The last few days...

have been a whirlwind. I can't believe that less than a week ago, I was sitting in a waiting room holding my daughter and waiting for news that my husband made it through open heart surgery. He did, and today my friends, he is home. Home. With me and baby Paighton. We are back together again.

I wish I could tell you everything that happened, every feeling, every moment, but I can't. The post would be too long.

I know it is Thanksgiving in just two days. But to me, at 30 years old, each day is one of Thanksgiving. Each day my heart grows more full. Full of the things in life that have made me who I am today. I have more "life" now than ever.

Who I can I thank for this. My Father. The one in heaven who created me and my soul. He provided me with the strength, love and courage to make each new day better than the one before. I am created in his image. And to know that he loves me, a small town nobody girl from Iowa, is a powerful thing. I'm not perfect, and he doesn't expect that from me. So Lord, today I am thankful for that.

I am thankful for my husband, my best friend, who you have given me more days with. I am thankful for my little girl who you knew would be perfect for me, and for my family and friends, who I am able to share my life with.

As each day passes, I will be thankful to you for each of these things, as well as the challenges and blessings that are to come.

With many thanks,
~S

Five Question Friday

Thanks Mandy for reminding me! :) So here are today's questions:

1. What is your favorite "eat" on Thanksgiving?
Totally going with mashed potatoes here. A big fluffy warm lump of mashed potatoes. With a well. A well large enough to hold a big pat of butter. And until recently, I wasn't a fan of topping that off with a pool of gravy. Until recently. I guess your tastebuds change a little once you have a baby!


2. What is the name your best girl friend and the best trait about her or how you met (or heck, both!!)
Mandy said it best-I am blessed with so many friends that love me. I think the best thing about my 3 best friends (Alissa, Mandy and Jill), is that they remind me of who I am and who I want to be. They help me to be a better person, and for that, I am forever grateful.


3. What would you say is one of your "weirdest" quirks?
My weirdest quirk? What do you mean? I'm not weird! (no jokes please :)). I would say my quirk is that I have to have the "center" of everything. A pan of brownies, lasagna, casseroles, etc. I hate the edges. That's why I married Ryan-he would always cut me out the middle piece.

4. What is your favorite genre of music? (Hip hop? Classical? Rock? etc.)
I really do like all music...in fact, my hubby has turned me onto some bluegrass music which is very fun. Don't worry Nelly-you're still in my playlist.

5. Are you a Night Owl...or an Early Bird?
Early Bird. The only time I was really a night owl was in college. There is NO WAY I could stay out as late as I used to. Forget it. I would rather get up early and be at peace with the sun.

So that's it! All about me in 5 questions! :)

Mom and dad are coming down on Tuesday and will be here through Thanksgiving! YEAH!!! I got some Christmas shopping done yesterday-WHOO! I really need a countdown added to my blog for this!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Love~
S

A short story

So this post won't be very long-but I promise more later! The above pictures are of one of the Maple trees in our back yard from last week. They are ABSOLUTELY beautiful. I LOVE the colors. Unfortunately they have already lost their leaves, but I am glad I got a few pictures of them. We really want to plant another Maple this year, in honor of Paighton's birth, but I am not sure if we are going to get there.

We have been busy! I have been trying to figure out my back to work schedule :(. Ryan has been watching Paighton for a few nights this week while I run errands, etc. It is weird to leave her. Not my favorite, but it has to be done.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. My list is a million miles long of things I have to be thankful for. And it keeps growing. Praise the LORD!

Things are going to get much busier here with us. But for right now, we are happy spending time together as a family. Ryan has tomorrow off, so we plan on hanging out together, just the 3 of us (ok, and a little belle dog too) :).

Last but not least, a new picture of Paighton! :) Ryan got a new recliner this past weekend (he never let me forget that I MADE him get rid of his old one-so he was deserving of an upgrade). I took Paighton's picture in it-she looks so tiny in it!

Last but not least, I would like to have a moment of silence for the passing of the Saturn. This was Ryan's very first car and we still had it, up until this afternoon. One of Ryan's co-worker's purchased it (no, we didn't give it away), so we know it is going to a good home. My husband shed a little tear...it was his "baby". (he keeps saying "why do you make me sell all of MY things...." HA!) So honey, thank you for making the sacrifice and selling your most prized possession. Paighton's college fund thanks you!


Love to you all!!!

~S

Our first Halloween

was amazing! Paighton did so good! She wore her costume-which involved a large hat, and had a great time with the neighborhood kids! She is so adorable (again, I'm biased, but we're still going to go with it! :))

It was a beautiful day here and we walked down to our neighbors house for the party. We are so blessed to have great friends and neighbors. They are amazing, funny, thoughtful, caring, etc, etc. I can't imagine living here without them! We then came back home and met up with cousin Will (Pirate Will-he looked adorable in his little outfit and sword!), Aunt Nicole and Uncle Ryan, along with Gammy and Grandpa. It was so much fun seeing all the fun costumes on the trick or treaters!

Yesterday Ryan and I celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary. It has been 6 years filled with challenges and joys. I hope the next 6 are filled with more joys (of course :)), but I love my husband now more than I did the day we got married. I look back sometimes and think, "gosh, I was so young". I got married at 23. But our love and relationship has blossomed into more than I could ever imagined. Ryan is my best friend and loves me for who I am. We have the same thoughts, beliefs, morals and I look forward to raising our daughter to be a happy little girl. (Even if she picks up a few bad habits from daddy along the way HA!)

I am starting to get more accomplished while Paighton is napping, which is a good thing. There were many days where I just wanted to lay in bed and take a nap!

Paighton will be going to the doctor on the 5th for her TWO month appointment. Um, father time, could you please turn the clock back? About one month would be GREAT! I can't belive how fast time goes by. She is a big girl! She is sitting in her bumbo seat and moving all around. She hates to sit still...again, already? I am a little nervous about the round of shots she will be getting on Thursday, but hopefully it will go well. If anyone has any tips for surviving the "shots" appointment-let me know! :)

We love you all!

~S

Properly Packaged

Happy Tuesday! Paighton is sleeping and mommy decided to write a little note on the blog!



GG (Great Grandma Thurston) sent Paighton a package yesterday! Her first official package! It had lots of GREAT stuff! We will be wearing our goodies all this week! Yeah!

We also figured GG would like to see Miss Paighton, so we recorded a video for her! (Please excuse the greasy hair-a tshirt and sweats seem to be the only things in my wardrobe these days!)

I can't wait for Halloween! We are going to have our first family pumpkin carving tomorrow night. Whoo! Then its a halloween party at work on Friday and a party at the neighbors house on Saturday!

Then Sunday is the big day! 6 years of marriage to my wonderful husband. Not sure what the plans are, but I think this year it might involve hanging out with my Paighton girl. :)

Hope you are having a great day! We love you!

~S

Weekend of Fun

So the Geiter household is kind of exhausted this weekend. Grandma and Grandpa left today (sigh). We were very busy this weekend!

My parents arrived on Thursday night and we all sat down to a wonderful dinner together. Pork chops and mashed potatoes. Yum.

Friday morning my parents ran an errand and once they came back, mom, Paighton and I headed to Holiday Mart. Holiday Mart is a show that is put on by the Kansas City Junior League. There are over 100 vendors that sell their goods. Anything from Christmas and home decor, clothing, jewelry, baby/kids items and food. It is awesome. We spent 5 hours there and were shopped out by the end of the day. It was a GREAT day. Mom and I got some fun stuff, and of course Paighton got a few things too! :)

Saturday mom and I went to the craft store and Ryan and Dad hung out at Bass Pro shops. Then Ryan and I went on an actual date on Saturday night. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!! We went to see "Law Abiding Citizen" (my review: a VERY dark movie-I felt like I needed to go watch cartoons to cheer myself up!) and then went to Old Chicago for dinner (also yummy!). It was nice to get out as a couple, but I won't lie, I did call home during dinner to check on Paighton. What mommy wouldn't? :)

This morning topped off a great weekend with a trip to IHOP! No Sunday morning is complete without pancakes. (I see a theme for the weekend: FOOD!) It started to rain later this afternoon, so we have been laying low tonight.

I do have to post pictures of the creation that Mom and I did this weekend. At Holiday Mart this lady was selling the cutest bow hangers. They were boards covered with fabric and had strands of ribbon down the front for the bows to attach to. Mom and I decided we could make one of our own! The following is what we came up with! I love it and will be hanging it in Paighton's room tomorrow!

Notice that it is full of bows already. This could present a problem. :) But I love it and I am so glad we did it! It was pretty easy~Thank you mom for your help!

That's about it from us! I hope you all have a great week! We love you all!

~S

One in a Million

My smiley girl is the cutest thing I have ever seen. Okay, so I'm a little bias. However, I have evidence to support this claim!


Hello Cuteness! (She gets it from her mommy)

I have to post this picture of our first baby. She has done VERY well with Miss Paighton. She doesn't get quite as much attention, but she's taking in well. She's even given her a few wet sloppy kisses for good measure!

Paighton and I have two lunch dates this week, plus a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Thurston. We can't wait!! Grandma, Paighton and I are headed for an all day girls shopping trip, and Grandma and Grandpa have graciously agreed to babysit so that mommy and daddy can go for dinner and a movie. (I don't think we had to twist their arm TOO much) :)

Yesterday I went to weigh Paighton and she is almost 10 pounds! Big girl she is! Our little sack of potatoes! :) She doesn't go to the doctor for another 2 weeks, so we'll see what she is at then.

And now, for a parting smile...

I wonder if it's possible to just stare at her all day long.....yep, it is. :)

Love

~S