Thursday, April 12, 2007

Hattie's First Easter


HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!

"Ain't life grand?"

A Culpepper family shot



Baby amidst Easter toys from years past (and a couple new ones)!



Happy Mama and Baby!




Hattie in her Easter bib from GranGee!




Hattie in one of Mommy's old dresses






On our back porch before church Palm Sunday






Thursday, March 22, 2007

Month Four Part Deux

Mommy and Baby
Baking Daddy's favorite cookies- "Snickerdoodles"


A little improv. at the piano

Aunt Carole and Hattie rocking on the front porch



Knoxville trip continued...











Our little Cutie Pie!





Month Four Hattie Pix

Ole' Hattie Blue Eyes























AHHHHHH!












































































































































Monday, February 26, 2007

The Smiley Baby at 3 Months


My How Time Flies!







My how time flies. It's amazing just how much life can change in a matter of a few months. In a couple of days our little Hattie will be turning FOUR months old! It's hard to believe but at the same time, we can't fathom life without her....a major piece of our hearts would be missing.

Hattie has been such a blessing! Every day she melts our hearts with one of her grand smiles, silly giggles, "chattiness" or reaching a new milestone. She IS a "Chatty Kathy" and especially loves to talk to her daddy, as he'll let her get a word in edge-wise.....Mommy is quite the chatter box herself as is Hattie's Uncle George and GranGee. Poor Trey didn't have a chance! :) She is very inquisitive and let's you know when she's puzzled by something with her expressive eyebrows. Her Great Unce John said it reminded him of a mini Winston Churchill.

Hattie, at barely three months impressed us with her first roll-over from her back to her tummy! Hattie and I were visiting GranGee and GranSnap in Tulsa at the time so she had quite the cheering section. Just a few days ago, she began rolling back over from her tummy to her back- what a big girl!

Speaking of big girls, we have her 4 month well baby check-up tomorrow and it'll be interesting to see where she is, size-wise in comparison to other babies her age. Last time (2 months) she had moved from the 50th percentile in weight and length to the 75th in both. She's a big pudge now, weighing in at 15 lbs 2 oz! I always wanted a chubby baby and I got one. I'm sure people look at Trey and think, "Where did THAT baby come from?!??" Ha!

Hattie found her thumbs a couple months ago and has her thumbs, hands, fingers...or something in her mouth at all times. She was sucking her thumb a couple of minutes after she was born and the nurse said, "We have an experienced thumb sucker here" so I guess her sucking her thumb now doesn't come as a surprise. She hasn't found her feet yet- maybe next month. She LOVES her bath, as do most babies, I would assume. Hattie is just figuring out cause and affect as it relates to splashing in the tub. She picks up her legs and slams them back down in the water to create big splashes and thinks it's great! Bath time is always entertaining.

We bought her a Johnny Jump-Up, which she dances around in on her toes and bounces up and down every once in a while. It's all so new- so much to explore and discover. We are capturing so much of it on video and/or camera and are having a blast with it.

Trey and I were faced with a very difficult decision about a month or so ago. Maternity Leave was coming to an end for me with International Paper and we had to decide whether or not I would return to work. I loved my job as a Sr. Buyer for the company here in Cincinnati and had studied and worked hard in school to achieve what I'd achieved, career-wise. We felt that the best decision for Hattie and our family was for one of us to be at home with her so I resigned from my position with the company. I know we made the right decision and am loving every minute of my days with her but it wasn't an easy thing to do. When people ask me what I do, it's also been strange saying, "I'm a stay-at-home mom" as opposed to "I'm a Sr. Buyer for an international Fortune 100 company" (not that I ever actually said it like that) :) I'm so very grateful that I'm able to be at home with our little Hattie.

That's all for now but I'll post more pictures soon. For now, here are a few from the last month plus a couple that got lost in my files of Dad and Hattie from Dad and Kathy's visit when Hattie was only 2 weeks old.

Friday, January 19, 2007

January 2007 Visit from the Rosa's and Daddy's Birthday

The Happy "Buddah" baby!







"Aunt" Lindsay, Christian and
"Hattie-Beth" (nickname given by Lindsay) - pretty cute, I must say




Aunt Lindsay and "Hattie-Beth"







(right) Aunt Lindz (what a smile!) and the crew



(left) Kizer & "Aunt" Kristin, "Hattie-Beth" & "Aunt" Lindsay


Baby in a diaper- awwwww...




Uh Oh! It's "Uncle" Irv!



Trey's Birthday (1/17/07) dinner



What a face!









Hattie's all "dolled" up for
Daddy's birthday

Dec. 24 '06- Christmas Visit to Virginia Part II & Post X-Mas Visit from GranGee and GranSnap Back Home in Cincinnati

GranGee and Baby Hattie opening stockings




No more kisses Daddy!





Confused looking little Hattie





(left) Sleeping Beauty and Mommy




(right) "GranSnap" and Hattie- sweet




(below) The Buchanans meet Miss Hattie for the first time


Daddy loving on Hattie




Lou and Riley, Trey and Hattie at their parent's house in VA

Dec. 21-24 '06- Christmas Visit to Virginia Part I

right - Christmas Eve visiting the Dillon clan after service





below- Trey (and Hattie) on keys at his old stomping ground (our church in Franklin, VA) with Barry behind him on the guitar

above left- Trey (and Hattie) on keys at his old stomping ground (our church in Franklin, VA) with Barry behind him on the guitar

(left) Hattie's big day with some VA friends



right- The whole Culpepper clan at Hattie's dedication: from left to right-
Jo & Britt, Edna, Trey, Kristin and Hattie, Jennifer & Scott, Lou & Dylan



Aunt Lou and Hattie







Grandma "Jo-Jo" (Trey's Mom) and cousin Riley (Trey's sister, Lou's, son) with baby Hattie- what a fuss face Hattie has!





Our former neighbor from Virginia- her "Great-Grandma" Beatrice...we miss having her next door (sorry the pic. is sideways...) :)






Our special friends the Butlers- a Christmas visit



Great-Grandmother Edna (Trey's Dad's Mom) & Hattie


Pastor Dillon and Patty (in Franklin, VA) the day before they performed Hattie's baby dedication service








A hooded Hattie