365 days = happiness & true joy

One year ago yesterday my family looked like this...

We were given a second gift from God when our little E was born on August 17, 2010.

Here she is today in all of her feisty glory!

I know no one is shocked that she didn't want to cooperate for her picture this month. So she's looking quite peeved because I stuck her in the crib (we tried going outside but the concrete was too hot and fake grass even hotter!).

While not yet walking, she is quite the mover and shaker. E, you love climbing the stairs and have mastered "falling" in just the right way to get back down (Daddy is supposed to put the baby gates in before he leaves :-)

This one, on the other hand, didn't mind cheesing it up for the camera!

Presenting...

12 Months of E!!!

This has been an amazing year and I am feeling so blessed today. Just a few quick notes so I remember all that you're doing at this stage...

• you crawl, but don't quite walk
• you're pulling up and cruising around using the furniture
• you have 7 1/2 teeth
• you LOVE to eat everything but avocados
• you grunt A LOT (eghhhhh)
• you say or have said: ma ma, da da, all done, tickle tickle, nite nite, bye bye
• you sleep pretty good, 2 naps (about 1 1/2 hrs each) and from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m., although you cry in your sleep (which makes momma sad)
• you HATE getting in your bed and cry for a few minutes when we lay you down 99.9% of the time
• you're still nursing but I can tell that those days are almost over (which is a good thing...the milk wagon's gotta end some time)

I might be adding to this list as things come to me but I can say with certainty that this sweet, fire-y, little girl has added to our family immensly. We can't wait to see the little girl you will grow to be.

Also, we're having a party for Miss E on Sunday and I can't wait to share all the details (here's hoping I don't screw up the cake... but if I do, there's always Baskin Robbins ice cream cake as a backup).

Bye-bye baby. Boo hoo.

My sweet little E was officially 11 months old on Sunday. Its was quite a challenge to get a pic and I eventually had to turn on my flash (gasp) to keep the photo from being blurry.

She says "mama" "dada" "bye-bye" "nite, nite" waves, claps, commando crawls, and other general awesomeness. We love her so much (even if she is extremely demanding and expresses every emotions the second she feels it with extreme gusto).

But even more exciting (or sad, I'm not sure which, MY BABY!!!), is that I'm planning her first b-day party. Like so many others, I'm jumping on the rainbow train. I don't think there will actually be any literal rainbows, just the color scheme. EVERYTHING will be Roy G. Biv'd. Here is a glimpse at my Pinterest board for the par-tay.

I've only just gotten started so if you have any great ideas or links, even if they're not rainbow themed but can be adapted, pass them my way!

Sum, sum, summertime: Missouri style

Like I mentioned last week, we had a wonderful time in Missouri during June. Summer in Las Vegas just doesn't quite hold the same appeal. I hate missing out on things like this...

The strawberries were dropped off by a friend and while we had to rush to use them, it was such a nice gesture from a "neighbor." I barely recognize my neighbors and would be uber cautious taking produce from them (I'm sure they're all perfectly nice, just proving my point that they're strangers to me).

This cherry is from one of three (maybe 4) trees at my MaMa's house. It's a white cherry (but we call them yella) and they are delicious. They make the most scrumptious cobbler, more like peach than a tart red cherry. Unfortunately there were only enough this year to fill a large sour cream container. My mom and dad think the tree took quite a beating in a hard rain earlier in the spring that knocked off all the flowers. And, on an even sadder note, the day I was leaving for the airport we saw that one tree had been split in half during a storm the night before. The whole thing had to go. I have never seen another tree of this type anywhere and definitely haven't seen this variety of cherry in a store. It makes me sad to think that its a dying breed. Like so much in small town, USA.

What we were lacking in yellow cherries we definitely made up for in gooseberries. A lot of people don't like them but I think a slice of gooseberry pie is one of life's great pleasures. My mom's bushes are especially beautiful and the little red fruits were sweet enough to eat right off the branch (something I wouldn't try with green berries...yuck! They need sugar, sugar, sugar!). There was no pie or cobbler made from these yet though because my mom saves them for our church's annual sausage and pancake supper. There is an elderly man who attends each year in the hopes of getting a slice of gooseberry pie and my mom wouldn't want him to be disappointed. I love that she calls him Mr. Moore. She is 65 years old but he is still her elder and she thinks of him as adult. And I'm sure she is just a young girl in his eyes (ask G, her Grandma Boo-ah is better than any 3 year old playmate!). I think I need to start teaching my kiddos to call people Mr. Smith or Mr. Jones instead of addressing them by their first name. We'll see how that goes.

And these white hydrangeas. I don't think I need to say anything else. Ok, I don't need to but I will. I loved that G didn't differentiate between these flowers and the dandelions she plucked from the grass. Each bouquet was just as beautiful. There's a life lesson there. I'm just sure of it.

We celebrated both the girls during June also. G had her annual Half Birthday party, scoring some great gifts to keep at Aunt J's and Boo-ah and Papa's. Gimme a break, okay? Her birthday is on December 25. Last year we didn't even get to her gifts until the 26th and I had to force it on everyone because everybody was all celebrated out. So the girl gets a half birthday. Its not gonna be fun explaining it the the little one, though.

E celebrated 10 months. Or should I say WE celebrated having her around for 10 months. What a delight she can be (and so feisty, too).

That doesn't even begin to cover the wonderful things that we did and the great family time we had but thats it for my Missouri posts. I could go on forever (especially if my sister sent me her pics, too) but it's time for new things. Finishing up G's room (oh, did I mention I got a cute little mirror for her gallery wall in Missouri?), planning a 1st birthday party, and getting this crazy house in some kind of order. There are still a few lingering items in my suitcase from the MO trip. That should probably be my first priority...

7 months!!!

Can't believe little E is already well over the halfway mark to a year. I love her SOOOOO much (teeth clenched, wanna take a little bite of her, "SOOOOO")!!!

Here she is, chillin' with her sign. She's a little slumpy still but we're working on that whole sitting up thing. Its over-rated anyway, right? Kinda like Pittsburgh in the tourney. Phew, what a game (yes, March Madness is alive and well at my casa)!

And here's her big sis getting in on the picture action. This is her first toothy smile on cue. I love it! G also did her first drawing of people (that actually sort of resemble people) right after this shot was taken. Since its chalk I can't save it so I snapped a pic and will immortalize it here in the blogosphere.

The pic is of (from L to R) "me as a baby in a swaddle, my daddy, and E grown up into a big girl with ponies (pony tails)." I think the monthly pics make her a little jealous of the baby which is why I always let her crawl in the crib for a shot of them both (thank goodness she only weighs 28 pounds).

4 months and lovin' life!

My tiny E turned 4 months old on the 17th and she is a definitely a true joy. She weighs in at a hefty 14 pounds, 6 ounces which is a change from the G-ster (who I call the white wisp because of her slight size and pale skin/hair).

I love using the chalkboard to archive this monthly milestone. I "borrowed" the idea from Shannon at Bless Our Nest. I've added a little drawing in the corner for each month (books and apple for Sept, jack-o-lantern for Oct, turkey for Nov, Christmas tree for Dec). Here are the previous months pics (posted to the old bloggeroo and I figure you all want to see my cute kid so I'll add them here).

I tried to find a cute little old fashioned chalkboard like the one used on the inspiration blog but didn't find one in time. A little chalkboard paint ($8) and an unfinished wooden plaque ($3) from WalMart, along with some brown craft paint that I already had did the trick on the cheap. Plus, E's big sis loves to play with it between photo sessions. Unfortunately, I had to give away the paint when we moved so it was pretty expensive for one-time use but I'll definitely be getting some more because I love how it turned out! I already have some ideas for how to use more in our new house!!! Stay tuned!