my SISTER!

Ummmmm... so, my sister is well on her way to becoming a famous fashion designer!

This is what she said on Facebook:

This is one of those "pinch me" moments -
My line, now known simply as By Smith, has been selected to show in the Fresh Faces in Fashion runway show on March 10th to kick off 2010 MIAMI FASHION WEEK!
See below:
"Over the past decade, the national Fresh Faces program has helped to catapult the careers of designers such as Zac Posen, Rebecca Taylor, Uli Herzner (before her appearance on "Project Runway"), Vena Cava, Milly, Twinkle, KRELwear, Sari Gueron, Julian Chang, Jeffrey Sebelia and dozens of others."
Thank you for your support!

We are all so proud of you, Smitty! Probably no one more than me... well... maybe mom. But even that is questionable!

Now I have to figure out the babysitting situation... my mom suggested that we bring Chappell to the show.

Seriously, mom???

I'm sure Kristin Stewart and Justin Long would love chatting with my toddler.

{Yes, Twilight fans, she was there last year}

Looks like I will be headed to Meeee-AH-mee twice this month!

Time to settle this...

People say all the time that Chappell looks just like Reed.

And that's perfectly fine... but it's not exactly true. My DNA's in there somewhere.

Yes, she makes all of his faces (which adds to the confusion)... but it's not an exact match!

I think she has my eye shape, face shape and nose. She has my big ole teeth. I also think she has my lips. I have fuller lips than ReeRee.

I can admit that she has Reed's eye color (score!), ears and forehead.

What do you think, now?

Gimme some feedback on this one.

D Town for Brody's 4th Birthday

This weekend we traveled to Ozark and Dothan, Alabama for our nephew's 4th birthday bash. Since Ozark is only 20 or so minutes away from Dothan, we stayed at Reed's parents' casa.

Little girl was a gem on the ride to and from AL, but was a little testy throughout the duration of her stay.

Poor thing, it's not her fault.

Tooth numero 7 came a day or so ago... and...

Chappell can't seem to shake this cold, but had clear ears as of Friday morning. Between all of the congestion and teething, I think baby G is super uncomfortable.

On top of the crankiness often (always) associated with a sick child, Chappellina is going through a phase where she wants to feed herself... without any assistance from me or anyone else.

You know, the infamous ALL BY MY SELF phase.

Lovely toddler hood is before us. Chappellina's always been Quite the independent little lady. But I like it that way. She's funny. Full of personality. She'll tackle a group of three year olds to get to a big blue balloon...

She reminds me of myself, which is great, but also leaves me shakin' in my boots.

I'm exhausted.

My eyes are closing.

So, to close, here are a few pictures from Brody's awesome party at the Dothan Museum of Art for you to enjoy.

PS - I should also mention that there are a few at the end of my precious Chappy WALKING.

She was showin' off for the big kids.

PPS - I had to take some cotton pics on the way back. I love driving through Bama. It's so pretty :)

I thought the bigger pictures would work. On some, they do. To see the whole picture, just click on it. Oops!

:(

Chappell's nose started running yesterday.

Today it's a full blown cold.

Plllllllease no more ear infections.

Family Visit, the ER and some steps

I'll just start with the most intriguing part of the title.

ER.

So last Thursday I woke up with a weird feeling in my throat. It was a strange sensation... like the lower part of my throat was closing - it was so tight. Whenever I would eat or drink, I could feel the food or liquid trying to squeeze through the tight spot. Kind of like when a pill gets stuck?

It didn't feel good.

By Friday the upper part of my throat hurt a little bit.

I talked to my mom about my throat predicament and she said it sounded like acid reflux and heartburn... which I've never experienced before.

I decided to let it go a little longer...

That didn't work...

So, I made an appointment with an ENT. The appointment would've been this morning.

By Saturday it was driving me crazy. I knew I couldn't make it until Tuesday.

Sometimes swallowing food was so painful I felt like my heart was about to explode.

I decided to go to a Doc in Da box.

Reed said he would watch the Chapster, and I rushed to make it to the doctor before our company (Reed's sister Meg and her family) arrived.

I droooooove and drove down Highway 98. I passed a few medical clinics but they all appeared to be closed.

Then Reed reminded me (via cellular phone device) about a clinic in Destin.

I pulled into the parking lot. I was the only car. Weird?

I walked inside. Signed in on a sheet of paper.

But there was still no one in sight. I peered down the halls... no one. It was literally deserted.

A few minutes later, a woman came out from behind some creepy mirrored glass. You know, the kind where you can't see them... but they can see you?

Uh huh. She saw me walkin' around lookin'-like-a-fool.

The nurse (good ole' Nancy) took me back and started working on my chart.

I noticed a sign on the wall that said something about being "legally required to assist a woman in labor even if the patient was without insurance." When I asked Nan if they did in fact deliver babies, she stopped writing... and said:

"Um, yeah, if we have to."

Interesting.

They take me back to a big room full of beds separated by curtains.

Doctor comes back, looks at my ears and throat and we talk about acid reflux.

Says he'll do throat culture just in case. No real answers...

Doctor leaves. Waiting for throat culture...

Registration comes to get my insurance card and drivers license.

Registration leaves with my cards to make copies.

Registration comes back and announces that my visit will be $770.

------ShhhhhhhWhaaaaat?------

Me: "Why???????"

Weird Registration Lady: "It's your copay for your emergency room visit."

Me: "EMERGENCY ROOM VISIT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I JUST WANT A THROAT CULTURE. ISN'T THIS A DOC IN THE BOX??

Weird Registration Lady: "This is a free standing emergency room. The copay is for your emergency room visit."

Me: "Ummmm... can I just leave? Ya'll haven't done anything yet. I am not paying 800 bucks for a throat culture.

Long story short. Nan was awesome. She pulled some strings and let me go without the culture and with my 770 dollars.

And I'm apparently an idiot. I walked into an emergency for heartburn.

*It's getting better by the way. I know you were all worried.

Change-O-Gears

This weekend Reed's sister Meg came to visit with her husband Tim, and their cute 4 year-old, Will. We got a babysitter Saturday night and enjoyed some adult time at Stinky's Fish Camp. It was delish and a lot of fun. They had a great band... I think they were in Seaside all day Saturday for Mardi Gras... I really liked them. Jazzy brass band.

Sunday was Valentines day! Chappell was certainly in the spirit dressed in red from head to toe. Snazzy heart sweater and all.

We met Reed's parents at Great Southern Cafe and shared a wondAful meal.

I am still doing the no-carb thing... and let me tell you... it was so hard saying no to their huge/awesome desserts. The key lime pie looked like it was to die for. My mouth was watering from just watching everyone else. Oh how I miss you, sugar.

After lunch we went down to the beach where Will flew a kite.

Of course, of course, of course... my camera was dead.

Hopefully Meg will send me her pics soon. I borrowed her camera and played photog-- you know I'm not going to miss a holiday with Chappy. Not a chance...

Chappell is walking more and more! She walked about 9-10 or so steps several times today.

Hopefully you will see some pics from Valentines Day soon!

Adios and nigh nigh.

Walkin', walkin'.

Chaps is making major progress in the walking department today!

She took about 5 steps towards me earlier, and has been showing a lot of interest today.

She's walked more today than ever... uh oh... it might finally be happening!

Nap time = Stalk Hour?

I am tired. I'm always tired these days. Toddlers will wear a sista out.

So, 2:30 came around, and it was time for nap time at this casa.

I fed Chaps, changed her and put her down.

I quickly cleaned up, got my phones (and computer) together and jumped into bed.

Ahhhh rest.

But then I made a bad choice! I turned on the computer.

I checked facebook... dang it. I started looking at pics of people that I hadn't seen in so long... and it is so addicting...

Anywho, in my stalking... I found this:

It's so true, I just couldn't resist the risk of posting it and exposing my stalking!

Some of you might figure out where I found it.

It's time...

For a "what is Chappell doing" post! I know you are excited. I am, too.

You all know why, right?

Chappy is 14 months old today!

Happy b-day, Cha.

Let me see here...

*Chappell is still a member of the crawling population. She's taken steps - usually about 1, 2, or 3 at a time. I haven't seen more than 3.

*She can stand independently for extended periods of time. She can stand from the squatting position... and likes to do so over and over again. Feel the burn.

*She eats tons and tons of table food. I can't think of anything she won't eat.

However, I'm a total wimp (I know this), and haven't let her try eggs, peanut butter or seafood yet. It just hasn't been an issue - and I don't feel the need to do so at this point.

I'm sure she'll be fine when we do decide to introduce these foods.

If you are wondering why I've refrained... those three are some of the top allergens for kiddos and I know of several babies that have had scary reactions. I asked my pediatrician if I could give Chappell her first PB&J at her office.

She laughed. Not sure if she knew I was serious...

*Chappellina goes to bed at 7:20 and sleeps at least 12 hours, consistently. Soooo thankful for this!

*Still taking two naps a day. I'm not ditching the morning nap until I absolutely have to... I think we have at least another month or so...

*Chappell is quite the babbler. When I sing "Old McDonald," she has learned to chime in with "eeeeIIIIIeeeeIIIooooh."

Sometimes she says "eeeeIIIIIeeeeIII-wwwwoooowww," which is of course, super cute. She has 'mama' and 'dada' down pat. She sometimes says 'daddy' instead of 'dada.' She says 'hey' to strangers from time to time. She's quite the ham. I still hear 'duck' and 'doggie.' She is learning to say "juice" and it's absolutely hysterical when she says it... sounds like:

juuuuuuuuusssssssssssssssssshhhhh (in a whisper, always)

Chaps can say "buh buh," but doesn't always say it when waving.

*Chapster loves to play on our bed. When I count to three she dives backwards into the never-ending fluff. She loves how soft it is. Too bad I can't upload our video camera onto the MAC because you would die. She's so dramatic.

*Chappy is a mean high fiver. She never misses.

*Chappy is a finger sucker - totally addicted to her pointer and middle fingers. It's pretttttay funny to watch.

*Loves to unload/reload anything and everything. Especially my underwear drawer. That's a personal fave.

*She is pretty good at matching shapes. She can stack blocks. Great problem solver... She can get into anything. Child proof, whaaaaa??

*Loves to play peek-a-boo under our coffee table... and LOVES dogs!

*She has 6 teeth... I think. I need to feel around in there. Haven't ventured into her toothy mouth in a while! On the subject of teeth, we've been brushing her teeth for about a month or so. She seems to like it, from what I hear. Teeth brushing is one of Reed's jobs!

That's all I can think of for now. Sheesh. Can't believe it's been 14 months!

Oh and I haven't been eating carbs for almost 2 weeks. I think I'm done with carbs till wedding season's over!

That's about it for now...

Saturdays are the Best

This is when I love where I live.

No snow here!

How do they keep the grass so green this time of year? Spray paint?

I think the flying pics are here to stay. She loooooooves it. So does her dada.

Go Team! and a new header

Look up, and check out the picture on the left.

{If you are in reader, go to the blog}

Cheerleader Chap!

Such form!

Are pom poms and gymnastics in our future?

(Note the perfectly positioned right knee)

Oh, my little flyer... taking after her aunties.

Reed and I got a good chuckle :)

***Holy Moly. I just published this mini post and turned to Reed (we're already in bed) and made a little joke about him being Chappell's base.

Or whatever it's called when you are a male cheerleader.

He then informs me that he was a male cheerleader in high school.

WHAaaaa??

He said, "it was cool to be a cheerleader if you didn't play football."

Wow. Wow.

Now he's insisting that each cheerleader asked one special guy to cheer with them at one game each year... and that his friends did it, too.

Wes? He claims that you participated. You too, Kirk.

At first I thought he was a member of the squad... phew.

I'm not sure if my previous post was appropriate...

However, I'm leaving it due to some much needed reassurance via e-mail. Ha!

Home Free

We went to the doc today.

I'm proud to announce that Chappy is ear infection free.

That means no more crazy talk from me. For now.

Dr. Sprenkle suggested some "air time" (sans diaper) to help heal Chappell's booty.

I won't be trying that again.

I'm so sorry. I know it's disgusting. But it was just too unbelievable not to post. Right??