT!!! Woo Hoo! WOo HoO!

Well, this morning she woke up at 7am and I went to get her. I praised her for sleeping in her bed all night and she said "I didn't get scared" :-( I felt sooooo bad. I have never heard her say she was scared at night. Poor thang. Maybe she had been having those night terrors?? Anyway, I would love to hear any advise from anyone that may read this...strangers or friends. I need some help.

Pray for good sleep for Tess.

I might give up on the naps.........will see. night all.

LSU......what????

Okay, I told Jay I was posting this pic because anyone that knows him will not let him live this down. My dad, brother-in-law Scott, and Jay all traveled to the LSU vs ARKANSAS game this past Friday. The man who gave them the tickets bought them LSU shirts because he was worried about their safety (their tickets were in the middle of LSU alumni)??? Anyway, they didn't have any problems and they even cheered for the HOGS with their LSU shirts on. Too funny!

Thanksgiving Day!

Tess and Granny made pecan pies (my fave!!..as long as it is my mom's recipe :-)) Tess is a great helper in the kitchen!! My sister hosted Thanksgiving dinner at her house. Everything was delicious! Thanks for the great food everybody!!! My mom's dressing is the absolute best!!! We have so much to be thankful for!!! Below is my mom and my mamaw...doesn't she look great after a year of chemo and radiation?? She graduates from her last treatment in Feb! YEAH MAMAW!!!!! We miss everyone so much and are so thankful for every minute we get to spend with them! Love ya bunches!!

Here's the Tree!

Family Tree
Tess's Tree

Tess and Sarah!

We took Tess's Christmas card pic at my uncle's barn...can't wait to show yall. It is too cute!! Have to wait closer to Christmas!!

Cute pics of the girls....I just had to post!

Kissing Cousins!

I am sorry I haven't blogged in a while. We have been in El Dorado for a week and when we came back our heater wasn't working...so we have been staying with Jay's parents for a couple of days. All is well now! Catching up on emails and blogging. We had a great time at home!!! It is always wonderful to catch up with family and friends. One night we went to my old stomping ground, "Parkers Chapel School" to watch my 2 nieces perform there cheerleader skills (a cheer "mini clinic" for the elementary girls) They were so good! The best 2 out there.....of course. Tess was so excited to see Sarah they kept giving each other hugs and kisses. Here is a pic!

Thanksgiving in Memphis

Last week we headed to Memphis for Thanksgiving with Jay's side of the family. We had such a good time!! We actually ordered chicken from Abner's (which was awesome!!) and had a few homemade side dishes. It was the perfect meal!! Tess was so happy to see her cousins- Bailey, Molly, Emma Kate, Pierce, Seth, and Andy. She was sad to leave!

It's That Fun Time Again!!

I can't help it.... I have to put my decorations up early. I mean I already feel like I am behind. I know it sounds CrAzY, but I like to enjoy them for as long as possible. It is a lot of work!!! Anyway, here is a picture of me and my sidekick working on the tree. It is so much fun chasing a 2 year old around trying to get the "balls" aka Christmas ornaments away from her. (twice as much work) She loves all the fuss! Maybe I will post a pic of the tree when I am done with it. Some friends and I went to the Holiday House this year and we all bought this mesh tulle stuff to put on the tree....did I mention it was torture!!!! I told Jay, i wish we had a place where we could put the tree up fully decorated and drag it out next year ready to roll! That would be nice. :-) Merry Christmas!!!!!!! P.S. Artwork makes great Christmas presents!!!! :O hoHoho!

Tesser!

Yesterday, after I got dressed I found that Tess had gathered all the small pumpkins, her drum sticks, a teddy bear, a necklace and some sunglasses. She was playing drums on the pumpkins! It was really funny....the stuff she comes up with (all 2 year olds, I'm sure). Never a dull moment. Below are just some cute pics of Tess.