Getting ready for our trip

Maycee came down with the flu this week. We've never seen her so sick. The poor thing was throwing up and sleeping tons. Let me add, she slept a ton, but not like we would have liked her to...up for two hours in the middle of the night crying. :( I hate not being able to take her pain away. She is such a happy, chipper little thing all of the time. Today we have been packing to go to San Diego. We weren't going to go until we saw improvement in her health and today she seems much better. Her fever went away yesterday mid-day. Although, her temp began rising again today so I immediately gave her some tylenol to reduce it. So far it's working. We are so excited to take Maycee to SD with us. It's going to be her first trip to the beach! We are watching her closely and have confidence she will be just fine for the trip...so don't go thinking we're practicing back parenting. Right now as I type, she's resting her little head on my chest...aw, she is so cute when she is sick. I took some pictures of her because she was acting hilarious earlier today. By the way, she is almost walking! She walks perfectly if she's holding someones hand. And last weekend she took her first steps without any help! Hopefully she'll be walking this coming week as she begins feeling a hundred percent better! Time flies, I say it over and over because I can't believe the little Maycee I'm looking at is already 13 months old.

photography

I recently took photos for a new friend of mine, Tiffany. She gave birth to her little one last week. Let me add these photos were taken 2 days before giving birth. She really is a beautiful woman, isn't she. I'm sure many women would kill to look that cute pregnant. Thanks Tiffany, I enjoyed taking these!

As for my hobby, I am keeping up with it despite being extremely busy in nursing school. I take my time post-processing and am extremely picky. I will share those photos I feel confident in sharing. That being said, these were my favorites of Tiffany. My photography blog will be open to public viewing after tweaking is finished. I've had it set to private for months and have grown confident in my work, ready for others to view it. If anyone is interested in doing a session, I am fairly priced and would love to be of assistance! Contact me at anlynphotography@gmail.com.





In the future, my photos will be open to view on my photo blog, family maters only will be posted here ;)

Our other baby

I just realized that I have not really mentioned our other child. No, it's not a human...it's our sweet little love bird. I am writing this mainly because I am procrastinating studying and I have missed blogging. This is something I'm trying to work at. Obviously I've not made much improvement.

A month after Shem and I were married, he felt like I needed a bird. Haha, HE felt this way. Shem had gotten a bird before we ever were engaged and I had begun believing he loved that bird more than me. We named him Doc and I loved him for the first 12 hours of getting him. He was a green quaker parrot and needed a new home where he'd get lots of love. I'm not sure what was wrong with that bird, but as soon as I left the house and left him alone with Shem, he began hating me. So from then on, I was afraid of Doc and couldn't understand WHY Shem loved him so much. Where am I getting at? Well, this is why Shem wanted to get a bird for me. So I would feel loved. HAha, and it worked.

Shem researched birds and wanted to get me a lovebird. I was getting really excited and demanded to have get one that looked just like Tweety. A yellow one, with peach cheeks. That's the classic lovebird. But we couldn't find any! Finally Shem found a little yellow one with green and blue feathers mixed in. Yep, we bought him. The moment I held him I was in love. He dove down into my shirt and got comfy right away. He's so precious. We named him Jax, although Shem refers to him as "peanut". We love him SO much because he's the best bird we've ever had.

Doc and Jax became good friends until the time we had to move. When we moved, we had to sell Doc because he was a larger bird. I'm telling you, I actually cried when we sold him. Even though he didn't like me, I knew he LOVED Shem and that Shem loved him. I was sad Shem wasn't going to have a little friend anymore. :( Wow, why am I writing about this?? Random.

Anyway, last night we were admiring our little Jax as he was inside Shem's shirt pocket. Isn't this adorable?! He just hangs out in there. He loves small warm places to cuddle down into. I love him! I have always been a dog person, but I sure do love these little creatures. :)

One, already?!!

Obviously, Maycee is one! Hooray!! She is the light of our lives and such a joy to be around. Her little spirit is captivating and she makes friends with everyone she meets. That sounds a little cheesy, but it's absolutely true. She is a special girl and I know she is going to be such a wonderful person as she grows and matures. Happy Birthday, one-year-old! We are excited to watch you walk, talk, and get more sass!

So, for her birthday, I sent out invitations...made a tutu...bought cupcakery items...and set my standards WAY too high for celebrating year one. Although my perfectionist expectations weren't met, we made some fun memories and discovered that Maycee does not really like cake.

First off, for the original day of her party, everyone on Shem's side was sick and could not make it. :( So my side of the family came and we had some delicious subs and cupcakes. Then...the next week, when the Wanlass side was in tip-top shape, Grandma Wanlass threw a party for Maycee. It was nice to celebrate the birthday seperate considering each family does things a little bit differently and things were less chaotic with a smaller crowd. I loved spending time with each side and thank everyone for their support! It was such a joy seeing Maycee react to all the fun around her! It wouldn't have been so fun without her family there to be in on the action. Love you all, Wanlass' and Couch's.

Good and bad news

I anticipated getting photos up, but it's close to impossible right now. Long story, no need to explain. BUT...I am here to say farewell for a while. I was recently admitted into the nursing program that I had been waiting on for nearly 2 years! I was blessed to recieve a spot due to another student dropping out this past week. I recieved the call last Wednesday to start the following Tuesday (yesterday). Jumping through all the hoops of getting registered, I made it to the first class as a legit enrolled nursing student! We had anticipated me starting school in fall, but this timing is just right. What an incredible and humbling experience this has been. I know I am a child of God and He knows me as an individual and He knows our family's needs. Although Shem and I are both full time, we are fortunate to have this opportunity while Maycee is still young. I already regret not taking time to document our lives over the last few months, now we'll be REALLY behind. I will attempt to post Maycee's birthday and then I'm done with posts. Yep, Maycee will be one in less than 3 weeks! We love all of you and wish you a happy spring! Goodbye for now.