Fast Visit Home

Hey Everyone! Here are some pictures from my quick weekend home. Mckayla had her birthday party this weekend, so most pictures are from Saturday. The top 5 are from when I fed her this weekend. I am heading back to New Orleans today, so no more pics until next weekend!

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Training Day # ?

Well, I have officially completed my first week of training. It has been fun, exciting, enlightening, challenging, frustrating, stressful, interesting, etc.

I have met some many great people and I my team of 5 from my district has gotten so close. I was worried that coming to training and not really knowing anyone would be intimidating, and it was, but only for a few hours. Everyone is so nice and helpful. We are all in the same boat and just really want to make friends. There is a group of us that have gone out together about 3 times this week and it is so much fun. Most of the people have never been to New Orleans or Bourbon Street, so it is great to see their reaction to things. I really wish I had my camera to take pics, but I left it at home so Antonio could send me pictures of Tatum. Anyway, we have seen the people that paint their entire bodies and stand on the milk cartons and stay still and look like statutes. We also saw a group of about 8-10 kids around the ages of 15-17 that were playing their tubas, trumpets, etc on the street. They were really great. We also saw the people on the street tap dancing and a few other people just doing tricks in the middle of the street. I am really falling in love with the culture down here. While most people love to go to the well known local restaurants down here, I love the "hole in the wall" restaurants that are almost hidden.

Classes seem long and are a major overload of information. About 80% of the people here have had previous pharma experience, so that means that my learning curve has to be even greater just to keep up. I have had 2 tests so far and i am proud to say that I still have a job. Studying is hard because it is hard to know what is NICE to know vs. what I NEED to know.

I am missing Tatum so much and I won't get to see her until next weekend! One of my new friends down here was lucky enough to have her husband and baby fly in for this weekend. I saw them in the lobby last night and I talked to them for a while. Her 8 month old little girl was just precious. When I walked away, I really thought I was going to cry for a minute, but I sucked it up and reminded myself that she is in great hands and I will see her soon!

I am in amazement about how everyone has shared pictures of their wives, husbands, fiances, kids, dogs, etc. which is great. There is one particular guy in my class that has a 3 week old and 4 yr old at home. He is just the sweetest husband and dad. He was sitting in class the other day and decided to send his wife something and he also send his little girl(the 4 yr old) a teddy bear. He talks about them all the time. Then there is another guy in my group that is a single dad. He has showed us the picture of his kids I think everyday. I will catch him from time to time pulling out the pictures to just look at them. And of course, there are several of us ladies that are just so quick to pull out our pictures too. I have a picture of Tatum and Antonio on the front of my binder so I can look at it all day.

I am not going to lie, training has been difficult, but I just have to remember that God has a plan for me and He is not going to put me in a position that I can't handle. I just need to stay focused and take it one day at a time. Thanks to everyone that has been praying for my family and please continue to do so.

6 days down and 12 more days to go....

Training Post 2

New Orleans Training Day 2 (April 10th)

Well, after a pretty good night of sleep, I got up about 5:30am to get a jump on the morning and because I couldn't really go back to sleep. I got ready and couldn't really decide when to leave my room. Part of me just wanted to crawl back in bed because I didn't think I was ready for the day. However, I left my room and got on the elevator. In the elevator, I kept thinking that I should just catch a plane home. I am missing Tatum like crazy and I didn't know what to expect. After getting off the elevator, I headed to the bus to catch a ride to the Convention Center. When I got there, I saw some other people that are on my team, so we all got together so we would know someone. I also met a lady from Pennsylvania and one from Waco, TX. Laura, the lady from TX, has the same birthday as I do!!! How crazy is that? Anyway, after breakfast, we headed to our General Session meetings. There sitting at our seats were more presents. We got a NN bag, pens, highlighters, note pads, etc. It was cool. They were playing some great music and it was loud. We were all singing along with Justin Timberlake and just waiting on the meeting to start. When everything started, I just kept having to pinch myself. The production of the meeting was amazing. They had lights coming in and cool entrance music and everything. It was just so weird! It almost felt like I was dreaming. I am so excited about everything. I am about to study, but it has been great. I have made lots of new friends and I have also met many VPs and even got to talk to the President of the company for a while. We talked about the usual when it comes to Memphis (great BBQ, Graceland, Memphis Tigers Basketball, etc).

The coolest thing about today was when the President was presenting his speech. He was showing projected #s from the past and telling how NN has met those goals for the past 5 yrs. Well, he said if we meet our #s for 2007 then at the end of 2008 they will rent out a cruise ship for the ENTIRE SALES FORCE(and family) to go on a cruise in the Virgin Islands!!! He was serious too and he said this would be on top of a trip for those that make Circle of Excellence!! WOW, I am excited and definitely motivated!! I want that cruise!

Anyway, I am off to study. Sorry, but you are going to be reading lots of blogs with no pics for a while. Antonio said he was going to send me some pics of Tatum tomorrow, so I may try to get some up. I also figured out how to get the internet for free in my room, so I will blog when I can. Take care and continue to keep me in your prayers. I have a big test tomorrow!!

Until next time....

Training Post

New Orleans Training Day 1 (April 9th)

Let me start by explaining that I am blogging in Microsoft Word in my hotel room and when we go to meetings I am planning to copy and paste it so that I can post quickly before meetings start and I don’t have to pay $12 per day to have internet access in my room.

That being said, I will try to write a few times a week and post when I get time. So let me begin with my departure from Memphis.

I got up early and got ready and took Tatum to daycare. She, of course, had no clue I was leaving, so it was easy for her, but I hung around a little longer than usual to say my goodbyes and give her LOTS of kisses. I left and felt okay, not great, but okay. Then I ran some errands and headed home. Antonio took me to the airport and he went in with me to help me get my bags in and I checked in. After all of that was done, he hung out for a bit before he had to leave. Once again, I was fine. I headed to security and experienced a little ordeal. This guy, an airport employee, was going through security and flashed his badge really quickly and kept walking. Well this big black lady doing security said, “HOLD UP SIR!” She wanted to look at his badge again and then she said it didn’t have an expiration date on it and everything was scratched out so she called her manager over to take a look at it. Well this guy got SO MAD at this lady for DOING HER JOB! I am sure it was a little bit inconvenient for him to wait, but my goodness, he should have been glad she was actually sticking to the policies of the airport! Anyway, after waiting on that to get over, I made it through security and I headed to my gate to wait for my flight. After a few minutes, one of my teammates came in and I went with him to get some food. While we were getting food, we noticed another guy that had all of his study material out. We approached him and ended up hanging with him for the trip to New Orleans. It was good getting to know two other NN employees before getting down here.

My only sad moment was on my flight from Atlanta to New Orleans. I sat by the window and this lady and man sat beside me. About 10 minutes into the flight this lady opens her book to the front and there is the most precious picture of her 3 boys. That was no big deal. She smiled and showed her husband. He then reaches down into a bag and gets two envelopes out. She opens the first one and it was a letter from her two youngest sons telling her how much they loved her and how great of a mom she was. They also put a necklace in the envelope for her to wear and think about them while she was gone. The second envelope was from her oldest son with another letter and a ring. It made me think about Tatum.

When I got to the airport in New Orleans, my dad was there to pick me up. We went to eat at Houston’s and then he showed me some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. I was amazed by all of the houses that are still destroyed and empty after so long. After a mini tour, my dad took me to the hotel and dropped me off. I went in and checked in with the hotel and then with NN. They gave me a cute fleece pullover along with some other cool NN things. I came up to my room and unpacked everything. After unpacking, I went ahead and pressed all of my clothes that were wrinkled. I know, I know, what a good girl!

Well, I am a little overwhelmed by all of the people that are all going through training with me. I know everyone is going through the same thing, but EVERYONE I have met has previous pharma experience and it is a little (a LOT) intimidating!! Oh well, I will be ready for them all tomorrow, but for tonight I am going to get a good night’s sleep.

PLEASE keep me in your prayers! I know I can do this and be great, but I am already missing Tatum and Antonio so much.

Also, pray for Antonio that he will do great with Tatum. He is such a great Daddy and Tatum is such a Daddy’s girl, but I can only imagine that it might be a little hard on him without having me there to help.

Until next time….

Weekend Update...

Well, due to the fact that I will be out of town for SO LONG, I am going to put lots of pictures up tonight for two reasons....1.) hopefully you all will get a picture fix of Tatum that will tie you over until I return, and 2.) so I will have lots of recent pictures to look at while I am down in New Orleans in my room all alone and missing my baby! So, let me try to tell what these pictures area all about...

These first pictures are of Tatum and her Daddy having fun on the couch last weekend when it was warm outside and she could wear her cute shorts.



We are not really sure why, but Tatum LOVES to be upside down. It is so funny, she will just throw herself backwards, so whoever is holding her better be paying attention!

Next are some pictures of Tatum in the bathtub with her new bathtub chair. I got it at the consignment sale this weekend for $1!!!! Great deal, she loves it!

The next pictures are more random ones of Tatum and Daddy.


The next picture is a picture of the new Leap Frog table I got at the consignment sale this weekend. Look.....Tatum is standing ALL BY HERSELF!! She LOVES this table too and it was a great buy! She stood alone for at least 3-5 minutes(holding on to the Leap Frog table of course)!

Against everyone's advice, we finally gave in and trimmed Tatum's hair this weekend. It was getting a little too crazy and the mullet look is just not welcome in our house. We trimmed the sides and the back. Look how much we cut off! It looks so much better now. This is the second time we have had to cut her hair, but the last time we just cut the back a little.


These next pictures are from Easter morning. They are a little backwards, but some are with her Easter basket (bucket) and some are after she got her toys out and she was loving on one of her toys.

The bucket on the left is from Antonio and me and the rabbitt on the right is from Grandmommy and Grandaddy (my parents). Laurie, Cyp, Mckayla, and Mya gave Tatum a big toy that goes outside when it gets warmer. We will get a picture of it when we play with it!
Well, this will be the last blog with any pictures for a while since I will be out of town. I am sure I will blog some to keep everyone updated on how training is going though. I know I will be reading at the very least. Take care everyone and I will be back soon! Call Antonio if you guys are thinking of him to check up on him and make sure everything is going well.

The Greatest Gift He Ever Gave...

My grandfather passed away a couple of years ago, but we would be celebrating his birthday on April 19th if he was still here. So, I will do a tribute to him and tell some stories from the past anyway!

First, here are some pictures of him below. I don't have many on this computer because we have not had it too long. Sorry the pictures are not better. This first picture (from left to right) is me, my mom, Gran (my grandmother, and Pops (my grandfather).

In this next picture, my dad and grandfather are over to the right.

And in this last picture from left to right, is my grandfather, my grandmother, my mom, and my dad.

My grandfather and I always shared the love of watermelon. As young as I can remember, we would "fight" over who would get to eat the most and who COULD eat the most!

I can also remember when I was really young (6 or 7) and we were still going to church over in Jackson with my grandparents. Every Wednesday night, we would go to church and eat supper before classes. My grandfather would always let me ride on his shoulders while we waited in line. Now, Grandaddy was a very tall man (6' 5"), so when it came time to walk through the door, he would pretend that he was going to make me hit my head, but at the last minute, he would duck down so I didn't.

So, as you may assume, Grandaddy liked to pick on me all the time, but I must admit that I liked to pick back at him. My grandmother told me when I was small that I would sit in the floor and pull the hair on his legs. She also says that she has a picture of me where I am wearing my Grandaddy's shoes and my night gown.

Through the years, my grandfather was a very smart yet silent man. He loved cars and knew lots about them, so we all tended to take new cars to him and let him check it out for us.

My grandfather also had a great love for Atlanta Braves baseball. I don't think he missed a game if he could help it. He loved to feed the birds in his yard. I can also remember trips to the park to feed the ducks with him and my grandmother.

I can remember the first time I realized that he wore dentures! I was just shocked. The most embarrassing part is that it was only about 4-5 years ago!

As my grandfather got older, his health began to get worse. He was a Type 1 diabetic (and now that I am learning about diabetes because of my new job I am realizing that his diabetes was not under control as well as it should have been.) At my sister's wedding in 1999, he was there, but not the healthiest. Then he seemed to get much better. At my wedding in June 2005, his health was much worse. He was able to make it to Memphis to be there, but you could tell that he didn't feel very well. It meant so much that he was there though.

Through the following months, his health got worse and worse, but his spirit optimistic. It was hard to see him sick. He was in and out of the hospital and the word came that he wasn't going to make it much longer. The last time I saw him, he was in the hospital and wasn't himself. It was so hard to see him like that. He passed away soon after and ended all of his pain and suffering. While this was a sad time in my life, for some reason, all I could think was how blessed my family was. Not because he had passed away, but for the fact that we would never have to wonder or guess if he was in Heaven of Hell. There is no question that my grandfather was a faithful Christian. There is no doubt in my mind that he is in Heaven. And that is why I say this is the greatest gift he ever gave his family through life and death!

Grandaddy, we miss you very much. I would give anything for Tatum to grow up knowing you, but we all know you are in a much better place! Happy Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I am going to be BLOGGING about lots of things for the next few days because I won't be able to blog much in New Orleans. (I probably will try to blog some, but I don't have any pictures on my work computer, so it will be the boring blogs with no pictures, sorry!)

Anyway, if you know me well at all, you know that there are SEVERAL birthdays that fall in the month of April in my family, so I wanted to wish each person a happy birthday early since I won't be able to when I am gone.

First up, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my uncle, Kenny! His birthday is April 13th!!

He is my mom's younger (10 years younger) brother. I have several stories that pop into my head when I think of him, but I will tell you about him first.

He is a professor at a college in his town and the father of two kids that are all grown up. He has a beautiful and talented wife as well that he has been with for many years!

Okay, let me get to the stories....

My earliest memory of Kenny isn't a great one (sorry). I can remember when we were very young that Kenny would come over to our house at Christmas time to play with us and help put our toys together. WELL, there was one Christmas that my sister got this FANCY Barbie house that needed to be assembled. Instead of my FAVORITE uncle playing with me, he spent HOURS (probably not really hours, but it seemed like it) putting this house together for my sister. I cried and cried because I wanted his attention!!!

Next, I can remember when Kenny and Lynn (his wife) lived down in Baton Rouge and they had a dog named Pork Chop! This was a giant dog, but he was nice from what I remember. I don't remember much other than that, but I DO remember that dog.

As I mention previously, my uncle is a professor at a college. He not just a professor though, he is the HARD professor everyone complains about. Let me explain. In school when i would have to do a paper, my mom would take me to the library at the college to use the resources there. I can remember one specific time that I was working on my paper and there were these college students complaining about a professor. After listening to them for a while, my mom couldn't resist anymore, so she asked what professor they were talking about. And sure enough, they were talking about my uncle!! My mom proudly informed them that he was her brother and they were embarrassed and left. It was pretty funny.

Kenny is also the greatest singer ever! I love to hear him sing in church or any other time that I can. I don't know what it is, but I just love to hear him. It is the best when he and my mother sing together though. It makes me think I can sing, so when I get home, I sing in my shower really loud and pretend that I sound like them!

Happy Early Birthday Kenny!


Next up is my brother Clif. His birthday is April 14th.

I think the next picture is just the sweetest thing ever!

Look how TINY Tatum was below....

Clif is currently an offier and pilot in the Navy and lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Virginia.

Stories about Clif....

When it comes to siblings, I could go on and on and on about stories, but I will just try to tell a few. Clif is 6' 5" and 220 lbs (???) and he is muscle. In high school, he played football and basketball. I can remember one basketball game. He obviouly played center on the team. This guy on the other team was driving towards the goal going in to shoot the ball to score. Clif is standing there under the goal, feet flat on the floor and hands up in the air. This kid drives in and runs into Clif and LITERALLY bounces off of him and falls back on the floor. Clif, however, is still just standing there with his feet flat on the floor and hands still in the air. It was like this poor kid hit a brick wall, and I am sure he have said it FELT like he did!

Clif attended the University of Memphis, which is where I also went. Clif is a few years older than me, so when it came time for me to go off to college, Clif told me that if I would meet him on campus the Sunday before classes started, he would show me the buildings where all of my classes would be. Great, right??? Well, not exactly. Clif took me to the wrong buildings, and I don't think he did it on purpose either, but when I showed up to my English class the first day and pretty much headed for a storage closet, this lady stopped me and told me where to go which happened to be across campus. Thanks big Bro!

I think all the siblings would agree that we are all smart, but Clif is probably the smartest! While we are all successful in our own way, I will brag on Clif right now because this is about him. While attending college at the U of M, Clif was also in the Navy ROTC program too. After graduating, Jennifer and Clif moved to Florida for Navy schooling. (I am not sure if I am using the right terms and things, but you guys get the idea.) He graduated from down there and was #1 in his class which meant that he got to pick first which plane or jet or whatnot that he wanted to fly. Being the smart AND responsible one, he didn't choose the jet, he chose the E-2 which meant that he wouldn't have to be stationed in Japan or anything, but here in the states and probably on the East coast.(They are in Virginia) While they are still 15 hours away, they are closer than California at least!

Finally, we only get to see Clif and Jennifer once or twice a year, but maybe we can go up and see them this summer. Anyway, one of the questions that always comes up from family is "When are you guys going to have kids???" Well, I am proud to announce that Jennifer and Clif do have two additions coming to the family. NO NOT KIDS. Jennifer got a new black and white cat, Sophie(?) and Clif has a puppy on the way. They are happy about their new additions and I can't wait to see pictures of them.

Happy Birthday Clif!!!


And finally, Happy Birthday Mckayla!! She shares her birthday on April 14th with her uncle(my brother) Clif.

I think this picture below is the best picture EVER of Mckayla and it was just a snapshot taken while she was playing Hide and Go Seek and she was hiding in a closet peaking out.

Mckayla will be FOUR years old this year! I can't believe it. It was just yesterday that Laurie was pregnant with her and now FOUR????!?!? My, how time flies.

I can remember the day that Laurie told me she was pregnant. I was so excited and couldn't wait to find out if it was going to be a boy or girl. THEN, I can remember she found out it was going to be a girl and I just couldn't wait any longer. I went out and started shopping and shopping and shopping. I overloaded Laurie and Cyp with clothes, toys, etc for Mckalya before she even got here!

I told Laurie time and time again to call me as soon as they headed to the hospital to have Mckayla. I got the call about 7:00am and at 7:15am I was in the waiting room. I was the FIRST one there and I didn't care that I was there all alone. I skipped all of my classes and work because I didn't want to miss a thing. I had no idea back then that having a baby wasn't a quick process where the mom just went in and popped the baby out. I wouldn't leave the hospital to get food or anything. My parents got there and other family members. We waited and around 5pm Mckayla arrived. When they let all the family go back, there she was, my niece in her mommy's arms. I was so proud to be an aunt. We stood around the bed for about 5 minutes and I couldn't wait anymore. I finally asked Laurie if I could hold her and she let me!! I was the first person to hold her after her mommy and daddy! She was perfect in every way and still is.

When she was little, I can remember one time that I had to(you know they twisted my arm)either take her to my parent's house or bring her back to Memphis from my parent's house. Either way, I was SO NERVOUS! She was just a few months old and her car seat was facing backwards of course. She was asleep and fine, but I was nervous that she was going to quit breathing or something, so I can remember I stopped about 10 times in an hour and a half to make sure she was still breathing!

Okay, we will fast forward a few years. Mckayla gets to spend the night with us sometimes when her mom and dad are out of town or something. I have been lucky enough to be able to pick her up from daycare back in the day and now school. I have also taken her to swimming lessons and other things. Everytime I get to do anything like this I get so excited because of a few reasons....1.) I get to spend time with my niece, 2.) I feel special because Cyp and Laurie trust me to take care of Mckayla, and 3.) I feel proud to get to be associated with Mckayla. She is just the sweetest, smartest, and cutest 4 year old I know!!!

Mckayla is now playing soccer, so Laurie got her some really cool pink and black Nike soccer shoes. Mckayla is so funny because even before game day, she would put on her shoes. I was fortunate enough to get to go to her first soccer game last week and she put her shoes on before the game and told me they help her run faster! She also likes to take my camera and take pictures of things around the house, so last week she was taking pictures and I looked back thru them and there was a picture of her new shoes!! She put them on to show me how fast she could run. Notice the dress socks with her soccer shoes? How cute is that?!!? Here is the picture below.

FINALLY, I was a little worried how Mckayla would react when she found out Laurie was pregnant. She said she wanted a sister not a brother, so good thing Mya came. I was still worried that she would be jealous of Mya, but I was sure wrong. She is so sweet to her and is VERY protective. I can remember when Mya was very little and we were somewhere and Mckayla told another child that the baby was Mya and she was her sister. She also said you can LOOK at her, but don't TOUCH her! Even at the Easter Egg Hunt we went to this weekend, Mckayla realized Mya was too young to hunt eggs herself, so Mckayla took both of their baskets around to hunt eggs so that they would both have some. (Notice in the picture below, she has a white basket {Mya's} and a yellow one which was hers.) She is so thoughtful and I just love her so much.
Happy Birthday Mckayla!!!

Adalie and Tatum, BFF???

Adalie is Kimberly H.'s little girl. (T0 read her blog, look for her name to the right of my blogpage.) Kimberly posted yesterday that Adalie has 2 teeth now, Whitey and Pearly. Kimberly tried to capture a picture of them for the blog, but had no luck.

So, after reading that I decided to try to get a picture of Tatum's new tooth. I have only seen this tooth like one time myself because everytime I try to catch a peak, she sticks her tongue out or squirms and begins to cry. Well, I started playing with Tatum and when she laughs she opens her mouth really big. She did that and I got to look at that little tooth and after looking closely, I think I can see another tooth about to come in. Her gums are really white and I think that means it is right under there.

Anyway, I am beginning to think that somehow Adalie and Tatum are either talking behind our backs to see how each is progressing, or Tatum is sneaking on the computer late at night to read Mrs. Kimberly's blogs about Adalie. Either way, I know Tatum loves to see pictures of her friends because I always show Tatum pictures of Adalie, Jax, Brady P., Maddie, Kaden, Addyson, Parker, etc (These children have mommies that blog! I highly recommend that EVERYONE start a blog page.) and she just smiles.

Also, I found out last night that I will not have a roommate when I go to training in New Orleans, SO I am trying to talk Antonio into coming down the first weekend and bringing Tatum down so I can see them both and MAYBE we can see Kimberly, Adam, and Adalie too! I will keep you all posted.

Happy Birthday GRAN!!

(First, let me say that Gran's birthday is on the 3rd, but I want to be sure that I have time to write a blog, so I am doing it about 3 hours early.)

Today is my grandmother's birthday. (Tatum calls her Gran) She is such a wonderful, healthy, beautiful, loving, strong, Godly, and inspirational lady. She is just an outstanding mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother and I LOVE HER because...

-She is the best cook I know! (She has shared many recipes with me this past year, but there are so many more I still need to get from her. HINT, HINT, can we say birthday present??)

-We still have lots of fun together when we get to see each other.

-She loves her family!

-She loved my Grandfather for many, many years! (We all miss him very much.)

-She taught me how to make CHOCOLATE GRAVY.

-She and my grandfather did a great job raising my mother.

-She sings so beautifully and plays the piano.

-She still goes and does like she is 30! She lives on her own and drives and everything even though most people her age(77) can't go like she does! Gran has many more years ahead of her.

Of course, I have to tell a story about a time with my Grandmother. I can remember when I was very young (10ish?) and my grandmother and grandfather brought me and my brother (Matt) to Memphis for the weekend. I am not really sure WHY we came to Memphis, but two things do stick out about that trip. One was that my Matt who wore the hard contact lenses when he was younger, dropped one down the sink in the hotel. After much stress and many calls to the front desk, the contact lense was finally recovered. My grandmother was the one that kept everyone calm and acted quickly so that no one decided to turn on the water in the sink. The other thing that I remember was that we all went to a restaurant to eat and Matt found a hair in his food, GROSS! I can remember my grandfather telling Matt and I to calm down and to quit mentioning the hair because it would make my grandmother sick. I know this is random, but for some reason, I remember it.

Another great story, my grandparents took Matt and me fishing and Matt and I had our poles in the water. We hadn't caught a fish all afternoon or morning or whatever time of day it was, but we were still there. Matt decided that he needed to go behind the trees to use the restroom and I held his phone for him. What happened in those 2-3 minutes that he was gone??? I caught a fish on his pole! My grandmother and I laughed and laughed about that forever! Matt was so mad, and I ended up catching the ONLY fish of the day in that moment.

Long story, short, she is just a great example for everyone, especially me. She is a Godly woman, she makes the best of any and all situations, and she can whip up a mean meal!

Tatum already loves her Gran so much because Gran gives her some of the best kisses, best toys, and best smells (Tatum can't eat the food yet) ever. Antonio loves having a good cup of coffee with my grandmother. No one in my family drinks coffee except her, so I think she enjoys him coming over so she has a good excuse to make some coffee.

We all love you very much, Gran, and look forward to celebrating many more birthdays with you!

Easter Bunny

Tatum got to see the Easter bunny this weekend! One of my friends had an Easter egg hunt at her house this weekend for Phi Mu Alumni and it was so much fun to see everyone's kids. There was a house full of kids and mommies. The Easter bunny was sitting in a chair right when you first walked in the door, so I got a picture of course. I don't think that she realized who/what was holding her, so she didn't cry. Here is her picture...Next, the kids were off to hunt for eggs. Mckayla is below with her yellow Easter basket. That is also my sister in the background holding Mya.
Mckalya got tripped up on her dress and fell, but it didn't slow her down at all. She got right back up and started gathering eggs again.
Laurie and I tried to get some pictures of the girls by the little water pond, so here they are. I didn't get any great ones of Tatum because I had to hold her so she didn't fall into the water.

Mya and Tatum decided to spend some "Quality" time together and took a nap outside in the beautiful weather.
Tatum woke up, but Mya was still sleeping. Maybe in a few months they will enjoy each other a little more? I am sure in a few years it will be hard to keep them apart!
There were 2 special eggs hidden, a gold one and a silver one, that had money inside them. Mckalya found the silver one and she was so proud. I don't think she really realized that there was only ONE silver egg and SHE got it until I told her, but I know she was really proud after she figured it out.
As you can see, I am really trying to enjoy each and every moment I can with Tatum. It is beginning to sink in that I am going to be gone for THREE WEEKS away from her(minus a SHORT weekend visit). I know it is going to be hard, but it is something I must do and I know Antonio is going to take great care of her.