how???

How did my baby get so big that she can now put her pacifier in her mouth all by herself? How did my baby get so big that she smiles at people in the store? How did my baby get so big that she sits up all by herself and plays with her toys? How did my baby get so big that she can actually eat baby food every day? It just hit me today that she is learning so much and isn't exactly my tiny baby anymore.
I still remember when she was little bitty like this...

I loved my sweet Micah so much then, but I had no idea how much my love would grow. As much as I want to miss those tiny baby days, she sure is a bundle of joy and fun now.

I am so thankful to be her Momma!

oh, baseball, how we love thee

Six years ago, Chris and I went to our first professional baseball game together. I really enjoy watching baseball and so does Chris {he played in high school}, so for my 20th birthday, Chris got us tickets to a Rangers game. We had LOTS of fun getting away from Abilene for an evening. I wish I had a picture of us, but I am too lazy to scan it in. Chris {further} introduced me to his scheming ways at this game. He got tickets that were up pretty high and in left field. A couple of innings into the game, he told me that we were going to move down a little closer because there were lots of empty seats. Chris proceeds to march us down right behind home plate, and as soon as the "guards" at the entrance walked down to the front between innings, Chris pushed me right behind them, and we ended up right sitting about 10 rows up behind home plate! Being the rule-follower I am, I was SO nervous that someone would catch us and kick us out or something. Chris is much less uptight than me :) Needless to say, we had a great time, and it was a memorable night.

We have been back a time or two since then, but we got to bring a very special guest to her first game at the Ballpark in Arlington last Friday night. That's right, Micah got to enjoy her first Rangers game. It was fun to share our love of baseball with her! Here is our little family at Micah's first professional baseball game.

It was a gorgeous night, and the Rangers pulled out a win. We got to enjoy the game with some friends from church and my parents. The game started right when we usually begin putting Micah to bed, so she spent a lot of the game fast asleep in our arms. But, I know she loved it. She already can't wait to go back :)

giveaway

Some people that Chris and I knew in college at ACU are doing a really awesome giveaway on their blog. They wanted to get involved and donate to Mercy Project, but they didn't want to just write a check. They really wanted to do something inventive and creative. They wanted to help raise money AND awareness.


So they decided to buy a brand new 32" Sony Bravia flatscreen TV {not for themselves, even though they wanted a new one} but to be raffled off to benefit Mercy Project. Pretty cool stuff.


So until tomorrow night {Wednesday} at midnight, every $5 donated to Mercy Project will equal one entry into a raffle for this great TV. All you have to do is go to www.mercyproject.net and click on the Paypal link. Put "Speight's Stories" in the note to seller line, and you will officially be entered. The winner will be announced Thursday morning.


Feel free to check out the Mercy Project facebook page for more info. And please re-post on facebook, post on your blog/twitter, and spread the word. Hopefully we can raise a bunch of money and help a lot of new people hear what's going on as we work to save a bunch of sweet kids. And maybe one of you will win a new TV!!!

firsts

p>Micah has had lots of first experiences in the past month, and I am a little behind on documenting them on here, so I am going to do 3 at once. Aren't you lucky?!?

Micah has become super interested in everything that we put in our mouths. She stares us down while we are eating, so we figured it was time to introduce her to the wonderful world of solid food with none other than the fantastic rice cereal! Okay, maybe rice cereal is not that great, but Micah was definitely willing to give it a try. Here's her reaction to her first taste a couple of weeks ago...



She warmed up to it by the second time around...




She is definitely strong-willed and already tries to get the spoon to do it herself. We are in for trouble!!! She still doesn't love the rice cereal, but she eats it. I am looking forward to giving her more variety soon, and I have a feeling she'll be a much bigger fan of foods with flavor.

Micah sat up on her own for the first time on Saturday evening. She's been SO close for SO long, and when we put her in her bathtub on Saturday night, this is what she did!

Big girl! She usually just reclines back, but instead she sat straight up. She looks so grown up! She loves to sit up on her own now, and she only needs a little help staying balanced every now and then. It is so fun to experience all these new things with her. Chris and I get so excited each time, and she gives us a big grin! Love her to pieces!

Finally, Micah went on her first BIG trip last week. Click on the link or scroll down to read more about Micah's first airplane ride, first trip out of state, first trip to the beach, and check out some A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E. pictures!

She's been one busy little girl. We are so blessed!

"Going to California with an aching in my heart." - Led Zeppelin

Micah's first trip out of the state was to a pretty decent locale. Last Tuesday, we left for four days in sunny California. We went to Malibu for the Pepperdine Lectures, and that is one ministry conference you definitely want to make room for! I am sure the lectures and classes were stellar, but the scenery is out of this world! I don't know how students ever leave after they graduate from Pepperdine. I mean, how can you even compare Dallas and Malibu? Needless to say, I certainly enjoyed the picturesque views of the ocean and perfect weather.

This was Micah's first trip out of state which meant that she would travel on an airplane for the first time. I was a little, okay A LOT, nervous about this. I am a worrier by nature, but I also despise offending people. Not that anybody enjoys it, but I am terrified of people being upset with me. Well, when traveling with a 5 month old, there is a pretty big risk of upsetting some people because, let's face it, babies are not always quiet little angels. I was a little bit on edge, and Chris and Micah both did a great job of handling me :) Micah really did well on the way there...she only fussed while I was putting her to sleep...and was P.E.R.F.E.C.T. on the way home!!!

While in Malibu, we stayed in the dorms which was an interesting experience with a baby. There was literally nothing in the rooms besides 2 twin beds, 2 desks, 2 dressers, and 2 bookshelves. We shared a bathroom with the people in the room next door. Interesting to say the least. Because of the time difference, Micah was ready to go to bed between 6:30 and 7:00 at night, so I didn't get a chance to go to the evening lectures {Chris really enjoyed them!}. The wireless internet was the only thing that saved me! I watched TV shows, checked facebook, and caught up on blogs from 7:00pm-9:00pm every night, in the dark, with a sleeping baby next to me. Craziness! We enjoyed some great meals with some great friends. We got to go to the beach a couple of times, and we got some great pictures of Micah's first time on the beach.







Seriously, precious! I could look at them forever. Thanks to Danielle Lough for the amazing photos!

We had a good time, but we both agreed that it is almost impossible to take a "vacation" with an infant. Micah still needed her naps and had to eat at the right times and had to go to bed early. Despite that, we enjoyed the getaway, and I know Chris enjoyed all the classes and lectures he went to. I would definitely put Pepperdine Lectures at the top of my list of ministry conferences :)

Happy Mother's Day

Today brings with it a whole new meaning now that I am beginning to understand all that it takes to be a mom. I had without a doubt the best example of a mother ever! She is the most selfless, patient, kind, compassionate, gentle, loving woman on the face of the planet, and I am just so thankful that God blessed me enough to be her daughter and to sit shotgun to her my whole life. I have grossly underestimated all that it takes to be a mom for about 25 years, and my mom certainly made it look easy. I hope I am graceful enough that Micah will say the same thing about 25 years from now! To my precious mom, I love you so much, and I am more thankful for you now than ever before. I am thankful for the ways you loved me more than you ever loved yourself. I am thankful for the ways you never once considered what you wanted to be more important than what I wanted. I am thankful for the ways you nurtured me and taught me to love and respect myself. I am thankful for the quiet example of a woman of God that you were for me. I am thankful for the ways you showed me how to be a mom. I hope I can do it justice with my children! You are the best Mommy and Mimi ever!



I am also blessed with a tremendous mother-in-law, Holly. I am so thankful, Holly, for your example for Chris of a godly woman and for the ways you raised him to be an incredible husband and father. You also loved, nurtured, and sacrificed for him, and I am so thankful for that. I love you, and I am so thankful that Micah gets to call you Grandmommy!



Finally, today is a special day for me because it is my very first mother's day with my sweetpea! Thank you, Micah, for making me a mommy! I love you more than words, and my prayer everyday is that I will raise you to know and love God and to walk in passionate relationship with him. My world was rocked on December 2, 2009, and I will never be the same. For that, I am so grateful.



I am so lucky to celebrate this day with you. Honestly, any day with you is pretty great. I love you, sweet girl, and I am so thankful to be your mommy!

five months

Micah Elisabeth,

I think I say this {or at least I feel it} every month, but I cannot believe you are already 5 months old! I love you more today than I did when you were born, and I never thought that would be possible. You are every bit of a miracle, and I am so thankful to watch you grow every day. This month has been so much fun with you, and I love all the new things we get to experience together.

I think you have gotten even sweeter this month, and we are constantly hearing people tell us what a good baby you are. You rarely fuss {only when you are really sleepy}, and you love to smile at people. You crack me up when you see someone new because you get such a serious look on your face at first, just studying them, then you'll crack a little smile. I love that you are friendly with people, even if it does take you a minute or two to warm up. As your daddy says, you have to make them work for it. You definitely smile the most at men. Do I have a little flirt on my hands?!? It's pretty cute to watch grown men get silly with you just to get a big, gummy grin. You still give your daddy the biggest smiles, but I think I am a close second :) You smile at us so much, and I melt every time. I especially love the pacifier smiles...so precious!

You are blabbering so much! When you are awake, it is a rare moment that you are completely silent. You will talk and talk, and sometimes scream, to us or Wrigley or your toys. We just love hearing your sweet voice. My favorite is when I am driving and hear you talking away to your "friends" that hang from your carseat. Too cute. You definitely have a "happy" talk and what I like to call a "complaining" voice! We know when it switches over to complaining that we better jump into action! You blew your first raspberry this month for me, but your daddy still hasn't seen one. You try really hard to do it, but I know it's a little bit difficult for you. You'll get it soon baby girl! You are laughing so much now, and your daddy and I will do whatever silly thing it takes to hear it over and over.

You really enjoy playing with toys and are always grabbing for them. We keep the diaper bag stocked with your favorites so that we can easily entertain you when we are out and about. I love watching you play and seeing you begin to learn how to manipulate your toys. You are pretty incredible! I think your favorite toy is probably your giraffe, whom we lovingly call Rafi. He goes everywhere with us, and you really love playing with {eating} him. You are pretty partial to your feet these days too, and you have finally figured out how to put those cute little toes in your mouth...oh boy! You love your exersaucer, and you will stay in there for a good 30 minutes just playing and playing. I love it!

You are SOOOO interested in food and drinks! You tasted lemonade, ketchup, oreos, and many other things this month. We tried to put off starting rice cereal as long as we could, but we gave in on April 26. You stare holes through us when we are eating, and if you get anywhere near our plates or drinks, you try to dive right in! I can't even hardly hold you in one arm and a drink in my other hand because before I know it, you have your little hands and mouth all over that cup. You are still trying to decide if you like rice cereal very much, but you definitely will eat some of it. It makes you seem so big to sit in your bumbo, getting fed with a spoon. You are already exerting your will with that spoon to. You much prefer to feed yourself rather than mommy and daddy feeding you. Yes, already!!!

You have a great schedule and are still nursing every 3-3.5 hours during the day. After that, you play for a while and then take a nap. Naps have been another story. You have decided that sleeping more than 30 minutes at a time is overrated! I am hoping this phase will pass quickly because we both need those naptimes :) Your sleep at night is getting better, and you are almost back to waking just once in the night to eat. We are transitioning you to your crib at night, which sort of makes me sad. I don't know why, but I think I secretly love to have you in the room. I sleep better when you are in there, but we are both learning :) You still love to be swaddled, and I love my little burrito! Your daddy and I have developed a bedtime routine for you, and we love that time--bath, jammies, Daddy storytime, songs, prayer, rocking. Some people say it's a bad habit to rock you, but you will only be my baby once. So, I will rock you for as long as you will let me!

You spent your first whole week away from your Daddy this month while he was in Ghana. You and I went to College Station and stayed at Mimi and Pappy's house. We visited Grandmommy and Pops a lot too. You went to your first t-ball game to cheer on Cade and even got your first taste of a grape snocone. You got to meet some friends from Mommy and Daddy's old church in Bryan, too. You got plenty of loving! We definitely missed Daddy like crazy, and you let him know how happy you were to see him when he got back. You gave him the biggest smiles, and he could hardly talk to anyone without you blabbering at him. That was so precious!

Your fifth month was pretty incredible, and I can't imagine my life without you! You bring a richness to my world that I cannot even begin to describe. You have taught me the true meaning of selflessness, patience, and love. I cannot imagine any better job than being your Mommy. You get more and more precious with every passing day, and I cannot wait to see what the next month brings. I am so thankful to be your Mommy. Happy 5 months, Micah Elisabeth!

I love you, to the moon and back!

Your Mommy