2009
Year in Review
Part 1
Jan. - May

If you read my previous post below, you know I decided to do a year in review post. I started with June-December first, blogging backwards. That's me. Now the blogs will flow in order though, see... I had a plan. 2009 was the most amazing year ever with the last half of a pregnancy and the arrival of our cutie patootie Cole!! What a year, what a year!!!!! We are blessed beyond words~

"God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine" Ephesians 3:20

January
January 6th was a much anticipated day as we went for our sonogram to find out that little Cole was going to be little Cole, a boy!! Such an awesome day! I went to preschool, beyond excited. Came home to meet Andy and we were off. We had the sonogram, got the exciting news and then wouldn't tell a soul. HA! We went to eat supper and then went shopping, all the while telling our friends and family that baby was safe & healthy, but we weren't sharing yet. It was nice to savor such a big secret for a few hours. By the time we arrived to my parents house that evening, my Momma was angry... he he he.....



We took this picture to post....here of course!! And on FaceBook as the "big reveal"!!




And just a few days later we packed up and headed to Disney World!! What else would you do to celebrate finding out you were having a boy?! We spent a week at Port Orleans Riverside and had an absolute wonderful "last just us" Disney visit!!


February brought Valentines, which I didn't document with pictures obviously.

It also brought shopping


And our sweet Layla turned 3






March came and the weather started to warm up


There were consignment sales to visit and bargains to be bought! (The swing where Cole naps now as I type)



My belly grew and grew





And our sweet great nephew turned 1, Tanner




April brought .. "modified" bed rest - YUCK!

I don't have a picture to accurately display the boredom that became my life on and off during April. My blood pressure went up, my body swelled like a balloon and I spent a ton of time in bed. In theory, time in bed sounds fun huh? When you're stuck there and told to stay put...not so great!


The person who really enjoyed my bed rest, Gizmo. He spent 2 months in heaven saying "this is the life people". He was so confused when we came home from the hospital with another person and bed rest came to an immediate end. Matter of fact we didn't see much of the bed for awhile.....



There was also our first baby shower by Andy's work family


We had farmer day at preschool-




I finished the curtains I made for Cole's room, with help from Momma since I was stuck in bed a ton of the time.




Easter came




May arrived ...and so did Cole!!

In May my belly got huge, but turned out our little Cole wasn't as huge as I thought.




My sweetie hubby bought me a wonderful Mother's Day present. I'd loved my old "Beastie" Durango very much, a favorite vehicle for me. (That's saying a lot if you know me ;) So he arrived home with this surprise!



The kids at school and the Mommies had a baby shower for me. It was so much fun!


My teacher friends had a shower for me!

My friends had a shower for me and some of my "babies" from Pre-K years pass came!!



The weather warmed up and much time was spent sitting beside Mom & Dad's new pool. There are NO pictures of my huge self out there beside the pool, but believe me it was a 'whale' of a sight! (Though it wasn't for months later that I finally got to get in it!)



The school year came to an end and we said goodbye to our muchkins. There were 2 weeks at home resting and wondering when our little man would arrive.

On a Friday, not any different from previous ones, our lives were about to change. What became an afternoon of running by Babies R Us (where we were actually buying something pink for the little sweetheart we thought we were going to adopt when she arrived in the fall) and a routine doctor visit, turned into much more. Next thing we know we are seeing baby Cole on a sonogram, being sent to the hospital for observation which turned into being admitted by the time we arrived. We checked in, made phone calls, panicked because suitcases weren't yet totally packed and then realized this roll of "ready or not" and "you thought you had plans - ha" roll of parenthood was arriving even before we thought!

On the Saturday evening, May 30th @ 6:45 PM....
Our little Raymond Cole Tanner made his appearance into the world!!

We fell in love even more and became parents!!

2009 - A year in review - Part 2

I saw on my friend Anna's blog that she was doing a bog carnival, 2009 a year in review. Although I'm not participating in the carnival, you can go here to see everyone else's link to their year in review. I thought it would be fun to look back .... Wow, it's overwhelming now that I've started. What a year..... it seems like a dream!! Since it's already way pass when I'd planned to be in bed... I'm giving you part 2, the second half of 2009. By the time we arrive to June, our precious little Cole has arrived and we are leaping into parenthood with full force! Leave it to me to blog in reverse order! Enjoy.....


In June we began getting use to the idea of being parents. The much awaited dream & prayer, now a reality. It's much different in life than in theory! It was a month that was gone in the blink of an eye, it's all a blur and I have to concentrate on what happened. I blame that on lack of sleep!! That first month was hard, I wont lie. It was a dream, it was fantastic, it was all I'd ever imagined and we couldn't have been happier!!!!!!! I'm just stating the facts that the first month of getting to know each other and getting use to life with a newborn comes with challenges. I'm sure for Cole getting use to life on the outside was no picnic, he has been a wonderful baby though. We are so very blessed, in ways we couldn't begin to count!!

Cole came home from the hospital, in preemie clothes that were bought by his cousin Aimee. He was truly a boy with a closet FULL of clothes....and not a thing to wear!! He was so much smaller than we'd have ever imagined!!


At a week old he had his first photo session and what was his last photo session with that first little tooth! He was born with a tooth, you knew that...right?! Not 5 pounds and yet a tooth, we'd never heard of such. Bless his heart, he had to have it pulled. It was very wiggly and could be knocked out and swallowed with a bottle very easily. I can't stand going to the dentist and he was much braver than me, who was huddled in a corner close to passing out!!



Cole met so many awesome people that have waited on him a long time and love him very much, including (but not limited too) his cousin Layla and his Great Great Aunt Reene!! Our house was full daily of people coming to meet the little one, it was a precious time with family and friends. I value that time and those first meetings and cherish them in my heart always. You only have that "first meeting" once, ya know?!




We had a ton of firsts, including (but not limited to) a first bath! It was a nightmare.....for ALL involved, no one enjoyed that for sure!!!! (This picture is the epitome of what we all felt and I'm so thankful that tonight, at 7 months old, Cole loves bath time and sits in there splashing, laughing and playing the entire time!!)





We took a LOT of pictures....


and we hung out at Granny & Grumpy's pool!!



In July we celebrated the 4th ...


We left the world of swaddling behind....


And became a free bird.
(Because he never stayed swaddled, his arms always ended up like this anyway!)



We spent time with Great Grandmother.




In August we practiced sitting in the Bumbo seat, a great great invention!!



We took our first trip to the beach with Granny & Grumpy!


Where we spent time hanging out & Cole spent time admiring ceiling fans and sleeping in all our favorite places to eat.


There were LOTS of naps.....



Mommy enjoyed some much deserved and needed time with a book in the sun.....



And playing with the sweet baby boy too!!



Back at home,
We acted silly....




And we pitched some fits too...



Mommy finally decided it was time to take Cole to church and leave him in the nursery while we rejoined the world of Sunday School again. It was such a comfort to see the smiling faces of Ms. Cooper & Ms. Hollingsworth who have been in the nursery all MY life.. I'd have never been able to leave him in there otherwise! Thank heavens for church family!! Plus, we LOVE our Sunday School class and having Glenn for a teacher, who was my youth minister for awhile.




And we spent some lazy days hanging out before Mommy went back to preschool.




In September we took our annual trip to the Smokey Mountains, Gatlinburg & Pigeon Forge!! It was Cole's first trip and the absolute best way I can think of to have spent my 35th birthday!!




While floods destroyed so many lives around us, we were thankful for the safety of our own home and the shelter it provided. Although we had very minor water in our basement and had to replace carpet downstairs, it was nothing compared to the total devastation just miles from our house. Our Austell neighbors lost so much! We were thankful to be together, dry and spend a few days "stuck" at home together! (The roads were so flooded you couldn't get out to go anywhere, in any direction!)




We watched Sesame Street & ate on our giraffe.




In October we took Cole to the fair for the first time, one of my favorite things to do in the fall!


We bought Cole his jumpy entertainer, which was one of the top 5 purchases we've made!! (With all those links Andy said it looked like baby jail)




I tortured Cole by dressing him up to take pictures, his Daddy claims no responsibility and apologized profusely!

And we headed out to take Cole on his first trip to Disney World, which led into November....




In November what better thing was there to be thankful for than our own silly turkey! By then Cole was almost 6 months old and absolutely cracking us up with his personality coming out so much!!

We got together after church one Sunday with the Tanner gang and took a picture of Mimi and Pappy (one of Andy's brother & sis in law) with all their Grand babies, plus Cole!



We spent one Saturday morning in the leaves in the front yard!! With the beautiful fall colors and this cutie pie ... well, it was a perfect combination if I do say so myself!!





December and Cole's first Christmas was wonderful, full of fantastic memories. There was Cole meeting Santa for the first time at the mall, he loved the big guy!



There's Cole meeting Santa for the 2nd time at Uncle Mike & Aunt Faye's church. He was amazed with Santa's beard that time!


Though not a fantastic picture, it's the my very first homemade (in Sunday School anyway) ornament of Cole's on the tree and that is something special folks!! Yes, his look is WILD~ I have waited on my own little one's ornament to add to our tree for 10 long years and this one is worth it, his little wild look and all!!


I saw this pose on a friend's hubby's website a few years ago, I knew SOMEDAY I'd take this same shot of my own munchkin! I found the jammies on clearance last year (or year before now I guess) and was able to pull them out for embroidering a few months ago. Andy helped baby wrangle while I got this shot in front of our tree. *sigh* I love it!!


Loving our newest Tanner addition, our newest great nephew, little baby Jack!! He is precious!



And finally, the last one. Finally being able to see the wonder through the eyes of our little Cole on Christmas morning, he could not believe that Elmo was right there in his house...talking to him, singing and moving all around. He LOVES Elmo Live!! I think his face says it all huh?!