Tiger Mania

We had such a blast this past weekend! College football season is in full swing and the Donley's are lovin all the fun that it brings! We love the friends, the cheers, purple and gold, and of course....the food!! Amelia was officially initiated into the Tiger fan club this weekend. She experienced her first big Tiger game with us and our friends Brandon and Danielle....who happen to be Bama lovers...but we won't go there! Fortunatly for us, the Tigers beat Auburn...GEAUX TIGERS!!! Our family is usually the odd man out around here. Everybody is either for Alabama or Auburn.... so we love it when LSU beats those teams! Here are some pictures we took to capture our "tigeriffic" weekend! ( Ok...now I'm getting carried away) = )

Our little Rolly Poly!!

Recently, our little Amelia has decided to experience the fun of rolling over! Every time I put her on the floor to play, I hear her grunting with great effort to lift her head up as she finds herself no longer on her back but her stomach!! It's really funny to watch! I was able to capture this milestone moment on video and wanted to share with all of you faithful readers! Amelia will be 4 months old on Saturday! Time flys when your having fun...and rolling over!

Remembering Summer 2008

Wow! What an incredible summer this one has been. Now that the summer is drawing to a close, I'd like to reflect on everything that made this summer so special. So here it goes.....

Our family of two became three when we welcomed Amelia into this world. Need I say more! With her grand entrance came the welcomed visits of so many dear friends and family.

There is something so special about the glow in their eyes when they saw Amelia for the first time! Here are a few of my favorite moments....


Seeing the look on my mom's face when she held Amelia for the first time. It had been a while since I had seen that smile!

Watching Amelia sleep in her uncle Paul's arms

Nonna and Papa's amazement with Amelia.


Mimi demonstrating her "beautiful" vocal skills to bring a smile to her little audience of one.

Grandpa Bob's tender smile and hidden tears that didn't want to say goodbye.

Mammaw's crazy voices that always makes Amelia laugh.

Pappaw's strong arms that always seem to bring comfort

Granny's rendition of Amazing Grace that always seemed to put Amelia in a peaceful sleep

Josh's amazment that something so cute could come from his brother!

Neesie's efforts to capture every moment on camera and showering her with kisses!



Thank you to everyone who made our summer so memorable. Matt and I have never been more in love with life and each other! God has truly blessed us with a wonderful family and we look forward to all the memories we will continue to create together.

Here are some of my favorite photos to recap the summer!

Labor Day Woes...

Labor day weekend here in Gulf Shores is not booming with vacationers as normal due to ol' Gustav. This hurricane is a flash back from the past unfortunatly and I'm not looking forward to hearing about the devestation for the next couple of years! Honestly... I'm worried for my family back home. I'm praying every chance I get that God will keep my home back in Destrehan safe. That's one more headache that my poor mom does not need to be worried with! I just pray that God will show some mercy on New Orleans and the surrounding cities. So far, it's not looking so good, but we'll see.

On a brighter note, Mam-maw, Pap-paw, & Neesie decided to come down for a visit despite the weather fears. This has been Neesie's first time to meet Amelia....and spoil her rotten of course! So if worse comes to worse, we are just going to have a big hurricane party and my house! Amelia has been enjoying all the attention especially the shopping we did today! She got a lot of new clothes for the fall....carter's was having a big sale! She is eagerly trying, every chance she gets, to roll over on her side. It's kinda funny to see her try.

Well, that's been the extent of our weekend so far. I'm off to bed, but before I go, enjoy a few pictures of our little sweetie....dare you not to smile! = )

Amelia has upgraded to "sitting up baths"!!

Look at me now! I'm 3 months old!

Well, I guess it really is true when people say...."enjoy them, they grow up so fast". It really is amazing to see how fast children learn and discover new things everyday. Amelia is currently enjoying the taste of her hands and arms as well as talking loud so all can hear what she has to say. She is completely aware of who mommy and daddy are and gets a little fussy when we aren't around to play with her. ( She got a little spoiled by her Mimi) =) I can tell she is quickly learning that being the center of attention is fun! My most favorite time of the day is when she first wakes up in the morning...even though it's 6:00 a.m.! The smile on her face in the morning is so contagious! She is definatly a morning person. She is still not sleeping through the night just yet but is almost there! And I thought the day would never come when she would no longer want to be swaddled... but that day is here!! She has been sleeping for the past week in just her footie PJs!! YAY!

What a joy and blessing she has been to our life... I can't imagine what my life was like without her! Matt is doing such a great job with her. I couldn't ask for a better family!

Picture perfect day!

Today has been a long and busy day but fun nonetheless! Amelia posed for her portraits today and did great! Matt and I came up with a hundred different noises to try and pry a smile out of her! We sounded like goof balls! But hey... whatever works! I think they got some really pretty poses and the pictures should be ready for viewing in about 2 weeks.
On a different note, school is officially back in full swing and Matt successfully organized a back to school bash for all the youth groups in the area. It was so awesome to see all his hard work pay off. These youth were challenged to make a difference in their schools. Matt and I are praying that we can be influentual in these kids lives. We stay busy trying to balance out family time and ministry time. It can be so exhausting but yet so rewarding all at once. Thank God He blessed us with a wonderful child who doesn't mind being on the go all the time! = ) Well I just want to give a quick update.... more pictures and fun things to come!

Time to take charge!

Ok ok.... so I've finally decided to take over this blogging business! Matt really does have wonderful intentions of keeping this blog updated but he is soooo busy! I'm sure I'll never measure up to Meredith's blogging expertise but I'm going to try! So for all you blog fans out there...here it goes! Let me give you a quick update of things going on in our life. Amelia is getting so big. I really can't believe how fast she changes! She will be 3 months old on tuesday. We are falling more in love with her everyday. She has lots to say with all her babbles and we have enjoyed finding ways to make her smile. She loves it when I sing to her and help her clap her hands together. She finds her hands very amusing! She is even starting to giggle a little!

Matt and I are staying busy at the church as usual and we are about to go to two services. Double duty! Hopefully we will be able to pull it together.

Amelia goes friday to take her 3 month portraits. I'll be sure to send the link so everyone can view the pictures when they are ready! Until then, happy reading fellow bloggers!