Alyssa's One Year Pictures

This morning after church we met our photographer for Alyssa's ONE year pictures!  We decided to have the pictures taken at her house in the studio.  It's just too hot to take pictures outside  - I don't care how early or how late in the day it is.  Well, the photographer snapped a few pics & realized her lighting wasn't going to work since Alyssa is quite active.  So, she suggested we go to an outdoor location a few blocks from her house.  We didn't really have any other choice, so loaded up & off we went.  Alyssa did wonderful & after about an hour she let us know that it was time to stop.  It was HOT HOT HOT & time for a nap.

Here are a couple of teasers we just got from the shoot!

Alyssa is 11 Months Old!

We are fast approaching Alyssa's first birthday!  Baby Isa is 11 months old!

Alyssa can stand alone for a few seconds, take a step or two, say mama & dada & bubba & hello.  I've introduced cow's milk into her diet.  Just an ounce at a time to get her tummy used to it.  She isn't a fan of it at all.  I'll keep offering it though.  Maybe she will start to love it more than breast milk.  HAHA - doubtful!

Minnie Mouse Crafts

I saw some Minnie/Mickey Mouse cake pops & thought 'I can make those for Alyssa's birthday party'!

This was my inspiration:

And here are the steps it took to get to my finished cake pop:

I'm missing the white dots on the bow & the ribbon around the lollipop stick.  Minnie is brown instead of black because I didn't want the extra step of dying white candy coating black!  Overall, I think I did a great job!

Here are the invitations!  I made them too!

Pretty Pink Baby Pearls

When Addison was born a friend gave her a pearl necklace & bracelet from Manila.  Well, luckily she recently made another trip & brought Alyssa back her own set of little pearls.

Happy Father's Day

This is Blake's ring that he got for Father's Day (a couple of weeks early).  I'm terrible at holding on to gifts until the special day.  It has Alyssa & Addison's name engraved on it

Addison made this at school last week.

This is a book the girls got for their awesome daddy.  He reads to Addison every night at bedtime & this book is about a father reading to his daughter.
When Alice Ozma was nine years old, her father made a promise: to read to her every night, without missing a night, for one-hundred nights. But once the pair met their goal, they couldn't stop. 100 became 1,000, and eventually, they decided to read as long as they possibly could. The Reading Streak, as they called it, ultimately lasted 3,218, finally ending on Alice's first day of college. The story of their amazing commitment to reading, and to each other, is chronicled in Alice Ozma's book The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared

I guess I should've taken a pic of the inside

of the card & book.  Both have the girls 

hand & foot prints!

Addy's First Haircut - 3 years old!

Addy doesn't have much hair, but what little she has is a hot mess!  I've tried to trim a little here & there to get the curls under control, but it needed professional help.  I knew taking Addy to get a haircut would either go really well or really bad.  Thank goodness for Comedy Cuts & the Dora car/chair!  She was such a good girl.  I don't even think she realized what was going on between playing with Dora's map & the cartoons that were on right in front of her.  The haircut was $13.95 & took about 3 minutes.  Next time I'll take her to my stylist, but I wanted the first time to be as pleasant as possible.  Comedy Cuts is all about the babies/kids & makes it a great place to go for the first time.

I'm crazy & forgot my camera :(  All of these pics were taken with the iPhone.

Bye-Bye Baby Mullet

Go the F**k to Sleep

We got a new book to read!  It's a children's book for adults & is hilarious.  I think everyone can relate to this book if they have children.

“The cats nestle close to their kittens.

The lambs have laid down with the sheep.

You're cozy and warm in your bed, my dear

Please go the f@#k to sleep.”

Sports Team Day at MDO

This week was MUCH better than last week.  No tears were shed!  There was a little resistance at drop-off, but not much.   

From the beginning of time, Addison has always loved to play with cups & bowls in the bath.  She sets them up on the side of the tub & pours from one to another.  Well, I've spent one too many nights cleaning up spilled water & getting on to her, so I've been on the lookout for a bath caddy that goes across the tub for her to sit everything on - instead of on the side of tub.  I stopped by BB&B, but all they had in stock was $30!  The clerk looked it up online to see if something cheaper was available & found one for $15!  She placed the order for me & waived shipping charges.  Awesome!  

On the way to pick up Addy from MDO I saw this in the distance -

The closer I got, the more nervous I got!

Turns out it was a huge marsh fire that started about 2 hours earlier.  As of today it's about 80% contained.  I think the whole state of Texas is under a burn ban.  Everything is so dry & the temps hover around 100 degrees every day.  We've resorted to watering the grass even though I'd rather it just die!

Easton's Birthday Party

We went to Easton's 3rd birthday party last weekend.  They rented a little train & pulled it behind a tractor for all the kids.  Addison wouldn't go near the train even though that's all she talked about the day of the party.  She loves trains, but not enough to ride one!

Spray Park

We finally made it to the spray park!  The girls LOVED it!  Alyssa giggled each time Addy ran through a stream of water or got sprayed suddenly.  Once Alyssa starts walking she will really enjoy it more.

Alyssa's top front teeth have finally broken through the gum!  It seems like months since I first saw them coming to the surface.  Maybe she will start sleeping better again.  Mama is TIRED!

Girl's Night In

Girl's Night takes on a new meaning when you have two daughters!  B went out of town to celebrate with his sister & future brother-in-law for their bachelor/bachelorette party, so I stayed behind to party with Alyssa & Addison.  There will be times like this when only one of us can go places.  That's just the way it is since I won't let anyone keep the girls we don't have anyone to watch the girls.  Once they are older I *may* not have such an issue letting go, but for now I'll happily stay with them & enjoy every second!

We had a busy day with playing outside, arts & crafts, Chick-fil-A for dinner, cartoons, story time!  Never a dull moment here!  I even managed to get some laundry done.  Alyssa hangs on my leg 95% of the time, so getting any chores completed is challenging.  I don't remember Addison being this clingy, but I'm CERTAIN she was :)