Happy Birthday Kameron!

12 years ago this sweet boy came barreling in my life. I was 14 and he was instantly like my little brother. I loved showing him off to all my friends! :) He coined the phrase "bednight snack" in our family. You know the snack that you have before bed! & "promise me that" when he was trying to say I promise you....whatever. (usually he was arguing with you and he thought he was right!) He has always had a sensitive and sweet heart and a charming and funny personality. We have such a great time with him whatever we do! I can't wait to see the amazing things God has in store for this bright soul! =) We love ya kid!

OH MY GOSH! He's almost as tall as I am! Ahhhh...I can't believe it!

This kid loves some Mexican food! As soon as we put her down she said "mmmm, a chip!" and grabbed one and started devouring it! She even ate an entire cheese quesadilla! Who can blame her, those things are delicious!

overwhelmed

Sorry that I've been a bad blogger lately. I feel like I have 50 million things piled on my plate right now. Some of them important, some not. I have this work thing looming over my head that I have to do on my time off. And we have a ton of stuff going on starting tomorrow until the beginning of May. And although I'm not in a spring cleaning mode, I am in a spring redecorating mode! Everywhere I look in this house I see stuff that needs to be done...floors, new paint, etc. I know that these are not on a time-line, but I'm just sick of having them on my to-do list. I mean, we've owned our house for 3 1/2 years already, we should be done decorating it! And then of course, there is the day to day laundry, cleaning, cooking. I feel very overwhelmed right now! I just need to make a massive to-do list and prioritize the important things and not worry about the rest. Sometimes easier said than done!

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:34

sharing a snack

Presley was eating some goldfish yesterday and decided to share them with one of her toys! She calls all of the Mickey Mouse characters "mimi"!

because I have SO much free time....

I have been in the awful habit lately of finding new blogs. I'm not going and looking for them, trust me, I read way too many to begin with! One was suggested to me by my friend Karri, but the other ones I've just randomly found over the past week. I thought I would share so you can join me in spending hours reading blogs! :)

him & her, plus four~ cute little family who has a singleton and spontaneous triplets...can you imagine? Also, check out the parties & projects tab....such cute stuff!

loving on one (or two, or three...)~ a sweet little couple who adopted their first little girl and are now pregnant with #2! Their story is so fascinating to me because they have a very open adoption with their birth mom, which doesn't seem that common.

forever folding laundry~ a crafty momma to 3 munchkins. I just love the way she writes. Seriously I spent an hour yesterday reading her older posts!

sunny side up~ a momma who has mastered the art of organization with 3 little ones. Her home is beautiful, and she's got all the posts to prove it. I don't know how she does it, but I'm hoping if I keep reading some of it will rub off on me!

sit a spell~ my favorite new one. A Texas family who packed up their things and moved to Haiti to serve the Lord. Their story is nothing short of inspirational. She has such a gift for writing and speaking straight to your heart. LOVE it!

who says a girl's best friend can't be stuffed?

Presley has a few favorite stuffed animals. One is her puppy pal, Violet. They go way back to Presley's first Christmas. Another is her zebra puppy, um.....Puppy. Real inventive huh? Presley got her this past Christmas. She loves baby dolls of course, but out of her other animals, she loves these 2 puppies the most. This morning she wanted to put puppy in her highchair and feed her! Presley was so sweet and strapped her in, put on the bib and then gave her some juice! Presley amazes me at how caring and loving she is sometimes..... and then I wait 5 seconds and she hits me! And I'm reminded that she's a toddler!

21 months!

This month (& post!) definitely snuck up on me! Not much has changed from 20 months except in increase in language and attitude! ;)

~Presley has started calling us Mommy & Daddy instead of Dada & Mama. It's so sweet and she sounds so grown up!

~ Presley LOVES to be outside, she could spend all day out there! She also LOVES going to church! We tell her on Sundays where we are going and she shouts "Yay!" :)

~For the past week, she has been eating awful. I mean more than just being a picky toddler or losing an appetite because of a cold. She even refused all of her favorite foods. I was getting super worried....but at least she was still drinking like normal to keep herself hydrated. But this morning she got up and started eating again. Hallelujah! I just hope the bad eating is over for good!

Well, I know that's a super short post, but that's really it! I told you not much has changed!

nothing important

Not too much has been happening around these parts....just the normal everyday life and work. But I didn't want anyone to think that we had fallen off the face of the earth! My last couple of days at work were kinda rough (nothing in particular, I just hate it sometimes...everyone can sympathize with that, right?) So I came home to these on Friday thanks to my sweet, sweet husband. =) He's so wonderful! (=

Here is the first monogram that I've done that actually looks like a monogram! :) It's taken a long time to get to here...it's not as easy as it seemed like it would be. Now I just need to practice with some appliques and placement on shirts. This one was just on a piece of fabric and it was so not centered!

HOW is it the middle of March already? & time for yard work again? Ugh! I love enjoying the benefits of it, just not the doing it! But I am ready for the smell of freshly groomed grass and cookouts! mmmm...one of the best parts of the season! We've gone to the park some recently and my parents have a big outdoor play structure in their backyard that Presley loves. So it's got me thinking that we need one in our backyard. Presley loves to climb and slide and swing. And our backyard is so boring! It desperately needs a swing set! I'm going to try and convince that wonderful husband of mine that Presley needs it for her birthday! Cross your fingers for me!

Ok, last random thing of the day. I found this website the other day. & fell in love. Super cheap bows! Most of the larger bows that you find in stores are $7 or $8. It can get kinda pricey, quick. But these are only $2-3!!! Score! I ordered a bunch last night and received an email this morning that they were being shipped today. Hopefully they will be good quality. Anyway, just thought I would share my great find!

toes and a tea party

Last night I went on a Mommy date with some friends. We got pedicures and had dinner at Macaroni Grill! It was a lot of fun! :) & Jeremiah and Presley went to his mom's house and had dinner and a play date with her. She got Presley a tea set and Presley LOVES it! She will pour some into the little cups and then she hands you one (always a gracious host and serves her guests first!) and then she sips some and immediately says "yum!" It's so cute!

Presley had to have her toenails painted as well today! It's the first time she's had them painted. They are incredibly cute, but they make her seem incredibly big! :( My baby's growing up!

& now a completely random and hilarious story~
Last week we had gone to Olive Garden and gotten some yummy Andes mints. I had some on my nightstand, you know in case of any emergency where I might need some chocolate! On Tuesday night, I was getting ready for work and Presley was running around as usual. She came into the bathroom very causally and I noticed that she had some brown stuff all around her mouth. I kind-of freaked out for a second thinking that we don't ever leave stuff out that she could get into. I was walking around trying to find the culprit, when I noticed that there was only one mint on my nightstand and there was a wrapper on the floor. I picked it up and said "Presley what happened to this?" she replied with "MMMM!!" Ha ha! I was pretty impressed that the wrapper was left intact! :)

Is 10 am too early for a nap?

Not for Presley! Lately when I have been in her room picking up or folding her clothes, she has been reaching for the crib and saying "up". Then when I put her in there she waves and says "nigh, nigh!" She gets her pappy and screams for me to cover her up. & then she turns on her bird music box and just lays there. Heaven forbid if I try to get her out of there before she's ready.....a total meltdown ensues! Normally I have to bribe her with going outside or getting some juice to get her to come out of there! My kid has the weirdest, I mean quirkiest, habits, right?

Sunday pictures

Presley loves to put on chapstick! It's hilarious that she pokes out her little lips in the perfect shape to put some on. She finds it so entertaining to go through my makeup drawer and pull out brushes and paint her face with them! I think we are in trouble if this is any indication of the future! Ha ha! :)

She looks kinda sad in this picture, but her dress is just so cute in it, I couldn't resist posting. We all know how I LOVE birds and owls, especially on clothing! :)

20 months!

Presley just keeps growing like a little weed! I can't believe that just 20 short months ago we brought her home from the hospital as a little bundle of sweetness! And now, we can't contain her! She is in constant motion...I wish I had a fourth of the energy that is in that little body! Presley is very headstrong and it gets her into trouble most days! Poor thing she gets it honestly! I just hope she learns how to redirect it for her good!
Presley is still in 18-24 month clothes and in a size 5 shoe. Most people comment how petite she is. But I think she's been growing through a growth spurt for the last week or so. She has been eating everything in sight! She'll eat all of her food, sometimes even second helpings, then a short time later, she will want a snack. It's like I'm raising a boy! ;)
My favorite new Presley words are: all bebber (all better), yaya (light-I have no idea about this one!), boo (fruit- again why that?), wow, whoa, aw man (this one is hilarious because she says it in perfect context!). Presley is now saying 2 word phrases now. The other night she said "more shiken" when she wanted more chicken. Yay! I'm excited for this new communication!
And probably one of the most precious things Presley does right now is pray. We always pray before we eat and she'll bow her head with her hands together and then at the end she will say "amen". But now she does it on her own. She will bow her head and mumble and then lift her head and say "amen"! =) PRECIOUS, I tell you!

Oh, I almost forgot....teeth! Presley has 10 teeth now. You may be thinking, big deal! But it has taken us forever to get a mouth full!

weekend review

Here is the recap of our fun weekend! Thursday~ fun playdate with friends

Friday~ laundry, L&M consignment sale where I got 3 toys for Presley's birthday that were $5 each! Score!

I can't remember which day this was, but it's pretty funny. Jeremiah is combing her
hair while she picked up playing his PS3 game! Ha ha!

Saturday~ lunch date with Meemaw & cousin Chloe, date night for J & I. We ate at Buffalo Wild Wings, yum! & saw Just Go With It....funniest movie I've seen in a long time! It was a nice, needed night out!

Sunday~ Presley's nose really started pouring down! :( We've only been to church like once in the past month due to all of us being sick at random times...I really miss it! We attempted to go to WinterJam in Mobile that night. When we got there they had reached capacity and weren't letting anyone else in. But sweet Sidewalk Prophets came out and played 3 songs for us. They were awesome! We were all pretty bummed about it. But maybe 3 lost souls got to go in instead of us and were changed forever! :)


Monday~ Valentine's day (see below post!) We delivered cupcakes to my mom and the kids and Presley played around for a little bit. She has on Kameron's skate helmet in the pics!


totally random, but I rocked the weekend with these babies! They are Sally Hansen Nail Effects strips & are all the rage right now. & they are awesome! Super easy to put on, they look great and last for a while. Hope y'all had a great weekend too!

Valentine's Day 2011

Hope y'all had a great day today full of lots of love and good food, and maybe even a little chocolate! :) We had a pretty good day. Poor Jeremiah has been sick with a cold and Presley is still snotty and GROUCHY! I wish we could all stay well for a few days around here...anyways that's a whole other post! I'm not super big into Valentine's Day. We always do super low-key stuff, like simple dinners & cards and oreos for gifts! :)

And this year was no different. We had dinner after Presley went to bed. I made Pioneer Woman's comfort meatballs and oh my gosh, there are simply no words to describe them. These have got to be on the menu in Heaven! ;)

& I made cupcakes, of course! They were pretty yummy and kid-approved!

Presley was saying (& signing) more, more, more! I think she liked them! :)

Presley made out with some pretty awesome gifts from family- stuffed animals, candy, a bear sippy cup and bowl. We gave her a monkey hooded towel which kind-of freaks me out because it has hands and feet sewn onto it. But the face is really cute! She also got a sucker, but we didn't break it out yet, maybe tomorrow she can chow down on that....outside!

The monkey towel also has a tail, which I think is pretty cute! Who knows how it will hold up in the wash though. It might have to get cut off if it ends up too raggedy! Ha!

big girl bath time

Recently we've moved on to some big girl things. Presley has had a "regular" toothbrush for a while now but I bought "regular" toothpaste the other day & she LOVES it! :) Don't worry it still doesn't have any fluoride in it. & unless her gums are sore, she loves to brush them by herself. If they are sore...I have to hold her down and do it myself. :(

Presley stands up on a stool now in front of the sink. She can almost reach the water to wash her hands. When she's brushing her teeth, she rinses off her toothbrush by herself! ha ha!

We just went from brushing her hair with the soft baby brush to combing it with a comb. & Presley now has tangles in her hair. TANGLES! Those things can't be in my baby's hair! ;) I told my mom I'm going to have to buy some detanglizer spray soon to help!

could it be Thursday already please?

I am so excited for this weekend! I know what you're thinking, it's only Tuesday lady! But that means I'm only 2 nights away from starting my weekend! :) I have FIVE glorious days off and we have a ton of fun things planned....play dates, real dates!, a concert, and of course Valentine's Day! Not that we do anything big, but I love a day that celebrates with chocolate! ha ha! Hope your weekend comes soon too!

too much Yo Gabba Gabba leads to this-

your child knowing that she can put a spoon on her nose for a cool trick!

I'm no Pioneer Woman,

but I can follow her directions! Ha ha! MAN her cinnamon rolls are delish! I, no, WE made them yesterday. I say we because I drove my husband batty with "but they don't really look like hers do" and he so lovingly rolled them out with me! :) So I'm giving him some credit! Everything is from scratch so they took forever to make. Seriously, like hours. But I think they were worth it. The recipe made 48 rolls, so we gave away a lot, ate a lot and still have some in the freezer! In true Pioneer Woman fashion, I took photos of the process. ;) Well, not all of it, because my hands got kinda messy!

raw dough, then below sprinkled with the good stuff

all rolled in a pan...the second batch came out MUCH prettier!

YUM! the finished product!

The icing is very maple-y, coffee tasting. It's good, but I will probably try some other icing recipe next time just for something different. Oh, and her orange rolls look insanely tasty. You better believe I'll be trying that recipe soon!

Friday night cuteness

almost a week later...

and we still aren't up to par around here. Poor Presley! We tried eating normal food on Tuesday and that just resulted in well, more sickness. Presley finally got to drink milk and eat some oatmeal this morning. You would have thought that I had never fed her before! She kept pointing to the bowl and saying "ohmeal, mmmm!" over and over again! It was kinda sad! I really, really hope that this weekend is better than our last one!