The Safley's

Goldman Reunion Finished

2011-10-24T17:49:00.005-05:00

So, I have totally been neglecting the blog spot... it's a trend! Sorry, life is so busy! I wanted to finish up the Goldman Reunion post. The reunion was a ton of fun! I have some pictures to share. We realized several years ago that kids and showers don't go well together so we invented the "cabin tub" (storage container in the shower). Us Goldman's can be pretty creative! Thre are also some pics of the kids playing outside. THough I don't think I have many of all the kids. We also got the chance to go and see our friend Clark Richardson play his first professional golf tournament at the FedEx St. Jude. No phones allowed so only pre-tourney pics.

Goldman Reunion: special post, Mattie Anne's Bike

2011-06-08T17:41:00.001-05:00

So, as Matt was reading the last blog post he thinks that I left out some important details pertaining to the bike.

As we were leaving LaPlace, Mattie Anne starts making sure we haven't forgotten anything (in her usual fashion ). She specifically asks about her bike. We tell her it is. on top of the car. She proceeds to ask if it is buckled, which I answer yes. She asks 3 more times and after finally stating, yes the bike is buckled, she accepts the response. Though you can tell of her concern and unsureness of the bike having a buckle on top of the car.

Well, it was devastating when the bike's buckle broke! (Make sure to read part 2 of the Goldman reunnion)

After promising the purchase of a new bike (which we know won't end up being the $25 day-after-thanksgiving generic variety, Barbie has already been mentioned) she states that it needs to ride in the front seat!

No more on top of the car buckling for Mattie Anne's bike!

Will add a picture of the new bike soon!

Goldman Reunion Part 2: Not even there yet

2011-06-08T17:19:00.001-05:00

I got off work at noon today, we were on the road by 2, my goal was 1:30 but can't complain!

Off to Jellystone! We have to make a stop in Brookhaven at my parents to drop of Mickelson (our dog, who will be camping out with my parents dogs while we are away) , then to Madison, MS drop of Carly (our cousin that stayed with us this week to help Matt with the kids! She's been great!), and finally to Jellystone!

Or at least that was the plan....

We did have our first stop in Brookhaven, though it was on the side of the road a few exits early as our stuff on top of the car was spilling into the interstate!

We had an ice chest, stroller, wagon, and Mattie Anne's bike all tied down and we made it fine for over 90 miles just fine...

But then the wagon came out into the middle of I 55, with that all the other stuff came tumbling off the side but still within the strap. We made it to the side of the interstate quickly and thank God there wasn't anyone behind us!

We had a nice state trooper that helped us out, a little glimpse of his car in a pic below.

The wagon survived, we think ....

The ice chest survived with surprisingly low spillage of food! A cool whip container with grilled chicken was sitting unharmed on the side of the road! I should have taken more pictures but prob not the best thing for my marriage!

The stroller made it out with the least damage!

But Mattie Anne's bike didn't make it! There is a picture below as well.

This happened at exit 38, we were able to get everything back into the car or re-tied to make it to exit 41 which is the exit my Mom works a mile from. There we (Matt) did a little more rearranging, dropped off a box with my mom and said a tear-filled farewell to the bike with promises to purchase a new one soon!

We then made it to my parent's house off of exit 48 where we successfully completed our first planned stop, resecured the top load with some loaners from my dad, got a bottle for Evans were back on the road!

Currently we are only a few miles from Carly's! We have added another planned stop for Wal-Mart before heading off to Jellystone, for a pink Barbie bike!

See some pics below of only our first few hours of Safley vacation!

Goldman Reunion Part 1: Background

2011-06-08T16:37:00.001-05:00

Today is the start of the Goldman Reunion! Most people dread family reunions but they aren't Goldman's!

The Goldmans have been having the Goldman reunion since before my patents were married! Growing up it was always one of the highlights of summer! And now it is special getting to share the tradition with my husband and children.

Even more exciting is the new generation! In a little over 4 years we have added 15 children. Yes, 15 children 4 and under! It makes for some good memories!

You may wonder how in the world we all get together, well it isn't a small feat! For the past 4 years Jellystone Park in Pelahatchie, MS has been the place. It is a great park! But it us all about the family! Guys play golf, the girls do crafts, and the kids play hard!

I'm sure there will be lots of great photos to come!

Mattie Anne Fashion Update

2011-06-08T14:52:00.001-05:00

Here are some of Mattie Anne's recent choice of outfits. Again, not sure what's best the outfits or the poses!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 2

2011-06-08T14:19:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the delay, these pictures were taken from Matt's phone so I had to wait until I got a chance to get his phone before I could post.

Sunday of Memorial Day Weekend Matt's siblings all had to get back to their daily lives but we were able to stay in Gulfport. We were lucky to have some friends of ours come over to Gulfport as well. Jayce, Emily and their son Cohen joined us Sunday afternoon. We played in the pool and the after supper we took the kids to the beach.

I have to admit I wasn't that excited about the beach, I'm not a big sand fan and with toddlers there is always crying over salt or sand in the eyes.... Needlessly to say it was also the Mississippi beaches that aren't something to get excited about. But I was gratefully surprised at how nice of a trip it was! Our kids love the sand and Cohen had never been to the beach. We went out around 7:00 pm which was great because it wasn't dreadfully hot and the tide was out so the kids were able to walk out a good ways onto the water. The waves were calm and just perfect for our little ones!

We played for about an hour and a half and the only way we got them away was talk of icecream!

Cohen was practicing for Baywatch most of the time, he loved running in the waves! Mattie Anne loved that she was able lay down and get her hair wet! Lyons liked the sand for the first half but then ended up having a great time in the water as well. I obviously wasn't prepared for that based on a photo of his diaper you can see below. Evans had a great tome in the breeze taking it all in!

I have several pictures below of the beach fun!

We didn't take pictures of our Monday adventures but we took out the boat and played lots more in the pool!

It was a great time! Emily has much better photos on her blog page if you like to see more!

We had a great full memorial day weekend with family and friends!

Memorial Day Weekend Part 1

2011-06-03T19:43:00.002-05:00

Memorial day weekend was extra special this year because we got to spend time with all of Matt's siblings and their families! It is so hard to get us all in the same room together. We all spent the weekend at Matt's parents newly built gorgeous house on the back bay in Gulfport, MS. It was a great time of catching up by the pool, boating, and corralling kids!

Fin and Brown ready for some swimming!

Aunt Lauren and Evans

Evans chillin' in the shade

Aunt Eylse

Mattie Anne in her goggles!

Fin and Brown, not sure what Brown is doing but he looks great!

Brown chillin' in the pool, he was our little fish all weekend!

Fin playing in the truck!

AWANA Awards

2011-06-03T19:31:00.001-05:00

FBC Laplace started AWANA this year. It was a huge success. It is amazing how many versus these little ones learned! Mattie Anne loves Cubbies! She couldn't understand why it had to end for the summer, but she is making due! I have put some pictures for Mattie with her vest and completion certificate. Matt took some video that I'll add later.

Those that know the fashion diva that Mattie Anne is would understand that the blue and red vest was a source of contention each week. It never matched what she was wearing and is "just not cute, Momma! "

Children's Choir

2011-06-03T19:21:00.001-05:00

Those of you that experienced or have watched the videos of Mattie Anne's last children's choir performance you ate probably getting excited seeing the title of the post. Well, it was a flop! I think I sat too close, she kept wanting to come see me, she sat there with her fingers on her mouth most of the time and ended up only singing the end of the last song, but still not anywhere close to her first performance. I will add the video when I actually get to a computer. There ate some pictures below.

For those who have not seen the first videos they are in my you tube account which is linked in the side bar, totally recommend listening!

Backyard Landscaping

2011-06-03T19:03:00.001-05:00

Last year we took on the project to redoing the front yard landscaping. We started on the back but got burnt out before we finished, or really even started.... I had dug a trench, planted bulbs, and bought 10 bags of mulch which we stored for a year because it never got put out.
Well, with the excuse of Lyons' Birthday party we decided to finish up that project. My parents came down and helped! It looked great for the party and just a couple weeks later my bulbs bloomed! Though I still don't know what they are, but aren't they pretty!

I never fully appretiated Pillsbury until now...

2011-06-03T18:30:00.001-05:00

Before this recent encounter I would have said that I liked Pillsbury.
I would have admitted to appreciating the convience and ease, but not said that I needed the brand or like brands. Well, I was shopping in Win Dixie and saw this red celery looking stuff and thought that must be rhubarb (this in itself is a little odd since I've never eaten or even seen the food). I had a friend in Kansas City that always talked about strawberry rhubarb pies. Luckily the strawberries were on sell and I thought I'd take a stab of making a strawberry rhubarb pie. I went home and got out my Betty Crocker cookbook and found a recipe, it called for double crust, no big deal I have some frozen pie crusts in the freezer - that's were I was wrong! No pie crusts and a ton of rhubarb and two containers of strawberries. The strawberries wouldn't have been a problem to get rid of but the rhubarb, I'm not even sure what it is! Well, Betty Crockery has never heard of Pillsbury and has her own recipes for pie crust, what else am I going to do with all this stuff, might as well try my luck at pie dough.... this is now when I discovered my new appreciation for Pillsbury. I don't have trouble reading, and though I can be rebellious at times, I like to think of it more as strong-willed, I can follow instructions. This is what I hate about cooking.... you can follow the directions, do everything right and still fail. I don't like to fail! Well my pie crust was pretty close to failure, the only disclaimer is that I didn't have a dough roller, which might have been important .... the dough wasn't big enough, I never got it to roll thin enough, but even thick it cracked, I had to just press the bottom layer into the pan, the top layer didn't meet at the edges, it cracked as well.... but at least I got all the ingredients correct which means it at least tasted good! I have shared some pictures of the creation below, including the lovely mess that the edges not meeting created at the bottom of my oven!
I guess the moral of the story is that as much as I'd like to be Betty Crocker, I think I'm going to settle for that Semi - Homemade lady.

Lyons' Birthday Part 4

2011-05-21T07:23:00.002-05:00

May 20th, Lyons' actual birthday! So, the poor child is probably so confused about when his Birthday is. He has now had 2 birthday parties at school, read first Lyons' birthday post for the reason why, 1 real birthday party and then our small family birthday party last night for his actually birthday. I think in the last 2 weeks his cupcake consumption is up to around 10! Below are some pictures from yesterday. Today Matt is taking the older two kids to see Rio which will be a wrap up to the birthday celebration!

Breakfast Cupcake!

Cuddling with Daddy in the Morning!

I'm TWO!

How old is Lyons?

Chocolate Icecream!

Mmm....

Mattie Anne Fashion Update

2011-05-21T07:13:00.001-05:00

So, I've got some additional pictures. This whole time I was thinking that the outfit choices would steal the show, but the poses she makes to take pictures are just as funny! Here are some from the past couple days.
I know there are a lot of duplicates, and the outfits themselves aren't some of her most creative, but I couldn't resist the poses!

Lyons' Birthday Part 3

2011-05-20T21:25:00.002-05:00

The Zoo! We had a wonderful time with our family at the zoo! We had Uncle Aaron, Aunt Jess, Fin, and Brown join us which made it even more fun! We felt as though we were bringing our own little zoo to the zoo! We were there by 10:30 in the morning, only 30 mins off our goal! And all I forgot was Lyons' shoes! Luckily Aunt Jess had a spare pair of Brown's in their car! She saved the day! It was a beautiful day for the zoo and the kids did great! Here are some pictures of our fun!

Looking at the Elephants!

Lyons' favoite animal is the Elephant!

Sea Lion show!

Mattie Anne and Fin! Cutest picture ever!

Don't forget about Evans!

Mom and Lyons at the Sea Lion Show

Uncle Aaron and Fin

Daddy and Lyons

Uncle Aaron and Mattie Anne

Aunt Jess, Brown, Fin, and Uncle Aaron... What a beautiful family!

Mattie Anne and Fin

Lyons and Brown chillin' in the stroller

Mattie Anne and Fin riding the alligator... "Mom it doesn't bite" glad Mattie Anne thought that before sitting on it!

Dad and Mattie riding the carousel

Waving

Daddy being silly!

Aunt Jess and Fin

Mattie Anne Fashion

2011-05-18T09:30:00.001-05:00

So, most of you know that I am very frustrated that my daughter'sj Pre-K3 school makes them wear uniforms, I mean she is 3!

If you know Mattie Anne, you know that a blue T-shirt and pants aren't even close to stylish enough to meet her criteria. She hates the blue T-shirt! I can't blame her, the smallest size they had was kids x-small, which my sound small but with my 3 year old still fitting into 24 month clothes, it doesn't even come close to fitting properly. The worst part is that she notices. At the beginning of the school year she would cry that it was too big, and what am I supposed to say... she was right! I obviously haven't gotten over this issue since we are now in the last week of school, and I could keep going on about the issue.... but back to the point of the post....

So, when Mattie Anne comes home everyday she changes clothes and I allow it even though it is only a few hours until bedtime and this probably increases my laundry. I allow her to pick out and wear whatever she wants, and some days it is hilarious! I thought this would be a great blog update to keep and great pictures to have when she is a teen! I thought of it 2 days ago when the combination of red tights, orange shirt, pink bow and pink shoes made me laugh out loud, but of course I forgot to take a picture ... I did take a picture of the outfit from yesterday, which included my shoes.

So, this will start the Mattie Anne fashion blog series!

Lyons Birthday Part 2

2011-05-17T09:30:00.001-05:00

Gifts! Lyons has so many great friends and got so many great gifts! Here are some pictures of him with some if his new toys!

More Birthday Party Pictures

2011-05-16T13:01:00.002-05:00

Aunt Jess and Mrs. Missy

Evans tasting the icing...Thanks Papa!

Mrs. Scarlett and Ceile

Playing on the Water Slide!

Playing on the Bounce House!

Grow-ups talking :)

Mattie Anne, Stella, and Katelynn eating cake!

Lyons' Birthday Part 1

2011-05-16T09:10:00.001-05:00

Saturday, May 14th we celebrated Lyons' 2nd Birthday. His actual birthday isn't until the 20th, but this was the best weekend for schedules! They celebrated his birthday at school on the 2nd because they said I must have left off the 0 (though that is debatable ). So, this poor child I'm sure is thoroughly confused, but loves all the attention!

We had an Elmo Birthday Brunch at our house with family and friends! We recently purchased an inflatable water slide and it was the hit of the party! We also used my parent's inflatable jump house, which was a lot of fun. We had a brunch because last year Lyons' Birthday party was so hot and miserable. So, I thought the earlier the better and maybe we would excape the heat. Well, we did! It was actually cool! A random mild weekend in New Orleans, the high Saturday was only 80, so at 10 am it was a little cool, bit the kids didn't mind one bit! Luckily we don't live far above sea level and our water pipes have warm water in the spring and summer!

Mother's Day Tea

2011-05-10T15:24:00.003-05:00

Mattie Anne and me at the Mother's Day Tea!

Safley Family Picture

2011-05-09T11:06:00.001-05:00

We just took family pictures over Easter. Jon had to do some great editing to get these pictures considering our 2 boys were totally over pictures before we began! But at least we all look happy!

Goldman Family Picture

2011-05-09T11:05:00.001-05:00

Our latest family picture! Taken over Christmas.

Lyons' 1st Birthday picture

2011-05-09T11:03:00.001-05:00

Here is another great pic that Jon did!

Mattie Anne Dancing

2011-05-09T11:00:00.001-05:00

Isn't this the cutest picture! From Mattie Anne's 2 year old pictures. Jon did amazing job editing it!

Valentine's day

2011-05-09T10:06:00.001-05:00

Home Depot Kid's Workshop

2011-05-09T09:54:00.001-05:00

If you haven't been, you must go to home depot on the first Saturday of the month. They have a kids workshop, where the kids get to build something! It is so much fun. I think it says ages 5 and up, but we take both the kids and they love it! You even get the cute orange apron to take home! And best of all its free!

Mattie Anne Thanksgiving Party

2011-05-09T09:52:00.001-05:00

Our little Indian!

Aquarium pics

2010-11-09T16:04:00.004-06:00

It's been a while...

2010-11-08T09:02:00.002-06:00

It has been a year I guess since I updated last. I am officially bad at this! I am at home today with a semi-sick child, she seemed much sicker before I told her we could stay home :) I'm sure it was the Tylenol! So, anyway, a day at home, it is 9:00 and I've already gotten Lyons "too small" clothes and Mattie Anne's summer clothes cleaned out of the closet, made an Indian costume for Mattie Anne's thanksgiving dinner at school, and now I'm going to attempt updating the blog with pics from over the last couple of months. I'll keep all the other posts just to pics, but thought I'd update how we have been. I'm 35 weeks pregnant with Evans, he will be our 2nd little boy, third total. Mattie Anne turned 3 in August and Lyons is 1.5. Evans should be making his debut around the beginning of December. Matt is 1.5 years into his Pathology residency at LSU Health Sciences in New Orleans. He really enjoys the program. I am still at Humana Insurance company doing clinical review for pre-authorizations. I am enjoying the work and it was been especially nice with the pregnancy not having to be on my feet all day. Mattie Anne started Pre-K3 in August. It took her a while to get used to the new program, sitting still, coloring in the lines, tracing letters....a lot to take in for my little girl! She actually had a 9 weeks test too! I'm not so sure I like the program, I'm thinking it is a little on the too structured side but for now it will have to do. Lyons is walking/running, and making lots of noises, half the time I think they are supposed to be words, but there is still just a lot of screaming too :) He is completely oblivious to us having another baby, it will be fun to see how he reacts when Evans is born. Mattie Anne is very excited. She would look in my belly button and say she could see the baby, even would ask where his diaper was :). She did very well when Lyons was born so I assume she will do great again, and be even more of Mommy's helper. Evans he a mover and shaker! I'm a little nervous that the kid is never going to sleep because he doesn't do much of that now! We have had to have some ultrasounds to follow up on a couple of abnormalities, but the last ultrasound performed last week was perfect, nothing to worry about and he is already 5 lbs 6 oz, Not too much smaller than his sister when she was born! We have started going to First Baptist Church in Laplace and have found a lot of really sweet people, they have a young couples class that has several families with children the same ages as ours. Mattie Anne has started going to their AWANA program which has been a lot of fun. Well I guess that is enough for the words, I'll start loading the pics!

Pumpkin Patch Pics

2009-11-05T09:19:00.000-06:00

Mattie Anne, Lyons and I went to a great pumpkin patch in Hammond, LA! Mattie Anne loves animals!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Blackberry Updates

2009-11-05T07:43:00.001-06:00

So, I think I have figured out how to post with my blackberry. I think this will really help with my updating- though I make no promises! I found out last week when I was awaiting a new phone to be sent from verizon, just how much I depend on my blackberry. They know this and the little scheme to give u a free blackberry total works bc you get addicted! Well, some may would have seen thier problem and made a goal to not be so dependent on their blackberry, but not me. I figured out how to move my apps to my sd card bc I was frustrated with the speed and have been greatly surprised the increased speed and therefore have found the necessity to download more apps! I should never get an i-phone all the apps would totally overwhelm me! Though in searching I was able to find some pretty good ones for blackberry- though none for blogger. But in my frustration I think I have found out how to post- if not I've wasted a lot of finger movements for nothing! For other smartphones users that like to follow blogs a great app is viigo- you can type in the address of the blogs that you follow and it notifies you of updates! How great! Well I'm going to submit this and hopefully it will work- if you are seeing it that is a good sign and hopefully a sign of more frequent posting! Hopefully I can figure out how to add pics- bc it seems that my blackberry is also my camera- I should really look into getting one with a better camera next time! How again did we live without smartphones?

Family Update

2009-04-14T17:26:00.002-05:00

So, Most of you know by now but we are moving back South! I can't wait to be warm again! We love it in Kansas City but it will be really nice to be close to family! We will be moving to New Orleans in June, after Lyons is born. Matt matched his residency at LSU New Orleans campus. We were able to make a trip down the first of April and were able to find a house and we will close on it the end of May. So life the next 2 months is going to be a little crazy but always fun!

Matt is done with school now, so he has the job of packing up the house. I'm thinking I planned this pregnancy great, I'm almost completely getting out of packing. The almost part is the fact that my husband needs my mind a good bit to get tasks completed!

I'm doing well...33 weeks pregnant....AKA...Fat and tired... But I know it will all be worth it! Everything is winding down for me at work, or winding up however you want to twist it. I am transferring all of the studies that I'm currently doing over to their new owners so it is a process... I should be down to minimal work in a few weeks which will be nice with getting further along into the pregnancy.

Mattie Anne is doing great! She is sleeping in her "big girl" bed...AKA...a day bed turned against the wall. It is amazing how small she looks in such a big bed. She did really well and we haven't had to use the crib for a week now! Hopefully that will make the move better, we thought moving beds and houses and adding a brother would be way too much to handle!

Well, I think that is all for now! I'm going to start a post with Mattie Anne's words, a lot for my own benefit. She is getting very smart but I do see the attitude as we get closer to 2!

Kansas City Zoo

2009-02-07T16:52:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Cleaning...

2009-02-07T16:01:00.004-06:00

So, as everyone knows, cleaning is a constant chore... Now, more than ever before, it is a NEVER ending process! Mattie Anne can make such a big mess for such a little person! We began working with her and a couple of months ago we started to have a lot of success with picking toys up and throwing things in the trash. She will do anything for a "good girl" and clapping! It has become pretty convenient, especially when the trash can is in another room...Mattie Anne is more than willing to take it for you! She even thinks its fun! How Awesome! We are better parents than we ever thought we could be. So, since we had such a good response with picking up toys and throwing away trash we thought it was time for Mattie Anne to pick up some more responsibilities around the house...I mean what else are children for? See below for pictures of Mattie Anne doing her household chores...and before anyone calls child services...look at the expression on her face :)

Mattie Anne and Fin

2009-02-07T15:41:00.000-06:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Leanne's Wedding Day Pics

2009-02-07T15:06:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Christmas 2008 Pictures

2009-02-07T14:27:00.001-06:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

10 months later...

2009-02-04T14:19:00.003-06:00

So, I'm not so good at the blog thing anymore! Is has been 10 months since my last post... So, a lot has changed!

I'll start with the most interesting one of us...Mattie Anne! She is almost 1 1/2! She is talking up a storm, her favorite words are dog and kitty cat. I'm afraid she is going to bring every stray she sees when she is older...she loves animals!!! She started saying Jesus! It was such a blessing! Matt and I, when we put her to bed, read a book and then sing Jesus Loves Me (You). Last week when we were in the chair after we read the book she said Jesus and now she says it when she gets tired or it is bed time! How sweet! She also loves holding hands when we pray before meals, she has even reached out for our hands when we sat down! She won't say Amen though... I need to start a list of all the words she is saying...Maybe another post... She loves to dance, her version of dancing is spinning in circles. Last weekend it was actually in the 60s so we were able to go to the park! Mattie Anne loves slides! She even went down the big one that is like a tube that her daddy had to take her up to reach. She came out backwards, on her stomach, and giggling!

On to my wonderful husband! He is especially wonderful today because he got the day off from work and is doing laundry!!! Laundry is our worst downfall! We both hate it! So, Matt has put in his rank list and we will find out where we will match in the middle of March- less than 6 weeks away! Talk about your life being on hold! I can't wait to find out so we can start the mad rush to buy a house and move and fit all that around having a new baby! For those that don't know, he is applying for residencies in Pathology. He is interested in transfusion medicine, which would be a fellowship after the 4 year pathology residency.

So last but not least...Me! So, I'm pregnant for those that don't know. I'm 23 weeks. Everything is going great! I'm really busy at work with a new trial. PARTNER- percutaneous aortic valve replacements. The valve is inserted through the femoral artery (in the leg) up to the aortic valve in the heart and deployed. It prevents patients from having to have open heart surgery. It has been a wonderful trial to work on!

Well, I have tons of pics that I need to add. But I thought if I at least wrote something that would get me started! Hopefully I'll have pics soon!

Mattie Anne Update

2008-04-20T02:26:00.003-05:00

It has been forever! I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating! Life with Mattie Anne at home not working is completely different and obviously not conducive to me posting on this blog. I have to admit it hasn't been on the top of my priorities...but I'm sure ya'll can understand, or at least sympathize!

Mattie Anne is now 7 1/2 months old! I don't know weight, length, and all of that stuff. I do know she is bigger than she was last time ya'll saw her!

*Mattie Anne is crawling! That is our newest thing! She is everywhere..except the grass! Today was a beautiful day in KC and I put her down on the grass to crawl and she cried! It was a fussy day so I don't know if it was her mood or what but she would not crawl on the grass. She would sit on it, but no moving!

*She likes Mickelson's (our mini schnauzer) food...well at least picking it up- I think I've prevented any pieces making it into the mouth-but I can't be 100% positive!

*She doesn't like the word no! She understands it for sure, but doesn't like it! Unfortunately she hears it a lot now that she is mobile!

*She is eating table food. She is eating sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, Cheerios, kiwi, squash, zucchini, bananas, rice, chicken, oatmeal...exciting stuff! Her papa fed her chocolate ice cream and she liked that too!

*She is saying Dada. I'm a little sad...but it is really sweet and a good excuse to get Dada to change diapers!

*She is still sleeping really well, this week she started standing up in her crib so we had to lower it- a really big hassle! I think we thought it would take 10-15, maybe 30 mins....more like an hour and half!

*At daycare Mattie Anne's favorite toy is a water bottle that has feathers and bells inside. She steals it from other kids, we are going to have to work on sharing really soon!

*She loves for you to clap for her! She gets very excited, she also laughs when Matt dances!

*She has tons and tons of bows...her newest has a flower close to the size of her head- it is adorable! She will probably kill me when she is older because of it! I hopefully will have a picture to post...if not I will get one- but don't hold your breath for it, I don't have a good track record of up dating regularly!

Well, I can't think of anything else specific! There is a new story every day!

Matt and Katie Update

2008-04-20T02:20:00.004-05:00

Matt is doing his clinical rotation part of school. He is in his surgery rotation right now. He has done: pediatrics, psychiatry, internal med, family med, and now surgery. He has pathology and anesthesia coming up soon. Those are the two specialties that he thinks the most about. He isn't really sure what he wants to specialize in right now. He is open to a lot of things. He has always thought about pathology and anesthesia, so after his rotations through those I think he will have a better idea of what he likes. He has had a lot of good reports throughout his rotations and has for the most part enjoyed them.
He has been awesome on balancing school and family! He makes us a priority! He has even been able to help me when my work load grew and needed to put in some extra hours. He is also a big help with my running!
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My work is really busy, but I enjoy it. I have some really exciting studies! Here is a presentation I was able to do at the Go Red for Women luncheon for the American Heart Association. The AWARE study is a gene therapy to treat women who have chronic chest pain and have no other treatment options. FYI: Heart disease is the number 1 killer in women, the other top 5 combined are still less than heart disease! Be AWARE of your heart disease risks!

At church or small group is growing--- three little girls have been born since Mattie Anne and one little boy is on the way! It is wonderful to have such a close group of friends that are all entering the same stage of life together! I am helping with the nursery coordination at church and Matt is starting a discipleship program with the deacons.
We are going to be doing the pre-K and K children Wednesday night program at church this summer- that will be fun! I assist now, but Matt and I will be over it for the summer.
We had our 2 year anniversary at the end of March. Matt took me to Sky. Sky is a restaurant at the top of one of the hotels in KC that rotates and you get a 360 view of the city. It was a lot of fun!

This month has been crazy for both of us- Matt has to be at the hospital at 4:00 am and doesn't get home to 6:00 pm and goes to bed at 8:00 pm. I have been overloaded at work and working a lot at home late, so it has been hit or miss with us during the week! The weekends are great just being able to see each other, even though I am still working---should be working now, but thought this would be more fun! Matt went to bed a while ago-he has to round in the morning, so another 4:00 am morning for him.

Omaha Mission Trip

2008-04-20T02:09:00.006-05:00

We have had the opportunity to go to the Omaha Baptist Center on two mission trips and are going again next weekend!

The previous mission trips have been with a church from Topeka, KS. We provided free health clinics for the community. Blood pressure and glucose screenings, diabetic foot care (what I'm doing in the pic), and physicals were all a part. The group also sang with the children, worked on the clothes closet, handed out donated baby items, and did an Easter Egg hunt! !
The trip that is coming up is more focused on bible teaching with the youth and children. There is a large Sudanese population in Omaha...very interesting group to work with. You feel more like you are doing international missions

Half Marathon

2008-04-20T01:55:00.005-05:00

I completed my first half marathon the end of March. It was amazing! I started running when Mattie Anne was 6 weeks old...My in-laws run and I went with them while they were up for a visit and for some reason it just clicked. I started training for the half marathon the beginning of January.

I had 3 goals going into the race. 1. Finish 2. Run the whole way 3. Finish in under 2:30. I was able to complete them all! I finished in 2:24/11:03 min pace. That is terribly slow, but for me pretty good! When I started running I had a 14:00 min pace (most people walk faster!). I was happy with my time, especially because it was freezing-literally 32 degrees at start and a steady 15 mph wind that we ran into the majority of the way!

Matt wasn't able to see my finish because some lady kept telling him that Mattie Anne was cold and he was tired of hearing and thought he had a little more time before I would finish so he ran to the car to get a blanket. Oh well! It took 15 mins for me to find him because he was walking the side walks looking for me to finish!

I'm addicted now. I'm training for the Hospital Hill Half Marathon. It is a pretty difficult course so I'm not going for any time improvements. Matt, Daddy, and I are going to do the Heart of Dixie Triathlon. Matt is going to swim, Daddy is going to bike, and I am going to run. I'm looking forward to that in July!

Christmas Presents

2008-01-19T08:56:00.000-06:00

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Ski Trip 2007

2008-01-19T08:51:00.001-06:00

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Mattie Anne and Mammaw Goldman

2008-01-18T23:33:00.000-06:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

First Day of Daycare

2008-01-18T23:23:00.000-06:00

Make a postcard - it's easy!

So Many Faces

2008-01-18T23:06:00.000-06:00

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Trunk or Treat 2007

2008-01-18T23:01:00.000-06:00

It has been forever since I have written on here, sorry! I'm going to try and catch up from the past couple of months-with pics (the most important part).

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Pictures

2008-01-18T22:05:00.000-06:00

Make your own slide shows and scrapbooks

Sleeping Beauty

2007-10-26T13:46:00.000-05:00

You may wonder why I have posted all the precious pictures of Mattie Anne sleeping. Well we have really good news! Mattie Anne is sleeping through the night! I didn't want to say anything at first because who knew if it would continue, but we have gone all week! I know that doesn't mean that it will continue and she will never wake me up again, but I think it is a nice start. I started working with her on this last weekend. My book said that when she wakes up to wait a little while before getting her and see if she will fall back to sleep. We started that last Friday and after a few days she was waking up during the night but going back to sleep within 10 mins or so and the past few nights she has woken up but no crying! So, I guess that doesn't actually qualify as completely sleeping through the night...but really really close! This morning she woke up around 5:00 for maybe 5 mins and went back to sleep and I actually had to wake her up at 6:00! She is sleeping between 7.5 and 8 hours so that means I'm usually getting around 6.5 to 7. I am very happy with that, especially since I will be starting back full-time at work in the next week or two.

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-22T10:44:00.000-05:00

New Pictures Below!

We took Mattie Anne to the pumpkin patch! It was so much fun. We went with our new friends Andy and Sasha Peck. Andy took better pics and as soon as I get some those from him, I'll post them.

Last week was pretty uneventful. I went to work 4 days, still taking Mattie Anne with me. It didn't wear on me as much as I thought it would, but needless to say, I was looking forward to the weekend. Friday night we went out to eat with Clark and Rachel Richardson. We went to a nice Mexican restaurant; it was a lot of fun! Mattie Anne just tagged along and was very well behaved (she slept)! Saturday morning I had a baby shower for Sara Gordon, a friend from church. It was so nice! Then Saturday afternoon was our trip to the Weston Red Barn Farm! That is where the pumpkin patch is. They have an apple orchard and a pumpkin patch, but we pretty much went there for pictures of Mattie Anne!

Our jogging is going steadily, I don't think Matt hates it as much as he used to. I had to cut back a little bit because my knees started bothering me, we think it is from IT band syndrome...which is an over use injury. Pretty much we think I did too much too fast. I started jogging 2 weeks ago and I kept wanting to see how far I could go, well I went 3 miles for the first time probably since high school and was really excited and kept doing 2-3 miles depending on how much time we had (we usually have to squeeze it in). My knees would be a little stiff in the mornings, but nothing too bad, they never hurt when I jogged. Then last Thursday, we didn't have anything else going on and we had done 3 miles and I wanted to keep going just to see if I could do another. Matt stopped because Mattie Anne was getting a little fussy. I went another mile and checked with Matt to see if he cared if I try to do another, he didn't so I kept on trucking. I decided to stop after 5 miles, I was pretty happy with that because I don't think I had ever jogged that far. Well, the next morning my knees were a little more than sore and they continued to hurt when I jogged. I talked to Mrs. Brenda and looked up some of my symptoms and it seems that IT band syndrome is common especially when you over do it. So, I am going to try some stretches and cutting down a little bit. I guess best of all I have found something that I really enjoy. I think that it would be fun to train to do a half marathon. Matt isn't so excited about that idea but is willing to do it with me. I would love to start now but the training schedule is 16 weeks and that would be straight through the winter and I would rather run outside than on a treadmill. The winter in KC can be brutal (especially for us Mississippians) so I think at times running outside would be hard.

Funny story....
This morning I wasn't going to work because I had to take Mattie Anne in for her shots. I had already let them know at work that I wouldn't be in and possibly tomorrow depending on how Mattie Anne did. I set it up with the childcare center that she would start Wednesday. So, I got up this morning and got dressed, and I got the paper out that had the time of her appointment because I forgot to write the time on the calendar. Well, it definitely said Oct. 29 at 10:15. Today is the 22nd...I wrote it on everything wrong. I remember discussing with the nurse the time and day of the week that would be best, I guess that I thought we were talking about the Monday that she turned 8 weeks and she was talking about the Monday after she was 2 months. Oh well, I'm excited I have one more week to spend the day with her! I may even do some work at home this week so I can spend a little more time at home with her. Well, she is waking up for her afternoon meal, I better go feed her!

More Pictures of the Pumpkin Patch:

Make your own slide shows and scrapbooks

Life Goes On

2007-10-15T11:22:00.000-05:00

Mattie Anne is 7 weeks old today. Just one more week before the dreaded shots! It is amazing how much she has grown and how alert she can be. She started rolling over, and of course, I missed the first time. I put her down in the craddle on her stomach and went into the kitchen to do something. She started to cry so I went to check on her and she was on her back! I put her back on her stomach to see if she would do it again and she did! This got me all excited so I got the video camera out, well by the time that I had the first roll filmed she had done it probably 7 times and was not happy about it anymore. So as you will see in the video, she is crying, but at least it is on video! Her other trick is standing...no not completely by herself, but pretty close! She has amazingly strong legs! She will lock them out and almost stand on her own, we just have to support her for balance. We will have to try and get that on video soon!

It seems like the question I am asked most is if I'm getting any sleep. Well, I am getting more than I thought I would! Since about 2-3 weeks old I was only having to get up once during the night. The past 2 weeks she has been sleeping between 6-7 hours straight! I usually feed her around 9 and she will wake up between 3:30 and 5:00 am. What is even better about this feeding is that she will eat for 5-10 minutes and go right back to sleep so I can usually get back to bed fairly quickly because I get up between 5:30 and 6:30 on days that I go to work. Then at the 6:00-6:30 feeding she will eat for a while and stay awake. This past week she went a couple of days where she would wake up at 2:00 and then every two hours until 10 and she was hungary! I assume it was a growth spurt because she has now fell back into her old routine. She pretty much stays close to her routine which is: 6:00 am, 8:30 am, 11:00 am, 2:00 pm, 4:30 pm, 7:00 pm, 9:00 pm, and then whenever she wakes during the night. Hopefully soon she will drop the night feeding and go from 9:00 pm to 5:30 am, I'll let ya know when that happens! BabyWise says that they can start sleeping through the night as early as 6-8 weeks but usually by 10-12. We will see when Mattie Anne chooses to do that! I feel that I'm lucky enough to only have to wake up once during the night!

I mentioned earlier that I was going back to work. I started 2 weeks ago, but only went in Thursday and Friday of those weeks. I am taking off today of this week but am aiming to go in the rest of the week, but nothing is etched in stone. Mattie Anne goes to work with me right now! I don't want to put her in daycare until she has her shots. She sits in her infant seat on my desk all day, the women in the office love it! She is fun to have around, and has only inturrpted a few phone conversations with fussing. Starting back part time and taking Mattie Anne with me is a really easy way to get back into the swing of work. It isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The mornings can be hetic, but once we get to work and get all set up it goes pretty smoothly and it is nice to be back around everyone at work.

Not much else is going on in our lives. Matt is doing his Physicatric rotation this month, not his favorite so far, but at least he doesn't have to work weekends. He was able to go to the Kansas City Chiefs game yesterday. He was invited to go with a man from our church who is a politician in Kansas City, so he sat on the 17th row for part of the game and in a box for the other part. Pretty good deal for his first NFL game!

Matt's parents (GP and BB) came into town last week. I felt lucky because I was able to spend all day with them and Matt had to work. The pictures of Mattie Anne in her red jogging suit (from Nana) are from when we went to the park jogging, isn't she adorable. Mattie Anne loves going jogging! Matt and I have started jogging regulary now. His parents jog regularly and when they were up hear they got me out jogging and I realized that I really like it. So, now that Mr. Bill and Mrs. Brenda are gone I make Matt jog with me. He isn't the happiest about my new found love!

Here are some pictures from GP and BB's visit!

Cubs Clinch NL Central

2007-09-30T16:46:00.000-05:00

The Cubs will open the National League Division Series on Wednesday against the NL West winners, the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Carlos Zambrano (18-13, 3.95 ERA) will start Game 1 for the Cubs against Arizona's Brandon Webb (18-10, 3.01 ERA), with Ted Lilly (15-8, 3.86 ERA) going in Game 2 on Thursday. The best-of-five series will shift to Wrigley Field for Game 3 on Oct. 6 and Game 4, if necessary, on Oct. 7.
The Cubs entered Sunday's regular-season finale not knowing who they would be playing because of the complicated Wild Card scenarios. All they had to do was wait and see if the Phillies lost, or the Mets lost or the San Diego Padres won. If one of those three things happened, the Cubs were headed to Arizona. The Florida Marlins obliged, and beat the Mets, 8-1.
This is the Cubs' first trip to the postseason since they won the division in 2003. That team was five outs away from reaching the World Series, when the Marlins rallied to take the NL Championship Series.
This is a new team, with a new look and new manager Lou Piniella.
"We've got as good a chance as anybody else," Piniella said. "We're going to have to pitch well, and we're going to have to get some timely hitting. We're built for the short term as well as the long term.
"We've got a veteran team here, basically, and we've got some pitchers in the rotation who can keep you in ballgames, and we have a strong bullpen to close things out," he said. "Really, what it amounts to is how well we hit."
Carrie Muskat is a reporter for MLB.com

Rub a dub dub

2007-09-27T13:14:00.000-05:00

Mattie Anne finally likes bath time! You would have thought I was hurting her with her first bath (the picture and video below are both from that tragic event). The highlight of that bath would have to be when she peed on Nana! With each bath she has started to like it better and better. Well, last night we did something a little different, the big tub with me. It was so much fun and she loved it (and no peeing on me)! I think she liked the water better when I was able to hold her. I used the Bedtime Bath soap. If you read the bottle it says to add it to the water, well I figured I should use a little more because we were in the big bath tub. We had bubbles everywhere! It was hilarious! That stuff is better than bubble bath.

Mattie Anne Out On the Town

2007-09-26T18:59:00.000-05:00

Matt and I completely ignored the rules about staying at home with our newborn. We felt as though Mattie Anne should experience the city! Mattie Anne went to Jack Stacks BBQ, The Cheesecake Factory, Olive Garden, and Bo Lings all by the time she was a week old!

Mattie Anne and Her Grandparents

2007-09-26T18:19:00.000-05:00

Mimi and GP, Matt's parents, meeting Mattie Anne for the first time.

Three generations of Safley's

Mattie Anne with Nana and Papa, Katie's parents.

Leaving the Hospital

2007-09-26T15:06:00.000-05:00

We left the hospital the morning of August 29th.

The dress Nana, Katie's Mom, (Mimi is Matt's Mom) bought her for her to wear home was a little too big. Who knew she wouldn't fit in newborn outfits! She didn't like the band on her head, you will notice it is not in any of the other pictures!

She didn't like the car seat either. She screamed all the way out of the hospital, which is not a short trip.

Here we are about to get into the car for the very first time! She had finally stopped crying by now!

Matt got to chauffeur us home!

Labor and Delivery

2007-09-24T14:06:00.000-05:00

So I figured out how to add videos to the page, so I have now added those...Sorry if there are some redundancies between the written part and the videos!

Here we are at the hospital. This was my labor and delivery suite. As you can see, everything at this point was pretty laid back. Momma came with Matt and me to the hospital, but went home for a good night rest.

After I settled in, they started an IV and the Prostaglandin treatments. The nurse gave the first one around 10 pm or so. After that, I couldn't get up for 2 hours. They put the monitors on me to monitor Mattie Anne's heart rate. Matt found the need to video tape everything...including my belly with monitors on it. The second Prostaglandin treatment was at 2:00 am. I got a little sleep before this treatment, but not much after it. My contractions/labor started around 3:00 am much to our surprise. My midwife didn't think that the Prostaglandin would induce labor, but just help prepare for labor. The contractions weren't painful; they just prevented me from sleeping.

Here Matt is on Monday morning... He got a pretty good night sleep. I didn't wake him, I figured one of us should at least be rested and it wasn't going to be me. He got up around 6:00 am when the nurse came in to start the Pitocin (IV medication to induce labor). I was already having contractions but they were very small so this was to help move along the process. My midwife came in at 7:30 am to check me, I was 1-2 cm dilated and my cervix was thinning... They got us up and walking at 8:00 am, Matt pushed my IV pole and we started making the U shaped walk down the Labor and Delivery hall and over to the Mother Baby Unit. We walked for around 30 mins and then had to get back on the monitor. By now, I was feeling my contractions pretty well, starting to get a little painful.

At 10:00 am, it was time for another walk. This walk was a little more eventful. We began our U walk and as we approached the complete other end of our U walk and are about to turn around and walk back, I get a funny feeling and then before I could get "I think my water just broke" out we here a huge splash! I have heard many stories about people's water breaking and most women who's actually broke on its own say that it was just a trickle of water, kind of felt as if you peed on yourself. Well, if I'm supposed to compare it to peeing, I would have to say that my completely full bladder, feel out and splashed like a water balloon. It wasn't a little fluid, it was a ton! Trying not to exaggerate I would say at least 2 liters. So now, we have a problem, a huge wet spot on the floor...total hazard. Matt goes to tell a nurse that my water just broke and there is a mess to clean up. Then we have to walk all the way back to our room. I am completely soaked! The front and back of my gown and my slippers are completely wet and I have to walk down a very full Mother Baby Unit, very embarrassing! But not as embarrassing as the pharmacy delivery guy that I had to yell at to not step in the huge puddle I left on the floor, it wouldn't be as bad if it wasn't the same guy that delivers to the Cath Lab... Where I work! I hope I looked bad enough that he didn't recognize me! The one thing that is helping me from being really embarrassed is keeping in mind that we are on a floor were many women walk during their labors, so this isn't the first time it has happened. Well, when we got back to our room, we let my nurse know about our excitement, she came in and said that this never happens! She has never had a patient that had her water break while walking. She said they always joke about it but it never happens. Well, I definitely don't want to fit into the typical mold! So for the rest of my hospital stay, I was the girl whose water broke in the Mother Baby Unit!

Well the water breaking and the increasing of the Pitocin was getting my labor moving along. My contractions were getting painful. My midwife came in around 11:30 am and checked me I had progressed to 2-3 cm, and she said that I could start thinking about pain control. I thought I could handle it a little more before I got an epidural. As the contractions got stronger and stronger, it was obvious I was in back labor. I felt all of my pain in my lower back. They say that back labor is more painful than regular labor, I don't know, back labor is the only labor I've experienced. Around 1:30 pm, I met my favorite doctor of the day...my Anestiologist! I felt so much better after my epidural. I had instant pain relief! After that, I was good to go; I didn't care how much longer it took! Here is a picture of me with the socks that Jon got me from India. I could barely move my legs after the epidural, hence the weird positioning of my legs. Notice the smile on my face; this is probably the first smile since that morning! Labor progressed much faster after the epidural. My midwife came in at 5:00 and I was 5.5 cm! I was feeling much better because I was able to get some catnaps.

Around 7:00 pm, I started feeling allot of pressure, I had progressed to 9.5 cm. Finally at 8:00 pm, I was 10 cm and could finally start pushing! After 30 min of pushing, Mattie Anne arrived at 8:33 pm!

Matt's first time holding Mattie Anne!

Mattie Anne Safley weighed 5lbs 13oz and was 18 1/4 inches long.

Hospital, Here We Come

2007-09-24T13:35:00.000-05:00

Last pregnant pictures, right before we left for the hospital.

About to go into the hospital. I asked Momma if it was normal to have this much luggage, and she said yes...

So, I guess one good thing about being induced is that I have good pics of our going to the hospital experience! We checked in at Saint Luke’s at 8:00 pm on Sunday, August 26th, 2007. My last meal was Taco Bell, which I started craving as soon as it was suggested. I ate it on the way to the hospital because, of course, I was running late.

We went to church Sunday morning, Matt went to help Rachel with some schoolwork and Momma and I went to Wendy's for lunch. We then went to get pedicures. I also got my eyebrows waxed...who knows when I would have time to do that after Mattie Anne arrived! That took most of the afternoon, the pedicure people really made sure our toes were dry before they let us leave. We waited 30 minutes! We met up with Matt and went to Sam’s for snacks for the two that could eat while I was in labor...totally unfair. Why we went to Sam's I don't know because we still have snacks galore! After Sam's, it was back home for a bath and getting everything else packed up. I guess that all took a little longer than I planned because of course we were still rushed for time leaving. Don't worry, we checked in on time!

Church Shower

2007-09-24T12:28:00.001-05:00

Yes, I made Matt come!

My Diaper Genie!

I got some of the cutest clothes!

Little bloomers with Mattie Anne monogrammed on them!

The church shower was so much fun! Very special because these friends are like my family here!

Mattie Anne's Nursery

2007-09-24T11:51:00.000-05:00

Mattie Anne's cribDaybed

Kinda of a tight spot for the rocking chair, but it actually works a lot better than you would think from the picture!Framed picture of the dress that my mom and all of her siblings wore home from the hospital, as well as, Jon and me. It wasn't in a condition for Mattie Anne to wear home but we are going to get a picture of her in it!
Shelf on the wall, with Mattie Anne's dedication dress hanging on it.

We haven't set a date for the dedication yet!

Mammaw Goldman's vanity from the bedroom set in the "back bedroom." Momma, Daddy, Jon and Matt all helped and refinished it! It looks absolutely beautiful. Momma and Daddy refinished the chest of drawers and the bed whenthey were here after Mattie Anne's birth.

(And yes that is me with the camera taking the picture in the mirror, Ha ha!)
Isn't it adorable!

Here are the pictures of Mattie Anne's Nursery! I think all that was missing in these photos was the rug...A green 4x4 round rug came in 4 days before Mattie Anne arrived! Just just in time! The daybed is in the nursery because we figured that with all the guests and only a 2-bed room house this would solve some housing issues. Matt and I could stay in the nursery with Mattie Anne (the day bed has a trundle) and our guests could stay in our bedroom. Well, in preparation for 2 sets of parents we put a bed up down stairs in Matt's study. Matt decided that the bed could stay because now that he is in clinical rotations he doesn't spend much time down there studying (it used to be 4-5 hours a day) and that it would be ok to boot the couch! It ended up that when my mom was here along with Matt's parents, the reason we needed another bed downstairs; they ended up staying in a hotel. We ended up staying in our room and Momma stayed downstairs. Then we stayed downstairs when daddy came into town and Momma and Daddy stayed upstairs (only a full bed downstairs!). So, needless to say, the daybed hasn't been used, except by Matt's brother and sister in law one weekend when Matt still thought that setting a bed up downstairs was a bad idea! Ha! Well, if nothing else the day bed has come in handy as a place to swaddle Mattie Anne and to fold clothes!

Baseball and a Flower Garden

2007-06-16T13:36:00.000-05:00

So, Matt and I have been in our rental house for almost a year now. It has taken me that long to figure out that we really need some color! After an O.K. from our landlord we decided to plant a flower garden! Well, it just so happened to fall right at the same time Mom and Dad were coming to visit. Ha Ha! Daddy had fun, he had to keep telling himself that he was having fun, but he was! I hooked up the computer to play the State game so he was happy! To the right is our before picture...Before this black area had some old bark and mainly leaves in it. These other two pics our the rewards of our hard work! We planted Hydrangeas that will hopefully grow and cover the lower part of the house and that window to the basement. We also planted Gerber daises, and I think the total count of lost flowers was only 4 or 5. Matt and Daddy have a hard time remembering who broke which flowers. I do believe the day was a success! I feel much better with my new flower garden giving my little house some color!

After a day of planting we rewarded ourselves with going to a baseball game. The Royals were in town playing the Phillies. When going to a Kansas City Royals game you have to just go for the atmosphere because you may not see a good game, those are rare with the Royals. So, we went for the fun atmosphere of baseball on a Sunday afternoon. We had wonderful weather, a great breeze to keep us cool and a pretty mild summer temp. But to top it all off, the Royals won! It was actually a good game, 4 home-runs, 3 from the Royals! It was a good end to a wonderful weekend with my parents!

Mattie Anne's Debut

2007-06-15T10:50:00.000-05:00

This past weekend mom and dad came up and we were able to see Mattie Anne up close with a 3d ultrasound. It was a pretty neat experience. They definitely confirmed that Mattie Anne is indeed a girl! So I think I'll believe them, and start thinking pink and getting the nursery ready!

She looks a little cramped up in there, but I guess that is something she'll have to get used to over the next 2 1/2 months! Her feet were in her face the whole time! At one point she took this huge yawn and it was so amazing. She already has the Goldman cheeks! And I'm thinking Matt's nose...Ya'll will have to give your opinion!

This is Mattie Anne with her feet straight up, her fist right in front of her nose, and face facing to the left

This is Mattie Anne, again facing the left, she has her hand by her mouth.

Look at those cheeks!

This is Mattie Anne facing more toward us this time. Her hands and feet are still in front of her.

This is one of my favorite pics. Mattie Anne's legs!

This is a close up of Mattie Anne's face (facing the left). I think she has Matt's nose!

We have a ton more pics but I thought these were probably the best. The DVD is really neat to watch also! It will be really neat to compare these pictures to her fist baby pictures. My anticipation is definitely building! Only 11 1/2 weeks left!

Kansas City Events

2007-06-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

So I am 27 weeks now. Almost to my 3rd trimester! Time really has flown...hopefully these last 3 months will also! Well, I have definitely grown! Getting bigger and bigger!

We went on vacation with Matt's family back in the middle of I May and it was wonderful! If any of you read Brandi's swimsuit story...I completely ditto it! But it was totally worth it to lay completely flat in the water! We went to Destin and had a relaxing weekend of sun and good food.

Memorial Day weekend was a lot of fun. We went to a free outside Bebo Norman concert, got a little wet at first but ended up being a beautiful day and wonderful concert. On Sunday evening Kansas City has Celebration at the Station which is a free out door event at the Liberty Memorial in down town Kansas City. The Kansas City symphony plays and there is a large firework show. Our Sunday school class and it was a great time of fellowship and fun!

I guess the family's biggest news is that Jon is in India. So far he seems to be doing great! He is very excited and spirits are up and everything sounds good He says that the food has been really good and is really cheap...which he was excited about. He starts hiking this week so we won't be able to hear as much from him.

Momma and Daddy are coming to see us! I'm very excited. They come up Thursday night and Friday I'm taking off and we are going to get a 3d-4d ultrasound. I am very excited about seeing Mattie Anne. The place we are going to lets you watch the ultrasound on a big screen TV and serve refreshments! We will get 4 4x4 sonogram photos in color and 2 5x7 photos on real photo paper. We also will get a DVD of the full sonogram and a CD with all the still shots. So I promise I'll be better about updating and get those pictures on here soon. For the Goldman's I'll be sure to bring everything to the reunion! That, I'm sure, will be the highlight of all of our weekend, but we also have a Kansas City Royal's game, Sunday School BBQ, Dragon boat races, and landscaping all lined up. Even though the landscaping sounds like the dull point Nancy Goldman is very excited about it, and my house desperately needs it!

Well since most of my news is for the future, I'll try to do my best to be better about updating and getting more pictures on here!

Mickleson and Mattie Anne News

2007-04-30T11:09:00.000-05:00

Mickelson's haircut is probably our most exciting news. Matt has been studying for boards and I go to work. Not much new there. I had a conference in Chicago this weekend; I had never been to Chicago so it was neat seeing the sites. I bought a Cubs sweatshirt that I'm sure will get much wear.

Oh, and we have new baby news! Now not only can you feel Mattie Anne, you can see her move. I was reading outside yesterday and I could feel her kick and I looked down and my stomach was also moving. It was pretty cool. So, of course, I call Matt to come and see which just leads to Matt staring at my stomach for 10 min! He did eventually see though! Mattie Anne is definitely moving around more and kicking is getting more and more forceful. I take it as constant assurance that she is alright. I find myself paranoid if I think I haven't felt her for a couple of hours. I can't wait to get to meet her!

We are headed to Destin with Matt's family next week! Exactly a week from tomorrow, we fly down. I am very excited; a week on the beach will be so much fun and relaxing. It will be good to get to spend some time with his family; it has been since Christmas that we have seen most of them! This is down side to living so far away. One day we will get closer to home! I'll post pics from out trip week after next!

Babies, Babies, Babies!

2007-04-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

When the Goldman's do something they tend to do it all in a group. Three weddings last year, four babies this year (so far)... My cousin Christy had a little boy in January of this year, I am due September 5th (a girl!), my cousin Brandi is due two weeks after me (a boy!), and we just found out that my cousin Rebecca is due in November! This is going to be such an exciting year. We don't have to worry about playmates...that is for sure! This does make me wish that I lived closer to home!

So we found out last week that we are having a little girl. Which is unheard of in the Safley family! This will be the sixth great-grandchild for Matt's grandmother on his dad's side, but first girl! I really thought I probably wouldn't have any girls, much less my first one being a girl. In other words we are thrilled! I had to completely change my way of thinking though! I already had sailboats picked out for the nursery and everything! Don't worry it hasn't taken me long to wrap my head around a girl and start thinking of pink and lace! We have decided on Madeline Anne Safley for her name, but we plan on calling her Mattie Anne. Mattie Anne wouldn't stay still for us during her ultrasound, she already has inherited mine and Matt's ADD! We are going to have our hands full!

It has been really exciting now that Mattie Anne is moving around a lot. Matt and I went back to Brookhaven for Samantha Smith's (now Spegg) wedding and my parents fought on touching my stomach to feel her move. Then when we got back home Matt had to feel because he said my parents had hogged all of the kicking! She is starting to get pretty forceful, especially when she is kicking my bladder! We are planning on having a 4D ultrasound so I hope we will get some better pics. The last ultrasound has a picture of the profile of Mattie Anne but me and Matt still argue over what is what. We also have a picture of her girly parts but doesn't look like anything to me...ha ha. I had an ultrasound at work (playing around) around 12 or 13 weeks and we have some neat pics of a hand. Those are a little better but I can't wait to do the 4D!

Well other than baby fever, not much is going on in our lives. I did start a new job a month ago. I am now a Clinical Research Coordinator for the Cardiovascular Research department. I am at the same hospital and am still working with cardiac cath lab patients, but know I am entering patients into research trials. I really like it. It is have a nursing job and have a desk job. Which will great when the baby comes. I still find it challenging, just in a different way. I really like the autonomy! Matt has finished up his last real class in school. He is now in a board review class and will spend the next 2 months preparing for boards which he will take in June (right before the Goldman Reunion!). He has some summer classes but they are lighter than his normal load which will give him some type of break before he starts clinical rotations in September.