Abigail and Olivia

Well, I did it! I got Grace some shoes. Thanks for all of your suggestions. It really made my decision easy! I was going to get one pair of PediPeds and one pair of Robeez, but when I finally found a store that had the style that I wanted in the size I needed the PediPeds were buy one get one half price. So I went ahead and got the two PediPeds that I liked the best! And I even feel like I got a bit of a deal too! It stressed me a little to have bought the size 0-6 months, but I checked the size cart and it said that they should fit shoe sizes 2.5-3.5 and the size up completely fell off of her foot. Anyway, I think we should be good for a while. So here they are...

Olivia

and

Abigail :)

Bring on the spring!

Drumroll Please....

Well, it was a very challenging assignment, but after many many tries we did it!!!

We got a picture of the Grace's FIRST TOOTH!!!

She now has a bottom tooth and the other top one too!!!
I think we might wait till they all grow in a bit more before attempting another picture :)

Shoes... Shoes... Shoes...

So much has happened since I last posted! Grace has had a viral rash all over her body, her first cough, her first black eye (she fell on a block), a 3 am play session, a 9 months birthday trip to Babies r Us, and she now has 3 new teeth!!! Whew, what a week! I will post more about all of that later once Jonathan is done writing his paper on the picture computer.. cause you know I have to have the corresponding pictures to go with the stories.

So for now I think I may just rant a little...

Here's the problem. Grace needs new shoes. I know it is super important to get her a really good pair of shoes while she is learning to walk. I know EXACTLY what kind of shoes I think a little girl should wear. The problem is actually finding these shoes in a store for a reasonable price.

I am a total bargain shopper when it comes to most things. I love to shop. I love to find great deals and feel like I accomplished something by getting a great price on something. I am usually pretty good at it, but not when it comes to shoes. I always spend a lot of money on shoes, and I am always super picky about the shoes I buy. Probably half of the shoes in my closet cost over $100. Considering that usually I won't spend more than $10-$15 on any particular item of clothing this is crazy for me. 

I really don't mind spending this much on shoes for myself. When I actually see shoes that I really like I know I will wear them for years... probably too long, but the point is that I definitely get my moneys worth. I see it as a good investment. I can blame this in part on my mother who can blame it in part on her mother. To say I am not the most fashionable person in the world would be the understatement of the year. Most days I don't even wear makeup, and my favorite thing to wear is jeans and a solid colored t-shirt, but I do know that an outfit is not complete without a good pair of shoes.

My grandmother was a young adult in the great depression (she is 94 now) and she tells the story of how she had a job during the great depression but spent all of her money on shoes. She and my grandfather even had matching custom boots made in Paris (Texas, that is) with their initials monogrammed on them for their rodeo wedding. My mother, although much more frugal, has always been a sucker for shoes herself and has supplied me all my life with nice foot attire. We also share a fetish for linen, but that is not the point... the point is that I come by it honest... Dumas/Mitchiner/Milford women love expensive things... especially when it comes to foot attire... it's just in our blood.

So of course my grandmother, mom and I want Grace to have the nicest, most fashionable and supportive shoes for her tiny little feet! And I do mean tiny! I got her feet measured today at the Stride Rite and she is a size 2.5! I think average for her age is about a 4. She must be taking after my grandmother whose 94 year old feet are a whopping size 4.5. I am just not sure I can fork over a lot of money for shoes that I know will only last us a few months. Maybe I could justify it if I think the shoes would last for another kid, but it seems like that never really happens. Kids are just really hard on shoes.  

Anyway, I am finding it super hard to... 

a) find a shoe that is under $30 

b) find one that is not cheapo-pleather-yuck 

c) find one that is a classic-go-with-everything style (really people, what happened to the white mary jane or t-strap or fisherman sandal?)

I love all the shoes that I have put pictures of on this post. They are sweet, classic, buttery leather soft soled little girl shoes... at least what I think little girl shoes should be. The problem is they are all between $60 and $75... and to think that I had just resigned myself to the fact that I am going to have to pay $30. I don't think I can double that... but really look at the next pair... they are just sooooo sweet! Maybe if I just got her one expensive pair instead of 2 cheaper pairs......

So I was wondering if anybody knows of any good shoes for little girls. I have found tons of brands on the web, but would really like to have Grace try them on first. I was wandering specifically about the Pediped, Mooshu Trainers, See Kai Run, and Puddle Jumpers. They all seem to run about the same price, but I was wondering how they fit/held up etc... And where do you get them... at a specialty store/department store or what? And seriously, am I crazy for obsessing so much about this, or does anybody else do the same thing?

Ride Em Cowgirl

Just in case you were wondering...

Yes, Grace is still loving the jumparoo!

Scrunchy Nose Face

So you all know by now that Grace makes funny faces. The "scrunchy nose face" is one of my all time favorites. It is what Grace does when she is really really excited... like when you blow zurburts on her belly, when Daddy flips her upside down, when you make a funny face at her, or when she is outside and the wind blows. Here are a few pics from the other day when the wind was blowing really hard. You guessed it... "scrunchy nose face" was all over the place!

As Promised....

A VISIT FROM GRANNY AND PAPA


Grace loves her Granny and Papa!

We all got to meet the newest Elston baby, Bethany Grace.

Grace wasn't too sure about Papa at first (he had a cough and it startled her), but by the end of the visit she had really come to like him a lot!

Papa and Grace had some fun play time with Maggie.

Grace learned to stand up!

The weather was great so we got to go on several walks and outings with Granny and Papa!

Sweet girl with Granny.

Daddy got to spend a good amount of time with up too!

It was a great trip! Thank you for visiting!

Pitter Patter

Whatcha Lookin At?

The other day we had temps in the upper 70's!!! We got the stroller out and headed to the part (of course). After we had been there for about an hour the bigger kids all left the playground area and so I let Grace sit on the red rubber fall surface. I thought that she would be really interested in the new texture but something else had caught her eye. What was she looking at?

The men working in the flower beds!!! She was so interested in everything they were doing. Get ready Nana and PawPaw. I think she is gonna want to work in that garden... or at least watch you work! Ha!

A Little Trip Down Memory Lane

As you may have noticed, I tend to get a little sentimental and sappy when we hit a new milestone, however small it may be. So in honor of Grace turning 9 months old I took a look back through the blog and got to this post from November. Take a minute and travel back in time 4 months and watch this little video. She just melts my heart to pieces.

One More Thing...

How I forgot to mention this I do not know, but it's official... Grace is cutting her first teeth! You know that I have been thinking she has been teething since she was like 2 months old, but now the doctor has confirmed it! Apparently she sees some teeth coming in on the top! Now there is an official explanation for the constant gnawing and drooling that is always going on. The other day I had to stop the kid from gnawing on the table legs... Yes, the table legs. I thought we were through having our furniture eaten when Maggie grew out of that "puppy phase." I guess you have to go through the same thing with your kids too! It's good to know I wasn't crazy after all :) Hopefully we will see some pearly whites soon!

9 Month Check Up

Can you believe it? Grace is 9 months old! I know I say this every time we hit a milestone, but I really can not believe how big she is getting. Compared to even 3 months ago she has changed so much. She is crawling all over the place and "talking" up a storm. She can stand up on her own while holding on to her crib or walker etc. and she is even trying to take a few steps while I help her stand! All of this stuff seems to be happening so fast! Before I know it she is going to be running around chasing the dog! Her fine motor skills have probably made the most obvious advancements over the past month or so. She is always finding little pieces of fuzz or lint on the floor. She will pick up whatever she finds and drop it and pick it up and drop it over and over and over. When it goes in the mouth I have to stop her cause that totally grosses me out. I am trying to vacuum a lot more lately to prevent the temptation. Today at the park she tried to eat a little rock! I can only imagine what that would do to the digestive system of a 9 month old.

So here is the update from the doctor...

length 27-3/4" percentile 50th

weight 17lb 14 oz percentile 35th

head 17-1/2" percentile 65th

The doc said that she was looking great and is developmentally right on track!!! We are so blessed to have such a healthy little girl. Another token of good news is that the doctor said her hips sounded "PERFECT" There was no clicking!!!! Hopefully this means that she has grown out of whatever problem she had. 

We do seem to have one issue that right now the doc doesn't seem to be too concerned about. Graced does not seem to be able to digest any cereals. When she was just starting baby food we tried giving her a little rice cereal and she did not like it too much (remember the video). Once we started veggies and fruits she seemed to eat them all up, so I just stopped giving her the cereal since she never wanted to eat it anyway. Well, a month or so ago I was thinking that it would be a good thing to give her a little oatmeal or cereal in the mornings to make sure she was getting enough iron. So I tried giving her a little oatmeal. She ate it right up... and then threw it all up for the rest of the day until there was none left in her poor little tummy and no clean towels left in my house!!! So we waited a few weeks and I tried a little bit of rice cereal and the same thing happened. Anyway, we will not be having cereal for breakfast again any time soon to say the least! The doctor was not really concerned about this and said her tummy was probably just not ready for it and to wait a while before adding it to her diet very slowly. She also said that I should not be worried about iron deficiencies. Grace is getting plenty! 

So that is a summary of our trip to the doctor. Pretty good indeed. It was such a beautiful day again that after lunch I put Grace in a summer dress and we went to the park... for the 3rd time in 2 days! I can not tell you how much we love the park after being cooped up all winter!!!! We have been meeting lots of other kiddos and their moms/grandmas from the neighborhood. Today Grace got to watch an old man fly a kite, watch other kids play on the playground and watch the grounds crew work in the flower beds. She was fascinated! I took some cute pictures, but Jonathan is writing a paper on the "picture" computer so I will have to upload them some other time. Maybe in the next day or two I will post some.

Also to come... 

A Visit From Granny and Papa

Sorry

So, I was talking to my dad last night and told him to go to the blog so he could see more of the campus. We do that quite often... both look at the same thing on the computer. I  had not thought of this in forever, but it kind of reminds me of when I got my own phone line and tv in my bedroom in jr. high and I would call a friend just to talk on the phone and watch the same thing on tv that they were watching in their room. Ahhh... those were the days :) But I digress... Apparently he had to sign in or register or something to see the pictures. I did not have to do that and I don't know if it's just luck or what. But anyway, I am sorry to post a link that makes you sign in to view something. I really don't like it when you have to do things like that. But if you do want to see the images just insert your false info and take a look!

Virtual Tour of GCSU

I found this neat page on the GCSU (see... I am already getting the lingo down) website. You can take a "virtual tour" of campus. I thought this was a neat way to see things on campus that you can't see from a google street view search.

Anyway, click here for the website. 

Milledgeville Living

Welp folks... It's been quite a year so far here at the Nida house. I am truly amazed at how the Lord has worked in our lives over the past few weeks. Only a couple of weeks after having my hours reduced to part time I was called into the conference room again. This time the outcome was that I had been completely laid off. Bummer... Big bummer. 

I spent the next couple of weeks  in negotiations with insurance companies and the unemployment office (sorry for the lack of blogging, but dealing with bureaucracy totally wears me out). Finally things seem to have gotten straightened out. I have also been getting used to my role as full time stay at home mommy :) Jonathan has had to adjust to his role as sole provider and student, and he has also been the king of job hunting. Grace (bless her little heart) is attempting to adjust to life with 2 naps instead of 3. 

After some serious praying and number crunching we decided that we just could not stay in Louisville any more. It was time for us to move on. Jonathan is almost done with school and can take the rest of his hours on J-term classes and online. It has been a scary and uncertain time, but the Lord has proven to be far beyond gracious in his provisions for us. I can not tell you how proud I am of my husband for really stepping up and leading our family during the past few weeks. He is truly a blessing to me. 

Many of you may know that Jonathan and I have been considering heading into college ministry full time after seminary. We both feel as though this particular ministry is vital in the lives of many many people, and it also seems to fit our personalities pretty well. So Jonathan has been applying all over the country for jobs that will get us involved with college age students. Our desire was to do some sort of internship with a BCM because to be honest with you we could use a little more on the job training before jumping into a solo gig. 

Wednesday the Lord answered our prayers by providing us with not only a job but the job we wanted! An internship at the Georgia College and State University BCM in Milledgeville, Georgia! We had heard about the great Georgia internship program, but did not really get our hopes up about receiving a position because there were only a few openings and of those only a couple that would be suitable for families. There were a lot of people interviewed (we even go to church with the person who interviewed right before Jonathan... he has a wife and kid and one more on the way) and you would have to think that of all those people there are folks with more experience and better resumes. But apparently the Lord felt as though we should receive a position because we got a call on Wed! I can not tell you how incredibly excited we are to have this opportunity! Neither Jonathan or I slept at all on Wednesday night. We were up at 3:30 am googling Milledgeville Georgia! Poor Jon had to be at work at 4:30 to open.

mmmm.... if you can't have a Ruston peach you mine as well have a Georgia peach :)

The other huge blessing in all of this is that although the salary for the 9 month job is pretty slim pickins, we will be provided with an apartment at the BCM (utilities included) and insurance! I will get to be a stay at home mom!!! I think I am going to cry right now while I am writing this out of sheer joy! I just can't believe that I will actually and officially get to stay at home with Grace! And we will be living at the BCM so we will be able to see Jonathan all the time! Did you notice that all of the sentences in this paragraph ended in exclamation marks!?!

This is what I know so far about our apartment...

• Our utilities (including cable) are paid
  
• It was built 4 years ago
  
• It is about 1,000 sf
  
• It has a washer and dryer (woo-hoo!)
  
• It is 2 bed/1 bath
  
• It has a dishwasher (really, could I ask for anything more?)
  
• It is right across the street from campus... I think across from the library and auditorium
  
• It is furnished (we will soooo be getting a storage room)
  
• It a couple of blocks down from the old state capitol in the historical district
  

So where exactly is Milledgeville, GA?

Well, according to Mapquest it is about halfway from Atlanta to Savannah. It is also only about 30 minutes from Macon (nearest Target location). It is not too far off of I-20 so we will have a straight shot home to LA. It was the state capitol for much of the 1800's. And it was the hometown of Julia Robert's character in Pretty Woman (thank you Susy). I am pretty sure that we won't have to ask weather or not the tea is sweet :)

Here is a picture of the BCM house. So pretty.

And here are some pictures of the campus...

Well, I've gotta go to bed for now, but I promise to write more soon. I just wanted to fill you in on our good news!

I don't know where in Georgia this is, but I think I would like to try and find it.