EASTER!

We hope everyone had a great day! We sure did! My grandparents came down to spend Easter with us and we are so glad they did! We always love seeing them! :) The Easter Bunny came and left some goodies for Presley! She, of course, noticed the bubbles first and snatched them out and wanted us to blow them! She also got a duck hooded towel, a chocolate bunny (that should be fun to eat!), sidewalk chalk, an Elmo DVD, and a toddler Bible. It's really just a collection of Bible stories that are simple to read and have illustrations...it's super cute! {please excuse the junky background...it was well past midnight and the Easter Bunny was really tired!}

We went to the 9 am service at church and then headed to my parents' house. We ended up feeding Presley an early lunch and then putting her down for a nap before we even ate. She was just so cranky that I thought it might help to do that. Um, pretty much wrong! She only catnapped, with all of the excitement going on around the house! There were mini-meltdowns all over the place, but what's a holiday without a meltdown?! She ate again with us and then we had an egg hunt.

One of the first eggs Presley picked up had melted chocolate in it (because it's 109 degrees outside already!) and it went all over her outfit and all in her bucket. I try really hard to not be a perfectionist, but sometimes it just gets the best of me, and I just couldn't handle the melted chocolate everywhere. So I took Presley's basket away, had to clean her up and get her a new one. I tried to be cool, calm, and collected, tried being the key word. I'm sure I came across as a crazy psycho mom...I kinda felt like one after it was all over with! Sorry about that everybody!

Anyways, nothing ever turns out exactly how you plan. And we still had a great day and I got some cute pics!
And thanks to Karri! She's normally our Nanny on Sunday mornings with feeding Presley breakfast and getting her dressed for church, but this morning she woke us all up (thank goodness, because I had turned my alarm off instead of hitting snooze!). AND she got Presley completely ready! No easy feat, I tell you! Thanks again friend!

Sunday's Coming

Wow! I saw this video on Kelly's blog. I have to say, tears were streaming down my face watching this! It is SO incredibly amazing to know that no matter how much we fall short of the glory of God, he still loves us enough to have suffered the most excruciating, humiliating death on earth in order to take away our sins. AMAZING I tell you! This weekend is so much more than eggs, bunnies and good food! It is about our Savior who is ALIVE today!

dialing eggs

We dyed eggs for Easter today. Oh, I mean "dialed" some eggs! That's what Jaden & Kole kept calling it! :) Ha ha!

I just noticed that I didn't even take a picture of Jeremiah and Presley dying some eggs. I was too busy doing my own! Ha ha! Not really, I only did 3, but I was helping Jaden with his....so that's my excuse! Presley only 'helped' her daddy with a couple. And by help I mean drop them in the water and crack them! Then she got bored, well they both did, and went and played with toys!

I think we are ready for Sunday afternoon's hunt! =)

22 months!

Presley is 22 months old! I can hardly believe it! Just in the past 2 weeks it seems like she is more grown up than ever. She can completely tell you what she is thinking about in full sentences. It's crazy, I tell you!

Her favorite things right now are blowing bubbles in her milk, looking at a picture after I've taken one on my camera (she says "I see" immediately afterward and won't stop until I let her see it), being thrown up in the air, 'flying' on our feet, and taking showers. The shower thing kinda surprised me. She just recently started liked it, I guess it's just getting older and used to water being in her face. But it is much easier than giving her a bath and she still gets to play with her toys so it's a win-win for everyone!

Presley puckers up for a kiss now! It's incredibly adorable! =) I don't know where she picked this up from because Jeremiah and I certainly don't go around kissing each other like this. But regardless, when you ask for a kiss and you see those lips headed for you, you kinda melt!

She still loves reading books. Her favorites right now are I Already Know I Love You and I Love You, Stinky Face. The first one has a baby on a couple of pages and she loves that. She is quite obsessed with babies at the moment. I'm sure it's because she is more aware of them now. It's funny because she even calls toddlers her own age and preschool aged kids...babies! & If Presley sees any picture of a moon in a book or on TV, she starts signing "I see the moon and the moon sees me". Actually she does it when she sees the real moon too. It's pretty cute!

We've started introducing nice manners. Before you get all "she's not even 2 yet, give me a break" on me, let me explain. We are not sticklers for this yet. But there will come a day when Presley needs to be courteous and it is a lot easier if you've just done it from the beginning, believe me. I've been around my nephews and niece from their beginnings and I've seen the way my mom has raised them with this motto and they are all so well mannered. It's such a refreshing change! Of course they aren't perfect, no one is, but for the most part, they say nice things back to you. {GREAT job Mama!} We've always said thank you back to Presley when she gives us something. But now we are incorporating please, and sir and ma'am. She has picked up on the please quite well and says "peas" sometimes without us telling her too. And she says sir or ma'am after we say it to her and it's so sweet!

Presley can now climb on the coffee table, couch and dinning room chairs by herself! Yay! Mommy will be headed for a heart attack in no time!

And finally she calls every bug or even anything that resembles a bug, a bee. She'll say "shooo bee" and wave her hands around. Or she'll say "blah bee" if she sees a dead bug.

The cereal pictures are included because today was the first day Presley ate real cereal. And by that I mean in a bowl with actual milk in it! And the whale outfit is a recent purchase from Carter's and was just too cute to not include! :)

Art Festival

I should have titled this post National Lampoon's trip to the Art Festival! That's pretty much how all of our outings go! If something adverse can happen, it will! Ha ha! My Mom & I joke all the time how we should have a reality show....I think we would put the Kardashians to shame! ;)
Anyway, yesterday we went to the Art Festival in downtown Milton. It was the last day and we of course, went at the very end of the day due to a nap and a trip to the grocery store. But we had fun just walking around and then eating treats on the boardwalk. We had gotten some kettle corn and Italian ice. My bag of popcorn was open (first mistake) and sitting on the ground beside me (second mistake)! Well, Presley grabbed it, of course when I had the icee cup and spoon in my hands and she proceeded to dump a third of it on the ground then ran over to the railing and stuck her head in between the bars. When she pulled it out, her bow fell down to the watery rocks. I could have cried! You might think that's a tad dramatic, but I just bought all new bows and they are not cheap!

After like 5 minutes of us all trying to reach over and get it, these 2 guys came over to us. And the younger guy just hopped over the railing and got it. I greatly appreciated it! For the record, Kameron wanted to jump over there and get it but I could just see that going awry, so I wouldn't let him. When the guy took like 2 seconds to get the bow, Kameron said "I could have done that!"

pre-bow losing moment!

Presley being sweet, smelling the flowers!

Kameron's party

Here are some pictures from last Sunday. We rented a bounce house/water slide and just had the party at my parents' house. The slide was a huge hit! Jaden said it was "the best day ever!" He also said he wanted a water slide for his birthday. Let's hope we can entice him with some cheaper party options! ;) We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and had an ice cream cake! If I didn't know any better, I would think it was July!

See Presley's face in this picture? It is priceless! She loved the slide....that little daredevil! She only went down once in my brother's lap. After that, she slid right beside him on her own! :) **click on it to make it bigger so it's easier to see**

And I had to include this picture of Presley and Sosa. She used to not like Sosa. I guess because she is big and kinda scary looking to a little toddler. But now, Presley loves her! All I hear is "bye bye sosa" over and over when we leave my parents' house!

Presley funnies

Presley is pretty much always a riot to be around with the things that she says and/or does. But I decided to jot down a few things that she's been doing lately for our own memories!

-she calls all older men, whether it be in books, on tv, or in real life, papaw.

-she holds your face in her hands and gets really close to you and then opens her eyes really big and raises her eyebrows and then just stares at you. It probably sounds really creepy, but I promise it's so adorable!

-when something is yucky, no matter what it is, she says "yuck, poo poo, yuck!" It's really embarrassing when out it public and she says this because 8 out of 10 times it's not poop she's referring too.

-and finally, she says NO now! Yay! ::insert thick sarcasm here!:: And Presley doesn't just say it, most of the time she screams it! She's been saying no and ow together. Like as in consecutively saying no, ow, no, ow, no, ow! That's also really fun to be given the side eye out in public as your daughter is screaming no and ow at you. I just smile and hope that they've been around a toddler before and know that I'm not beating my child when they're not looking!

& here is Presley's first REAL ponytail! =) Excuse the quality...it was taken with my cell phone because I had to snap it quickly while she was being occupied with a book. My baby's growing up!

zoo party!

We've been busy doing a ton of fun things this weekend! We attended a birthday party Saturday for one of Presley's friends. She had a GREAT time! What more could you ask for in a party....pb&j, toys, friends and of course....cupcakes! The theme was "celebrating two with a zoo!" and Presley dressed up as a zebra. She was so adorable! She didn't wear the ears at the party, but I had to get a picture of her with them on. Surprisingly she left her outfit alone. Don't be surprised if you see this little zebra reappear around Halloween! ;) Then today we had Kameron's party. It was also a ton of fun, but that's a whole other post for tomorrow!

All this outfit was, was white duct tape on black clothes and foam ears on a headband. I wish I was so creative that I could claim the idea myself, but alas, I'm not that good! I got the idea from here.

Yummy cupcakes!

Presley took one of the lions (that was part of the decor) and totally toted it around for about half the party. It was pretty cute!

A Room Full of Crosses

A ROOM FULL OF CROSSES

A young man was at the end of his rope one day. He felt as though he had tried everything he knew to remedy his situation. Seeing no way out, he dropped to his knees in prayer.

"Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy of a cross to bear."

The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear its weight, just place your cross inside this room. Then, open that other door and pick out any cross you wish."

The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he sighed as he did as he was told. Upon entering the other door, he saw many crosses, some so large that the tops were not visible. Then he spotted a small cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he whispered.

And the Lord replied, "My son, that is the cross you just brought in."

The young man had just been taught that when life's problems seem overwhelming, he should look around and see the problems of others.

He probably will find — as we all would — that he is far more fortunate than he ever imagined.

When is the last time you stopped and looked around to consider your blessings?

-Tim Woodward


I found this recently and just wanted to share it. It brought me some pretty good insight.

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?