Ryan and Casey plus 2

This three day weekend was exactly what we needed!!  Whitney made Ryan and I smile so much that we feel recharged and ready for the work week...well kinda haha:) I am not sure you can ever quite be "ready" to go back!!   We played at the park, watched Grandma and Papaw's dogs, ate some good food, visited with Gammy and Papaw, saw Whit stand a lot this weekend and sadly said goodbye to our cat Roxy.... We have been looking for a home for Roxy for the past year or so and just have had no luck.  So when my friend mentioned a family that might be interested we jumped at the chance to meet them.  Roxy is a special cat that we've nursed back to health several times.  She is needy and not the easiest pet to get along with but I honestly love her and wanted nothing for her but the best.  With Whitney running around, finishing our basement and Ryan's allergies to her (yes all of these years hes put up with it) we felt it was best to find her a new home that would ...

Tonight, Whitney was sitting on the ground, got up in a standing position and took her very first wobbly step!!  She was so proud I could barely snap a picture, thus the reason why it is so blurry!!  I am amazed at how quickly this progressed because Tuesday was the day she actually balanced herself for the first time in front of her chair and just a few short days later here we are!!! Standing while watching TV the other morning:) We have also had to rig our steps so that she cannot race up them anymore.  My mom can attest to how steep they are and within seconds that little stinker is up five steps!!  I ran to the restroom, something I was able to do before, for less than a minute and she was UP to the fourth step!!  We bought several different gates but because our steps are in the middle of the room, none of them fit; so until we find something nicer...our ironing board will have to do:)  Its worked well today although it has trained her to turn th...

Happy Valentines Day!!! Whitney stood up by herself today for the first time!!  She was sitting in her chair and pushed herself up to stand!!  She didn't stand for long but was so proud and so was mommy.  We are going to have to watch her now, she has even started trying to stand from a sitting position on the floor!!  Whit has also started praying with us at dinner and even says "amen" when we are done...it just melts our hearts!! This weekend Whitney was really into walking around house and one time around the circle she spotted the rainbows on the wall.  Poor daddy got a sore back from standing there for so long but she was fascinated.  She said, "wow" over and over and even said "rainbow". Whitney loves her back pack from Aunt Elaine, Uncle Jay and JJ.  She puts all of her birthday cards in there and feel so special!! Here she is just sitting in her chair with her legs crossed like a little lady:)  Watching Elmo of course! Now thi...

Last weekend was a bit rough for mommy with the stomach bug and ongoing migraine issues but that didn't stop Whit and Daddy from having a good time.  And thank goodness for Ryan's energy because I was not able to keep up this weekend. Whitney giggled and ran around this house so much with him that she was exhausted by days end!!  Whit's favorite thing to do with him is walk behind her walker while he chases her.  She laughs so hard that she can barely walk at times, turning around checking to make sure he is still coming to get her!! I try to play the same games he does with her and she is not having it, guess it is just something between a girl and her dad:) We were able to have a some special visitors over to celebrate Great Grandpas birthday and watch a little bit of the super bowl, despite the sickness.  Whitney hasn't seen my grandparents in awhile so she was a little apprehensive at first but warmed up soon enough.  I think it made my grandpas year to hav...

Whitney now repeats everything you say, and I mean everything!!  Just the other day she said, "oh goodness" when I did after dropping something on the floor.  We have also noticed that she is using her words to tell us things or ask for something, rather than just babbling.  She will tell us what food she wants to eat, when she wants to eat it and what toys she is going to crawl to get.  Its pretty neat to see her develop like this and be able to communicate with us.  Although nap and bedtime have been rough for us recently, it is so cute because while I'm holding her she will lift up her head and either say "pat pat pat" or rock herself back and forth indicating what she wants me to do while putting her to sleep.  If I don't respond she will do it again.  It just amazes me!! We are currently going through a sleeping strike and let me tell you, it is taking a toll on all of us!!  She realizes now when the bedtime or nap time ...