Decorating Time at the Jefferson's 2007

The Sunday after Thanksgiving, Ansley, Bailey, and I decided we would pick up a couple of lighted deer as Christmas decorations for our house. It was very exciting to be thinking about decorating, since we were not able to decorate at all last year with all the action of John being out of town, me being very pregnant, and the early arrival of the twins. It is quite a blessing to think about where we are this year vs. last Christmas season. We now have three beautiful, happy and healthy daughters. Although we were wonderfully blessed by the arrival of Ansley and Bailey, it was a very scary time surrounding their birth and the week to follow.
Now that we are back in the Christmas season, I got the spirit yesterday afternoon to decorate the house. We started by opening and putting out the deer. Although they are totally assembled, they take a while to unfold and get all the lights snapped on =) After we got those and placed them in the yard, it just seemed pitiful. Therefore, I decided to head for the store and picked up various lights, garland, a tree light, and a reef. When I got back, John was all excited to see what I had. He started with the garland, and then Emily was curious enough to come out to see the lights being hung. She thought the whole thing was great and decided to help. Since the weather was reasonable, I brought the little ones out for a few minutes and they really watched the lights. Once it seemed to cold for them, I took them back in, got them dressed for bed, and then went back outside. John was able to get all the garland hung and the lighted tree up, so we decided to wait until tonight, Monday December 3rd, to finish u

p. After dinner, it was time to hang the lights over the garage and in the side bush. I took a look and was very pleased. Since I chose to go with the more conservative look, white lights,

we agreed that John would get the mailbox. Since he did not have any lights, he ran up to the store, picked out his flashing colored lights, and came home. I helped him get them unwound, and he went out and strung them. Hopefully the masterpiece is complete!!! For any of you looking for some lights, come over our way. It is not exactly Roper Mountain, but it is worth the trip =)

Downtown Greenville Christmas Parade 2007

After Emily awoke from her nap on Saturday afternoon, December 1st, we got bundled up and so that Emily and I could head downtown to the Christmas parade. After negotiating the traffic, we were able to park in the Richardson Street parking garage around 5pm. The weather was really quite nice in the 50's. The two of us, walked over to the Hyatt where we met up with Katrina, Christian, Mason, and Sydney. Thy had grabbed us a bench right out in front of the Hyatt so we could watch the parade. When we arrived, Daddy had already gone to Bertolos to get pizza for the group. During the time until the parade started, the kids enjoyed playing. In that time, Leslie, Megan, Quinten, Blake, and Little Q arrived. Due to all the people, it was about 5:45 until Daddy made it back with the pizza. We all ate, and got ready to watch the parade. It was kind of slow to get started with several breaks in between floats. For just a little while in the beginning, Emily was willing to ride on Daddy's shoulders to see better. However, due to a recent attachment to me, Emily got down and I supported her standing on the bench. She was really excited to see the parade. Her favorite part seemed to be the bands, but the symbols in particular. It started to get old after a while to her and she wanted to walk around and play by the fountain in front of the Hyatt. We did that and came back to our spot at the bench just in time to see Santa finish up the parade around 7:15. When it was all over,w e decided we would go to see if the light was on at Krispie Cream. Sydney decided to ride with Emily and I so the three of us made our way back to the parking garage. Unfortunately we were stuck in the garage for about 30 minutes due to traffic. It was defiantly not worth the free parking =) When we finally arrived at Krispie Cream, Katrina, Christian, and Mason were waiting for us at the table and Daddy was just making it out of the long line. Emily and Sydney enjoyed their snowman donuts, while the rest of us enjoyed the hot glazed.

Breakfast with Santa

On Saturday morning, December 1st, John, Emily, Ansley, Bailey, and I got dressed up in our festive attire, and headed for the church to have breakfast with Santa. When we arrived, we were all unloading the car, when Daddy came out to see us. The cutest thing happened. I was asking Emily what she was going to ask Santa for Christmas. She was thinking about it so I said, I think Ansley is going to ask for a big box of passies (she still loves!!!! her passie), and when I did she just grinned and laughed. We all headed in the church and waited in the line to go into the fellowship hall. While we were waiting Leslie, Blake and Quinten arrived to join all of us for breakfast. In addition, Regan came over to see Emily. Before long, the doors opened, and everyone filed into the fellowship hall and found seats at the various tables. When everyone was seated, Jennifer (the CWE director) greeted everyone and talked about the program. After Jennifer was finished, Santa came out on stage to say hi. The prayer was said and everyone headed for the breakfast line. Since John was still not able to eat much, he decided to stay with Ansley and Bailey at the table while I took Emily through the line to get something to eat. While we were in line, Santa came around and Emily gave him a big hug. Also, Emily's friend Lauren from her class, was in front of us and they had to have a few hugs while we were going through the line =) Once we had gotten our food and sat down, Emily ate while I fed the babies. Once Emily was done, her and John made their way over to the craft room. While she was there, she made a snowman ornament and wrote an E on the bottom. After they came back, Emily wanted to walk around, while John and Ansley got in the line to take pictures with Santa. Mrs. Gina was holding Bailey. While John and Ansley were waiting in the line, Emily danced in front of the stage where a girl was singing Christmas songs. After a while, the line was just taking to long so we decided to call it quits and head home. On the way out, Emily gave Mrs. Tasha a hug. We also ran into her Kindermusic teacher Mrs. Tia outside the church.

Bailey's 1st Tooth

This evening I noticed Bailey's first tooth has cute through. It is the one in the center bottom left. It looks like the one beside it will be in soon.

Alli's 7th Birthday Party

Saturday, November 24th, Ansley, Bailey, Emily, and I all went to Alli's 7th birthday party. It was over at the house Gran and his parents are getting ready to move in to in Mauldin. When we arrived everyone was already there since we were running late due to naps. We came in through the entrance in the basement (that is where everything was set up for the party). It was a "Dance Party" with a Hanna Montana theme (that is Alli's current craze). We were just in time for the cake. After the cake was cut, the kids enjoyed hitting the pinyatta. After several attempts, it was not broken, so Kelli opened it up and the candy went flying. The kids hurried to get candy in their bags. After that, the kids just enjoyed playing for a while, until it was time to head home around 5:30.

Ansley is Crawling

On Saturday afternoon, November 24th, Ansley officially started crawling. She has been attempting for a while, but really started going this afternoon right before we went to Alli's birthday party.

Ansley's 1st Tooth

On Thanksgiving day, I noticed Ansley has her first tooth cutting through on her bottom right side in the front. Also, today, November 23rd, I noticed her bottom left front tooth cutting through.

In addition she is right on the verge of crawling. She is moving pretty well, just trying to fine tune getting everything coordinated.

Thanksgiving Day 2007

On Thursday morning the girls and I work up, I fed the babies, and then I made pancakes for Emily and I. Once we got ready, we made our way over to Gran's apartment to check on John, he spent the night there after having his tonsils out Wednesday morning. After the doctors warning, we were all expecting that he would be having a rough time, but he was doing great!!! When we arrived at Gran's apartment, John was sleeping so the girls and I went down to Granny's apartment to check on things. At Granny's apartment she was finishing up cooking Thanksgiving lunch. All the girls really enjoyed getting down and playing. After a little bit, we were very surprised to see John walking through the door. He had woken up and decided to come visit since he was feeling ok. He was doing so well he decided to try some of the dressing and gravy that was ready. After eating some, John sat with us for a while. I fed Ansley and Bailey. Although Ansley was not in to Thanksgiving food, our little eater Bailey loved it!!! She ate a bunch of dressing and some turkey. Emily would not eat Thanksgiving food ether, so she enjoyed a very festive peanut butter sandwich. After the kids were fed and were playing, I enjoyed some turkey, dressing, and gravy. It was very good!! Before long, the kids were getting tired, so we headed to the house for them to take naps. After naps and doing some stuff around the house, we headed back to check on John around 5. John was still doing really well!! We visited at Gran's for a while. Emily was even won over by Gran. Normally she is too scared of him, but he called her and offered her some candy and she was willing to go visit him. It was really sweat. She even fed him a piece of fudge that Emily and I had made for them Wednesday night. After a while, John, Granny, Emily, Ansley, Bailey, and I headed to Granny's apartment. We played there for a while, ate and visited. Around 6:30, PaPa came in from the house (Gran, Granny, and PaPa are moving into a house in Mauldin and he has been working to get it ready for them to move in). He played with the girls for a while, until it was time for us to head home.

Thanksgiving with the Sizemores

On Monday, November 19th, I picked the girls up from school around 3:00 and we drove to Marna's house in River Downs. We were the first to arrive, but Marna soon made it back from the store and was almost immediately followed by Daddy, Mason, and Christian. We all headed in the house, I spread the girls out with their toys in the living room, and we unloaded the car. I had brought premeal snacks so I set those up (popcorn, veggie crackers, and a veggie and dip tray) for people to snack on. All the kids enjoyed playing in the living room for a while with the girls toys. Slowly everyone else arrived. As the kids played outside, various adults helped put the last minute touches on the food. Around 6:30 we all sat down and ate. The kids were quickly finished so they got up and headed to Marna's sun room to play. Emily especially enjoyed drawing. After dinner, Ansley and Bailey were getting tired so I layed them down upstairs in Mason's room for a nap while I helped get Emily's PJs on and clean up. Since Emily was tired, John and her headed to the house, while the babies and I stayed around until they woke back up about 8:15 and we headed home.

Thanksgiving with the Dyensons

On Sunday, November 18th, around 5:00, John, Emily, Ansley, Bailey, and I headed to downtown Greenville for Thanksgiving with the Dyenson side of the family.We parked in the West End and headed to the pizza place Mellow Mushroom. We were greeted by Mom and Dave outside before heading in. Once we walked in, we found Matt, Jennifer, and Nicholas waiting, so we all made our way to the table. Soon after we got to the table, Michael, his wife, and daughter Grace arrived and were followed by Laura, Alyssa, and Ashton. All the kids seemed to enjoy pigging out on pizza and then were ready to head to the ice cream shop at the entrance to the Mellow Mushroom. Mom, John, Emily, Ashton, Alyssa, Ansley, Bailey and I went to the ice cream shop and let the kids choose their ice cream. Once they had their ice cream, we all headed back to the table for the kids to enjoy. As the big kids were finishing up their ice cream, the babies were getting restless, so we got packed up and headed out. Once we got some fresh air, everyone was settling down so we headed for Falls Park. Emily wanted to play/dance on the grassy area outside Overlook Grill. She also liked seeing the Christmas tree they had mostly put together up on the grassy circle. Soon we were joined by Laura, Alyssa, Ashton, Michael, his wife, and Grace. We all walked across the bridge and back before heading home.

Camping Out in the Back Yard

On Saturday, November 17th, John set up the tent in our back yard since Emily had been begging to go camping again. At nap time, Emily and John took a nap out there. After nap time we took a ride over to Gran's to visit. When we arrived Jeff, Stef, and Walker were there. Jeff said it was ok for Walker to come camp out, so he went home to get his stuff together while we visited with Gran a little while. After our visit, we picked Walker up, ran by Little Cesar's for some pizza, and then headed home. When we arrived, the kids went over to jump on Ian's trampoline for a little bit, until Ian, Walker, and Emily headed back to our house to play. They all had the best time!!! After playing a little while, they all had some pizza and then were back to playing outside on the swing set, running around, sliding, playing in the fort, and playing in the tent. While they were in the tent, John was going to let the kids have some of the Halloween candy that was hanging around so he unzipped the tent, put the pumpkin with candy in, and zipped in back up. The kids thought it was great!! Around 8:00 Ian and Carmen had to head home. By then, I got Walker and Emily in their jammies, while John went and put his on. The kids played inside a few minutes, got a snack, and then the three of them were ready to go to the tent. I went out to get them settled. Walker and Emily had a pop up tunnel of Emily's out there and crawled in and out of that for a while. Then I headed back in the house once I knew they were nice and warm and had what they needed. While they were in the tent, they told stories. Walker told scary stories and Emily told princess stories.

Bailey Pulls Up for the First Time 11-9-07

On Friday, November 9th, Bailey pulled up for the first time by herself. It was after lunch and we were playing in the play yard. She pulled up on the side of the play yard. She was very proud of herself. Now she is pulling up all the time =)

Bailey is offically Crawling!!

This afternoon, Sunday November 4th, Bailey officially started crawling. She has been working herself around the room for over a month and crawling some in reverse, but today she actually crawled a few feet. It happened after her and Ansley work up from their mid day nap. John, Ansley, Bailey, and I were all playing in the living room, when Bailey took off!! It was not lightning speed, but she was definatly going where she wanted.

Halloween (Trick or Treating)

After Grandmommy Dyenson headed home, I fed the little girls, and started getting everyone dressed in their Halloween costumes. I have to say they were even cute the second time around =) Once everyone was dressed and the diaper bag was packed, we headed outside. Just as we were heading outside, Grandaddy Sizemore arrived and Ian came over from next door. Emily was so cute, she said, "There is Batman" and then said "Oh, it is Ian". Grandaddy stayed with the girls while Emily went over to get Carmen. Once Carmen came over we all took a few pictures and then it was time to head out. Grandaddy helped me pack everyone up in the car and we headed to Chick-fil-a on Pelham Rd to get some dinner around 6:00pm. When we arrived, Grandmommy, Aunt Leslie, Cousin Megan, and Cousin Blake were all seated and eating. In addition, we happen to run into Eric Blagg (one of the guys in the audit department at Dixon Hughes). We got our food and ate also. During dinner we were visited by Mr. Jerry, an older gentleman that works at Chick-fil-a as a greeter. He came over to visit (he knows us from our visits to the kids program held there on Tuesday nights) and to bring the kids some candy. He was really excited to see Emily and went behind the counter to get a bag and filled it with candy for Emily. It was very sweet. After that, we headed over to Aunt Marna's house. When we got there we were greeted by "Vet" Sophia, "Pirate" Sydney, and "The Grim Reaper" Mason. We left Ansley with Grandmommy since she was not feeling well and went out to trick or treat. The group included Aunt Marna (a cow girl), Uncle Jim (a prisoner), Jake (the dog was a cowboy), Mason (the grim reaper), Sydney (a pirate), Lilly (a princess), Sophia (a vet), Aunt Leslie, Megan, Blake (a lion), Grandaddy, Emily (little bo peep), Bailey (a sheep), and myself (a cat). Jim pulled Lilly and Emily in the waggon from house to house during our trip. At first the big kids were running from house to house, while Emily and Lilly were taking their time, riding, and playing. As we progressed, Emily and Lilly were racing up to the doors and very excited about trick or treating. We looped around Aunt Marna's neighborhood before making it back to the house. All the kids had a great time, but were tired by the end although they wanted to keep going. We briefly went in the house, got something to drink, changed the babies, said our goodbyes, and then Grandaddy went with us back to our house to help get the little ones settled. It was a fun night!!!

Emily's Halloween Party for Mrs. Ann's Class

Halloween afternoon I went to Emily's school to help with her Halloween Day Party in her preschool class. When I arrived around ten till three, the kids were just starting to get up from their naps. I helped Mrs. Ann get the room picked up and then we started setting up for the party. First we helped the kids get into the dress up outfits that I got them from the dollar store. I put on the girls princess skirts and gave them their light up wands, while Mrs. Ann gave out the boy's pirate hats and ether a sword or a hook to each one of them. Once they were dressed and seated, we opened up the snacks (orange and white cup cakes, Halloween cookies, Cheetos, and juice boxes). Around that time Sherry Marler arrived (Kyle's mom) to also help us out. After eating, the kids played in the room while we cleaned up. Once things were cleaned up, Emily and I headed home where Grandmommy was waiting for us with Ansley and Bailey (she watched them during the party).

Bailey's Well Check

Today Bailey had her 9 month well check with Dr. Bass at Children's Medical in Greenville(actually ten months since she was sick at her scheduled 9 month check). She is doing great physically and developmentally. Luckily she has not had any delays physically or developmentally despite being born at 34 weeks.

Her stats are as follows:

Height: 29 1/2 in or the 87st percentile
Weight: 21 lbs. 1 oz. or the 71st percentile
Head Circumference: 17 3/4 in or the 67th percentile


In addition to her size, she is saying MaMa, DaDa and NaNa, is on the verge of full crawling, is almost able to pull up all the way, is a big eater and gets mad when people are not feeding her or are eating and not giving her some, sucks her thumb, and is clingy to me.

Ansley's Well Check

Today Ansley had her 9 month well check with Dr. Bass at Children's Medical in Greenville(actually ten months since she was sick at her scheduled 9 month check). She is doing great physically and developmentally. Luckily after a rough start at birth, she has not had any delays. Her stats are as follows:



Height: 29 1/4 in or the 81st percentile

Weight: 19 lbs. 15 oz. or the 51st percentile

Head Circumference: 17 1/2 in or the 48th percentile



In addition to her size, she is saying MaMa and DaDa, making some effort to crawl, loves to eat finger foods (more so than being fed anymore), loves her passie, is very silly, and loves to jump.

The Cutest Little Bo Peep and her sheep you will ever see (Trunk or Treat at First Baptist Church Mauldin)

On Sunday afternoon, Carmen (our great friend and neighbor) helped me get all of the girls dressed in their costumes and ready to go to Trunk-or-Treat at church (First Baptist Church Mauldin). After all the kids were dressed, Carmen, Ian, Emily, Ansley, Bailey, and I went outside our house to take some pictures of the kids. Little Bo Peep (Emily) and her Sheep (Ansley and Bailey) along with Batman (Ian), were the cutest thing you will ever see, so we could not resist taking a bunch of pictures.

After pictures, Carmen loaded her and Ian up in their van and I loaded the girls in our's and we caravaned up to the church parking lot. Since the festivities were happening in the front parking lot, we parked around by the gym. The kids were all excited, so we headed up to the front of the church where a puppet show was happening. Ian and Emily thought it was great!! Once the puppet show was over we all decided to start walking around to the different cars. Lots of people thought the girls were too cute and wanted to take pictures. At the first car, Emily and Ian got candy in there buckets and after much persuading on my part not to give the little ones any, Ansley and Bailey received candy in their buckets =) Although it was short lived and wound up in Emily's bucket so they could not hurt themselves. Emily was very excited about her first sucker, so she ate it right away.

Once we had made it around to a few cars, we ran into Emily's friend Carson. Carson was in Emily's class from the time they were infants up through this August. They were very excited to see each other. About that time, Daddy showed up to visit with us and enjoy the festivities.

In addition to Carson, we ran into Mrs. Terry (the assistant director of CWE). Emily wasthrilled to show Mrs. Terry her costume. Mrs. Terry held Bailey for a while and came around with us to the front of the church where they were having a dance performance. She visited for a little while until she needed to get back to her post at her car.

We took a seat on the front lawn and watched the dance show. After it was over, Carmen and Ian had to head back to their house so we said goodbye. Soon another puppet show started. The girls were really fascinated with the show. Emily went towards the front of the stage where other little girls were sitting and watched with them.

Once the show was over, Emily say her best friend Regan (who has been in Emily's class since she was an infant). They were so excited to see one another and posed for some cute photos. In addition, we ran into Laura (my step sister) and Ashton (her youngest daughter). Once we all visited, it was time to head back to the car. Daddy, Emily, Ansley, Bailey, and I walked to the van, loaded up, and then went over to KFC for some dinner. Our little dancer entertained us after dinner with her "interpretive dance" moves.

Allan's 30th Birthday Party

Saturday evening at 7:00 pm Emily, Ansley, Bailey, and I drove over to Kim's house for Allan's 30th birthday party. When we arrived we were greeted by Mr. and Mrs. Walker and Helen. They had stayed at Kim and Allan's while the group had gone bowling (The party started at 5:00 at the Golden Strip Bowling Lanes. We did not go since the babies were too young.). Soon after we arrived Kim arrived home with the pizza. After Kim came in, several people started arriving, including Heidi, Scott, Valery, and Brandon. The kids were excited to see one another and started playing. Ansley and Bailey really enjoyed playing with their friend Helen on the floor.
After playing a while, the kids were ready to eat some pizza and then it was time to sing happy birthday to Allen. It was quite the display with all 30 candle =) Once we sang happy birthday and Allen blew out the candles, it was time to cut the cake. Kim was having problems cutting the cake so Heidi and Scott took the babies and I cut the cake. Everyone ate cake and then we played a very fun game about who knew Allen the best. His parents won!! By that time it was time to head home with the kids so Kim and her niece Clooie helped us out to the car and we were off from home. It was a very fun night!!

Fall Festival for Emily's Class at First Baptist Church Mauldin

On Thursday morning, the girls and I enjoyed sleeping in till 6:45. For those of you out of the young kid routine, this is better than my usual 5:45 during the week and 6:15 on weekends =) After getting up and feeding the little ones, I made Emily and I pancakes for breakfast (this is our favorite breakfast). Around 8:45, we arrived at school, Emily and I took Ansley and Bailey to their class, and we went back to Mrs. Ann's classroom. It was almost time to go to the fall festival that was being held in the fellowship hall. The kids lined up, in addition to Mandy (Regan's Mom), Sherry (Kyle's Mom), and I. Once we walked into the fellowship hall there were lots of games to play. Emily enjoyed the fishing game the most. Once all the kids had plenty of time to play the games, we all sat down to enjoy a yummy snack consisting of cupcakes, cookies, and other goodies. After the kids were finished, they played a while longer and we headed back to Mrs. Ann's room. I stayed a while to help Mrs. Ann with the kids and then I headed on to work.

Pumpkin time at the Mauldin Market

Due to John's trip to Mexicalli Mexico on Monday, we decided to come home late Saturday evening. We arrived a little after midnight Sunday AM and tried to get some rest. Sunday afternoon after the girls awoke from their naps, we decided to go to the Mauldin Outdoor Market to pick out a pumpkin. We had been going there to pick out pumpkins since John and I first moved to Mauldin. When we arrived, Emily first saw the little pumpkins and was hooked. We let her pick out a couple and then we loaded all the kids up into one of the waggons so that they could ride around. They all really seemed to enjoy the ride!!! Emily kept saying she wanted "to be wagged", meaning pulled around in the waggon. While we were there we looked at all the pumpkins, the flowers, and then choose a big pumpkin. Of course, Emily just wanted to pick the small ones, so we let her pick several of those and I picked out the big one. After we checked out we went by McDonald's for a shake. Once we arrived home, Emily enjoyed painting her little pumpkins.

Hangin' out at the IOP Park

Saturday afternoon, we met up with Daddy, Christian, and Blake in the parking lot of the condos and all walked over to the IOP County Park located next to the condos. Emily enjoyed swinging the most and also enjoyed playing in the sand and on the slide. Ansley and Bailey loved swinging. Once we had stayed a while, Leslie picked up Blake. Then Daddy, Christian, John, Emily, Ansley, Bailey, and I all headed to the cars and drove over to CC's Pizza on Mount Pleasant for dinner.

Playing on the Beach with Cousins

On Friday, Daddy and Katrina called to say they were thinking about heading to the IOP since the other condo was free for the weekend. By late that evening, Daddy, Katrina, Christina, Leslie, Megan, and Blake all made their way to the IOP. The next morning, Daddy and I took Emily, Christian, and Blake over to the Sea Biscuit for breakfast. After eating a hearty breakfast, we started walking back to the condos. We decided to make a brief stop off to visit Bubba the McCall at the surf shop on the strip. Once we made it back to the condos, we all decided to head out to the beach. A cool front had moved in Friday night, so it was not quite as warm as it had been during the week, but it was still quite nice. Emily and Christian had the best time playing in the water. The little ones also enjoyed being at the beach, playing with toys and being carried around.

Ansley's Progress at 10 months

-Her first word was DaDa, followed by MaMa.
-She likes to feed herself more than being fed.
-She really enjoys eating diced carrots.

Bailey's progress at ten months

-Soon after saying DaDa Bailey started saying MaMa and then NaNa.
-While we were at the beach the week of Oct 15th, Bailey started getting in to position to crawl and were crawling in reverse some. Although she was not crawling in the traditional sense, she was able to work yourself around the room. In addition, she started trying to pull up on stuff that week.
-She really likes to eat!!!