Are you ready for Christmas?

December is always a wild month with so much to do to prepare for the holidays. However, today I feel like I have reached some goals. Our tree is up, our lights are hung, our door is decorated and as of this morning I have our Christmas cards addressed and several gifts wrapped (Analayne helped...the pacakges are very cute but its obvious that she helped). Don't let me fool you...I still have several tasks to complete but the overwhelming feeling is fading. Also, let me just tell you how wonderful on-line shopping is. I sit in front of my computer in my pajamas while Analayne draws me a picture and I shop. I have indeed participated in on-line shopping before but with a preschool age child and one on the way online shopping has been WONDERFUL this year.

Here are some pictures of us preparing for the holidays!

Halloween 2008 (Am I behind or what?)

Here are some pictures from Halloween. I am so far behind its embarrassing but with a new baby on the way I feel immense pressure to catch up on everything!

It's a boy!

Today we went for the ultrasound and the baby is going to be a boy!

Deep down inside, I kinda knew it was a boy but everyone kept saying that it was a girl. Since we had both kinda convinced ourselves (and everyone around us was convinced it was girl) we were somewhat shocked when the tech said, "boy." However, we are very excited!

After several hours of Analayne continuing to tell me she was having a sister, she suddenly started verbalizing she was going to have a brother. Right before I put her down for her nap she started up one of her sweet conversations with me. She began by saying, "Were going to be a big sister. I am going to have a brother." I said, "yes, your going to have a baby brother." She said, "just like Hadley." Then she continued on to say, Mom, what are WE going to name him, Snack?" I said, "no we can't name him snack but we will think of a new and better name for him." She looked puzzled and then said, "can we name the boat snack?" (the boat she is referring to is in our garage being worked on and just the other day Russ asked her what he should name his boat). I called Russ at work to give him a play by play of this conversation and his heart melted. He might just let her name the boat, S-N-A-C-K!

Tell me what you think?

As most young women of child bearing age know the BIG ultrasound usually occurs sometime around the 19th week of pregnancy. This ultrasound screens for all sorts of health related issues but it is also the ultrasound that can reveal your baby's sex! Guess what? my big ultrasound is quickly approaching (Oct 29th) and I will reveal my news as soon as I find out. I say lets take a poll... do you think I am having a girl or boy?

Meet Snack...

Nothing would be more interesting to me than to somehow get inside the mind of my 3 year old daughter for just one day! I mean think of all the interesting thought processes that take place every minute...it would be never ending! Forget CNN's breaking headline news, or Fox's up to the minute updates. In addition, I might as well forget my need for the show, Lock-up extended stay on MSNBC because if I could get inside her mind, I would no longer need any additional thought provoking insights!

So what makes a 3 year old decide to name their baby brother or sister SNACK is beyond me! She started this a few weeks ago with absolutely no prompting and at first we did not catch on, but as the day progressed she kept talking about baby snack. We gave her no attention to this comment but it has continued and now she continues to refer to the baby as snack. Despite our attempts to refer to the baby as "Baby Lackey" she relentlessly continues! What can you do but laugh about it?

A Very Happy Birthday!

I'm back from the land of morning sickness (for me its more like morning, noon and night sickness). The last few days I have felt increasingly more like my normal self and I could hear my blog calling my name!

I will begin about where I left off. We celebrated Analayne's 3rd birthday in July. July was about the same time I started feeling all the effects of my pregnancy and therefore I am very far behind in writing about our celebration.

We had a cookout party for family and then a separate birthday party for her friends at a local park. Let me just tell you how much fun it is to have a 3 year old. It is so much fun. She just comes up with the best games to play and continually amazes me! Enjoy the slide show.

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My Big Announcement....

Guess what everyone? I am pregnant. Now quickly after that statement, I shall go ahead and tell you that I am due in March. Currently I am feeling the full brunt of nausea and therefore this post will be short. Just thought I would post the news and let you know I will be back to the blogging world just as soon as my stomach allows!

Ready Or Not Here I Come!

I bet you can't guess what game we play quite frequently at our house?

Hide and seek is absolutely our new favorite thing to do and it can be hilarious at times. Analayne likes to hide and the places she hides are most interesting. However, she likes the hide in the exact same place over and over again! Her favorite place to hide is under the covers in her bed. Hiding under her covers is a very obvious hiding spot, but I love to walk around yelling, "is she behind the door?" or "is she under the bed?" and then tickle her through the covers until she pops out. Its also fun for her to try to find me because she just squeals with delight. If I am the one doing the counting I can actually get alot done while yelling 1---2---3---4.... Did you know that if you count slowly you can almost have enough time to wash a sink full of dishes?

Eat Your Heart Out....

This post is being written especially for Aunt Candace. First I want to say that Candace is a natural born teacher and there are two things Aunt Candace has taught Analayne. First, red is the color you must wear on your lips and second, crossing your eyes is a true talent. Candace we LOVE you!

We Are Preheated & Toasted

It is hot and Analayne and I are spending as much time as possible indoors, or at a pool. By 10:30 am, Analayne and I have already sat on our shady front porch and consumed at least 2 pop-ice popsicles (I bought a box of 700 pop-ice popsicles at Sams). After our consumption, I pretty much beg my daughter to go inside or she takes the opportunity to beg me to go to the pool.

I say its hot but honestly the hottest summer of my life was the summer of 2005. I was pregnant with Analayne and every square inch of me was either swollen or decorated with zebra like stretch marks. I recall waddling from my car to work, sleeping with no covers under a full blast ceiling fan and taking ice-cold showers. Her late summer birth brought some relief, but when you take into account the fact that my 9.7 lb newborn was pretty much either being held, nursing or laying on me, the temperature continued to heat up!

Thanks for walking down memory lane with me, now back to 2008...

The air conditioner went out in my Honda CRV and for about a week we suffered through it until Russ had a day or two off to fix it. We continually arrived at our destinations as hot and sweaty as you can imagine and usually with my daughter sporting some entirely wet hair. My hubby installed a very expensive new air conditioner unit so now its ice-cold. Not as ice cold as my beloved Volvo S-90 we sold when we got the new CRV but its still cold, so I will take it!

Analayne continues to want to go OUTSIDE to ride her scooter or trike or play in the sand. There is just something about sweat and sand (especially sweat and sand without a nice ocean nearby). I on the other hand would like to fill the bathtub up with ice cubes and pretend we are ice-fishing but that might take too much strength and energy and right now I just can't muster it up!

Anyway, if you need to find me or you want to chat, just drive on over. You will know its our house when you see us on the porch. The popsicles are waiting!

Meet Our New Nephew!

Currently, my brother and sister-in-law are in China finishing up the adoption process to bring their son home! They have named him Shepherd and his "Gotcha Day" was June 16th. He was born with cleft lip and palate but his lip has already had one surgery to repair it. We just can't wait to get to meet him personally. Check out the pictures....isn't he so handsome and cute!

She can withstand the fear of a 60 foot drop but needs her night light

Last weekend we went camping and then spent a day at Dollywood theme park.

We (oh wait...not "we" but rather Russ) had made the mistake of telling Analayne all the fun details about our weekend about 2 weeks prior and that began the spiral downward toward the official Lackey summer time kick-off. I say "downward" because for nearly two weeks I (the official care-giver, boo-boo kisser, lunch creator, teacher and entertainment guru...(also known as Analayne's mamma)had to endure several full blown emotional break-downs involving Analayne's spirited verbal desire to go camping and ride the rides.

Well, finally the weekend arrived and we took off on our adventure. Its a good thing Analayne has about as much energy as a hamster running on its wheel. She is full of life, is always ready for the "next big thing" and has virtually no fear for a child her age. Russ took her on a ride that shoots up 60 feet in the air and then falls down and shoots you back up again. Please note: Analayne wanted to go on this ride and was not forced. Anyway, as her mamma I stood on the ground watching my precious 37 inch tall almost 3 year old baby get on this ride with her manly daddy and I was squeamish. I even told the ride operator to watch the cute little girl with the green bow because I was scared she would fear for her life. I felt a little stupid later after she never so much as let out a peep! However, I can't say that she enjoyed this ride to its fullest potential because she never cracked a smile and the look on her face was one of confusion interspersed with brief moments of panic.

Since our trip she has been talking about all the rides and the experience of sleeping in our camper. She mentions the round and round tea cups, the bee ride, the ducks, the elephants, the train and the ferris wheel. However, not so much as one word has been mentioned about the shooting star ride. Since she has become quite the verbal girl who enjoys giving full reports about EVERYTHING, I have been a little shocked that she has not even said a word about the experience. I believe psychologically she is trying to oppress that memory. ME TOO!

"Alex...I'll take childhood rites of passage for 500 please."

There are many rites of passage as you proceed through childhood and one of them must be to get a hold of a pair of scissors when your mommy or daddy is not looking! We all know that you simply cannot keep your eyes on your child 24/7 so despite our best attempts to keep all dangerous or potentially dangerous items out of the reach of our children...we sometimes just fail.

Yesterday, I walked around the corner to a "play area" in our den and found some little "tuffs" of hair that appeared to have come from Analayne's head. We had been cutting with her little scissors the day before and I guess they were within reach. She apparently felt the need to give herself a little haircut and now she has some whispy bangs. My reaction when I saw her was to send her to time-out. As her mommy, I did not want her to think this "little act" was okay! Time out is like the worlds worst punishment for her, so she cried and cried. I only let her sit there for about 25 seconds (I can't stand it when she cries) and then I sat down with her and we talked about it.

Well, this is what I have to say about the situation, "it could have been much worse." Some kids basically scalp themselves with their home-made haircuts. However, Analayne managed to just give herself some nice whispy bangs that honestly look like I took her to the salon to get them done! I am not the biggest fan of bangs on little bitty round faces but I know they will grow! I can assure you that the scissors are now out of her reach---only to be used on paper with adult supervision. Nuff said about that... Now I will take "proud moments in motherhood for 200."

A loyal reader...

This blog entry is dedicated to Betty W. Betty is a woman that I have only met a few times but I have heard that she reads my blog regularly! I know who most of my "readers" are but when I found out about Betty I thought I should post a formal SHOUT OUT to her and formally tell her hello and let her know how much I appreciate all her kind words! I will keep the blog updates coming. Here's a picture of Analayne and her friend Noah that I took at the park today. I would have taken more pictures of her and her friends but its a daunting task to get multiple children, all under the age of 4 to be still enough for a decent picture. We are enjoying the beautiful spring days. Betty... I'll holler at you later!

One Very Envious Wife...

Last week my dear hubby had the opportunity to go with some guys from the marina to race in the 2008 50th Dauphin Island Regatta. They sailed in a 40 foot Endeavor sailboat and they came in 3rd in their class! One of the joys of having known Russ since I was 18 years old is that we literally have grown up together. I say that because I can remember the day that Russ said, I would love to learn to sail." Now, just like many of us, when Russ makes up his mind to do something --- he does it! He started learning to sail and then eventually got a position working at the marina. He has read too many sailing and race rule handbooks to count them, taken classes, attended regattas, crewed for others, obtained his US Sailing Instructor certification, logged hours for his captains license, owned countless boats (somehow-- people just give them to us) and now manages a sailboat marina on Percy Priest Lake. Its been amazing to watch his knowledge grow and grow and now, others call on him for his expertise (the countless phone calls we get are proof!) So for Russ winning 3rd place in his first open water regatta was awesome! Now, I was just fine with him being away for a week and I was ecstatic that he and the other crew members had placed 3rd in their class. However, I became envious when Russ got home and showed me all the photos and video clips he had taken. All of the sudden I was ENVIOUS! Take a look for yourself...


Untitled from leeanne lackey on Vimeo.

Easter 2008

We spent Easter in Florida with my brother,sister-in-law and niece. We had a great time. Here are some highlights and funny things that happened:

Analayne starting calling Cracker Barrell the "crappy darrell."

Analayne and Hadley played and played and now Analayne loves to get in her little tykes car and say to me, "I going to Hadley's."

We went to an Easter egg hunt and the girls got to hold little baby chicks.

We went to the beach (it was fairly chilly) but we still had a great evening.

Analayne and Hadley played on the playground and Hadley did her best to show Analayne how to do flips on the bars.

We enjoyed being with everyone and we miss having all of our family living close by. For now we just have to make yearly visits and try to capture the girls as they grow older together. Enjoy some photo highlights.

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Back Off Satan...

For those of you in my group of family and friends who read my blog (and any lurkers who are reading this), I want to ask for your prayers! My brother and sister-in-law are adopting a baby boy from China. They have prayed for such a long time for their child and are so excited (and we are too). They have eagerly been preparing for their son to come home. For weeks there has been feelings of anticipation, excitement, eagerness, thankfulness and honestly feelings of heartache for him.

A few weeks ago they were given travel dates and all seemed to be set for them to begin their journey on May 1st. However, today they received word that one little piece of paper needed for their adoption ( I think its the I-171H letter) is being held up and as a result it might hold them back and make them and their baby boy have to wait longer. This is agonizing for them! As a mother (and with a mother's heart) I can only imagine how difficult it is to continue to wait to hold the child you have already been waiting for and have already been loving. I won't even attempt to put those feelings into a written form!

We know that it is the Lord's plan for baby Shepherd to come home and we know that Satan loves to destroy our happiness and joy and he especially would love to thwart this process. Here is what I have to say (and I am very strong willed...) "Satan, you just step back. You have NO power over this situation. God's plan is divine and we as followers are faithful and we believe that the Lord is in control."

God can do amazing things and we believe that....so my fellow friends and family, please join with me in prayer that this paperwork gets completed in time to allow for the scheduled travel and time line. We know God can do anything and HE CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS! Oh yeah--- and pray that they receive the needed money to complete their adoption. I also ask that you might additionally pray for Candace to somehow miraculously find the diamond earrings. (Hey, our lord asks that we come to HIM with all our needs and requests so I figured I might throw that in there too)...

**If you want to read more about the adoption of MY NEPHEW, Shepherd click here.

A Big Girl Bed

Out of necessity Analayne has moved to her big girl bed! Here is the drama that occurred that prompted this sudden and abrupt move down the hall. Last night our garage flooded, the drywall was wet, Analayne's carpet and padding got wet and overall it was just a big mess. So Russ being the wonderful handyman and "jack of all trades" that he is began working and very quickly found the problem. It seems that the pipe that led to our hose spicket burst and so water was spewing out of it and coming out the wall into the garage. The other side of this garage wall is the wall that is in Analayne's room, so with that said, water was leaking into her room. However, she was already asleep and it was almost midnight so we decided to deal with the mess in her room today! So Russ tore out everything that was wet and installed a big fan to ensure that the no water or dampness is left. With the big fans going there was no way that a poor little girl could sleep in the same room. So once I realized there was no way she was sleeping in her little toddler bed I began "talking up" how wonderful her big girl bed was and I started moving her babies and blankets into the new room. Analayne looked puzzled for a few minutes and then climbed right in and Russ and I sat down with her on her bed and prayed and did all of our hugging and kissing and then... we turned on her music, closed the door and walked away. That was it... yep...that was it... no getting out of bed, no crying, no nothing. A big girl indeed!

I had been working on a plan for her "new" room and had already put her bedding together. However, I had not yet painted or hung her new window treatments or started moving all of her "babies" and fun stuff to their new home. I just got done telling Russ, "you know-- if she sleeps through the night with no issues...she will not be moving back into her old room." He replied, "yep, I know." I wonder if he realized that with that comment he just committed himself to painting her room next weekend?

Three times around on the zoo carousel....

We love the zoo. The animals, the playground, the farm house, the petting zoo area, the beautiful "water features," and the carousel. As zoo members we get a discount on carousel tokens and that is a good benefit because somehow in the midst of Analayne's excitement and my excitement I started letting her ride the carousel 3 times each time we visit the zoo (which in the good weather months might be once a week). Analayne gets to hand the token to the zoo worker, pick which animal she wants to ride and then as she rides round and round she has a beaming smile! While we stand in line for our turn to board the carousel, Analayne and I talk about each animal and we point to the different animals and name them as she starts to make her decision about which one she will ride.

A few weeks ago we went to the zoo and she rode the elephant, the bongo and the monkeys. She had wanted to ride one more time but I had to enforce my limit (my physical limit of going round and round 3 consecutive times in a row and also my financial limit of $1.00 a ride!). The animal that she would have chosen was the giraffe. However, at the zoo there are maybe 3 animals on the carousel that do not go up and down and the giraffe is one of them. I explained this to her, but told her that the next time we visited the zoo she could ride the giraffe if that is what she chose. For the next 3 weeks this is exactly what I heard her say over and over again to nearly everyone she met. "I ride the carousel. Giraffe no up down. Elephant go up down. Giraffe no up down...he too tall." Finally last weekend in the beautiful 70 degree weather I took Analayne to the zoo and yes, we rode the carousel 3 times. She chose to ride the turtle, the elephant and the GIRAFFE!

Mustering Up The Energy

I am working on it my friends... I have so much I want to write about and so many pictures I have stock piled in the camera that I want to post. However, the motivation and energy to do any of this is lacking! I simply don't want to do anything. Don't want to cook, clean, go walking, scrapbook, blog, do my Bible study, drive anywhere, run any errands, go to work or even force my brain to have a complete thought. To sum it all up...I Don't WANT to do it. Is it because it is cold outside and it has rained or been dreary since Christmas? I promise a really good update soon--- but for now--maybe I shall take just one more nap!

When It's Freezing Cold & You Don't Want To Go!

So what are we doing on these very cold days with grey and gloomy skies? Here is a breakdown of our newest favorite activities:

1. We went to the circus last Sunday night. We were pretty sure Analayne would like it but it ended up that she LOVED it and was glued to the performance. She is still talking about everything she saw. It was truly the best circus performance Russ and I have ever attended--- you can't beat Barnum and Baily!

2. While other children are singing songs like Twinkle Twinkle and Where is Thmbkin, Analayne is singing the song, Charleston! Analayne loves this song and if your not familiar with it the first part of the song goes like this, "Charleston, Charleston..made in Carolina.." She sings this song and does not miss a word.

3. We are painting. This is Analayne's newest and most favorite fine motor activity. Within 20 minutes she can paint about 50 pictures. In about an hour and 20 minutes I can clean up the aftermath. Thank goodness for easels and Ajax!

4. We are writing the alphabet. She loves for me to sit down with a marker and her tablet of paper and she dictates which letter for me to write down. After a page of tablet paper begins to get full I ask her to identify certain letters. For example, "where is the letter J?" and she points to the correct letter. Fun and educational-its a win-win for us!

5. We are obcessed with Angelina Ballarina and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. I won't elaborate, just know that I know every word to every Mickey Mouse Clubhouse song and I am certain that I know everything about TOOTLES!

6. Two of her favorite books right now are Fancy Nancy and Llamma, Llamma Mad At Momma.

7. Analayne knows her manners (YEAH!!!) However, she says both the "thank you and your welcome part all in one sentence, despite the fact that it might not be her "turn" to be the one saying your welcome! Its cute though... and as a mommy I will take it :)

8. We are washing "dishes." Analayne has mastered the art of pulling a chair up to the kitchen counter to help me "cook" or to "wash" dishes. Washing dishes can be a very helpful activity for both her and for me. I scrub the skink (After all..I am a germ-o-phobic), fill the sink with a little water, give her two or three cups and a few spoons and she plays for a very long time (long enough for me to make dinner!)

9. This morning when Analayne got up she climbed into bed with us and said the following, "I want a Wiggle boat." Russ said, "do you want to watch Wiggle Boat?" (her DVD) and she shook her head and said, "no, I want a Wiggle boat." I then said, "you want a wiggle boat that you can play in?" and she said, "yes." She then proceeded to say (and I quote...) "Daddy get me one." In response to that Russ told her "give me a week and I will get you one." She knew the right person to go to for a boat...literally! The surprise to me is that she had already made her mind up that she wanted to have her own little boat to play in. She is her daddy's girl (mine too!) On the flip side...where are we going to store a "wiggle boat?"


Russ and I are doing fine as well. We are hanging in there until a glimpse of warm sunshine comes our way. January and February feel like really long months to us. More to come very soon!

Somebody tell her what time it is!

Russ loves watches and its in his nature to always have a watch on or the very least his cell phone on his hip with the time on the face of it. On the other hand, I do not like to wear a watch unless I have too. I wash my hands alot and they are always in the way! At work I wear a pager and it has a clock built in. At home I have clocks throughout the house, my car has a clock, my computer has a clock, my cell phone has a clock (but I have to dig in my purse or Analayne's bag to find it) and even my new pedomiter has a clock built in. I have one watch with a working battery that on occassion I do wear, but often you will find it looped through my key-ring.

Since Russ loves knowing what time it is, I like to make him happy by asking him the question, "what time is it?" I do this if I am sitting on the floor and can't see the clock on our stove, or if we are in the car and I can't see the clock on the dash board. On Sunday afternoon, we were in the car driving home from church and I asked Russ the timeless question (no pun intended), "what time is it?" Analayne's ears were turned ALL the way up and since Sunday she has asked us about 500 times "what time is it?" We answer her and before the clock can even move a minute, she is asking the question again and we respond with exactly the same time. It's a hoot! She understands that we look at a clock to know what time it is and she can identify a clock. She can say the word, "clock" and "watch" and she can even use the words in a complete sentence. She uses her new clock puzzle and Nemo watch to pretend that she is reading a clock. However, she truly has no concept of time developmentally and by the way she repeats this question over and over again---it should be obvious to the WHOLE world. Now, let me see....what time is it?

Rebounding from Christmas

I ask myself, why in the midst of celebrating the birth of Jesus do we find ourselves so completely overwhelmed with a "to do" list longer than the law should allow? To my friends and family who read this, I know that your family experiences this as well and I rest assurred that I am not alone in my quest for a reserved bed at the Psych hospital (kidding of course... but we all have those days!)

By December 23rd my "to-do" list became somewhat manageable. The Christmas parties were over, my shopping was completed, The plan and agenda for the actual holidays had been nailed down, and the Christmas cards had been sent. There were still tasks that we needed to complete but, WOW--- to stop and focus and just "be ready" felt so good and the excitement began mounting.

We had such a nice time celebrating Christmas at Minnie and Gob's house on Christmas Eve morning and then we went to our churches Christmas candle light service that evening. On Christmas morning we were up bright and early (5:20am) to see what fun toys Santa brought and then later that morning we enjoyed breakfast at our house and Mimmi,Poppa, Gigi and G-pop all came over. Later that evening we went to Uncle Mike and Aunt Kay's house and celebrating with the Taylor side of the family (we played some awesome Bingo, opened gifts, and ate the best turkey I have ever tasted in my life). On December 26th Chad, Candace and Hadley arrived and we celebrated with them at Mimi and Poppa's house. Now that Christmas is over and we have entered 2008 I am rebouding from my full and non-stop month of December. Analayne is still in the Christmas spirit. She continues to sing Happy birthday to Jesus and she talks about Santa Claus several times a day. She reminds me daily of the excitment of Jesus's birth and well...the magical'ness (is that a word?) of the holidays. Enjoy some of our photos!

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