The Souders' Saga

My Hot Valentine

2012-02-13T07:47:00.000-08:00

Grammie and Poppa took P for the night on Saturday which gave Brandon and I a chance to have a Valentine's date! Love date nights! Brandon took me to a pretty water front restaurant and dinner was amazing, but that wasn't the best part of my Valentine's.

The best part was all the work Brandon put into getting me just the right present even though I ended up spoiling his plans. He was pretty clever this year. First, he attempted looking at all my boards on Pinterest, but said that was way over his head. Then he found a Victorias Secret catalog that I had left next to the bath tub. He flipped through it looking for a page that I had marked. Unfortunately for him, I hadn't even had a chance to look at it yet. Then he decided to just go and get me some comfy clothes from Victorias Secret. He said he knew I would appreciate anything with an elastic waste. That's where I sort of interrupted his present buying.

Saturday morning I had to take pictures, so Brandon was in charge of P. Since she was going to her Grammie and Poppa's, I wasn't going to get to see her until the next day. Lucky for me, I finished early and immediately called Brandon to see if I could meet up with them before he handed Presley over. Turns out they were headed to the mall to buy my Valentine's present. Oops!

Now fast forward to later that evening. We were getting ready for dinner and I mentioned to Brandon that I really NEEDED to buy Breaking Dawn...like tonight. Well, Brandon walks out of the room and comes right back in with Breaking Dawn!!! It was supposed to be another Valentine's surprise, but I kind of ruined that one, too.

After dinner, the only thing I wanted to do was get my Twilight on. We stuck the movie in and nothing. Our DVD player was been on the fritz for a while now, so it wasn't much of a surprise. Poor Brandon. He knew how much I wanted to watch the movie, so he ran out and bought a new DVD player. Unfortunately, we didn't have the right cables to set it up, so he went BACK out and bought new cables. Finally, I was able to watch my movie!

I sure am lucky to have such a wonderful Valentine! I love him so much, and love that we are celebrating our 10th Valentines together!

Love you, Mr. Souders.

Friday Phone Dump

2012-02-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

PLaying Catch up! This post is the last couple of weeks combined.

Another trip to the park and the world's cheesiest smile:)

Presley has been wanting to get "parkly" (sparkly) toes and nails, so we decided to take her for a mani/pedi after MDO. She loved it until she found out that she could only get one color application. She picked pink with glitter, but before we left she really wanted blue and yellow. I think next time I'll just have them paint each nail a different color.

And here is my sweet little flower in full on melt down mode. I can't remember what had her so upset, but I'm sure it was because I wouldn't let her stay in the tub for 5 hours or use my razor or pour out all my lotion and so on and so forth.

My Mom and I let P skip MDO and we all headed to Canton for a day of shopping. Presley found a phone, and apparently I was too loud for her to hear her conversation. She kept shushing me while she was on it.

P and I met up with our friends at the galleria for some indoor play, shopping, and lunch. The rest of the world decided to do the same thing, so I was a little nervous at the play place. Luckily, we left without being trampled, so all in all it was a great time.

We treated Presley to her favorite yogurt place last friday night and let her pick the toppings on her own. You can't see very clearly in the picture, but she chose cherry (pink) yogurt, mini reeses pieces, gummy worms, jelly beans, gummy bears, and 2 cherries.

Grammie and Poppa came over last weekend, and Presley found Grammie's lipgloss.

Doing the splits (always showing off to a crowd)

While I was doing laundry, I let Presley play in her room. She was being awfully quite, so naturally I assumed the worst. Instead, I found her in her closet, sitting on her ladybug rocker, engrossed in a book. It was one of those "I love this kid so much" moments.

Presley discovered the drums at my friends house, and she played them really really loud.

The drumming duo (Brooks and P). I have a video that I'll post later of their performance.

With the new baby coming, I have been an organizing maniac. I really needed to find more storage for P's closet, and I found just the thing at target. Presley was pretty excited about her new storage system too.

Last, this is Presley playing with her baby doll named, Landon, after her little cousin. She picked the name all by herself. And no, it wasn't raining inside. P just really really likes her raincoat.

That pretty much wraps up the past two weeks for us! Happy Friday, y'all!

6 months: 24 weeks

2012-02-09T13:56:00.000-08:00

Size of baby: 2lbs and 14 inches long (according to baby gaga)

Total Weight Gain: 10lbs

Maternity Clothes: Not yet. Although my jeans are starting to get pretty uncomfortable around my belly

Gender: GIRL!

Baby bump: GROWING! and beginning to get in the way.

Sleep: Up until last night, it was great (other than the 4-5 times I get up to go to the bathroom)! Baby girl moves so much at night, and kicks really hard. She had me up all night last night. Presley moved a lot, but never really hurt me when she kicked, so this is a fun new experience.

Cravings: Anything sweet. My sweet tooth is completely out of control!

What I miss most: wine and margaritas...not even going to try and lie.

Symptoms: None really. I have a good amount of energy, and am hoping it will last as long as possible.

What I'm looking forward to: Holding my sweet baby girl in my arms and seeing Presley with her little sister for the first time.

Monthly comparison:

Wordless Wednesday: Bubbles

2012-02-08T07:01:00.000-08:00

PTM Let's do 52- Week 4&5 (and a surprise)

2012-02-06T13:13:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm behind in posting my weekly pics.

4/52-Unexpected Perspective

5/52- Get out from behind the camera (self with loved ones)

and for the surprise, each week Annie does a blog post with the next weeks theme and her photo picks of the week. Shockingly, my photo (5/52) was chosen as one of the picks of the week! I admire Annie Manning and her work so much, and it is such an honor just to have her look at one of my pictures .

Click HERE for her blog post.

Super Bowl Halftime Show of our Own

2012-02-05T17:25:00.000-08:00

We had to end the video because as Presley stated, "Where my microphone? I can't sing."

Get Out!

2012-02-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

From behind the camera!

This was my Project 52 assignment this week, and I'm so happy I did it! I am hardly ever in pics. I much prefer to stay behind the camera. I had about 15 extra minutes before going to meet my mom, and wanted to get my assignment completed. I dusted off the tripod and turned on my self timer. So easy, and I got a couple of pics that I will treasure. So Mama's, Get out from behind the camera! I want to see your faces, too!

Here was this weeks PTM 5/52: Get Out from Behind the Camera Submission

(Also, I am trying to make a better effort to watermark the photo's on my blog. I have had too many people recently finding their babies pictures being stolen and used elsewhere).

Wordless Wednesday: Puddle Jumper

2012-02-01T07:30:00.000-08:00

2 Year Pics

2012-01-29T07:27:00.000-08:00

Presley needed to model a skirt for Perfectly Precious Boutique, and I decided to take the opportunity to get some 2 year pictures in. The beginning of the photo shoot started out pretty rough. P was in a super bad mood! Luckily, she was able to overcome her funk and was all poses and smiles. Here are a few of my favs:

Yes, this is considered a few. I took close to 200!
We forgot the belt that went with the skirt for the first half of the pictures, so we had to do two photo shoots in one day. It worked out though because I found some giant bows to put in P's piggies! Also, how cute is that skirt?!? My friend, Shannon, did an awesome job. Make sure to go like Perfectly Precious Boutique on Facebook to see her adorable new spring line!

Friday Phone Dump

2012-01-27T19:16:00.000-08:00

The floors are FINALLY finished, and we are slowly getting the house back in order.

Presley out to dinner with her Grammie, Poppa, Aunt Brooke, and Uncle Shai while Mommy and Daddy had a date night.

My Mom and I took Presley to the Children's Museum to escape the horrible weather.

Kisses for Daddy!

This one makes me laugh. I was trying to get a picture of P in her toy basket and my big belly got in the way. Oh, and check my awesome red slippers...

Thursday was Crazy hair day at school. Presley was surprisingly cooperative while I put 6 pony tails in her hair.

Aunt Melissa making P laugh while we were waiting for our lunch.

Stopping to give the Indian a kiss while shopping on Main Street in Grapevine.

Wordless Wednesday: Sleeping Beauty

2012-01-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

PTM Let's do 52- Week 2&3

2012-01-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

Oops! I forgot to post week 2 and am just barely getting week 3 posted on time. Better late than never, I suppose...

2/52- Responsibility

3/52- Negative Space

Friday Phone Dump

2012-01-20T21:44:00.000-08:00

The gorgeous Texas sky that greeted us as we were leaving my friends house last Saturday.

Because the floors are being stained and scraped this week, P and I got to spend it in Houston. Presley loves getting to spend time with her cousin Jackson!

Presley also likes to play inside Chaps' cage (my parents dog).

Mimi and I took the kiddos to the zoo, and they had a blast! They saw elephants, danced with Dora, popped out of gopher holes, played at a giant park, and swung on a tire wing.

Mom and I did a little shopping for Harper.

and a lot of shopping for Presley!

My great Aunt Idamae flew in from Arkansas, so the whole family on my Dad's side got together. Presley enjoyed dinner, but I'm pretty sure she enjoyed her ice-cream more.

My sister thought it would be fun to see what P looked like in her Jessica Simpson hair. We got a pretty good laugh! Although, I have to say, I definitely prefer my baby blonde.

Wow! We have had quite the week!

One of the Herd

2012-01-19T15:18:00.000-08:00

Presley always likes to be right in the middle of everything.

It doesn't make any difference what it is.

She will find a way to get herself just where she wants to be, even in a herd of goats...

Wordless Wednesday:She's got the need for speed

2012-01-18T08:16:00.000-08:00

2 Year Stats

2012-01-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

Height: 34.6 inches/ 66% (I could possibly be off on the inches, but I know the percentile is right)

Weight: 25.4lbs/ 33%

Head: Once again, I can't remember.
~I should really pay more attention when they give the stats~

The doc says Miss P is long, lean, and perfect. Okay, she didn't say perfect, but I'm sure she was thinking it. Our 2 year visit was the best one yet! Presley got a finger prick and a shot and didn't shed a tear. She didn't even act like she felt anything at all. I was in complete shock. Usually, she is hysterical for about 2 minutes after any vaccine, so I had prepared for the worst. I guess my baby girl really is growing up.

We had a long discussion about potty training and have decided Presley isn't quite ready yet. She shows a definite interest in going on the big girl potty and will go anytime I put her on it. However, being wet and dirty doesn't bother her in the slightest. So that's where we are on that.

Presley also got her very first ear infection right before Christmas. It was a double, of course. Presley can't just do anything normal. I'm beginning to think her theme is "Go big or Go home". The doc said her ears had cleared up perfectly and everything else looked healthy. I couldn't ask for anything better.

And yes, this is super duper late! Oops!

Friday Phone Dump

2012-01-13T11:29:00.000-08:00

Checking out the turtles and ducks at North Park Center.

We had all the carpets ripped out this week and wood floors installed. These are UNFINISHED. They won't come back until next week to do the staining and hand scraping.

And this is the chaos we have been living in all week. Yes, that's my furniture in my kitchen.

We've been staying out of the house as much as possible which resulted in yet another pair of Toms for Miss P.

Eating lunch with both legs kicked up on the table.

Taking after Mommy, and embracing the camera.

We spent lots of time at the park this week. Luckily we have had gorgeous weather. Cold, but gorgeous!

Presley was so proud of herself for going down the "big girl" slide. She has always been hesitant to go down the big spiral one, but I guess she decided to just go for it. I'm pretty proud of her too!

Keepin' it real @ 20 weeks

2012-01-12T10:13:00.000-08:00

Up until this week, I have not taken a single belly picture. Mainly because I am in no shape to have my picture taken. With this pregnancy, all I want to wear is pajama pants or big baggy sweats, and that's usually what I have on (not even going to try and lie). Elastic waistbands are my best friend this pregnancy.

Anyway, I was running around the house, and caught sight of myself in the mirror and had to laugh. I was pulling the {oh so attractive} belly hanging out from under shirt look, and the butt in my sweat pants is almost hanging down to my knees. So HOT!

I don't know why, but felt the need to document this on camera. Here I am at 20 weeks and 3 days. Just keepin' it real for everyone out there.

I know, I know...look out boys!

And for my sweet friends who requested a belly pic. Here it is in all it's glory.

Wordless Wednesday: Daddy the Jungle Gym

2012-01-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Wheels on the Bus

2012-01-10T12:36:00.000-08:00

Presley singing one of her very favorite songs. Sorry about the video quality. I was taping directly into window light. Most of the time when the ding of the video camera comes on, Presley stops doing whatever it is that I wanted to record. So, I'll take it! Bad lighting and all...

She has a name...

2012-01-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

Harper Grace

Our baby girl has been officially named. Well, we have had the name for a while, but I forgot to blog it. Oops! If any of you have been reading since 2009 then you know that naming Presley was like WW3 in our house.

I decided I needed to name my next girl Harper after I heard someone talking about the magazine "Harper's bazaar" on television. Sadley, I think it was the reality show, "The City", on MTV. Yes, I am a reality T.V. Junkie. I wasn't even thinking about getting pregnant at the time, but I just couldn't get the name, Harper, out of my head.

About a week after I got pregnant, I turned to Brandon and said " This baby's name is going to be Harper Grace if it's a girl. Period." Then I sat in quiet anticipation for all of two seconds before he responded with, "Yeah, I like it".

I almost fell off the couch! I had been mentally preparing myself for another naming war between the two of us. What a relief!

I love that Presley and Harper are both sir names and unisex (even though you very rarely run across a boy named Presley or Harper). They are similar in style and I love the way they sound together.

Charli Grace was the other name in the running and I have to admit, I still really love this name. However, I love Harper more. Brandon wasn't too keen on Charli at first. In fact, his initial reaction was something like, "eww, gross", but after a day or two, it started to grow on him. However, it didn't grow on him enough. I solved my little name dilemma and have now convinced Presley to name her new baby doll, Charli. I'm happy enough with that.
I'm so excited to meet our sweet Harper Grace!!!

Christmas 2011: Part 3

2012-01-06T16:26:00.000-08:00

Normally, we all go to Houston right after Christmas when it's our turn to spend the holidays with Brandon's family. This year was the first year that I haven't gone home at all. Instead, everyone came to me and it was kind of nice. It worked out perfectly because my smarty pants brother got a great job offer and moved to Dallas (hooray for finally having another family member in the big D with me) the day after Christmas. My family was already up here to help him out, so we decided to squeeze in P's 2nd birthday and our family Christmas.

So here it is, The CAIN family Christmas in a nutshell...

We all put our P.J.'s on (well, most of us. My husband is anti- pajama pants.), lit a fire, and opened presents and stockings.

After presents, my Dad and brother cooked steaks. I made crack potatoes and attempted a new Christmas candy recipe. The potatoes rocked, but the candy failed. So, we ended our Christmas dinner with a trip to Braums for ice cream sundaes. Not bad for our 3rd and final Christmas celebration of the season.

Christmas 2011: Part 2

2012-01-05T16:03:00.000-08:00

Last year, we were in Houston with my family, so it was Presley's very first Christmas to spend at our house. Here is our little family Christmas in a nutshell...

We drove home from Grammie and Poppa's on Christmas eve, and put out cookies and milk for Santa BUT...

There wasn't a whole lot left for poor Santa when Presley was done.

Santa didn't seem to hold a grudge about the lack of cookies and milk, and left Presley some very special

presents.

Pardon the nudity in the following pictures, Presley REALLY wanted to wear her new dress up shoes. Momma, unfortunately, didn't take that into consideration when putting her in footed P.J.'s the night before. So we stripped her down to her diaper, and enjoyed the rest of Christmas morning in the buff.

We did eventually get Presley dressed again and headed over to Grammie and Poppa's to spend Christmas day.

Let's Do 52- Week 1

2012-01-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

A new year has dawned, and I'm sure everyone is making resolutions or setting goals for themselves. I'm not so much a resolution gal, but I do like to make a list of goals or improvements to work on throughout the year. This year, I want to improve my photography. Challenge myself. Push past my comfort zone.

I also want to "love" it again. This fall I was so busy taking family portraits and trying to get everyone's done on time that it became more of a chore than a passion. I also came home from every session upset that all the pictures I had taken were horrible. Maybe I should add "improve my self confidence" to the goal list of 2012? What I really love is taking pictures just because with no worry about what other people will think.

So, I plan on working towards this goal by joining Paint the Moon's- Let's Do 52 project. Annie gives you two themes each week and you get to choose which one you want to do. Then you can share your picture (or not) on the Flickr group.

The themes for this week were "Sharing" and "All Natural". I chose "all Natural" or if I'm being honest, it chose me. I have been thinking all week about what I was going to shoot and how I could set up an awesome picture to fit the theme(s) perfectly. Then this morning, I was rushing around getting ready and glanced over at Presley wrapped up on the couch, staring out the window at something with a mouth covered in cinnamon and sugar.

And there it was! My picture for week 1. Here is my little Sweet P "All Natural":

If anyone wants more information or would like to join, just click the button on the right hand side of my blog. Remember, you do NOT need to be a photographer. It's for anyone who wants to improve/grow/challenge themselves. I hope to see some of you lovely Mama's join in. We do have some pretty rockin' subjects after all.

Christmas 2011: Part 1

2012-01-04T09:03:00.000-08:00

Woo hoo! I'm finally getting around to blogging about Christmas! I'm dividing it into three parts for 2 reasons:

1. We had 3 Christmas' this year. One with Brandon's family, one with mine, and one with just our little family.

2. As usual, I took way too many pictures between the three to put into one post.

Here we go, Christmas with the SOUDERS' in a nutshell:

We had lots of fun cousin time

We opened presents at Grammie and Poppa's on Christmas Eve

We made Rudolph donuts and cookies for Santa

and opened even more presents on Christmas morning

Then headed over to Brandon's Aunts for Christmas lunch and more present opening

and we ended Christmas day by visiting the Grand Prarie light display

This was a wonderful Christmas besides quite a few of us being sick. We got in lots of family time, lots of eating (one of my favorite parts of the holidays), a little shopping, and a whole lot of fun!

Merry Christmas 2011

All Good Things Must Come to an End

2012-01-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

Brandon is back at work after 2 1/2 weeks at home with us. It sure was nice having him at home for all that time. I am, however, looking forward to getting back into our routine. I'm also just now getting around to taking down Christmas. This makes me very sad to have to do, and apparently I'm not the only one. Presley has been following me around all morning adamantly protesting the taking down of Christmas. She seems especially attached to her stocking. I put it up, and two minutes later she drags it out. I hide it in a different box, and there she is pulling it out again and so on and so forth.

Since we both seemed to be struggling with letting go of Christmas, I decided to pull out the book "The Night before Christmas". This book is very special to me as it's been a tradition in our family since I was little. Every Christmas Eve my Dad would read this to us before bedtime. A couple years ago, my Mom and I found the recordable version, and my Dad recorded the story for Presley. I love having it, and especially love getting to share that piece of my childhood with my daughter(s).

After our little nostalgic story time, I found a present Presley had yet to open and this tickled her to pieces. I took full advantage of the distraction and cleared away most of the Christmas decorations. Now the only thing left is a giant glittery mess, and a house that looks bare. Am I the only one that hates how bare the house looks once Christmas is put away? It is a great excuse to go shopping though...

It's really not all that sad. Our family has a lot to look forward to in 2012, and I have a feeling this is going to be a wonderful year.

Two years old: The Birthday Morning

2012-01-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

Mimi (my mom), Jackson (P's cousin), Brandon, and I woke Presley up singing our best rendition of Happy Birthday. Not quite sure she was ready for all of us to bust through her door, but I'm sure she enjoyed it. Then we had a special birthday table awaiting the birthday girl with chocolate milk, chocolate sprinkled donuts, donut holes, her tea set, and of course, a princess crown. She loved her special morning!

She blew out TWO candles

Had a birthday breakfast with her cousin

In true Presley fashion, ate only the chocolate and sprinkles off of her donut.

She got to open one birthday present (her party was that afternoon, so we saved the rest for then).

She was very excited about her "parkley Toms".

Then we dressed her in the same birthday outfit as last year and took lots of pictures!

Her afternoon was spent with Mimi and Jackson at Chuck E Cheese while I got the house ready for her big party. All in all, I would say that turning TWO pretty much rocked for Miss P.

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T10:32:00.000-08:00

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

Happy 2012, friends!

Down on the Farm: Presley's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-12-30T23:22:00.000-08:00

The BIRTHDAY girl!

The Invite

The cake (made by my very talented friend, Truly)

The table

The Grub

Pigs in a Blanket, Duck Pond Punch, and Haystacks

Presley's Birthday Banner (made by yet another talented friend. Thank you, Heather!)

and a few other details

Cow Mantle, Balloon Wreath, and Party Favors

and now for the fun stuff:

Playing with her giant balloon arrangement that my Uncle, Aunt and cousins sent to Presley.

Family pic

Blowing out her candles

opening presents

This is where Presley chose to eat her pig cupcake. Whatever floats her boat...

Being silly in the bounce house that our neighbors so kindly let us borrow.

Who needs a fork or a plate (for that matter) when you've got hands?!?

This is what we gave Presley and it was a hit! All the kids at the party wanted a turn.

Hayley trying to get Presley unstuck.

Grammie, Poppa, Mimi, Brandon, Aunt Melissa

More present opening!

Cousin Jackson giving Presley a ride!

Her party was so much fun! She is certainly a loved little girl. Now I need to figure out where I'm going to put all these toys...

TWO

2011-12-29T19:46:00.000-08:00

Dear Presley Elizabeth,

Today you are TWO! I can't believe it has already been two years since I first held you in my arms. You have filled our lives with more joy than I could ever describe in words.

I love your sassy and spunky personality. I love your sweet, caring, and nurturing side. I love your big belly laugh and your mischievous dimpled grin. I love your sweet sweet singing voice, and your love of music. I love your constant talking and our daily conversations. I love your big neck hugs and sweet little kisses. I love your "I love you's". I love too many things to write down!

Happy 2nd birthday to my big girl! I can't wait to see what next year brings.

Love,

your Mommy

Gingerbread House FAIL

2011-12-22T17:17:00.000-08:00

Our decorating started out a little like this.

House intact and icing testing in full swing.

a little more decorating

and a little more tasting

and we ended up with this

Perhaps we'll have better luck next year...

Presley's MDO Christmas Party

2011-12-21T12:25:00.000-08:00

Presley's Mother's Day Out had their Christmas pageant and Christmas party last Thursday. Presley's class was to young to be in the pageant, but Brandon and I stayed to watch anyway. It was pretty hilarious watching all the little kids perform. I can only imagine what P will do next year...

Afterward, we headed over to P's class Christmas party. She was so excited to see us when we walked through the door. She came and sat on my lap and refused to get up. I think she was afraid I was going to leave. Of course, that only lasted all of five minutes and then she was up and running. I love getting to watch Presley interact with her friends.

I know that Presley can be rough and wild, but she is also the sweetest. A couple of the little girls were crying when their Mom's left and she kept going up to them and patting their backs. Then she would tell them, "It's okay, Baby". LOVE her!!

I took a few pictures from the party, but the quality is pretty crappy. Gotta love fluorescent lighting!

My sweet P

This is the grin I got when she was handed her cookie.

I love that they used their handprints as place markers. If I go back to teaching, I need to remember this idea.

Getting tired of sitting still

Giving daddy kisses. Lucky guy...

Playing with her friends.

The ornament Presley made for us at school.

back side

This picture was given to us at the party. I love it even though she is once again NOT looking at the camera. P and Santa look so sweet together though.

Merry Christmas from our Family

2011-12-19T08:03:00.000-08:00

to yours...

Front

Back

I was only 6 weeks pregnant when we did these cards, so little miss didn't get to be featured. Therefore, I thought I would dress her up in her Christmas best, so she isn't entirely left out.

Wishing you PEACE in your heart, JOY in each day, and LOVE throughout the year.

Love,

Brandon, Ashlie, Presley, and baby girl Souders

P.S. Pardon the quality of our card on here. I just scanned it in. Also, photography and card credit go to the amazing Kelly Wills of Inspired by you photography.

Jingle Bells

2011-12-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

Please enjoy Presley's rendition of Jingle Bells.

Just in case you couldn't understand, her version goes like this:

Jingle Bells,

Oh what fun to ride a horse,

HEY!

Weekend in Grapevine

2011-12-16T17:10:00.000-08:00

*warning: This is the worlds longest post with a ridiculous amount of pictures. Believe it or not, I narrowed the pictures down from 200.
Day 1

Last Sunday, we met my Mom and nephew in Grapevine for a fun filled Christmas weekend. My poor sister was supposed to go, but her boss was being ...well... a jackass! And that's putting it nicely. If you live in Texas and haven't spent a weekend in Grapevine during the Christmas season, you are missing out.

The first thing we did was hop aboard the North Pole Express. You get to ride on a train in your P.J's, Just like the book,The Polar Express. Santa and Mrs. Claus even payed us a visit.

Waiting (not so patiently) to get on the train with our friends!

Chugging along

Presley looking out the window of the North Pole Express.

Her face when Santa came into our train car.

After the train made it safely back from the North Pole, we got pictures taken with Santa and free hot chocolate. Presley and Jackson must have needed to burn off some energy because they spent the next 20 minutes chasing each other around a Christmas tree by the hot chocolate stand.

Then we walked into historic Grapevine and visited some of the shops on Main street. Shopping with a 2 and 3 year old is next to impossible, so our purchases for the day were 2 lollipops and a pair of pink fur crocs for P ( which we found in the candy store). Once again, we stumbled upon Santa and a few of his elves playing games, and my nephew joined in. He had a blast! Presley was a little leery of this Santa (he was very skinny and on stilts. Can you blame a girl?), so we walked her down the street where we found a life size Nativity. This thrilled the girl beyond belief. She hopped on every animal, talked to the Wisemen, and gave baby Jesus lots of kisses.

Finally, we ended the day with a pony ride and room service back at our hotel. We stayed at the Gaylord Texan which is a beautiful giant hotel and perfect for kids!

Day 2

We woke up, got the kids dressed, and I took advantage of all the gorgeous photo ops in the hotel.

After I got my photo fix, we headed over to see ICE! featuring Shrek the Halls. Basically, it's lots of different scenes from the movie carved completely out of ice. It's pretty amazing! However, to keep the ice from melting it has to be super duper cold. They give you long parkas with hoods to wear, but it was still pretty chilly. Jackson loved every minute of it, but poor Presley was a little too cold to enjoy it. She made it through the whole thing and even went down the ice slide, but then she was ready to get out of there.

Right after ICE, Jackson and Mimi warmed up by snow tubing! Presley wasn't tall enough and this made her very sad. I missed out too because they don't let preggo's go tubing either. Poor us!

But, Presley cheered up pretty quick because we got to have breakfast with Shrek, Princess Fiona, and Puss in boots (who Presley thought was our cat, Rambo. This made her very happy). Mind you, Presley had no idea who or what this Shrek character was before our Grapevine adventure, but she is a fan now. Unless Shrek comes too close, then she cries hysterically!

Jackson with his Shrek ears on, looking just thrilled to have his picture taken.

Princess Fiona drinking her Shrek Juice.

Jackson in a much better mood now that Shrek is here!

Presley blowing "Rambo" kisses

Finally, it was time to pack up and head home with two exhausted kiddos! It was such a special weekend for the kids (and the kids at heart). Thank you, Mimi!

Level 2 Update

2011-12-15T15:30:00.000-08:00

First and foremost, I want to thank everyone for all the kind words of support. Many of you took the time out to tell me your own story or experience, and it means so much. I can't tell you how much better you all made me feel. Click HERE for my original blog from the NT scan.

Tuesday morning we met with a genetic counselor who just walked us through the results. Long story short, they found two things in the blood related to down syndrome. My HCG was high (which explains why I was so sick this time around) and PAPP-A was low. On average they like to see HCG and PAPP-A around 1.0. My HCG was at 2.43 and my PAPP-A was at .78, which is what put me in the high risk category. Ultimately, the counselor kept reminding me that I still only have a .5 chance of having a baby with Downs.

After the genetic counseling, they sent us over to do the level 2 ultrasound. Basically, they check for soft markers associated with down's such as sandal gap, thickening in the back of the neck, bright bowl, spots on the heart or sign of a heart defect, extra fluid around the organs etc. Thankfully, they didn't find any of these things. The doctor made it very clear that 50% of babies with down syndrome show no soft markers during the level 2, and the only way to know for sure would be an amnio. However, he thought with the original NT results, the presence of a nasal bone, and the level 2 results that he didn't think it was necessary. Which was good because Brandon and I had already decided that we did not want to have one done.

We also found out that I still have placenta previa, yuck! BUT... also found out that we have a sweet baby girl on the way! All in all, I am feeling much better about everything. I'm such a worrier by nature, but for some reason I have remained very calm about the whole thing. Now I'm off to enjoy the rest of my pregnancy, but I'll leave you with this sweet bit of baby goodness below:

Wordless Wednesday: Waiting for Santa

2011-12-14T11:26:00.000-08:00

It's not an "it" anymore...

2011-12-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

We are thrilled to announce...

it's another sweet baby GIRL for the Souders' family, and we're tickled pink!!!!!

A Christmas Miracle?

2011-12-12T16:22:00.000-08:00

Okay maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but we have had quite the change of heart about Santa.

Presley wouldn't even look at the camera because she was too busy chatting it up with him. Not only that, but she happily hung around on his lap while her cousin jumped in for a picture.

There is Yet another Christmas miracle to be witnessed in the picture above. Please note, both cousins smiling and looking at the camera! Can I get a Hallelujah!?!

Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments

2011-12-09T19:22:00.000-08:00

Presley and I have been doing lots of Christmas crafting around here lately. Today we made cinnamon applesauce ornaments. I used to make these with my Pre-K kiddos, and they all loved it. If you haven't ever made these, you are missing out. They are super easy and smell AMAZING!!! I will post the recipe and directions below, but first a disclaimer:

Warning: First, these are NOT for eating. Second, my daughter wanted to craft naked with unkempt hair, so I let her. Don't judge. Third, I have the oldest cookie sheets known to man and they look disgusting. Once again, don't judge.

The ingredients:

1 cup of applesauce
1 cup of cinnamon
2 tablespoons glue

Directions:

1. combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

2. Stir together until it looks like this.

3. Pause to make sure your child is enjoying this so far.

4. Roll mixture out onto a cookie sheet/cutting board/countertop etc.(try to keep the thickness about 1/4 of an inch). It's sticky so you will probably want to use cooking spray or flour.

5. Grab some cookie cutters.

6. Press down and then pull dough mixture away from cookie cutter.

7. Check one more time to make sure your child is having fun. I got really into it, and kind of forgot about Presley for a bit. Looks like we're all good here though.

8.Transfer Ornaments to a baking sheet or wax paper. Bake in the oven on the lowest temperature for an hour or let dry on wax paper for 24 hours.

9. Then let your child go to town with any left over dough while waiting for the ornaments to dry.

10. Finish with a ribbon or any hanging device of your choice.

See, how easy was that?!? And no clothes required to complete the job. I'm actually using ours to tie onto presents, so my friends and family, just act surprised when you get yours.

Miss December: Then and Now Edition

2011-12-08T13:11:00.001-08:00

~Then~

~Now~

~Then~

~Now~

P.S. It really helps when you have Mimi jumping through hoops to get your baby to smile. Too bad she wasn't here to help this year. I did get a half smile though. And yes, she still fits into the entire outfit!

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph

2011-12-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

Can I just say that I love this toy! It's the fisher Price Nativity made just for ~~destructive~~ little hands. Last year, I made the sad choice of letting Presley play with my nice Nativity, and there were casualties. Many casualties. Unfortunately, a wiseman was decapitated, a donkey lost his ear, and poor Joseph lost his right hand. Presley can be as ~~violent~~ rough as she wants and no limbs will be lost. Lets face it, loosing limbs during Christmas time is never any fun...

Mother's Day Out Blues

2011-12-06T15:18:00.001-08:00

Today was a sad day.

I got up and got Presley ready for this school this morning, and she was acting like her normal self. Then I told her to go give daddy a kiss bye because we needed to go to school. She looked up at me with the most pitiful face and said, "no go school ever". Ugh! I was so close to keeping her home with me, but decided against it. We got in the car, drove to school, and walked to her class with out a single complaint. Until I turned around from putting her back pack up, and saw my poor baby crying. Not just any cry. She was completely silent with huge tears running down her cheeks, and her sweet little lip curled down farther than I've ever seen it. It almost brought me to tears right then and there.

I so badly wanted to just take her home, but I also didn't want her to think that anytime she cried she could stay home. I told her that I loved her, wiped her tears and handed her over to her teacher. I felt like a terrible mother. I told them to make sure they called me if she was still upset after ten minutes. Thankfully, I never got a phone call, but I worried about her all day. Of course, when I went to pick her up she was doing front rolls and running around in circles with her school friends. It was such a relief to see.

I guess we are having a little bit of separation anxiety. Hopefully, this is just a phase because it sure is heartbreaking to witness. Fingers crossed Thursday will be better. However, her school is doing pictures with Santa, and we all know how much she loves Santa.

Just in case anyone needed a reminder

That might really send her over the edge...

It's Beginning...

2011-12-04T17:49:00.000-08:00

to look a lot like Christmas!

The tree is up and decorated. Well, kind of. I went a little easy on the ornaments this year between a very curios toddler, and two crazy cats.

The stockings have been hung by the chimney with care.

And the lights went up on the house without any incidents this year.

We also attended the first Christmas party of the season this Saturday. It was Brandon's company party, and we enjoyed a fun night out while P was at her Grammie and Poppa's.

Nothing says Christmas like a machine gun and a rubber chicken!

Hope everyone is enjoying the season so far...

Bad Santa

2011-12-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

Anyone remember this gem of a picture from last year?

Well, this year was shaping up to be pretty much the same as the last, BUT we got a smile. A teary smile, but a smile nonetheless. It only took two grandmas (Grammie and Mimi), M&M's, and Mommy and Daddy (who had to sit with santa too)!

(Sorry for the pic quality. Our scanner is broken so I just took a pic with my phone).

Sorry Santa. Maybe one day Presley won't cry out in fear when she has to sit in your lap...

Happy December, Y'all!

Thankful

2011-11-29T18:59:00.000-08:00

Every year I feel like there is more and more to be thankful for, and for that I'm, well...Thankful!

I am thankful for my beautiful, vivacious, spunky little spitfire, Presley Elizabeth.

I am thankful for the sweet little baby growing in my belly.

I am thankful for husband who has a huge heart and is the best father. He would do anything for P and I.

I am thankful for my family. They are truly the best. Maybe a little crazy, but definitely the best!

I am thankful for my in laws, who are just like family to me. They would do anything for us at the drop of a hat.

I am thankful for my two sweet nephews, Jackson and Landon. I might be biased, but I'm pretty sure they are the cutest nephews around.

I am thankful for my Mamaw, and that she has been able to be a part of Presley's life.

I am thankful for my old friends and my new ones.

I am thankful that our family keeps on growing. My cousin and his wife announced on Thanksgiving that they are expecting their first baby!

I am thankful for stretchy pants, elastic waist bands, and that I'm out of my first trimester!

and most of all, I'm thankful to God! He has truly blessed us beyond measure.

Now, a few pictures from Thanksgiving, and I mean just a few. Maybe I should have done a better job of picking up my camera instead of my fork...

Our little family

My parents

My brother and sister

Mamaw and Presley

Presley ~~stealing~~ trying on Jackson's Cowboy boots

Jackson and Presley enjoying their Thanksgiving dessert of choice. Ice cream!

Look Who's Talkin'

2011-11-23T15:06:00.000-08:00

Presley continues to impress me with her talking skillz. She gets plenty of practice. I don't think she is silent for more than 2 seconds during the day. It's not all her fault. The gift of gab comes naturally in our family. Right, Mamaw?

Sometimes Presley likes to tell on herself:
"I take my piggies out".

Other times, she likes to give compliments:
" I so proud of you, Mommy".
"Oh, I love it. It's bootiful(she has This reaction to almost any picture I show her)".

And then there are times, when she likes to give attitude.
"Are you kidding me (and then slaps her knee)"?

Or for expressing her disapproval:
"No do that again"!
"I no yike it"!

She also uses her words to nurture:
(I just put my contacts in and my eyes were watering. Anyone want to get me lasik?) "Are you okay, Mommy? I wipe your tears". Then she got a tissue and wiped my face.

but out of all the sentences and phrases Presley says, "I love you, Mommy" is still my very favorite.

Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-18T16:59:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, Presley had her Thanksgiving feast at MDO. It was a very traditional feast of Chick-fil-a chicken nuggets, cheese cubes, strawberries, and pretzels. You know, just like the Pilgrims and Indians. She has a super cute class, and they all sat so well during their feast. Grammie and Poppa were also able to make it which made her especially happy. When it was over, we all went out to lunch and went shopping. Well, Poppa watched Presley in the stores while Grammie and I shopped. It was such a fun day with my little turkey!

Here are a few pictures from the feast:

Bad Blood

2011-11-17T13:44:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, I got a phone call from the doctor who did our NT scan. I had a feeling she wasn't calling to tell me good news as the usual policy is "no news is good news". Before I begin, some people asked me what an NT scan was so let me explain.

The NT scan or Nuchal Translucency scan measures the space behind the back of the babies neck (nuchal fold) and is performed during 11 to 14 weeks. Most doctor's consider anything under 2.5mm to be within normal ranges. Anything over could be a marker for Down syndrome (Trisomy 21). There is also a blood draw that is done immediately after the ultrasound, and it tests for Trisomy 18 and 13, which are incompatible with life.

Okay, so back to me. During the scan, everything looked good. The nasal bone was present which was a good sign (no nasal bone can be a sign for downs). The nuchal fold measured higher, but well within the normal range. Brandon and I walked out feeling great about what we saw!

Then the blood results came back. I have a 1:10,000 chance of having a baby with Trisomy 18 or 13, which is as good as your odds can get. However, I have a 1:240 chance of having a baby with Down syndrome. Just to clear things up the 1:240 chance is out of all the people who had the exact same scan results as me, not a 1:240 chance out of every woman that has a baby. Does that make sense.? Anyway, my odds are 99.5% chance that I will have a healthy baby and .5% chance that I will have a baby with Down syndrome. To me those odds sound pretty good, but the doctor's make it sound scary.

I will go back at 16 weeks and meet with a genetic counselor and have a level 11 ultrasound done. Then, depending on what they find, I will have the option of an amnio. I've pretty much made up my mind that I will not have an amnio. Not matter what the results, I would have the baby anyway. I love this little baby and nothing is going to make me want it any less. Nothing.

In the mean time, any prayers would be much appreciated for little S2, and that I don't drive myself insane with worry. Also, if anyone reading this has been through anything similar, I would love to hear your story.

NT Scan

2011-11-15T12:30:00.000-08:00

On Monday, We had little S2's Nuchal Fold scan. It was so fun to see an actual baby moving all around. It has certainly changed from the 6 week blob (sorry baby).

So far, Souders' babies are proving to be stubborn. Presley never gave a full profile, and this babe gave one but after much poking, prodding, and coughing. Everything looked good with baby, but I have placenta previa (a low lying placenta). It's not a big deal right now, and should move up on it's own, but the Doctor gave me strict orders to quit my workout routine. This makes me really sad, but it's not really about me right now.

The heart rate for this baby at 12 weeks was 167 BPM and Presley's (at 12 weeks) was 166 BPM. That's pretty close! I wonder what that might mean about the gender??? Speaking of gender, they told us Presley was a girl at her NT scan, but they didn't say anything at this one. I didn't ask either. I decided I was just going to be patient with this one.

I also noticed that during Presley's scan, she was on her head, flipped to her back, facing forwards, then upside down again. This little baby moved it's arms and legs a lot, but was generally satisfied to stay in the same general position. I'm hoping this is some sort of indication of what type of personally it's going to have....

Now for my favorite part! Check out this cutie pie:

Hot Chocolate

2011-11-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

"Love is like swallowing hot chocolate before it has cooled off. It takes you by surprise at first, but keeps you warm for a long time".- anonymous.

I love hot chocolate, especially on a cold day. I realized Presley has never experienced the joy of a warm cup of cocoa and couldn't wait to see what she thought.

First sip

and now with a straw because it's so much more fun that way.

I couldn't decide if she would like marshmallows or whipped cream better, so I threw in both. Presley immediately began digging out the marshmallows with her hands and shoveling them into her mouth.

I think Presley thoroughly enjoyed her first experience with hot chocolate, but I'll let you decide.

Baby S2 Catch Up

2011-11-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

So, If you didn't see my previous post, Baby #2 is on its way! I am almost 12 weeks and finally starting to see the light at the end of the first trimester tunnel. I'm not gonna lie, it's been rough. With Presley, I had zero nausea and felt great for the most part. Not the case with this one. I've pretty much been spending my days trying to stay awake and not throw up on myself. Yeah...not pretty. Then there's the whole having to chase after an uber hyper toddler from morning until night. So yeah, this will probably be our last baby. Ok, enough with the miserable pregnant woman talk and on to the fun stuff!

Here is the proof. I'm not going to lie, I was a little shocked when this popped up. Extremely excited and thankful, but shocked nonetheless.

9-14-2011

We got to see little S2's heartbeat for the first time at 6 weeks and 2 days. The heart rate was in the 90's and it pretty much looked like a tiny blob (as you can see in the picture below).

EDD 5-28-2012

At 10 weeks, Presley and I got to hear the heartbeat with the doppler! What an amazing sound!!! S2's Heart rate was in the high 170's! The nurse found it very fast which was a relief, and P was super impressed with the doppler. She asked the nurse if she could have a turn, so we let her. Who knew Presley would enjoy my doctor's appointment so much?!?

We chose to do the NT scan again, and will have that this coming Monday. Until then, we will be praying for a healthy happy little babe!

If You Just Smile...

2011-11-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

"If I had a star for every time you made me smile, I would be holding the night sky in my hand."-unknown

Presley has always been a super smiley little girl. In fact, in almost all of her baby pictures she's sporting a huge gummy grin. She gave her first big smile when she was 5 weeks old, and ever since then it's been pretty easy to coax one out of her for pictures. Why am I telling you all of this? Well, because my smiley little princess had her very first school pictures taken, and guess what we got...

Not even the slightest hint of a smile. what a little ray of sunshine, right? I do kind of love that she's grabbing her piggy though. Brandon and I were laughing so hard when we got the proof. I don't think she could look any more disinterested if she tried! Oh well, maybe we will get a better one next year.

Those Three Words...

2011-11-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

The other day, Presley and I were sitting side by side on the couch when she laid her head on my shoulder and said, "love you, Mommy." My heart pretty much melted right then and there.This was the first time Presley had ever said" I love you" to me without me saying it to her first. Then she proceeded to tell me, "I love your eyebrows, Mommy". Clearly, Presley doesn't know what good eyebrows look like because mine are as bad as they come. I was on cloud 9 from Presley's love proclamations UNTIL...
I decided to run into Children's Place to pick up some winter appropriate clothes for the cold front coming in. The sales lady greeted us, and Presley looked up at her with a huge smile and exclaimed, "I love you". Seriously, Presley?!? So I did what any good mother would do and tried to buy her affections back. We left Children's Place with the intended winter clothes, and a pair of hideous sparkly silver Ugg style boots...

Wordless Wednesday: Bun in the Oven

2011-11-02T09:31:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween (2011)

2011-11-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

No tricks here, just Treats!

Halloween 2011 was a success. Presley wore her costume with minimal protesting, and loved getting her face painted. We got together with my in laws and our neighborhood friends and Trick or Treated around the neighborhood. Presley told almost everyone "trick or treat" and "thank you" when she got her candy, which made me a proud Mama. We had a couple of houses passing out full size candy bars, and Presley scored one. She immediately asked me to open it, and was pretty much satisfied to just eat her candy bar the rest of the time. After one block with 6 toddlers, we were ready to call it a night. All the while, Poppa was passing out candy and making all of us dinner. Now that's my kind of Halloween!

In the News

2011-10-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

Every October our local news station requests fall or Halloween themed photos from viewers. Last year, I sent in one of Presley at the pumpkin patch, and now they use the picture as their daily advertisement for sending in pictures this year. I love seeing her "on the news" everyday. Makes me smile...

I sent in a new one this year, and she was featured yesterday evening. They even had a whole discussion about her, which made for a really cool surprise birthday present for me. I recorded the segment with my camera phone, and wanted to share. At the end, you can see her picture from last year in the top right corner. She's hard to miss with bright orange feathers in her hair.

Look at what a difference a year makes:

October 2010

October 2011

Shameless

2011-10-12T13:53:00.000-07:00

Just doing a little shameless bragging on my daughter here...

First, She was bumped up to the older classroom at her Mother's Day Out last Thursday. They told me she was advanced and thought she would do better with the bigger kids. This was either the truth or a really flattering way for her original teachers to get rid of Presley (j/k). Presley has transitioned great, and I LOVE her new teachers!!!

Second, I entered Presley into a photo contest for one of my favorite clothing lines, Persnickety. You just had to email a picture of your child wearing their clothing and the winner would get a free outfit!!! Persnickety is not cheap, so I was super excited. I emailed our amazing photographer, Kelly Wills (Inspired by You Photography) two hours before the deadline, and she sent me over the pics just in time. Then at midnight the next night she texted me to tell me that P's picture was chosen, and I needed to go look immediately on facebook. Then she she said "I feel like you just won a million dollars". The sad thing is I think I was that excited too!

If you haven't heard of Persnickety, you have to go check out their fall clothing line. I could buy Every. Single. Thing (http://persnickety.goodfront.com/).

I'm so proud of my little Sweet P! P also likes to tell me, "I proud of you, Mommy". I guess I tell her that a lot:).

Wordless Wednesday: Arboretum with Mimi

2011-10-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

A Week of Pinterest

2011-09-30T14:14:00.000-07:00

I joined pinterest a while ago and have let myself sink deeper into the obsessive world of pinning. I decided last week, I was going to do one thing every day from pinterest. Unfortunately for me, I mainly chose recipes and may have gained a few pounds along the way.

The first thing we tried was the Crayon art project that is all over Pinterest. I thought Presley would LOVE this because she's obsessed with the hairy dryer. After about a minute of blow drying she was over it, and I ended up doing the rest myself. I still love it though, and plan on hanging it in the playroom.

and now for the FOOD! I had intentions of taking my own pictures, but with a super active toddler, I'm lucky to get dinner finished at all. This is why I think the crock pot is a little piece of heaven here on earth. since were on the subject, I'll start with the two crock pot recipes

Crockpot Italian Chicken:

This was super easy with very few ingredients, plus it has cream cheese in it. How can you go wrong with cream cheese (I used the reduced fat)??? Go here for the full recipe.

Chicken Enchilada Soup:

This had good flavor and was also pretty simple. The flavor probably would have been even better, but I left out the onions (Brandon hates them), corn (Brandon's also not a fan) and peppers (forgot to buy them). We had enough left over for lunch for the next 3 days. The best part was Presley told me it was "ayishish" (delicious) and then proceeded to drink out of her bowl. Kid tested, Mother approved! Go here for the full recipe.

Breaded Ranch Chicken (my one non-crockpot recipe):

This was my absolute favorite new recipe. It was seriously delicious. Period. Go here for the full recipe

Now for the sweets (my favorite part):

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Treats:

I made these for a Cowboys watching party because there were going to be lots of kiddos around. Guess who indulged in these the most. The adults! YUM! Go here for the recipe.

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites:

So I have an abnormal obsession with peanut butter, and these hit the spot. Don't eat the whole recipe though. These babies have over 5,000 calories! Mine didn't turn out quite as pretty, but a guy told me they were "Heavenly", so that made up for my ghetto dipping skillz. You can find the full recipe here.

My Little Monkey

2011-09-28T21:05:00.000-07:00

While Presley's gymnastics class continues to be way more of a workout for me than for her, It sure is fun watching her do her thing. Out of all the things we do in our 50 minute class, there are 2 things that Presley LOVES to do:
1. Swing on the bar
2. Swing on the rope
So pretty much, homegirl likes to swing. See for yourself.
P.S. This new blog look is just temporary. I'm waiting for some pics to come back before I decide on one permanently.

I love...

2011-09-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

I love that Presley wakes up some morning's and tell's me "I have feber" (fever). Then puts her hand to her forehead and makes a pitiful face.

I also love that when I asked her how she got out of her crib, she looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "I jump down".

And when she sees or hears the word ant, she immediately says, "I stomp it" and then starts stomping anything around her ( I did NOT teach her this).

I love that she puts "mommy" at the end of all her sentences when she's addressing me. For example, "thank you, mommy", "I wuv you, Mommy", "night, night mommy".

And when she says, "I no think so" in my exact tone.

I don't always love that she wants to do EVERYTHING all by herself, but I do love that she always proclaims, "my do it/ Pressy do it" whenever her independence is threatened.

I also love that she calls a lollipop a "P-Pop".

I love that when she looks at pictures of babies or animals she tilts her head to the side and says, "Aweeeeee".

Oh my, I love my Sweet P!

Wordless Wednesday: Lil' Romo(s)

2011-09-14T10:49:00.000-07:00

First Day of School

2011-09-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

Oh my stars, my baby is getting so big. Today I dropped her off for her first day of Mother's Day Out, tear. I love the school/church she is attending, and they have an amazing Christian based curriculum. It's going to be so much fun to see how she is learning and growing.

Please prepare yourself for a plethora of photo's:

Not quite awake yet

She was so excited about her backpack and lunchbox.

Checking out her backpack

My big girl!

Waving to the neighborhood.

and now at Mommy

Super excited for school!

Daddy taking Presley into school.

Oh, I can't wait to pick her up!

Wordless Wednesday: Big Girl Panties

2011-09-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

P -N- the Potty

2011-09-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

We are just dabbling in the world of potty training here. I, for one, am in no hurry to have Presley out of diapers. It's really nice not having to make pit stops on road trips, shopping trips, etc.

So why am I starting this, you ask? Well, because Presley is adamantly requesting To "pee pee in the potty". So, I'm just going to ride this train and see where it takes us. If anyone would like some advice on how to get your child obsessed with the potty, just take them on a 10 day vacation with their older cousin who has just been potty trained themselves...

I'm also very proud to report that Presley did go pee pee in her potty last night. I'm sure it's just a coincidence, but not a bad start. Oh, one last tip...
Don't yell potty praises so loud that you make your child jump off the potty mid-pee pee because you terrified them.

Here is a picture of her 1st pee pee. You couldn't really see any private parts, but it was cutting it close. I chose to censor with a flower because it's way cuter than a black rectangle, and I know Presley would appreciate that.

20 months!

2011-08-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

I just realized I failed to do a 19 month post, oops, so I wanted to give a quick update on my big girl. We just got back from a family vacation a few days ago and Presley has been running a really high fever. Therefore, I don't have a whole lot of free time to write, but I will post a few videos.

Doesn't 20 months sound old?? In 4 months, I'll have a two year old...

Presley is a chatty little thing, but that's nothing new. She pretty much talks in 3 word sentences,and I love having conversations with her. Sometimes I think she just likes to hear herself talk, so she thows in extra words or repeats herself multiple times. Recently, she has been adding the word "do" to her sentences ex, "I do push" or "I do walk".

She is into all things girly. Doing her hair, putting "makeon" (makeup on), jewelry, shoes etc. I have had several pieces of jewelry go missing along with my hair brushes. I have a feeling this is just a glimpse of what will be happening in her teenage years.

P is very into singing, and I hope this phase stays for as long as possible. I love that she asks me to sing for her, and some nights she will sing along with me.

Presley is also into kissing boo boo's. I happen to have a split lip right now (just from being chapped. No cool story, sorry) and I have been getting kisses all day long. I can't complain about that one... except she occasionally kisses a tad rough and has reopened my cut a few times.

Speaking of rough, she is. This is nothing new. As much as I complain about it, I kind of love it! I think she has a case of "little dog" syndrome. She's cute and petite, but she can kick your a$$.

Did I mention that she is TWENTY MONTHS!?! I've been getting more and more sad about how big she is getting, especially when I rock her at night. She takes up my whole lap:(. At least she's still letting me rock her, sighhhh. She just seems so big now...

Well, that's all for now folks!

Wordless Wednesday: Zoo Safari (picture overload)

2011-08-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

Lost That Lovin' Feeling

2011-08-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Remember the love that I posted about in my blog yesterday? Well, they aren't feelin' it so much today...

Wordless Wednesday: I Love My Cousin (cell phone pics)

2011-08-24T18:08:00.000-07:00

The Sweetest Sound

2011-08-20T19:29:00.000-07:00

Presley has recently started singing. I love it more than I can describe. It melts my heart into a million pieces. Some of her favorites are "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", The Barney Song (I ONLY like this song when Presley sings it, otherwise it kind makes me want to gag), and the "A,B,C's". When she sings, her voice gets a little softer and goes up a few octaves. It is the sweetest sweetest sound.

She also requests certain songs at night while I rock her. Unfortunately, Barney is the song of choice, and she makes me sing it over and over and over and...You get the point.
The other night I chose to sing "Jesus Loves Me" and was told, "No!! Barney".
Sorry, Jesus.

If I pause too long between songs, she tells me "sing, sing Mommy". So, I sing and sing. While I don't have the most beautiful singing voice, my grandmother did. Maybe Presley will be blessed with a voice like hers. Either way, it will be beautiful to me.

Presley Picasso

2011-08-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Presley completed her very last art class of the summer. While it's a bit of a relief for me, I'm so glad we did it. "Scribbles and Dribbles" was a class for toddlers,but they weren't the only ones learning.

Not only did I get a refresher in art history, I also learned to relax. More times than not we would start a project, and I would immediately tense up. However, each class we went to I got a little bit better. With Presley, I figured out that there is no way either one of us (and some unfortunate classmates) were getting out of class clean. Her teacher would always get a good laugh out of Presley because every single class she would leave completely covered in paint. I am also proud to say that I did not help Presley with her creations. They are all her own. Many times I wanted to get her to fill in a part of the paper that had a little to much white, but I restrained myself.
Presley also really enjoyed music time at the end of class. Her favorite part was getting to pick her instrument out of the big blue bucket. Generally, she would spend the first part of class trying to get into the bucket when she wasn't supposed to. This also made her teacher laugh ;).

Each week, we studied a new artist and then created a piece of art based on that artist. Here are Presley's creations from the class:

Week 1:
Paul Cezanne
"I will astonish Paris with an apple".

Apples and Oranges (1899)

Week 2 and 3:
Sadly, we missed because of Traffic and then our trip to Mexico

Week 4:
Claude Monet
"My garden is the most beautiful masterpiece".

Bridge Over a Pond of Lillies (1899)

Michelangelo
"Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculpture to discover it".

Week 5:
Pablo Picasso
" You know, music, art-these are not just little decorations to make life prettier .They are very deep necessities which people can not live without".

The Old Guitarist (1903)

Week 6:
Jackson Pollack
"On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more part of the painting".

Number 1 (Lavendar Mist) (1950)

Week 7:
Georges Pierre Seurat
"Some say they see only poetry in my painting; I see only science".

La Port de Gravelines (1890)

The kids were also given a canvas to work on throughout the weeks. I love Presley's and can't wait to hang it!

No Razor Required

2011-08-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

We have been getting a little desperate for indoor activities around these parts. With a super energetic toddler, it's almost cruel to keep her cooped up inside. Therefore, my only option is coming up with new things to do indoors. After racking my brain for something fresh, an old favorite of my Pre-K kiddos came to mind.

Shaving Cream!!!

"Seriously Mom, your just going to squirt it right on the table"??

"Are you sure this is okay? I mean just look at my hand"!

"Ok, then. Let me just try it out a little bit more".

"Alright, this stuff is pretty cool".

"I'm just going to jump right in, if you don't mind".

"Wow! Look at my messy hands"!!!

Lactating Ladies...

2011-08-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

My sister in law (who is currently BFing)emailed this to me, and it was too funny not to share. I know a few of you will get a kick out of it!

http://bluemilk.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/how-to-do-discrete-breastfeeding/

Lol! A little FU from the lactating ladies. I love it!

19 month Celebration @ Sealife Aquarium

2011-08-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

My big girl turned 19 months last Friday!!! I can't believe that she will no longer be in the "teens" next month. Her 19 month birthday was super duper special because Mimi came for a visit and spoiled her rotten as usual. We decided to take Presley to the new Sealife aquarium in Grapevine

P loves fish! Every time I take her to the peditrician, she runs over to the fish tank exclaiming, "fish, fish"! Then she smashes her face to the class and stares. I'm pretty sure they hate me there after they have to clean the smeary mess that's left behind on the tank. Anyway, I was so excited to see what Presley would think of the aquarium.

I think the following pictures will pretty much speak for themselves:

She was totally mesmerized by all the fish! I loved watching her.

At one point in the aquarium, you have to go across a tunnel that is all glass (including the floor). At first, it bothered Presley to walk over it and she hesitated. However, it didn't take long before she got the courage to go across...again and again and again. It turned out to be one of her favorite parts of the aquarium.

Here she is in the tunnel watching the fish below her.

and that's pretty much how she stayed until we convinced her to move along.

My Mom and I both loved the sting ray's. They were so cute! They would come right up to you. We loved it when they would pop their heads out of the water and swim backwards.

Aren't these some cute sting ray's?? Who knew!?!

There was also a fish tank that had a little cut out and you could pop your head in it and see the fish.

And a view of what the fish get to see when Presley is staring at them:

Such a special 19 month celebration!

A case of the Monday's

2011-07-25T07:19:00.000-07:00

Video flashback: "No No, Bo Bo"!

2011-07-21T08:17:00.000-07:00

Want to see my little drama queen in action? I found this video the other day and realized I never posted it. I love it so much. This was taken about 6 months ago, but she still makes the exact same face as she does in the video. Oh, and she still really enjoys bossing the cats around. On this particular day, it was poor Rambo getting in trouble.

Check out how long her hair has gotten since then. She looks and sounds like such a baby. On a side note, please pardon the awesome chunk of oatmeal hanging from her face, as well as the unzipped pajamas???

Shoe Obsession

2011-07-18T08:32:00.000-07:00

Recently, Miss Priss has discovered what most woman wind up discovering at some point in their lives.

A love for shoes.

I would even be so daring to say that it goes beyond love. Obsession might be more like it. Can you blame a girl? The first thing she wants to do when she wakes up is go through her shoe basket, trying on pair after pair. A few days ago, I handed over her beloved basket of shoes, and walked out of the room. When I came back in, she had gotten her sandals on all by herself. They were strapped correctly, and on the right feet (coincedence, I'm sure). Since then, she loves to put her shoes on without my help. Here are the shoes she choose to wear yesterday:

Her pink sandal is on the wrong foot if your wondering why it looks weird. Also, please note the fantastic leg art Presley is sporting.

I also managed to get a video of P trying very hard to get her shoe on. She kept trying to strap it the wrong way, but an excellent effort on her part. This might be a little boring to most, but I love how hard she's concentrating. It also cracks me up how she bangs the bottom of her shoe. I always do that to her when I have trouble getting her shoe on. Monkey see, monkey do...
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Since we're on the subject of shoes, I thought I would share my latest obsessions.

Reebok Realflex

I almost didn't get these because I'm more of a Nike person, and I couldn't decide if they were cool looking or ugly. This was the best shoe buying decision I have ever made. They weigh nothing and are the most comfortable shoes ever. My husband even got a pair...not in pink, of course.

My newest TOM's

Shocker, I know! I can't help it. I love them, and these are even more comfy than the glittery ones. Plus, I love the thicker rope soles.

Last, but not least, my Steve Madden wedges.

I own them in tan (and maybe in black, too).Shhh! Don't tell my husband. These are great because they give me the height of a heel, but are still very casual. I normally don't like any shoe that wraps around my ankles because I have cankles. Yes, cankles. Don't judge. Anywhoo, these were cute enough to ignore that little issue.

June Ketchup

2011-07-15T10:45:00.000-07:00

Ummm, excuse me, but how are we already into the 2nd week of July?? Summer is flying by, and I'm not getting enough time to post about all the awesome things that have been happening. Lets start from the beginning, shall we?

Brandon and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on June 4th

Which just so happened to be the same day as my Mom's surprise retirement party. No one deserved it more than her. I will blog about this party. I will...

Presley began her art class

Brandon celebrated his 2nd Father's Day. Happy Daddy's day to the very best Daddy!!

We celebrated my sister's 26th Birthday.

We got to road trip it to Houston with my neighbors to see our other neighbor play baseball. His team just so happened to be playing my hometown team (the Astro's). I felt a tiny bit akward walking around wearing a Tampa Bay shirt, but we love our neighbors. Go Rays!

I survived my first spin boot camp, and loved it so much that I signed up for the next one.

Presley turned 18 months on the 29th (don't worry, It was empty).

Brandon and I spent the last day of June in Mexico and had an amazing vacation (will blog about this one, as well)!!!!!

A Different kind of 4th

2011-07-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

This 4th of July was different for many reasons. The main one being Brandon and I were in Mexico, and Presley was with my parents. I was sad that I didn't get to spend it with my baby girl, but she had a blast with her Mimi and Daddy Bob.

So back to the whole Mexico thing...Brandon and I spent the morning eating breakfast and packing. We hopped on a plane by mid afternoon. Giving us just enough time to make it back to the good 'ole USA in time for BBQ and fireworks. The resort we were staying at attempted to celebrate the 4th of July for us. We got a firework show of 6 (yes, 6) fireworks at 1:30 in the morning. It was a nice gesture though.

Presley had 4 4th of July outfits, and I dont have a picture of her in a single one. I keep saying Im going to get her dressed and take some, but it's just so hot here. The last thing I want to do is make Presley pose for pictures in record heat. No, Thank you. So, all I have is some sad firework pictures to leave you with.

Happy 4th of July (2 weeks late)!!!

18 Months!

2011-07-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

A year and a half...

Ugh, sounds so big!

We just got back from her 18 month appointment and here are her stats:
Height: 31.5/ 50th%
length: 22.5/ 25th%
And PERFECT (according to me) ;)

She did great at her appointment even though she had to have 2 shots. She cried for just a little bit and then immediately stopped as soon as she got a sticker. Never underestimate the power of a sticker!

My big girl is acting so...BIG!

She still talks all the time and in 2-3 word phrases now. She has also started saying "yeah" for yes! I like it so much better than, "no".
is very strong headed and as independent as ever. She wants to do everything herself (from getting dressed, to eating to putting on her diaper), and gets super frustrated when she can't. This is what usually leads to full on screams/tantrums.
She has recently gotten bad about hitting when she gets mad, so timeout is in full swing at our house. So far it's working well, as long as I am super consistant.
follows direction very well. Today, Brandon asked her to bring him his phone and then go put it back on the bed. She did exactly that.
She is very into throwing things in the trash, cleaning up her messes, and sweeping.
Is taking one nap a day for about 1.5 hours and sleeping 12-13 hours a night.
very into playing mommy. She takes her "bebe" on "woks" in the "stroyer", changes its diaper, rocks it "nigh nigh", Bounces and shh's it.
Loves my jewelry, especially necklaces (which she calls "neck").
likes to ask for hugs. I love this so much. She squeezes my neck so tight with her little arms.
will do front rolls without warning. Anywhere and anytime on any surface including concrete. I'm always on my toes with this one.
is such a drama queen. She has developed a very fake cry, and a very pathetic sad face.
still an awesome eater and eats and snacks all day long...literally!
can climb in and out of her crib. Guess we will be transitioning to a big girl bed soon.
can still wear 12 months, but we are slowly growing into 18 months.
wears a size 5 shoe
has her one year molars and 4 teeth on bottom/and 4 on top. Teething is still the only thing she is doing slowly.
Just gave up the night time bottle. She has so much trouble winding down that I was dreading taking it away. Not because it would bother her, but because it made bedtime so much easier. We just went cold turkey and she hasn't asked for it since.

So, I'm going to cut myself off here. I get frustrated writing these posts because I always forget something important, and what I have never seems like enough. I think there just aren't enough words to describe my baby.

Dear sweet P,
We have no clue what we would do with you! You bring so much joy and light into our lives. You may be tiny, but your personality is BIG! We are always laughing at your crazy antics. The harder we laugh the grander the show. You are so smart, and pick things up so fast. All we have to do is say something once and you remember. This is awesome unless we accidentally say a bad word. We love you soooo much, little lady! Please stay tiny just a little bit longer....

Future Gymnast?

2011-07-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

I have officially registered Presley for a gymnastics class starting in August. I'm always excited when I start a new activity with Presley, but more so with this one. You see, a lot of people think delicate, graceful ballerina when they think of little girls. With Presley, my mind goes more to track and field, race car driving, or gymnastics. Something fast and furious, ya know. She occasionally reminds me of Bambi on ice...
The greatest part is the entire place is padded which is like my dream playroom for Presley. I can't wait to see my wild child rock the pommel horse. Ok, maybe she's not quite ready for that just yet, but soon enough.

Wordless Wednseday: I love my Daddy (pics from Father's day)

2011-06-29T09:38:00.000-07:00

ScRiBbLeS & dRiBbLeS

2011-06-17T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I took Sweet P to her very first art class. I didn't really know what to expect, but had heard some great things about it from friends. It's in the Children's science museum at Fair Park. If you haven't visited, it's a must!

Anywhoo, back to the art class. I'm not gonna lie, when I walked in I was ~~terrified~~ nervous. All I saw were buckets of orange and red paint laid out in every direction I looked. They were placed, appropriately, at kid level and all I could think about was the horrible destruction that was about ensue once I let Presley go.

I was super uptight the first ten minutes. I kept trying to keep Presley's smock on, and was constantly wiping my hands and hers. Then when I could finally get her still enough to put paint on the paper (instead of me or her), she took a huge bite out of her apple stamp that was soaked in bright red paint. At that point, I had to laugh...or loose it. That's when I decided I had to just let go. There was no way we were getting out of that class without paint all over us. And you know what? It turned out to be really fun.

I will say this, I looked around at the other Mom's as class was ending and a lot remained remarkably clean. Kudos to you, Mommas. Me? Not so much. I'm pretty sure I won the award for best human canvas.

Here are some pictures of my little artist, and her masterpiece:

Paint in her "fountain top".

Presley's masterpiece!

SIX

2011-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

On June 4th, Brandon and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary (which was 12 days ago. I'm late. I know.). Crazy! It doesn't feel like we've been married that long. I guess that's a good thing though.

This year was a different type of a celebration for us. We definitely celebrated...just not our anniversary. My family and I threw a surprise retirement party for Mom. GREATEST. SURPRISE. PARTY. EVER!!!! Don't worry, we will get plenty of time to celebrate "us". We decided we deserved a little vacay this year, and are going to Mexico! Last year was the first year we didn't take a vacation just the two of us, so we promised ourselves we would make up for it this year.

I did manage to remember to take a couple of pictures amidst the craziness of the night.

This one was taken at the very end of the party. Not my proudest moment, but I like it of Brandon.

So Mr. Souders,
In an effort to not get all mushy in "public", I'll keep this short and sweet. Really, I just feel very blessed to be married to you. You work crazy long hours, so I can stay home with P. Which is the best gift ever, by the way. I sincerely appreciate my nightly arm scratches. I know you hate giving them, so that just makes it more special. You have a huge heart and have yet to tell me "no". I will ~~try~~ not take advantage of this! MOst importantly, your my best friend, and each year keeps getting better and better. Thanks for 6 years of "CrAzY LoVe".
- the wife

The small things...

2011-06-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try and make a better effort of sitting down and writing about all the little things that touch my heart each day. There are so many moments where I stop and think, "I hope I never forget this". Here are some of those moments from yesterday.

Yesterday, I was making lunch while Presley was in the playroom. She was pushing her baby doll stroller around and every time she ran into a toy she would say "shoo me" (excuse me).

Later that day, she asked for her "bebe". When I handed her doll to her, she layed her on the ground, lifted her legs, and said "schewwy, poo poo" (which is what I always say to her when she has a dirty diaper). Then she pretended to wipe her..

Last but not least, One of my favorite things right now is when she pats my back. I'll pick her up to take her to bed and she'll wrap her arms around my neck and then gently pat me.

Don't worry, I won't be posting these everyday. Maybe just once a week or so...

Attention, Please!

2011-06-10T10:09:00.000-07:00

Somebody in our household likes to have all the attention. No, I'm not going to name names. That wouldn't be very nice of me. I will tell you that said person now likes to ask me to "watch" or "yook" (look) at them before almost everything they do. I hear these words lots and lots of times throughout the day. If I just happen to not "yook" fast enough, than it is repeated louder and louder and louder. Another new attention grabber that has come about is growling. Yep, growling. I'm not gonna lie it's a little disturbing. Ahhhh, toddlerhood! Gotta love it...

17 Months!

2011-06-03T12:56:00.000-07:00

Ummm...there is no way she will be a year in a half next month.
NO. WAY.

At 17 months, Presley is quite the handful! She is the busiest toddler I have ever seen. In fact, I'm getting a little worried about it. I keep getting comments from my mommy friends about how she never stops. Our pediatrician has even commented on it a few times. Sometimes she reminds me of Bambi on ice. As busy as she is, I certaintly wouldn't trade her for anything.

At bath time, she loves to blow bubbles in the water. Just recently, P discovered she can lay on her tummy in the tub, and has a blast swimming around. She also likes for me to help her lay on her back. She will say " back" and I'll help her lay down .

Jumps with 2 feet off the ground. Jumping makes her very happy:)

Loves the "Elephant Song" that Barney sings. She walks around saying "Elephant" until somebody plays it for her. I HATE the Elephant song.

Is getting attached to her little baby doll. She requests it every night before bed and nap. She will also pick it up, bounce up, and down and say "shh, shh, shh". It's pretty darn cute.

Very into putting on our clothes. Just the other day, she managed to get my under on (see pictures below). Guess I need to quit leaving my clothes on the floor.

says the word "shibit" all the time. We have NO clue what this means, but it clearly means something to Presley.

She wants to have everything I have, and politely makes her request by saying "hab dat" (have that). It makes it hard to so "no".

Would live outside if I let her. She tells me "wok" (walk) pretty much the minute she wakes up.

Climbed out of her crib for the first time. I'm not really ready to convert to a toddler bed yet. Isn't it still a little young??

Enjoying the gym daycare much more . She still cries when I drop her off, but stops by the time I turn the corner.

Pretty sure we are experiencing the terrible 2's early. She is one strong headed little lady, and she can hold her own. Unfortunately for her, so can Mama!

Is such a ham. She loves to show off and the more laughs she gets, the harder she performs.

Still a petite little thing. She is just now starting to get into 18 months, but can fit into most 12 months for the most part.

Lastly, I leave you with pictures of Presley putting on my underwear. Yes, I am literally airing my dirty laundry over the internet.

Singin' in the Rain...

2011-05-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

Technically, it was more like splashing/jumping/ running in the rain.

My friend Heather and I met up at the Dallas Arboretum last Friday to get some pics of her little girl. We have been trying to meet up forever, but the weather has not been cooperating. With only a 30% chance of rain, we decided that it would be fine. NOPE. We got caught in a pretty bad thunderstorm. To top it off, we had to seek shelter in a very nice restaurant with 3 children. The table tops were glass and the plates were china. Oh, what a nightmare! We did all survive lunch with nothing broken though.

Even though the day wasn't quite what we had in mind, we decided to end it with a little splishin' and a splashin'.

When Mother Nature gives you rain puddles...

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-22T15:24:00.000-07:00

You know what I wanted for Mother's day this year?

This

I have very few pictures with Presley as I'm generally the one behind the camera. Hopefully, I will be better about getting pictures of the two of us.

As an added bonus, I got this!

Love her kisses!!!

I feel so blessed that God chose me to be Presley's mother. Being a Mom has been harder than I ever imagined,but more rewarding then I could have ever imagined, as well. Every night I pray that God will help me to be a better mother tomorrow then I was today, and I'm, of course, still thanking him for my sweet gift from above.

Happy Belated Mother's day to all the Mommy's out there!
(especially to my Mom and Mother in law. They are the very best!)

First Time on the Boat

2011-05-20T09:15:00.000-07:00

On Mother's day weekend, we got together with my in law's and took the boat out on the lake. Presley was approximately 14 weeks gestation the last time she was in a boat, so I figured she was due for a ride. Girlfriend loved it! She even enjoyed the ice cold water splashing in her face. The boat gave her just enough freedom to walk around which is essential for an extremely active toddler. I can't wait for more weekends on the water!

Spinning

2011-05-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yep. I'm alive.

Our computer crashed, and had to have a major overhaul. However, it's finally back and way better than before. On top of not having a computer, we have had a ton going on. What, you ask? Well, Mother's day, a few photo shoots for friends, my sweet nephew and sis-n-law flew in from Georgia, my Mom came for a visit and I some how got my self involved in a spin boot camp. So, between all of that my head is literally spinning!

Speaking of spinning! I love it. The first few classes were hard. And by hard I mean, I thought I might die right there mid-spin. Originally, I thought I had just signed up for a casual spin class. I had visions of socializing and getting a nice break for "me". Ummmm, No. We get our body fat measured and are weighed, we have homework, and have to fill out workout/eating journals. Besides the fact, that I feel like I've been run over by a bus the first hour after class, I can't wait to get back to the next one.

In order for me to go to spin, I have to drop Presley off at the childcare at the gym. I was a little taken a back by the lack of information they needed. I wanted to tell the baby sitter so many things. How would Presley ever survive this one hour, if the babysitter didn't know that "ebby" meant "open", for goodness sake. I sucked it up, dropped her off, and 10 minutes later was called out of class to get my inconsolable child. Hello, Mom guilt. She gets a little better each time we go, but it makes me really sad. The up side of feeling like you might die during class is it takes your mind off of feeling guilty about leaving your child.

Now I'm off to catch up on blogs!

16 Months

2011-05-02T14:46:00.000-07:00

Really, it's short and sweet this month.

BIG.

She just seems so darn BIG recently.

She calls me "mommy" now instead of "momma".

Puts together two word phrases. For example, "mommy sock" when she wants her socks on or "help me" when she needs help."Hold you" when she wants to be held.

Any child around her size or smaller is a "bebe", and in turn greets them with "hi, bebe"!

She watches EVERYTHING I do, and tries to do it just like me.

Is beginning to play independently for longer periods of time. I love to hide around the corner and watch what she does. A lot of times, she's sitting with a book. Recently, she has gotten very into her dolls. She pushes them in her stroller, rocks them, wraps them in her blanket...ughh! It's so sweet!

Not only that, but she wants to DO everything independently. She wants to wash her own hair and body, undress/dress herself, put her shoes and mine on etc. Along with this comes the tantrums. I try and let her do as much as possible on her own, but sometimes I have to tell help her. Oh boy...so not fun!

She will follow my directions when asked. For example, I will ask her to feed the cats. She will go to the cabinet and get the food out, pour the food in the bowl (she can't actually get the food out, but seems satisfied to just make the motion), and then put the cat food back up in the cabinet.

Loves to make faces! We will ask her to show us "sad baby" and she will stick her lip out and whimper or show us "happy baby" and she will grin from ear to ear.

We are back to our regular napping and she is like a different child! Hallelujah!!

There is always so much more that I think of to write after I hit "post", but I think this is good enough.

Oh my...how did my sweet baby get so BIG so fast!?!

Happy Easter 2011

2011-05-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

While technically we should have been in Houston with my family this Easter, we ended up staying in Dallas. We had just gotten back from visiting my new sweet nephew in Georgia, and it was just too much to turn around and head out of town again.

Our neighborhood had a big Easter egg hunt on Saturday morning for the kids, and then we had mimosa's and quiche for the adults. Now that's my kind of Easter celebration. Then we all went home and had naps only to all get back together again, and have a big Easter dinner. It really felt more like Thanksgiving with all the food we had. I love my neighborhood so much!!!

Then on Easter morning Presley woke up to her Easter basket. The Easter bunny found a really neat Children's bible that has a little handle on it. Presley loved carrying it around like a little briefcase all morning. Then, we had our traditional Orange rolls before heading over to Brandon's parents.

Presley got spoiled, once again, by her Grammie and Poppa with a big Easter basket filled with all sorts of goodies. Brandon and I got spoiled by another delicious meal...and this is why I woke up on Monday weighing 500 lbs. After another Easter egg hunt and eating more food, we headed home.

That was our Easter in a nut shell. I hope everyone else had a wonderful day.

Hoppy Easter Every Bunny!

Diaper Genius

2011-04-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

Today Presley woke up in a super crabby mood. No really...like full on melt downs over everything. I decided to just drop all over our intended plans for the morning, and run a bubble bath for the both of us. I got P undressed, leaving her clothes and diaper on the floor of the bathroom. When we got out, I chased her around with the blow dryer for a few seconds and turned to dry my own hair. Out of the corner of my eye I saw her pick up her diaper and round the corner into the living room. I followed behind to see what she was up to. I could tell she was on some sort of mission...she always gets this very serious look on her face.

She walked into our laundry room. I started to stop her because I hate when she goes in there. It's full of gross things like the litter box, the diaper genie, and dirty laundry. Before I could say anything, she lifted the handle on the diaper genie, put the diaper inside, closed the handle, and said "all done". I was super impressed, and did what I normally do. You know...the whole jumping up and down and cheering in a super annoying high pitched voice. I was so proud of her! She, seriously, amazes me everyday. Now, if I could just get her to change her own diapers...

*After typing this, I realized we have a diaper champ not the genie*

Happy 90th, Mamaw!

2011-04-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is so late, but there was no way I was going to let this one slide. My grandmother turned 90 on April 4th! 90!!! The most incredible part is you would never know it. My grandmother has still got it going on:)

I feel so blessed to have Mamaw as my grandmother. She is the most loving, selfless, giving woman. We always joke that "Mamaw" can't be our grandmother name because there could never be another one like her. She truly is one of a kind. I could type about Mamaw until my fingers fell off, and It still wouldn't do her justice.

Here are some pics of her special day:

My beautiful Mamaw

Ninety!

Jackson and Presley

All the grandkids and great grandkids

Mamaw with her kids (my Dad and Aunt Cindi)

This last one I love. Mamaw always has to hold your hand or have her arm around you when she talks to you.

Happy 90th Birthday , Mamaw! We're really going to have to party hard for the big 100...

Getting Out of Trouble

2011-04-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

We have developed a bunch of rules in our house as of late. One of them being "no standing/running on the couch". Presley gets a kick out of running across the couch and then almost hurling herself over the edge.

The other morning Presley climbed up onto the couch, and stood up. She immediately looked straight at Brandon and I; patiently waiting our reaction. I could see that defiant look come across her face, and I knew she was fixing to dart. Before I could say anything, Brandon started counting. "Oneeeeeeeee", he said (you always have to draw out the "one"). Then Presley chimed right in with "two". The girl didn't skip a beat.

Sadly, I was not even aware she knew that 2 came after 1?!? We were both so shocked at her counting that little miss managed to get herself out of trouble. Instead, we clapped and praised her like crazy. This probably totally confused her because I'm pretty sure she thought we were cheering on her crazy couch jumping antics.Oh well...

Crazy girl... She amazes me every day!

Wordless Wednesday: Presley meets Landon

2011-04-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

2 years ago today...

2011-04-14T06:14:00.000-07:00

Yep! It's been two years since I got the best news of my life. It's funny to think that this news was delivered by pee...on a stick. I still remember every single thing about that little moment on my bathroom floor. During that moment, I had no idea what those 2 lines really meant. I know now, and it's nothing short of incredible.

April 2009

April 2010

April 2011

She's much better lookin' then those 2 lines, no?
(Here is my post from last year)

Soup's On

2011-04-12T03:19:00.000-07:00

Since I currently have strep, soup has been my meal of choice these past few days. Presley also enjoys soup. In fact, she likes it so much she can't seem to keep her tongue in her mouth (make sure to watch until the second bite).

Just in case anyone was wondering, french onion was Presley's soup preference for that day. However, she also enjoys chicken and stars, tomato basil, and broccoli cheese.