good intentions run a muck!

so, as usual, i will blame the crazy cousin cathy for this insane post. she requested a few photos today...and well, what can i say...that led to "maybe i should find pictures for bauer and vivian's baby book of when clif and i were little". and THAT led to "well, maybe i should look for pictures of clif and i growing up". and THAT led to "well, here are some good ones of the grandparents" and so on and so forth...

but here are the two pictures that i love the best. now i expect some voting...and by that i mean, in my favor voting ;) here is the proof that vivian does INDEED look like clif, but that she also looks like ME!! she definitely makes this cheesy grin...so there!!! :)

ode to young skinny clif...

so as long as i was scanning here are some GREAT pics of cliffy...

a true family favorite....who wouldn't fall in love with that smile? he reminds me a lot of vivian in this one...

is this supposed to be a tough guy face? ;)

and i am only half certain what this is all about...i imagine this is a frat thing! look at those pants...and that attitude...not to mention that skinny waist!

and this is "mr. party pants in france". every time i look at this picture i think....man my husband is HOT!!

this is in north carolina at lake norman where the day's used to live. look how much su has changed, too!

ode to young skinny somer

so in the true spirit of this post...i must embarrass myself as well as clif...here i am in my "beauty pageant" days. i must go on record as saying my parents NEVER forced me to participate (contrary to my expression in this photo) i BEGGED my mother to let me compete and after one year, i was finished with it....the next year i played softball! :)

here are "the girls" and i at asms graduation. jenny, addie, me, cyn and amy. i remember addie specifically telling me i was too skinny then....maybe she had a point.

this is my FAVORITE college photo...monday was just a few years old and i....well i was about twenty-one.

ohhhh....the party girl single days with the "other summer". she lives in new york now and is a publicist for penguin books. (also on a side note, i remember my father asking me to wear a sweater with this dress....now i see why!)

even OLDER photos...

i know greg is going to be mad that i emphasized the OLDER, but come on they ARE! here he is in about the second grade? and su is right, you can see a setler resemblance...

here is my FAVORITE picture of my mother...taken circa christmas 1981...i always remember looking at this as a kid and thinking i had the most beautiful mother alive!

and as an ode to the woman who gave birth to the woman who started all this crazy scanning...here is darlene. sorry cathy, i have no idea when this was taken...but isn't she beautiful?

cousins, cousins, and more cousins...

yes, it is hard to believe, but i have even MORE cousins (my maternal grandmother was one of six)!! today cousin kari (my generation) and her kids, mitchel and kathlyen, were visiting from kentucky. kari just finished her phd in environmental science and is now working for the army corp of engineers...

and somehow she STILL managed to find the time to have two beautiful children! mitchel is three and kathlyen is four months...

...it's hard to believe kari can fit those skinny arms around that big bellied woman*!!

and here is uncle charlie with the crew (and might i add, by the look on his face you would never know he is a confirmed bachelor!)

vivian found baby kathlyen very amusing...and wanted to show her love.

however, THIS is the best picture of the day!! mitchel has his little arm around her like "come on vivian i know where we can REALLY get into trouble!!" thanks for a great lunch guys, it was wonderful to see all of you!

*i forgot to mention that at the ob appointment on monday she estimated the baby's weight to be, "a solid nine pounds"....sheesh...i guess i should be thankful for a c-section!

happy 27!!

although, i haven't been much for blogging lately (my feet swell, whenever i sit at the desk too long) we wanted to wish aunt su a happy happy birthday. hope you had a great day, girl, we love ya!!

those darling dillman boys

vivian recently had a play date with drew and ben (aka the dillman boys), and had a wonderful time. drew is two weeks older than vivian and was in her class last year,and will be in her class again this year at school.

however, since the dillman boys were both born weighing over ten pounds, it is ben, drew's younger brother, that is exactly vivian's size. vivian and ben are one day short of being EXACTLY one year apart....and yet even at this young age, you can see what a ham and a sweetie he is!

after a delicious lunch (yes, jill actually made a real lunch of chicken salad and fresh fruit...AND cute little pudding, oreo, worm cups for the kids!!) the kids had great time dancing and playing ring around the rosie. thanks for a great day dillman's!! can't wait to do it again soon! :)

yet ANOTHER crazy cousin...

attention all: crazy cousin survives frightening attack of runaway four wheeler (no wonder i STILL dislike the awful things)...

and as of today, turns TWENTY NINE!!!! happy birthday, cindy! and congrats on your stellar survival skills. you could be the next bear brylls ;)

bath time fun...

as everyone knows vivian is a great lover of all things water...so it may come as no surprise that when i asked her what she wanted to do for fun last night she said, "bath, mommy!"

i guess there are much worse things than your kid wanting to hang out in the tub. and in case i haven't mentioned it in a few posts...could this kid be any cuter? i am one lucky mother! this second picture is especially for miss megan....do you think vivian is trying to impersonate you and zach? ;) she just couldn't resist!!

tagged...shmagged...

ok so i NEVER would normally do this, but my friend steph (who just gave me a kick-booty baby shower, see the post below for pics) tagged me....and since she is such a good friend i will participate. here are my fifty things, and yes i changed it to fifty, i am too pregnant to sit in a computer chair to type one hundred things!!
1. i have no idea where or how to start this list, and am afraid i will only come up with ten interesting things. but here it goes anyway...
2. if i never do anything ever again my life has been a success because i am vivian's mother.
3. clif is without a doubt one of the kindest people i have ever known, and i am BEYOND lucky he chose me for his wife.
4. i miss my mother DAILY. and even though people think that i deal with it "very well"...clif knows that sometimes i cry late at night...and he "pats" me.
5. i have had more jobs of varying kinds than any other person i know.
6. one job was the artist for university sporting goods, where i designed sorority\fraternity t-shirts for ole miss co-eds.
7. which leads me to divulge my excessive useless knowledge of screen printing. :)
8. another job was an epa consultant for truegreen chemlawn, where i was the only girl and there were thirty men. yuck.
9. and yet another was designing stationary for john grisham's (yes, the author) daughter.
10. and still another, was a student recruiter for ole miss.
11. my husband works nontraditional crazy hours...but i kind of like it (now that i have gotten used to it...which took me about four years).
12. he also makes the meanest pot roast you have ever eaten...yummmy!
13. bauer just stuck his foot in my rib cage...for about the seventeenth time in the last ten minutes.
14. i secretly love being pregnant....NOT! i do love feeling my babies wiggle around in my tummy though.
15. i am not at all nervous about c-section number two.
16. i am very nervous about having my rectus muscles tightened. eeeeeekk!
17. every time i go to the ob i stare at her ankles in amazement. they are the skinniest ankles of any woman alive.
18. i am secretly terrified of never loosing all this baby weight.
19. i am even more afraid of exercise nazi celeste and her plan to help me loose it. ;)
20. i am very happy to have a wonderful close knit circle of friends.
21. i am equally as happy to have reconnected with my yankee cousin cathy...who i KNOW is my long lost twin (me being the danny devito of the pair, of course.)
22. the dress i wore for my shower today still has the tags on it and i might take it back....
23. i once saw an eighty year old woman with a tattoo on her behind. if they had this picture posted in tattoo parlors there would be far less tattoos, i believe.
24. my air conditioner MUST be set on no higher than...68 AT ALL TIMES!!!
25. because of the above mentioned, vivian wears long sleeve pj's year round.
26. i worry incessantly about silly things i can't control.
27. i desperately wish that clif and i could find a church that fit our beliefs (both spiritual and political).
28. i love sitting in church next to granny b, and how she calls vivian "her baby" when she introduces her to friends. :)
29. i love the smell of clif after a shower.
30. when someone really laughs...that great belly laugh....it is the best sound in the world. vivian does it daily, and it makes me laugh too.
31. i am very blessed to have such supportive and kind in-laws...that take my flaws for what they are...make fun of them...and then except them lovingly. ie. my sailor suit fetish ;)
32. i made clif try on my maternity shorts last week for giggles...and THEY FIT!! not so funny...
33. clif and i have become completely obsessed with the crazy television show called man vs. wild. bear brylls (sp) is AMAZING, and a bit of a freak!
34. i am obsessed with all textiles and fabrics of any kinds (especially vintage).
35. i am incredibly grateful i took the time to learn to sew from my mother.
36. when i do sew i feel closer to her and it always makes me smile.
37. i still use her 1974 husqvarna vicking sewing machine. when it breaks (hopefully never) i will feel like another part of her has died. i know it is pathetic, but true.
38. i wish that i would find the courage to potty train vivian before bauer is born.
39. i am completely neurotic about closet organization.
40. the last book i read was the last installation of harry potter...and i was disappointed.
41. the last movie i saw was clifford the big red dog...and it was fantastic because it was vivian's first movie.
42. i still feel nauseated at night even though i am 37 weeks pregnant.
43. i want a third baby, but clif says "NONONO" and secretly i am afraid someday he might say "YES".
44. my dogs are sleeping in my antique 1960's chairs, and they think i don't know.
45. vivian is still sleeping in her big girl bed, and has yet to have any problems. i still keep waiting for her to freak out.
46. every single day i am amazed at vivian. she is so sweet and kind and loving. how did god decide that i should be so lucky to be her mother? it still boggles me.
47. vivian's new favorite thing to say it "i get choo mommy". hehheheee.
48. i thought when my mom died that the bond that we shared as best friends, mother daughter, and soul mates of sorts, could never again be equalled....i am happy to say i was wrong and i see that love in vivian's eyes.
49. i can't wait to watch clif hold his son for the first time.
50. i am so blessed to have friends and family that love and support me and my growing family that i don't even mind filling out silly "tagged" surveys. ;)
ok, so there you go...i tag cathy and susan.

the bauer shower

so today my dear friends, celeste and stephanie threw a shower for little mr. day. here i am with my hostesses before the big ice cream social...and no, we didn't plan on our outfits complementing each other, in fact we didn't even discuss what we were going to wear...we are just that good!! ;)

here are just some of the beautiful things that we received as gifts. these are matching feltman brothers smocked outfits (one for vivian, too) from aunt catherine and cousin charlie. i can hardly wait to have their pictures made in them!

and for those of you who have been asking, here i am in the infamous "belly pose". against my better judgement i agreed to have this shot taken. i know in the future i will look back and laugh (i hope). thanks girls for the great day...only three more weeks to go!!!

a new "do"

so obviously vivian was pleased with what she saw in the mirror after our little "experiment"...

ironically, she was scheduled to have her haircut today. the back is VERY long...almost half way down her back and the sides are only shoulder length. after much debate it was decided we would even it up....HOWEVER, as we were getting ready to leave vivian asked, "mommy do MY hair". i was more than happy to oblige, (there are many many MANY pictures of shannon and i sitting in the sink in rollers, getting our hair done!) and after just a few seconds with the curling brush it looked MUCH better. so alas, the haircut was cancelled again...but on a happier note it made me remember all the fun times i had with my mom "getting my hair did!" :)

bathing beauty...

really there are no words needed for this post....i think the title says it all!