Merry Christmas, Carolina Style

Earlier this month, Presleigh got to take her first road trip. (Yayuh!) Everybody piled into the wee family car and hit the road for Charlotte, NC to see Aunt Shanua (pronounced "Shauna"). The coolest part was, Grammy Pina and Uncle Jeremy flew down (at deep discounts, due to the off peak travel dates) from Boston. This was extremely exciting for everyone, because Grammy Pina and Uncle Jay hadn't had a chance to meet Presleigh yet.

Daddy, Aunt Shanua, and Uncle Jeremy got to cookin' in the kitchen to make up a big bird for pre-Christmas dinner. It was like old times that never existed before with the Pina kids cookin up a storm. (We just realized that no one took a picture of the magnificent Pina turkey, but then, with all these Pina's in the kitchen, it's hard to tell which one the turkey is, right?!) There were sweet potatoes, a cheese ball, stuffing, homemade cranberry relish (a Cape Cod original recipe) yummies, more yummies, and a few yummies to go on the side.

Wow, were we full?! Daddy's first turkey came out awesome - not dry, and so tender that the meat was falling off the bone... literally! As we transferred the turkey from the pan to the plate, one of the legs and a wing just started sliding off the body. Yum-bo! You could hear Tasmanian Devil noises as we chowed down, I'm sure of it. Naps, of course were in order. While Uncle Jeremy claimed the couch without delay, Presleigh was not to be bested by anyone's napping skills. We've decided, quite unanimously, that there's some kind of tranquilizer injected in the cushions of Aunt Shanua's couch - for those who sit there cannot sit long before they begin singing the sleepytime song...

Grammy Pina had some lost time to make up for and got to hold Presleigh to her heart's content. At any point, we could count on Presleigh disappearing with Grammy. Who could blame her, right? So, here's a pic or two, or three of Grammy Pina and her Presleigh-doodles for the very first time!


Cousin Ciara and Brianna got to have some bonding time, watching movies on the big, yellow couch and then in the afternoon at the mall - girl time!!! Uncle Jay got to really meet Miss Cristine (whom he barely got to meet for the first time at the wedding last year). It was a great "family" time on Saturday.

Sunday morning was the official Pina family Christmas celebration. Grammy Pina was delighted to actually get to buy baby clothes for her infant granddaughter. This was a really cool opportunity for her, since she only got to meet her oldest granddaughter, Ciara, when she was 13. (Longer story for another day...) Uncle Jeremy... Well, what can we say - he absolutely spoiled the girls. Brie got an Abercrombie shirt with a great pair of pants, two pair of sneakers, and a badly needed pair of earbuds for her listening pleasure on the road trip back.

Being the newborn has its privileges - it's been about a week and a half, and we're still not sure Presleigh's had a chance to wear everything that Uncle Jay got her. He's just that kind of giver.What a huge heart he has. Gymboree is grateful for his patronage.
Brie and Presleigh had a great "First Christmas" We are overwhelmed by my family's generosity... and their taste in infantwear!!! Presleigh is one stylin girl - walking in her sister's footprints!

Plenty to Be Thankful For

Presleigh got up on time last Thursday, not knowing what madness awaited her. First, it was off to Mommy and Daddy's bathroom where a nice, warm bath was drawn in the sink. Can you believe our little girl still fits in a sink?! Newborn babies are just the cutest!!!

Back to the story... Mommy gave Presleigh a good cleaning up in preparation for a new outfit. Presleigh understood the word "Thanksgiving" about as well as she understood the words "pretty dress", but we think she got the point when she was done being unimpressed by the overly frilly, pink spitup cloth... Yeah, that's what she refers to most clothing as these days.

We hopped in the car and went over 400 and through the woods to Grandma's house. We did make sure to pack the bouncey jumper dealie, though. It proved to be a wise move. Since Presleigh isn't ready for the Pack 'n Play, we knew some kind of plaything would be a wise choice in travel gear for the holiday.

It appears our little dear is teething. Yep. Probably a month or two early. But, as of now, she'll gum the fingernail off your thumb if you put it too close to her yapper. Promise. Hey, everyone's got skills. Our little lady's got a gnack for gnawing. She's also doing a LOT of vocalizing. Nothing solid yet, just "Mmmmm". Sounds like a devious plot to make her first words "Mommy". I'm trying to teach her how to make the "D" sound...

Meanwhile, she's learning how to laugh. At least, her wide mouth, head back, silent smile now has some higher pitched sound to it from time to time. Uncle Rudy helped her practice that and the other, suspiciously "Mom"ish sound while bouncing herself senseless in the jungle jumper dealie. I think he's on the take.

Grandma, ever the gracious host, made a lovely spread with a fantastic turkey, tons of awesome sides, including some wicked awesome prosciutto wrapped in mozzarella and basil, unbelievable tortellini alfredo, and a ton of other kickin' fixin's. Whaddaya want? Gramma's Itayyin! This is just a warm-up for Christmas Eve. Abbondanza!

While we partook of the savory, meaty, and sweet, Presleigh was relegated to good old fashioned formula at the kiddie table... uh, chair... But, she ate like we did - relentlessly and with wanton disregard for the natural capacity of our gastric chambers. Well done, L'il Lady! Here she is being watched over by her big sister.

Here, as we all DOGGED some dessert, we see Presleigh doing the same. This is a confection she dreamed up on her own, though. While Daddy was busy baking pies and cakes, she was working hard at her rendition of "finger sandwiches". Not so funny if you're her fingernail!!!

After we all gorged ourselves to near overflow status, it was time to catch one of several pitiful blowout games on the tube. Presleigh provided her own commentary, as captured in this photo, lovingly referred to as "Flag on the play?!" She wasn't impressed with that call any more than we were. But we were determined to make it through the game with more eyes open than the referees.

Well, that was our plan. Presleigh wanted to show us what Thanksgiving is really all about - the post meal NAP! Only, her twist on it was "Don't try this standing up, y'all. I'm a trained professional nappie girl!"

Hope yours was as good as hers! Happy belated Thanksgiving!!!

Bursting Through the Surface!

The diver's equipment malfunctions - the camera angle changes - we see the surface of the water so far away, but our hero is on a desperate, last gulp of air and caught in the wreckage below - camera angle changes, dramatic music flare - our hero breaks free at the last possible moment, rising victoriously to the world above, and bursting through the surface of the water, heaves our of the water to receive the precious treasure of fresh air!!!

That's how it feels for us to know that Presleigh slept a full 6 hour stretch! Not only did she perform the hilarious feat of drinking 3 oz. of formula in her sleep last night, but she actually slept from 10 to 4 tonight. Momma happy. And when Momma happy, e'ryone happy!

We're not about to get cocky over this, but this is a long awaited (but never rushed) milestone. Pardon me, while we go do "Toyota" jumps and Snoopy dances.

It's Been a While, Hasn't It?!

Since we last posted, Presleigh has grown a half inch, gained another pound or two, turned almost 10 weeks old, gotten her 2-month shots, cried about all five needles, and even been to big church a couple of times, where she asked God "what the dilly about the shots?!"

If that wasn't enough, she's learned how to work that smile of hers, make some interesting non-words, and even met a boy. (We'll put a stop to that right away. Don't get any ideas, Dawson - we know your parents!!!)

Wow! On top of all that, we've even moved... We won't talk about that horror show, though. Nothing brings out the jerk in Daddy than moving heavy objects on a deadline with no sleep and too much else to do. Presleigh got to see Daddy apologize for yelling at Mommy. Well, at least she's seen the Christian example of sin, repentance, confession, and forgiveness, right?

Fortunately, Mommy and Daddy got their acts together in time to celebrate their 1st wedding anniversary, and Presleigh got to see what repentant and loving husbands get for wonderful brides. 3 dozen roses and a nice sit-down dinner don't make up for a jerky big mouth, but "love covers a multitude of sins".

"Can we get an extra helping of love over here, please..."

Needless to say, we're enjoying the new digs, as is Presleigh, though right now, she's having her "hairy hour". No, she's not gloating about having more hair than her dad. She just has this front row seat on the "fussy bus" that she likes to ride, eating "crabby patty sandwiches" between 6:30 and 7:30 or so each night. Give or take a half hour, it's just been her pattern.

On the upside, though, she is sleeping a bit longer. Mommy likey. Daddy likey, too. Daddy likey when Mommy happy. Daddy talkie baby talk-a-doo and don't know why...

Point is, we've had two consecutive nights of 5+ hour stretches. Had we known that was coming, we'd have gone to sleep when she did, instead of wasting two hours staying up thinking she'd be up sooner. Yeah, we wound up with only two hours of sleep the first time that happened. Last night was a bit better, though.

For photos today, we have Dawson Israel Wamsley in his chance encounter with the lovely Presleigh. Dawson's mommy, Camarie, was nice enough to come over to help Mommy and Daddy pack a few things up. She was most helpful. Dawson was priceless - as soon as he saw a living person closer to his size, all he wanted to do was check her out. Of course, she looks like her Mommy, who wouldn't want to check her out... WAIT A MINUTE, that's my daughter we're talking about, buddy!!!

We also have to thank our friend Tasha for the cool Fisher-Price jumpie doohickie in the living room. It's still a little big for Presleigh, since she's not big enough to sit up unassisted yet, but with a pillow underneath it, she can stretch out her legs and actually bounce in that thing. It's a blast. Today, I caught her smiling, and though babies don't really "laugh" until they're a little older, the facial expression is a good enough indicator of the kind of fun she's having in the jumpie dealie... thing. Go Fisher-Price!

Presleigh also likes to sleep. In fact, she's quite gifted in that department. I think we've mentioned this in past posts. But, I couldn't resist the shot of her in the car seat, hugging her buh-buh. Priceless.

Ketchup, Apples, Punkins and Big Changes

Ketchup - Today, I catch y'all up on all things Presleigh.
Apples - We picked apples over the weekend.
Punkins - We also saw lots of pumpkins after the orchard.
Big Changes - We experienced overflowing diaper syndrome for the first time, which necessitated emergency public diaper changing.

Presleigh is vacillating between 3 and 5 hour sleep stretches. We'd prefer she lean more toward the 5 hour mark, but it's a process, right? We'll be alright and so will she. We'd just like some consistent sleep. It'll happen.

Last weekend, Ben and Katie Horton were nice enough to take us to see an apple orchard in the North Georgia mountains (with a nifty stop for true family style lunch at the Smith House in Dahlonega - Thanks for lunch, guys!) We had one tween who was entirely unimpressed with the prospect of picking apples, Presleigh, who could have cared less because she fell asleep for most of the trip, and Cristine & I in our car and The Hortons with Ben's little sister Gabby in theirs. You'll see photos of all of us throughout.

The orchard was really cool - talk about fresh, whole foods -

"How fresh are your apple pies?"
"Uh, ten minutes ago...?"

BTW - try the pie. The fried pies are phenomenal.

It was like eating fish at a Cape Cod seafood restaurant, only not as yummy. Just choose what kind of apple you want and they'll show you a whole row of trees that have oodles of those apples dangling from the branches, itching to be picked and stuffed in your bag (or the compartment under the stroller).

Oh, and for those of y'all who want to try this kind of family outing with a newborn - upgrade to the offroad tires or seriously just bring the baby pack to wear your infant on your chest. Rolling the standard model Graco around in the muddy hills of North GA isn't a picnic, even if you brought a picnic with you. You need a Hummer.

All in all, everyone had a great time - Gabby and Brianna got to enjoy themselves chasing animals around the petting zoo. There were plenty of goats, a pair of pigs, a small cow, rabbits, and everyone else's kids. While picking apples and shooting apples in the apple cannon were really cool activities, the petting zoo provided a nice diversion for the kids while Presleigh got her bottle on.

Brianna lived up to her nickname "Dr. Bri-little", petting every animal that would come to her (nearly all of them), and chasing down the rest who wouldn't. I wish I had audio of the teeniest goat in the world as all the kids tried to chase it around the pen. It was so scared, it practically pooped horizontally.

Speaking of pooping horizontally, yes, I learned the hard way "when in doubt, change the diaper" even if it doesn't rhyme. Presleigh needed to be changed mid orchard and later at Bert's Pumpkin Farm. Fortunately, big sister Bri-bri noticed a leaky diaper before it got really bad. Unfortunately, Papi noticed it was leaking because it was jam-packed with "mustard-butt" (a yellow, finger-paint like substance that infants shoot from their patooties and a good reason to buy stock in Huggies, regardless of what the Dow says).

Mommy and Papi were well prepared, though, with their diaper changing pad, making short story of the packed Pamper in the parking lot. Presleigh was grateful for our proactive equipment purchase and her sister's keen eye.

I hope nobody ever makes fun of my kids, but I'm posting this last photo to make fun of someone else's. What part of "Do Not Sit" do these guys not get?!

With the exception of Monday's Jesus Spoken Here Golf Challenge, you're caught up. More on that tomorrow or so.

TMI Warning - ThreatCon: 4

WARNING: This post and accompanying photo borders on WTMI (Way Too Much Information). No, this probably isn't as bad as your boss blabbering on at the company party in way too much detail about his colonoscopy or grandma talking about a UTI. UGH! No, that would be a true ThreatCon: 5.

Alright - you've been forewarned. GRAPHIC PHOTO BELOW.

I made a flippant comment a post or two ago about being secure in my manhood and coming to grips with the fact that moving forward all of my shirts are bound to have spit up stains on them. Well, none of that experience prepared me for last night. It was just about time to put Presleigh down after her last feed/wake cycle (yes, we're doing BabyWise. What.), when I noticed a deeply pensive look on her face.

I asked her what was wrong, but being 6 weeks old, she was unable to articulate and share the feelings underlying the facial expression. What she was able to articulate and share a few moments later while repositioned on my shoulder was... cheese. Well, whatever substance is created when milk or formula meet with the human tummy.

Yeah. Presleigh effectively pressed the "eject" button on her last feeding. And, daddy was nice enough to play catcher with his shirt. And shorts. And feet. As a result, we decided it was bath time. Good call, Mommy.

Enough to be Dangerous

Everyone who uses it tells me they have a love/hate relationship with Photoshop - it does absolutely anything you want it to do, so you love it. But, it's so quirky and comprehensive that if you only know enough to be dangerous with it, you'll hate it. Unfortunately, without close personal attention from a highly skilled mentor, that stage can last for years.

However, as intuitive as I've been with WYSIWYG and GUI apps, I've found myself gaining altitude on the learning curve lately. While it's not exactly what I wanted it to look like, I've figured out how to make a couple of things out of Presleigh's photos that will look really great on paper. Unless, of course, I get too tweaky with them. In that case, you'll find me going to bed at sunrise, wide eyed, with "mouser's wrist" after an all night editing bender.

For now, here's a very, very simple creation that I can thank Adobe for. More to come, especially if you're on our friends and family or donor mailing list for Seasons of Life. Enjoy.

Crazy Days?

Lots has gone on since our last update. We have some catching up do to... again! Brianna and I volunteered to help out at Catalyst, a next generation leadership conference where Andy Stanley, Seth Godin, Jim Collins, Jeff Foxworthy, and a whole load of other great leadership dudes flexed their intellectual muscles for two days. Wow, that was amazing. More on that later.
Brianna is getting more and more comfortable holding her little sister. Here they are in the living room moments before Presleigh would buck her head back, freaking big sister out, and prompting a frantic call to "Mommmmmmm!". We think Brianna fears Presleigh's head will fall off if she doesn't hold her right.

Hey, we could seriously use anyone's help with the upcoming Golf Challenge. Check the right hand column for details. This has taken a lot of time and prayer and the growth of this ministry next year really depends on this event going off well.

Here's another shot of Presleigh and a shout out to Debbie, Cherie, Tara, Rochelle, Mom, Joyce, Gwynne, Kevin, Katie & Marty, Carla, Sarah, Kim, Shay, Gigi, Astrid, Camarie, and everyone else who we didn't photograph or mention in previous posts. Given the choice of posting well and appropriately to the blog versus caring for the family and the ministry, I've overwhelmingly and repeatedly tended to the latter over the former. So, thank you, to all for your visits, generosity, and prayer. Oh, and Toni, YOU ROCK - the Boppy has been the coolest invention, let alone gift, that we've gotten yet (with the exception of the crib and the obvious child seat required by law for transporting Presleigh home from the hospital).

More updates and sickeningly cute photos of our little angel this week.

In an Attempt to Catch Up...

Here are a few photos from two weekends ago. Aunt Shanua, after two weeks of travel mayhem at work, was able to get here to HotLanta for a visit to her new neice. (My sister did beat me to the kid thing - Presleigh's cousin, Ciara, is 21. So, it'll be interesting at family reunions...) But, Presleigh was delighted to finally meet her Aunt (or at least that's what she'll say in a few years when she has the words and looks back at the photos.

The following week was a bit of a blur, but was punctuated by a visit from Uncle Rudy. Uncle Rudy's always got a good smile on his face and was kind enough to pose with Presleigh. Somehow, there was a stain on his shirt, though. It doesn't really say "Jets" on it. I'd never allow that in my home. Though, the Pats need to pick up their game.

Last Sunday, Cristine's friend Robin and Aarron's friend Kevin paid us a visit. Robin was thrilled to finally get to meet our daughter and Presleigh did her thing - slept through the whole visit... A big bag of Bagel Boys was fully in order and we made short order of a dozen fresh ones. Thanks, guys!!!

With HUGE thanks to our friends Helen, Yolaine, and Carla, who gave us the car seat and stroller combo (go, Graco!), Presleigh was able to stroll around the neighborhood and even the block a few times these past couple of weeks. In the interum, she's been working on her skills - napping skills, diaper filling skills, wailing at the top of the lungs skills, and appropriately placed spit up skills. While she shows great promise in napping, she seems strongest in the spit up department.

I have decided that this season of our lives is the season in which I simply resign myself to the fact that my shirts will always be marred by spitty formula. I'm certain that the future holds many business meetings unapologetically opened with a spitup stain remark. I am secure in my manhood. "It's spitup. What."

More photos this week. Mommy, Brianna, Catalyst, Oktoberfest... But, our parting photo of the week - Momma gets some sleep!

More Photos, More Visitors, More Fun...

Coming soon. I promise I'll get some photos of Aunt Shanua's visit from last weekend and Uncle Rudy's stop over from this week.

For now, here's Presleigh and her Papa on the sofa, just chillaxin.

AP

Two Weeks Old!!!

Wow, Presleigh turns 2 weeks old today!!!

It's not hard to imagine, just strange, to think that only two weeks ago, Presleigh was making her first audible sounds, seeing light for the first time, and being passed from Mom to Daddy and back like a football... only much more gently. They say "it goes by fast", right? Yeah, they weren't kidding. What a crazy trip this is! Growing, changing, changing diapers (oh, sorry, that's me...).

Today, Presleigh made a rare appearance outside the house - her first trip to the chiropractor. Yes, Dr. Colin Roopnarine at North Point Family Chiropractic, who has been a generous supporter of Seasons of Life Ministries, gave Presleigh her first chiropractic exam, confirming what we already knew - she's perfect, priceless, and precious. (Hence, the name "Presleigh", right?)


For now, here are some more photos of our beautiful Presleigh looking a bit like Dana Carvey doing Jimmy Stewart, a few looking far, too serious for her own good, and some more with her looking just plain precious.

In this photo, I caught Presleigh bragging about a conversation she had with the President about this whole Wall Street bail out. She said that since she doesn't have an extra $10K underneath her crib, she's pretty confident the President will rethink spending her inheritance to make the Ken Lay's of the banking industry wicked rich.

Presleigh is growing, cooing, gaining weight appropriately, and was a little crabby today for no apparent reason. She does seem to be sleeping for about 3 hours at a time. Either the folks at Babywise are pretty smart or we're getting lucky on this.

Regardless, we think we're on track to have her sleeping a full night (read: us sleeping a full night) by week 9. That'll be sweet bliss, especially since our ministry will be preparing for its first golf tournament fundraising event. That's another story for another time.


This weekend, Presleigh got to meet a fraternity brother of her Daddy's whom he has not seen in nearly 15 years. This weekend, Aunt Shanua finally gets to meet her and Mommy and Daddy may get to go out to see "Fireproof" the movie about a troubled marriage that stays together God's way. Nice.