and I forgot...we celebrated our first Father's Day as well

I forgot to mention in my previous post that Garland celebrated his first Father's Day. We celebrated by going to church and having a barbeque. We love you "DaDa" and wouldn't know what to do without you in our lives!

Sweet, Sweet Summertime

Hello everyone! I am finally updating my blog and boy, do I have a lot to blog about...let's see.... since the summer has begun, Garland and I celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary, my 28th birthday, had Finley's christening, we took our first family vacation to Destin, FL, we lost the most precious member of our family, my Grandmother Griffin, celebrated the 4th of July, and watched our baby girl reach so many of her developmental milestones that I thought would be delayed due to her being a preemie. Wow, life is really on fast foward now! With a blink of an eye, time has just vanished! I hope things can slow down just a bit so I can savor my every moment with my husband and baby girl!

First of all I would like to dedicate this blog to my sweet Grandmother, who left this earth to be with the Lord and all of her beloved that she has yearned to be with again for the last 2 years or so. I will be sure to pass her legacy on to my child(ren) and even though Finley only met her Great-Grandmother once, she will hear lots of wonderful stories about her for the rest of her life!

We shared Finley's christening with our closest family and friends on June 7, which coincidently was Garland and I's 1 year anniversary. Fr. Thang officiated the ceremony and it was so beautiful! There is nothing sweeter than a child's innocence! We have initiated Finley's ever-so important relationship with Christ by having her christened. We are the stepping stones between her and the gift of salvation that Christ has sacrificed for all of us! What an awesome and huge responsibility! We are up to that challenge and have been very vigilent at getting Finley to church each week. The reception was held at our home and it was HOT! We enjoyed jambalaya, meatballs, a beautiful cake, chocolate covered strawberries, shrimp pasta salad, and so many other delicious treats but most importantly the fellowship with our family and friends was the biggest treat of them all!

The family vacay....how bittersweet....upon leaving we knew my grandmother probably would not make it through the weekend but my parents decided to proceed with the vacation because it was what they had promised. We would have totally understood if they decided to cancel but they said, "Let's go! anyway" They ended up leaving early to be by my grandmother's side whether she was aware if they were there are not and just be with my aunts and uncles...Me, Garland, and my sister stayed and awaited the news. But in the meantime, we enjoyed hanging out on the beach and pool, having Alaskan King Crab almost every night, and just spending time as a family- we took professional pictures while we were there and I'll be sure to post those as well!

Finley has grown like a weed... She is now 11 lbs and 23 1/2 inches long! She is now rolling over (as of today!!), eating rice cereal from a spoon, laughing out loud, reaches out for objects, tracks incredibly well, responds to her name, babbles and mimics sounds, can sit and stand with support, is sleeping 12 hours through the night, and making progress every day! She loves to watch tv, listen to music, be read to, and take walks in the stroller in the evenings...She never ceases to amaze me!

Well, I hope you have enjoyed this updated blog entry!



I have excactly 1 month until I return to work, so I will be soaking up all my time with my sweet baby girl! Until next time, enjoy these pictures!