Another year has come and gone!

It's hard to believe that 2008 is already over!! What an exciting year this has been for our little family! We have enjoyed every minuet that 2008 has had to offer!! Who knows what next year will have in store for us!

Amelia and I will be "ringing in the new year" cuddled up in our jammy's and in the bed!! Matt on the other hand, will be bowling the night away with our youth group! I'm going to take Amelia for a little while, but then it's back home and off to bed!!

For all of our adoring fans who are wondering how Amelia's first christmas went...wonder no more! She had a great time! I was actually quite impressed with her unwrapping a.k.a. eating paper skills! She had SOOO many presents to unwrap! Needless to say... nap time came early for this little one! She was exhausted! Must be such a hard life!

We spent the holidays at my mom's (grandmama's house) and enjoyed every minuet of just being back home! She even pulled out some of her yummie recipes and we ate our hearts out!

Mimi and Josh got to come too which was an added bonus to our holiday fun. The more family the merrier!

For those of you who we didn't get to hug this holiday season ( Grandpa Bob, Mam-maw, Pap-paw, Neesie, & Granny) Here is a big hug from all of us...especially Amelia....*Squeeze* Squeeze* *REALLY BIG SQUEEZE* =)

May God Bless this upcoming year and be with each of you for 2009! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Here are some pictures from our christmas 2008!

This Amelia in action opening up her presents on christmas morning!

Picture perfect moments!

The holidays are times for giggles, fun, and memories!! Here are a few pictures that capture the beginning of our holiday fun. The weather has been pretty cool here the last few weeks and we've had to bundle up our little one! (Although it hasn't been that cold....I'll find any excuse to snuggle up to my two most favorite people!!) =)

The family drinking hot cocoa...YUM!


Our little snow bunny!

sweet dreams

Daddy and Amelia picking out our christmas tree!!

This is her "angelic face"

Thanksgiving Highlights

I know I'm a little behind, but our thanksgiving memories were too special not too share with everyone! We had a great time visiting with family and of course being back in good ol' Louisiana!

Every year for thanksgiving we always attempt to cook the turkey a different way. My mom came up with the "great idea" of doing our turkey trash can style. That's right folks... TRASH CAN TURKEY!! translation: Redneck smoker.

Matt attempting to "get the fire going" haha

Looks like it worked!!

I must admit....it tasted DELICIOUS!



Amelia had her fun too! She was tempted and lured by all those grandma's to taste the table food. I stood my ground and somehow managed to protect her from all those fingers dipped with thanksgiving delights!.....Well almost all of them... my brother managed to stick a finger full of turkey gravy right into her mouth. Fortunatly, the camera wasn't far out of site and I was able to catch her first taste on video!!

Needless to say... I think she liked it!

Our little Amelia is 6 months old now and last time we checked she weighed in at 15 lbs. & 26" long! She is sitting up great with very little help! She has started to learn some new baby babbles this month. In the words of Amelia "ba ba dah dah ba"! Sounds like she will learn to say da-da before ma-ma *sigh* I did all the work and get none of the credit! =)

Thanksgiving is almost here.....

And that means I'm one step closer to being home with family!!! I can hardly wait! There is just something so wonderful about being home for the holidays!
We are headed off to New Orleans tomorrow evening and we will be welcomed by two proud grandma's who just can't wait to get their hands on our little Amelia!

This will be her first thanksgiving and I'm sure she will want to have her hands in all the food! She will be happy to demonstrate her "great" table manners! Spitting, mashing food in hands, and other bodily functions will be part of her routine.

During our time off, which we so desperatly need, I'll be working on giving our blog a facelift. I think it's time for a change! I can't wait to share all our thanksgiving memories with you!

Have a great turkey day!
To all our family and friends that we won't see on thanksgiving day...we miss you and hope your day is great!!

Tag, I'm it!

So apparently there is a game of tag going on and I've been "tagged" the question, "are you ready to get your jingle on?" Well, ready or not there is only 37 days left until christmas!! (not that I'm counting or anything) I love christmas!!! Let me count the ways...

1. I love going to pick out the perfect tree just for us!

2. I love the smell that fills our home once the tree is officially decked out!

3. I love lighting candles that smell like cinnamon and spice

4. I love turning off all the lights and just staring at the lights on the tree

5. I love snowmen! (even though we don't see snow in the south, I still like to decorate my house with them)

6. I love the christmas cookies

7. I love all the cheesy christmas movies that come on TV

8. I love the shopping for friends and family

9. I love getting all the holiday greeting cards in the mail

And my most favorite thing about christmas.....

THE MUSIC!!! I promise you I know every word to every christmas carol ever written!

Matt and I before we were married Dec. 2005

Our first christmas together Dec. 2006

Christmas is such a special memory making time! This year will be Amelia's first christmas!! I can hardly wait to put those cute little christmas pj's on her and watch her tear into all the wrapping paper!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Tag your it!!....... Jena Jo and Danielle!

Our very busy weekend!

Or should I say our very busy LIFE!! It seems that the closer the holidays come the more hectic life gets! We have been blowing and going non-stop! Mondays are our days off...or should I say our one day to go to the grocery store, clean the house, and do the laundry! Whew!

This past friday, Amelia took her first trip to Panama City to visit her great-grandma! It was an enjoyable visit and Amelia, needless to say, was the center of attention. All eyes and cameras were on her! We made it home late friday night and Amelia slept the whole way back. But wouldn't you know that as soon as we pull up in the driveway, she is wide awake from her refreshing 3 hour nap!!! I'm sure you can figure out how late we all had to stay up till Amelia decided she was sleepy again! Thank goodness for saturdays!! We all got to sleep in a little and gear up for our busy sunday!

Now that the weather is turning cooler, Amelia has been able to sport all her cute little winter clothes!! The sweaters, corduroys, tights, jackets....AH! I love it all!! Too cute! She is growing by the minuet and will officially turn 6 months on Thursday! She is sitting up all by herself now and has grown fond of applesauce...finally! So now she's a spoon eatin', feet grabbin', sittin up, cutie patootie!!

Amelia will be posing for her 6 months portraits on friday. I'll be sure to send everyone the link for viewing when they are posted on the internet! until then... happy monday everyone!

Every vote counts...

Even little Amelia's....well sort of! But hey...you got to train up a child in the way they should go right?? We went after lunch today to cast our vote for McCain! I tried to pass along a text message that read..."Due to the long lines, if you are a democrat voting for Obama your voting times have been rescheduled for tomorrow!" I wonder if anybody believed me? Anyway, Amelia did enjoy her time outside wating in line to vote with mommy and daddy! If you know anything about Amelia, you know that she is one who likes to make her presence know wherever she goes! All eyes MUST be on her! =) She is pretty cute if I don't mind saying so myself!

We are keeping our fingers crossed!! We know that God will not allow anyone to be in leadership that he has not already appointed...however, it's up to us to pray that God will " hear from heaven and heal our land"!

Hip Hip Hooray!!

I think this calls for a celebration! Amelia can sit up on her own!!! (well for at least 20 seconds or so!) But hey, it's a start! Everytime I hold her I can feel her strength... and weight... get better and better. So today I thought...."I wonder how long she can hold herself sitting up..... let's see!" 1,2,3,4,5....WHOA....25 WHOLE SECONDS!! That's a long time for a beginner! So everybody give it up for our little Amelia!!

Well the shirt says it all.... Our little 5 month old is quite the chatterbox these days. She's always got something to babble about! She loves the cooler weather and I love her cute little winter clothes! FYI...just because a baby wears jeans doesn't make her a him!! I can't tell you how many people think Amelia is a boy just because she has pants on! Oh well...

The cooler weather reminds me that the holidays are just around the corner! YIPPEE!! I think I would start decorating for christmas tomorrow if I could! I LOVE CHRISTMAS!!!

Well, I know this post is short and sweet, but I just had to share AKA brag about our sweet little Amelia!

Our day at the park!

Today, Amelia was invited to her first birthday party at the park! One of our friends from church were celebrating their son's 1st birthday. So, we decided to take advantage of all the fun things a park has to offer! We attempted to swing, slide down slides, and just enjoy the fresh air. Amelia LOVES being outside. Something about the wind blowing in her face makes her laugh! It's actually starting to feel like fall here in Alabama! Thank goodness! We love the fall! Amelia has been a little "under the weather" the past few days...but she is starting to feel better. It's hard to believe that she is 5 months old! She is trying so hard to sit up on her own, but I believe her chubby little cheeks keep pulling her back down! Nonetheless, she's getting stronger by the day!

I figured that when Amelia starting crying every time she saw the camera, that was code for..."ENOUGH WITH THE PICTURES MOM!" *Sigh* oh well, it was fun while it lasted!

Camera, lights, action....

We sanitized the bowl and spoon, secured the pretty, clean bib, and made a perfectly measured bowl of rice cereal. Both cameras are in place and mommy and daddy await anxiously to see the reaction on Amelia's face when she tasted food from a spoon rather than her mommy!! We quickly realized this spoon feeding thing is not what it's cracked up to be! I'm not sure how much got into her tummy. Instead she decided it was more fun to let it drip down her chin than swallow it! I know, I know... it's all part of the learning process! Then I could just imagine her thinking..."My fingers are more fun than this....and in they go!

Well...maybe I'll give it another try!

I think I'm getting the hang of it!

Our first time feeding experience was great overall! The true test will be to see if she sleeps through the night tonight! That would be great! Amelia will be 5 months old next week. She is growing like a weed! She has developed quite a personality too. Little miss drama queen... I can't imagine where she gets that from!?

Of course we captured a clip of this fun moment on video to share with all of you! Enjoy!

Bon Temps Rouler...Let the good times roll!

Vacation time has come and gone but we soaked up every minute of our visit with family and friends. This was such a refreshing time for Matt and I! Amelia did great on her first vacation! She made new friends and lots of new discoveries...like Muffalettas and Beignets! YUM!













You never realize how much you love a place till you leave it! We definatly realized how much we missed Louisiana! Allow me to recap our week for you. It all started with a trip to Lafayette for my friend Janna's wedding! I have to admit, I was a little nervous about Amelia fussing in the middle of this beautiful ceremony. But not our little girl! No, she wouldn't fuss... instead.... PASS GAS! She's a true Donley alright! Everyone in the row in front of us just turned around and smiled! The phrase "welcome to mommyhood" was flashing through my mind. We then headed to Destrehan to spend the rest of the week with my mom and brother. We ventured to Baton Rouge for some shopping, ate all of New Orleans fine cuisine, including my mom's amazing cookin'! We even attended our first crab boil! Talk about an experience! I've lived in Louisiana my whole life and have never been to a crab boil. I didn't have a clue how to peel those suckers! I eventually got it...well sort of... I ended up eating the meat that everyone else picked for me. I guess they felt sorry for the poor cajun girl who couldn't crack the crab! Nonetheless, they were tasty! For a north Louisiana boy...Matt did a much better job than me with those crabs! Amelia wanted to play with claws but mommy didn't let her get too attached to those pinchers. Our week ended with lots of laughs, new memories, and a few extra pounds from all that good food! To all our friends and family back home...It was great to see everyone! We miss you already!