Dancin' and Singin'

While I made breakfast and much needed coffee yesterday morning (Hello late night at the Varnells! The party was fun, but BOY am I exhausted!) Adam and Maevey played on the couch, singing along to the radio and dancing. I had to run over and take a video before Maeve decided it was nap time, it was so cute to see her smile at her Daddy.

Silly Daddy Smiley Baby

This video was from New Years weekend, but I never got around to uploading it until now.

It was a moody day for Miss Maeve.

M-O-O-D-Y

In an attempt to get her to calm down and maybe give us a glimpse of our normally cheery girl, Adam started making bizarre noises and faces.

Maeve was thoroughly impressed.

PS: The video is a little dark, especially at first so if the room you're watching in is too bright it's almost impossible to see. Sorry! I will remember to turn on more lights next time.

Growing Like an Adam

Maevey Bean had her three month appointment today, and she's continuing the trend she started September 30th. Skinnier and skinnier, taller and taller.

At 11lbs 13oz and 24.5in, she is only 33% for weight and 77% for height.

Her daddy, if you don't know him, is 6'1'' and in the 91% and weighs in at....150lbs, putting him at 30% for weight. (And only 5lbs heavier than when we graduated from high school 7yrs ago) Yeah...he's a long, skinny fella and it seems she's going to be a long, skinny lass.

It's almost impossible to catch her little smiles on film, but here you can see her sweet little happy face. I could kiss, cuddle and look at this girl all day!

Party Hardy

Last night, at 38wks pregnant, I was a very good sport to my dear husband and "partied" until 3am! Friends of ours host a yearly September Birthdays Party which includes Adam, and we were there for hours and hours last night getting our fun in while we still can! While I didn't get to enjoy the famous Varnell cosmos and margaritas, which looked so tasty, there was plenty of sinfully delicious food and belly-aching laughter.

See 001, your Mommy is a lot of fun, and a pretty good sport. We've had our fun, our lists are checked off. You can come now!

Rules for Dads of Daughters

A friend had posted this on facebook and while it could very well be the hormones, I was moved by it and thinking of both my Dad and Adam's future as a Daddy.

Rules for Dads of Daughters

1. Love her mom. Treat her mother with respect, honor, and a big heaping spoonful of public displays of affection. When she grows up, the odds are good she’ll fall in love with and marry someone who treats her much like you treated her mother. Good or bad, that’s just the way it is. I’d prefer good.

2. Always be there. Quality time doesn’t happen without quantity time. Hang out together for no other reason than just to be in each other’s presence. Be genuinely interested in the things that interest her. She needs her dad to be involved in her life at every stage. Don’t just sit idly by while she add years to her… add life to her years.

3. Save the day. She’ll grow up looking for a hero. It might as well be you. She’ll need you to come through for her over and over again throughout her life. Rise to the occasion. Red cape and blue tights optional.

4. Savor every moment you have together. Today she’s crawling around the house in diapers, tomorrow you’re handing her the keys to the car, and before you know it, you’re walking her down the aisle. Some day soon, hanging out with her old man won’t be the bees knees anymore. Life happens pretty fast. You better cherish it while you can.

5. Pray for her. Regularly. Passionately. Continually.

6. She will fight with her mother. Choose sides wisely.

7. Go ahead. Buy her those pearls.

8. Of course you look silly playing peek-a-boo. You should play anyway.

9. Enjoy the wonder of bath time.

10. Dance with her. Start when she’s a little girl or even when she’s a baby. Don’t wait ‘til her wedding day.

11. Tell her she’s beautiful. Say it over and over again. Someday an animated movie or “beauty” magazine will try to convince her otherwise.

12. Let her hold the wheel. She will always remember when daddy let her drive.

13. She’s as smart as any boy. Make sure she knows that.

14. When she learns to give kisses, she will want to plant them all over your face. Encourage this practice.

15. Letting her ride on your shoulders is pure magic. Do it now while you have a strong back and she’s still tiny.

16. It is in her nature to make music. It’s up to you to introduce her to the joy of socks on a wooden floor.

17. Never miss her birthday. In ten years she won’t remember the present you gave her. She will remember if you weren’t there.

18. She’ll probably want to crawl in bed with you after a nightmare. This is a good thing.

19. Introduce her to the swings at your local park. She’ll squeal for you to push her higher and faster. Her definition of “higher and faster” is probably not the same as yours. Keep that in mind.

20. Holding her upside down by the legs while she giggles and screams uncontrollably is great for your biceps. WARNING: She has no concept of muscle fatigue.

21. Let her know she can always come home. No matter what.

22. Remember, just like a butterfly, she too will spread her wings and fly some day. Enjoy her caterpillar years.

23. Write her a handwritten letter every year on her birthday. Give them to her when she goes off to college, becomes a mother herself, or when you think she needs them most.

24. Learn to trust her. Gradually give her more freedom as she gets older. She will rise to the expectations you set for her.

25. Ice cream covers over a multitude of sins. Know her favorite flavor.

Reupholstering Project

When we replaced our dining room table several years ago I decided to keep using our "this is our first place" chairs from Walmart and just reupholster them. That was a terrible idea. Not only were they cheap, tacky chairs, but I used nails that were too long and turned the chairs into weapons. Adam called them our "iron maidens." When we moved to Amarillo we left behind our dining room chairs and borrowed some from friends.

Fast forward to our move back to DFW, we were gifted some older chairs by Adam's parents and Adam worked on them over the weekend to make them work for us. Sanded, painted, re-cushioned and re-upholstered they are looking pretty snazzy if I do say so myself!

Before meets After

Pride & Excitement

Now that it's official I can make the official announcement, my dear husband starts his new job this Monday at Staffmark! Fifteen minutes from our house, he's working out of the Las Colinas offices as a Senior Account Manager & Researcher with a "choose your own schedule" setup which means he'll be able to work 7:30-4:30, hopefully beat some of the traffic, and spend some time in the evenings with oo1 and myself! He received the informal offer last Thursday, but we wanted to wait to announce until the ink was drying on the paperwork.

Thank you to everyone who mentioned us in their prayers and held their breath with each new development. We greatly appreciate your support and enthusiasm!

...Now the question is, what am I going to do with myself, alone these next 8.5wks?

Sitting, Waiting, Wishing

Today Adam had interview number, are you ready, FIVE with Staffmark. This was the first interview he's had with them that was incredibly informal. They met at a Starbucks, and chatted. This gentleman, head of business development at the Dallas offices, was interested in Adam's work experience, but also his being an Eagle Scout and his volunteering with the Red Cross after Katrina. (the first one out of all interviews for all companies to seem to even notice that information on his resume)

At the end of their hour and a half together, it was announced that he planned on recommending Adam for the position and to expect to hear something within the next three days! I am trying so hard not to count our chickens, but it's difficult not to be excited, proud and hopeful! This position is in Las Colinas, so the offices are 20min from our home, and he would be able to work from 7am-4am if he wanted, which would help beat traffic and give him time home with me and oo1 in the evenings. Not to mention the salary increase, good vacation time and better benefits.

Now we're sitting, waiting, wishing....

Daddy Demonstrates Baby Bijorn

Tonight I came downstairs to find Adam strapping on the Baby Bijorn for practice. He then kindly explained how it would work with oo1 strapped in.

Example 1: "See, imagine this is her head..."

Example 2: "...this is where her arms will go..."

Example 3: "...and her legs will go here."

It was almost like she was right there! ;)

When Daddy's Buy for Baby

This Sunday, Adam and I had a wonderful time pursuing through baby stores. We spent hours discussing in detail our thoughts on strollers and car seats, slings and carriers, middle names and all sorts of other baby things. While on the hunt for goodies, Adam picked up a bib at Once Upon the Child that had been repeatedly cut in price, and finally thrown in the bargain bin. He is quite fond of his purchase, and if you know his sense of humor at all it makes complete sense... It makes me happy that we can have a day of deep discussion and still have a good laugh. I leave you with Daddy's first purchase:

We're All Getting Older, And The Parties Are More Fun

Adam's 25th birthday was upon us about a week ago, September 19th to be exact. We've adopted the O'Connell tradition of a "friends" party the weekend of your birthday followed by a family party on your actual birthday. Growing up, family dinner was always so special because for me it meant an abundance of cheesy spaghetti and plenty of double chocolate cheesecake, as the rule was you got your favorite food. We started our weekend off Friday night with dinner with our partners in crime-Cydney & Brandon. Recently, Adam and Brandon have joined a Men's Group that meets for 4 hours on Wednesday nights, and they had all planned to meet out Friday night at our local wine bar with their wives. So, after dinner---which was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G, and I have to slide in the detail that Adam told Cydney (who was trying to help by making reservations) "just pick something yummy", we headed out to meet everyone at Crush.

The first of Adam's birthday surprises was that his best friend Mitchell met us at Crush, having just driven all the way in from College Station for the celebration.

It was fun to get to meet most of the guys Adam spends so much time with, and their wives especially!

After hours of talking and laughing, we headed to Mitchell's to swim and hangout in the hot tub, a very lucky thing to have a friend with such fun things at his disposal! Saturday brought us out to Greenbelt lake where we camped, cooked HoBo pizzas, played games and Adam opened presents. His first, from Cydney & Brandon was a beautiful pipe that is so very much Adam, and fitting too since Adam gave Brandon his first pipe last year.

I swear they're both really 65, trapped in 25yr old's bodies! The best surprise of all, although I am quite biased, was getting to give Adam his violin he's wanted for 4 years. He was so excited, and a day later already had a song down!

Sunday, his actual birthday brought us family day, and Adam's choice was to watch Mythbusters re-runs and eat grilled cheese with tomato soup, a very, very easy request to fulfill. I love that our way to celebrate is to spend as much time with our friends as possible, and then to relax and cut away the world on our family day, even if it's just for some grilled cheese. Happy Birthday Adam! I love you very much, and can't wait to celebrate the next!

Happy Birthday

Happy 24th Birthday Adadadadadadam!!!!

Wedding Extravaganza

FINALLY!!!! Getting married in SEVEN DAYS!!!! ONE WEEK!!!!! AAAAK!!!!!!!

I love this man....