Epic Photo Fail

Seriously, I just want a decent Christmas card picture.

I started out with a perfect picture in my mind of my sweet angel, sitting in front of a tree, maybe a present in hand, beaming her perfect little grin that showcases her oh-so-cute dimples.

Now I would settle for an opened eyed gaze in my direction. This little booger is hard to capture!

This would have been a cute shot, had I not caught her in mid blink!

The Duuuhhhh look:

This one I would have settled for. Yes, she looks as though she is trying to catch a fly, but usable. However, out of focus. Not even Photoshop can salvage that user error.

And the cheesy grin. This is her forced smile these days. If only she would open her eyes...
If I had a nickel for every one of these shots I have:

I think I am going to have to get better with Photoshop. :-) Any sugesstions??

BlogFrog

New things are coming to my blog! You will notice that I have added the Blogfrog! This is a neat little widgit that I hope will add a new dimension to my blog. Blogfrog adds a community aspect. Look on the right side bar of my page and you will notice that a blue box that reads "My Community". Click on the link that says "want to show up here?" This will allow you to sign up. Now you can start a discussion in the forum and "meet" other people who are a part of the blogfrog community!
Happy socializing!

Halloween Party!

This past weekend we attended a family Halloween party. I don't think I have been to a dress up Halloween party....ever? It was great fun! We decided to go as the Flintstones and to make our costumes. Not such a big deal, except for the fact that I don't really know how to sew! To complicate matters more, we didn't use a pattern. However, after many alterations, I think they turned out ok!

Here we are as the Flintstones!

And here is a close up of my little Pebbles

I also tried some new recipes for the party. If anyone is interested, I will post them. First i made pumpkin spice cupcakes. I didn't get a picture of these, but they were so easy and so good! Then I made cake balls. I had never heard of them before, but they were tasty. I tried to make them look like eyeballs.

We had a great time! We will have to make this an annual party!

I'll leave you with a funny picture, of my little girly girl, with a sword, in a bucket :-) Because, well, its cute!

I'm baaackkkk :-)

After quite a hiatus, I am back to blogging! You will notice lots of changes to my blog! New address, new pictures, layout, everything! Since my blog is now open to any reader, you will notice that I am going to be vague with some details. I am quite aware that it wouldn't take much to dig up any information someone would want, but let's make it a little bit of a challenge. :-)

I am committing to frequent posts; somebody keep me to that! :-) I want this to be a place where people are able to connect and discuss with one another. So stay tuned, you will see some things to that end coming soon!

Did you see that??

Did you just see a little girl run through here wearing nothing but a diaper and a hat and carrying a boomerang??

Pretty much the funniest picture ever...

For some reason, I think this is HILARIOUS!


I laughed harder then I have laughed in a long time.



Ready for it??????



LOL!!!! :-)

Of showers and Pooh

I don't know how other people take showers with their kids, but it has always worked for me to have Ellie in the bathroom with me while I shower. I am not a morning person, so I am way not ready for a shower before Tyler leaves for work. When she was really little, it worked so nicely. She just sat in her bouncy seat and even fell asleep sometimes! As she got a little bigger, I put her in a seat that was kind of like a bouncy, only it rocked and had little toys hanging from it. I could hear her playing with the toys the whole time so I knew she was okay. Soon, she grew out of that seat, which I knew when she almost dumped it! Since then I just baby proofed the bathroom, as best I could, and she just played while I showered. Sure, she spreads q-tips all over the bathroom and unrolls all the toilet paper, but she is safe and I can see her. Well, lately she likes to watch the water go down the drain. This was okay until she figured out how to turn the hot water on full blast! And then the other day, she was watching water go down the drain, and the next thing I know, she is in with me! She had fallen in! So I scooped up my drenched and dripping little girl and threw her back out! I guess I won't be able to take my eyes off of her anymore!

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Ellie is absolutely obsessed with Pooh. We watched it one time and she has been hooked ever since. She goes crazy if she sees anything Pooh, even if it is across the room. She has amazing Pooh vision. I try to only let her watch Pooh in the morning. I think that she would literally watch it all day of I let her. She even taps her head three times (as if to say Think, think, think) when she wants to see it. She does this often! Most of when she plays with anymore is Pooh. Take this picture:
She is carrying two stuffed Poohs, a miniature Pooh, Tigger, and Darby (she is the new Christopher Robin) The purse is the bag she carries all her little Pooh's in. She does love her Pooh.

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We hope you are enjoying this weather! We are!

Mother's Day and other news

I'm not a very good blogger. It has been forever since I updated! I'll try to do better! :-)

I had a very nice Mother's Day. On Saturday morning I got to sleep in!! The best present ever! :-) We then spent the day with my family. My sister came down with her husband and boys. We had a fun day of playing soccer and eating. Ellie had a lot of fun running around and playing with bubbles.


Sunday after church we went to see Tyler's family. We had a good time there of more food :-) and a little running around outside.

Tyler got me an Ipod Touch! It is really cool! I have really enjoyed listening to new music and playing with all the apps.
It was a wonderful weekend! I feel SO blessed to be the mother of this little girl

She is such a joy and it is a privilege to be her mom.

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Ellie went to the dr on Monday. She got another shot :-( we are almost done with shots. I can't wait!
The nurse said she only weighed 19 lbs still. I don't really believe that though because our scale says 21. It is just that she wouldn't hold still in the scale! She is so funny! As soon as we walk into the room at the office she starts wailing! She won't let anyone touch her and just clings to me. I think she remembers what happens there! As a result, she never gets and accurate weight or a great exam. Hopefully she will grow out of that soon.

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If you think about it, say a prayer for Kayleigh's family. Their website is linked in my sidebar. Sweet Kayleigh went to heaven this week. That family has been through so much and I know they can use everyone's prayers.

Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus

I admit it. I have a blog addiction. I reads way too many blogs, way too regularly. However, I don't feel too badly about it. There are many stories out there written by people with some rock solid faith. Stories written by someone who is told several times that their baby will die. Stories by someone whose baby did die, after only hours in her mommy's arms. Stories of a baby who has clung to life after 9 months in the NICU. Stories of a family who fervently serves God and takes in orphans, only to have their home burn down. Yet these people hold firmly to their faith and trust God through all of it. It encourages me and leads to to wonder, how would someone get through something like this without Jesus?? How could someone go through the hard things in like without the hope that God is in control and that he holds us in the palm of his hand?? It must be so....hopeless! Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus. To know that whatever happens, it will all work for the good of those who love him. To know that we don't know what is best for us, but that He does, and to trust that WHATEVER happens, he is still God and things are going to be ok. So, if you need some encouragment, stop on over to www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com or www.mycharmingkids.net (or ask me for a few others) :-) I don't mean to tell you, look...things could be worse! No, I only send you here to be encouraged by these womens faith. Faith that in the midst of the worst circumstances, puts all our own desires aside and says, not my will, but yours. I want a faith like that.

New Fashion Trend

Don't you know the new spring trend? It's all the rage with the under 2 crowd.
The oversized Tshirt and sandles.....
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Yeah, my daughter is a trendsetter.

And this one just becasuse it is cute...

New Camera!

I am so excited! I am getting a new camera! I have always been interested in photography, so I am super excited to be getting something that I can practice on! It isn't anything super fancy. I am not quite ready, financially or otherwise, to jump into a dSLR, so I went with something different. It is a step up from a basic point and shoot. Just something that allows me to play with the settings a bit. Compared to my old 2 mega pixels,the 10 this camera has is going to make a big difference! So, hopefully you will be seeing some beautiful pictures on this page soon! That man in the brown suit can't come fast enough!!!

Not me Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.


I have decided to take part in Not Me Monday this week! This is a fun way to confess our imperfections! So, without further adieu...not me Monday, because nobody's perfect!

This week, I most certainly did not try and jump over baby gate, only to miss. And I sure don't have a nice bruise to prove it!

Today, I for sure didn't drive around for an HOUR to get Ellie to take a nap. That would be silly.

I most certainly am not sore today because I did several cartwheels yesterday. I know that I am no longer a teenager and should not randomly attempt gymnastics that haven't been attempted in the recent future. Someone could get hurt.

I absolutely am not writing a blog when I should be doing laundry. That would be irresponsible.

There is no way that I had to use spell check to spell absolutely.

I am not currently reading a book on nutrition, only to feed Ellie chicken nuggets for lunch.

When Ellie wanted a ride in the laundry basket this morning, I sure didn't rig up a strap out of a belt so I didn't have to bend over to push her. That would be lazy.

That's all for now! Anyone else want to participate? It is great fun! :-)

March

It is March.
I declare it Spring.
Time for a new blog layout.
Happy Spring :-)

Birthday post con't.

On Ellie's birthday morning I made her blueberry pancakes.


















She loved them!














Next, we went to the library. Ellie loves books, so this was a perfect place to go on her special day. She ran around the library and we read several books. She enjoyed the kangaroo rocking chair and wanted to pet all the stuffed animals. She grabbed part of the Thomas Train set and rain across the library. She had a great time.
It was such an unusually warm day on her birthday, that I decided to take her to the playground for the first time. She LOVED it!! She ran all over. Up and down the ramps and all around.

She rode in a swing for the first time and it made her laugh and laugh.














She loved to slide down the slide.

I can't believe my baby is 1. It seems like just last week she was born. She has blossomed into such an amazing little girl. Every day I am learning something new about her, and getting a glimpse into who she will be. I am sure this has been the fastest year of my life. I'm excited to see what is coming in the next year!

Long overdue birthday post!

It has been a few weeks since Ellie's birthday and I still haven't blogged about it! We had a great couple of days. We had her party the day before her birthday. We had tons of family at her party. She wasn't sure what was going on, but she had a fun time playing with her cousins. When I got her all ready to smear her cake everywhere, I stripped her to her diaper and put on her bib. I gave her her cake, and she wanted nothing to do with it! We gave her a taste,



















But to no avail...



















We even tried a spoon, but she didn't want anything to do with it! Oh well! We enjoyed it! It was sooo good! She did however, eat some later off her grandma's plate:














Ellie loved all of her presents. She has played with them all a lot! Here she is with her new wagon:














Blogger won't let me upload any more pictures so I will have to put her actual birthday on a separate post.

Happy Birthday, Ellie!

We have had lots of fun the past couple of days celebrating our little girl's first birthday! I will post about the activities later. For now, enjoy these pictures from her first year!

What do you get when you mix the bottom of an oven with an oven mitt??

So...I'm a little accident prone :-) Here is what happened:
The scene opens with Ellie eating happily in her highchair, Tyler...doing something. I go to get something out of the oven and I drop the oven mitt in the oven! Much to my surprise, it bursts into flames!

Me: Tyler! Tyler! Come quick! Fire!!!

Tyler: (comes in and assess the situation, starts rummaging)

Me: What do I do?? (Closes the oven. Realizes that that doesn't cut the air off. Opens the oven back up to an even bigger fire)

Tyler: (Still rummaging)

Me: (Thinking about throwing water in the oven. Realizes that this is not a good idea.) Do I put flour on it?!?!? What are you looking for???

Tyler: The tongs!

Me: (Thinking, "I don't think the salad tongs will work in the situation!" Then realizes he means the grill tongs!) They are right there!

Tyler: (Extracts blazing remnants and tosses them into the sink)

Disaster averted.

Shouldn't oven mitts at least be flame retardant?? This one acted as if it were doused in gasoline! Truth be told, this isn't the first time I have caught an oven mitt on fire. I am thinking of investing in some of those silicone oven mitts :-)

SNOW!!

We finally had a decent snow! I measured between 10 and 11 inches in our yard. The best part about the snow is that Tyler has been working from home the past few days and I haven't had to work in the daytime. It has been SO nice to spend some extra time together. We have really needed it.
We took Ellie outside to see the snow. She wasn't too impressed. It was so funny. She could barely move in her snowsuit, so she just sat stiffly in the snow. She did not look very happy. Needless to say, our outing didn't last long. We ended up coming inside, making hot cocoa, and watching Tyler shovel snow from the window. What a nice week it has been.

Baby Love

Until recently, Ellie has shown no interested in her dolls. But in the past few weeks, they are her favorite toys! It is so cute! She carries them around and kisses them. (With a very open mouth and lots of tongue) :-) One day she sat for 15 minutes and washed her baby with a wipe. Today she has been covering her up with a washcloth. It is just so darn cute! I have taken way too much video in the past few days :-) Here are some pictures of my little mommy:

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year Everyone!
Wow! What a difference a year can make! This time last year Ellie was still in my belly. Now, I have a WALKING baby! That's right, we have turned a corner...Ellie now walks more than she crawls. Where did my baby go?? It is so amazing how fast this year has gone!
We had a great New year's eve. We played games and Ellie got to play in confetti with her cousins. We came home in time to get Ellie to bed and I fell asleep on the couch. Tyler woke me up at 11:58 to watch the ball drop. We said happy new year and were in bed by 12:06. We are such party animals :-)

Here are some pictures from the evening: