It was a Mommy and Elle Day...

but not in a good way, unfortunately! The poor baby has what seems to be the never-ending stomach virus.


BJ surprised me with a trip to New York City for my birthday last week (we had a blast - post to come when this all this craziness is over!). We left Wednesday morning and got back Sunday night. We had an awesome trip, but had a HUGE scare when I got the message from my mom that Elle had diarrhea and had vomited several times early Saturday morning. I know all children get sick - but Elle has never vomited. This pretty much sent me over the edge! BJ was on the phone with the doctor and I was on the phone with my mom, and we were all trying to communicate! Craziness. I felt so guilty that I was not home to be with my baby through all of this - worst feeling ever! I knew she was in good hands, though - so this helped us get through. My parents are apparently pros at this... they had it all under control and were already doing what the doctor was telling us to do! Thank you Nana and Papa for coming to the rescue!


We thought Elle was having a better day yesterday, but we were back to square one last night..... we had a very long night! Four changes of clothes later, we decided it was time to call the pediatrician again this morning. Dr. Myers wanted to take a look at her since she hadn't kept any formula down in almost 24 hours. The good news is that she thinks Elle is staying well hydrated and doing fine, considering the circumstances (no fever, no lethargy, etc.). We just have to keep her hydrated and wait this thing out. Apparently this stomach bug has been spreading like wildfire through Franklin. Dr. Myers said the vomiting should be over in a couple of days, but the diarrhea... well, it can last a couple of weeks. Not what I wanted to hear (especially when we are already dealing with a horrid diaper rash!)








On a happier note, since I took the day off to be with Elle, I ran to Costco to get a playmat that we had been looking at. We have hardwood floors, so she didn't have a comfortable and safe area to play in. This girl could sit and play for hours - just put her in a pile of toys, and she is good to go! The playmat was definitely a hit with Elle! She was fascinated by all of the bright colors. Hope this made her feel a little better!

Miss Observant on her new mat!

We expect Elle to crawl any day now! She just hasn't got the leg part down yet. She gets so frustrated with herself - it is actually a little sad to watch. She'll get it eventually!

I had to change her pajamas yet again after I took this picture tonight. We have had over 10 outfit changes today! This has to be a record-setter!

Elle's Baby Dedication

Our little blessing!

Sunday was a big day for our family! We had Elle's Baby Dedication at Brentwood Baptist. As parents, we feel that our primary responsibility is to make sure that Elle knows her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Of course, she is too young to understand now, but this service was for BJ and me to present Elle before God asking for grace and wisdom in carrying out our responsibilities - praying that one day she will make a decision of her own to follow God. Our families drove in to be with us and to witness this special event. It was such an awesome day of worship and fellowship! God is so good! I am blessed beyond measure.

Here are the highlights of our day!

Elle waking up on Sunday.

It is the greatest feeling in the world to be greeted with this smile every morning!

This makes my day everyday - what a sweet baby we have!

Our beautiful baby girl.

Peek a boo - I see you!

Granny Faye (BJ's mom) made this silk gown for Elle!

It is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen!

This is definitely becoming a family heirloom!

Elle checking out her cake!

Elle with Granny Faye just before heading to the church.

Thank you for my gown, Granny!

Elle being presented!

Elle with Nana, Poppa and Great-Grandma Rita!

Elle wore our family's gold baby ring that has been passed down 3 generations. You can see the ribbon that we tied around her left wrist to hold it on - so precious!

Elle with Aunt Angela, Brad, Jayme, Erica and cousin Emma!

Uncle Landon and Tessa!

Uncle Phillip, Aunt Crystal and Andrew

Everyone eating at Stoney River after the ceremony!

(This is an awesome steakhouse/seafood restaurant - if any of you are ever visiting Nashville, this is a must! BJ and I love it so much we actually had our rehearsal dinner here!)

Elle had her first taste of those Gerber graduate finger foods.These were the strawberry yogurt puffs - I think it's a go (maybe?) :)

Opening gifts - Elle loved the tissue paper, of course!

Our Sweet Family!

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
Proverbs 22:6

Lindsey's Tutu Couture

Wow, what a busy, busy week the Newman Family has had... well actually, busy month is more like it!! It has been a madhouse here! I keep thinking it is still August, but we are nearing October already. Where did September go?? We took Elle to Kerri King's Studio on Thursday to get her pictures made (I am thrilled about these - she was just precious!) We go back next Thursday, October 1st, to view the proofs - check back next week for pictures! BJ and I ran the Franklin 4 the Cure - 5K in our neighborhood on Saturday (got up at 6:30 AM and ran in the rain, but hey at least we finished!) Then on Sunday, we had Elle's Baby Dedication at church. It was an awesome service, and Elle had a big time visiting with family. (Huge post to come with plenty of pictures!) What a wonderful weekend we had!



So, on to my subject of tutus! In my quest to find Elle a tutu for her photo shoot, I finally came across one I liked in the baby section of the Sak's Outlet (I wanted a fuller one in certain colors.) I probably paid a little more than I should have, but I was in one of those moods where I didn't really feel like shopping around, and wanted to avoid ordering one online since you never know what you're going to get! Well, once I bought it, I realized that it was made using a pretty easy concept. The best part is that there is no sewing involved! I ended up making one that looks almost identical to the one I bought, and all of the materials only cost me around $8.00!

Can you tell the difference?

I made the orange one and bought the purple one. I am excited about this! I can now make Elle one in any color - for pictures or for her to play dress-up one day. (All little girls need several, right?!) I just thought I would share this idea, especially for those moms on a budget!

How to make a tutu:

1.) Go to your local fabric/craft store (like Joann's) and get about 3 1/2 yards of tulle and a 1-inch wide (or similiar) elastic band.

2.) Cut the tulle into (approximately) 6 x 19 in. rectangles. Cut the elastic down to about 18 inches unstretched. (This fit my 7 month old daughter's waist, and should stretch out with her into her toddler years.) The ends of the elastic can be overlapped a half inch and hot glued together on both sides to form a ring.

3.) Simply tie the tulle in a knot around the elastic with the tails facing the outside of the skirt.

4.) Keep scrunching the pieces together as you add on each knot, so they are pretty tight - this is what makes the tutu fuller.

Voila! The finished product!

I am not going to lie, cutting the squares can be a little time consuming - but don't worry about them being perfect. You can't tell in the finished product. You can use scissors to shape up any unevenness once you have finished.

Wait, Who's 28??

BJ turned 28 on Monday! Happy Birthday! As most of you know, I am 8 days younger than him. I always give him a hard time about being "old" during that one week I am still younger than him. :) I just think it is the craziest thing that we pretty much share a birthday - don't you? I knew from the time I first met him that we would have a lot in common - but this was down to a tee! I guess this explains why we are so much alike!

Since BJ and I both had to work on Monday, we celebrated his birthday over the weekend. We met Erica at Buca Di Beppo for lunch on Saturday (best fried mozzarella ever!). We came home and watched the rest of the UT vs. UCLA game (NOT good!) and ate cheesecake. We have a good cheesecake recipe, so I decided to make him one (if it involves baking, I am on it!) On Sunday night, we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Franklin - Wild Ginger (we love, love, love their sushi - seriously, it's the best in Nashville). I was hoping we would be able to venture out in Nashville to a place we hadn't tried, but Elle wasn't having a good day!

Elle says she'll take some of that! Move over daddy!

I love to bake, but don't do well with springform pans! This Bundt-pan Cheesecake (basically an upside down cheesecake!) is pretty easy and always tastes great!

Elle with Erica!

Elle was cracking us up here - she doesn't know what to think about her new teeth sometimes, and she just keeps feeling them with her tongue! Silly girl!

V-O-L-S Go Vols GO!

IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE!!

Tennessee's Biggest Fan!

(I actually made this outfit for Elle. I am going to post some how-to blogs next, for those interested!)

We went to Knoxville over Labor Day Weekend to see the Vols open the season with Western Kentucky. We had been looking forward to that first game for months. What an awesome game! The big win was icing on the cake to the wonderful weekend.

With Kristen and Brian before the game.

We had a fun night in the Old City with my old sorority sisters, Kristen and Celeste, and their boyfriends.

(me = sunburned!)