This and That

Hey guys if you think of it tonight, mention Little Colin in your prayers. He is my cousin Nick and Brooke Stevenson's baby and he is only three weeks old and has been hospitalized with RSV. I know they are worried and worn out and just want their little man to be better! We have experienced sick babies in the hospital with breathing trouble, but Lil was almost two, I can't imagine going through this with a newborn.

Today I bought a new book by Dr. Oz (I LOVE Dr. Oz) it's called "You Having a Baby." You know, since I've had two babies I thought alot might have changed in two years. HAHA! Seriously, it's a really good down-to-Earth book (not too text bookish and not to mother-Earthy-embrace-your-laborish either) (I bought a book with my first pregnancy that was written by some crazy hippie woman who instructed all laboring mothers to embrace labor and that the pain could almost be on the edge of pleasurable...hmmm I want some of what she was smoking...)

Lil update...she's still sick...fever is gone, but round the clock breathing treatments and she coughs like mad. My poor baby, I am hoping this runs it course SOON!

Pregnancy update...morning sickness is a lie that the devil tells. Morning sickness...ha! morning, noon, night, late night... the other night I was up at 2:30! But seriously, I can handle it. I had morning sickness with both the other two, more severely with Lil. She was born in September and I threw up until July. A small small price to pay for what you get at the end!!!!

Travis and I have yet to take up the name discussion. Noah was named before we knew he was a boy. Lil didn't have a name until she was 5 hours old in the hospital. And Lilly was a name we had never discussed. (In fact weeks before I had told a good friend that we were not naming this baby Lilly!) Anyway, I am formulating a list in my head, none of which I am sure Travis will agree to. He is a sweet husband but he is most disagreeable in the department of baby naming. He had a list going for Lilly straight out of a 1990 yearbook. We keep referring to this baby as "he" but truthfully I don't have a strong feeling one way or the other. Time will tell I suppose.

On an ending note...I am proud to report that I am the mother to the soon to be six year old Wii featherweight champion boxer of the world. Seriously, you can't beat the kid...Travis can't beat the kid. I'm not sure Mike Tyson could. When the match is over he prances around with his wii controllers held high above his head Rocky style. I fully expect to find him in the family room one day with satin boxing shorts, shirtless, and sporting a mouthgaurd. His dad LOVES it... I on the other hand am dreading his return to Kindergarten for our dear Ms. Lesley to find that he has retained exactly 2 percent of what she has spent half a year teaching him!

Happy 11th Anniversary!

December 26th marked our 11th year of marriage and thankfully this year was unaffected by last anniversary's stomach virus from you-know-where. So this year my dear sweet husband, let me sleep late, a thing which happens approximately twice a year...and then we took the babies to visit with Nana and Papa and we headed to BG for a little child-free dinner.

We ate at Puerto's (fancy I know!) and we spent the entire time discussing...you guessed it...our kids! Now I know that this is not most people's idea of a romantic evening out, but munching on chips and salsa and laughing with Travis over our two's latest crazy antics was a great way to spend the evening. We then made the required run to Target for milk and diapers and wanted to catch a movie, but after checking the time decided it would put us out way past Lil's bedtime so we headed back home to collect the children.

So, as I look back over the past eleven years of our life together it amazes me how fast it's gone. We got married 5 days after my 18th birthday. And yes, we were way to young. When I look back I realize that, but would I change it? Not a chance.

We spent our early married life making mistakes, fighting it out, making up, and learning from it all. We lived in a little two bedroom trailer that we were prouder of that anything in the world. We were the proud parents of one little Chihuahua and thought we were flying high when Travis was making $7.50 and hour!!!! But you know what, we had a lot of fun and we were happy.

Happy yes...perfect Heck No. We have definitely had our share of disagreements, said things to each other that should have never been said, and just generally been stubborn and hard headed.

But after five years of marriage we welcomed baby Noah into our little family and the focus changed from us to him. He gave us more joy that we could have ever imagined and his sister's arrival 3 years later just blessed us even more.

Now here we are with our two babies, and God willing another arriving in August, we are settled into our home, we love our family and church and we are blessed beyond measure. Do we get stressed, sure! Sometimes the to do lists get longer and longer and our tempers get shorter and shorter, and the laundry multiplies exponentially...

Again, things are not perfect and I suppose will never be, but after eleven years of marriage with Travis I can truly say that there is no one else one Earth I would rather share my life with. So here's to the past 11 eleven years...I hope we have 100 more.

Merry Christmas

It's getting late

The lights are low

The Christmas trees

Are all aglow

The stockings are hung

The kids are in bed

We've gathered with family

Our prayers we have said

The night we've waited for

Is finally here

It's been a long

A Wonderful Year

All things are well

With the Parsley's tonight

And we wish and we hope

With all of our might

That this Christmas Eve midnight

Finds you happy and blessed

That your holiday is fun

And not rushed or stressed

So dear blogger friends

We love you all

We're sending our blessings

The large and the small

For when the month of August

2010 Finally arrives

We'll go from a family of four

To a family of Five!

Surprise!!! We're expecting baby #3 on August 7th 2010!

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

This is Jessica's wonderful husband Travis here. I just wanted to hijack her blog tonight to let all her "blogging buddies" know that tomorrow (21st) is Jess's 29th birthday. I know this is sad because it's her last year in her twenties, but the good thing is that she's had me in her life longer than she hasn't (I think that makes sense).

This was even before we were married!

I was a 17 and a senior in high school in 95 and I met her when she was 14 and a freshman. I took a little slack over that, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't illegal at the time. We dated for the next few years and I knew that she was the one that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. We had talked about when we would get married for the majority of the time we dated, and I finally got up enough nerve to ask her dad if I could. Funny story....I was actually working the night shift at Hill's with her dad while I was in college, and I got the nerve one night to talk to him about this. Christmas was coming up and I told him that I was wanting to get her a "ring" for Christmas. I guess he didn't understand, because he said "No, she really needs a new stereo for her car." I really didn't know what to say after that, so I told Jess that I didn't think her dad wanted us to get married. Well, I reckon she told her mom what happened, and my wonderful mother-in-law straightened it all out. Tommy told me a few nights later that it would be ok. About a year later Jessica was a senior in high school at the time, turned 18 on the 21st and we were married 5 days later on the 26th of December 1998 and the rest they say is history. I have to say the only thing bad about being married to a woman in high school is it felt pretty weird going to her senior prom.....

We are coming up on our 11th anniversary and Jess has truly been a great wife to me. She has put up with all my bad habits (Jess, you know what I'm talking about), and kept me fed pretty well. She gave me two beautiful children (that she reminds me daily she gave naturally with no meds). She chose to stay home to raise our kids and also works hard on her photography business. I know she spends some late nights working on computer (photography....or blogging), and gets up bright and early the next morning to get Noah off to school, at which time Lilly Grace decides to wake up and torture mommy for the next few hours. I seriously don't know how Jess does it, but I'm glad she does, cause I don't think I want to....

Jess and her two loving children (even though Noah doesn't look it)


Happy Birthday Baby! You are are a wonderful wife and mother and I believe you deserve a great birthday. I know you would prefer a week at the beach (alone) with a book, but I hope dinner and a play will suffice.

I Love You!!!

tap

I hope Santa Wasn't Watching....

Hmmm...when your Mom is busy making sixty homemade sugar cookies for the kindergarten Christmas party, what is any two year old girl to do???

Let's see, she could play with the stickers that Mommy gave her, or drink her sippy, or look at her books, or watch her Rudolph movie that Mommy so strategically planned...Nope that wouldn't be any fun...

Instead said two year old will push the bar stool up to the fridge and throw off all the magnets...climb up to the island and take a bite out of EVERY APPLE in the darn bowl...unhook the video camera from it's charger and string it across the living room, and then proceed to suck on every Skittle in a package until the color comes off and then spit them out on the table until they look like gobs of...well I don't' know what but it's nasty...

It took 3 hours to do a 30 minute job because I kept having to retrieve small fry off of kitchen furniture. All the while with her screaming and saying, "Mama!!!I help!!!!!"

What helped matters is that when I am elbow deep in cookie dough the phone rings and it's her darling Daddy...who apparently had no other purpose in calling me but to laugh!

After the cookies were safely tucked away in the container I dropped them off a school and then made a run to Smiths Grove for some chicken nuggets which Lilly begged for... she took one bite and promptly fell asleep since she was victorious in her McDonald's pleading and begging I guess

Oh well, little Diva is now sound asleep in her crib after the morning excitement...so Mommy is off to wash the dishes and clean up the skittle and apple debris... Then maybe...just maybe I'll take a shower!

Oh Those Twos...Terrible or Terrific?

We are deeply, thoroughly, fully into the terrible/terrific twos at our house. Why do I say terrible/terrific?

Well, any of you who have lived through the toddlerhood milestones of a two year old knows exactly where the term "terrible two" comes from. My sweet Lilly can go from sweet and fun loving baby to a screaming crying tyrant in no time flat. She seriously comes unglued at the very idea that we might be doing something that might not be her favorite thing... I remember this stage with Noah and it totally stressed me out at times. However, the second time around I really try to take a deep breath, over look the screaming (hers I mean) and tell myself...This too shall Pass!

And I know it will...pass I mean...and that is what makes me a little sad. I know that this stage is all about growing from baby/toddler into little person. When she graduates this stage, she'll lose the baby pudginess, the clinginess to Mommy, the wanting her paci and her blanky, and to be perfectly honest, I'm in no hurry for these days to be over.

Oh sure, I can do without the tantrums that involve lying completely facedown in the kitchen and sobbing while waiting for the macaroni and cheese to be spooned on to her plate and I can seriously do without the screaming in church that could surely wake the saints in the graveyard...but all in all....she's my baby and I'm not ready for her to grow out of it yet.

The time will come soon enough when she is independant enough to play her own games and to look at books all on her own, so for now I love hearing that little voice say, "Pay wis me Mama" while her chubby dimpled baby hand pats the floor beside her.

Big Tuesday

Wow yesterday was BUSY with a capital B. We had to get up bright and early to make the trip to Vanderbilt for Noah's 6 month eye checkup with his specialist. (The glasses are still doing their job...we go back in June...) Apparently, if the glasses work it will take years for his eyes to correct themselves, and if they quit working we will know immediately and be looking at surgery. So we were thrilled with the news that they're still doing their job!

After making the trip to downtown Nashville and nearly colliding with a woman eating a sandwich while driving (yes Travis there was a stop sign and you RAN it) we decided to go to Opry Mills for a little while. We got Noah some new basketball shoes for his first game on Saturday and then decided to shop around a little while. Well, it was nap time and Lilly managed to lose her pacifier somewhere in the mall. And then she proceeded to wail inconsolably...so what does any calm and collected mother do? I duck into the nearest team store and ask if they have pacifiers. Yep, and the only ones they have are bright orange with a huge Tennessee Vols T on them. ( should I mention her Dad detests this!!!) However, I would have bought the thing had it been $50 and said "I hate my Mom...) I was desperate. 10 seconds after the paci was in she was out cold! So we circled the mall for two hours and bought 1 20 ounce sprite and 2 plastic cell phones at the disney store...productive I know!!!

It was late we when got home but we had some homework of Noah's to work on so then afterwards we decided to give the shoe tying thing another go round. He has really struggled with this, but after trying a few more times together last night, he mastered it! Needless to say he was super excited to go to kindergarten this morning and show off his new skill. He told me, "Mom, I can do double knots and even tie with short strings!"

So finally it was off to bed for the two Parsley kids and off to work for Mama. I'm knee deep in Christmas orders right now, but it's fun going through all these sweet baby photos in their PJ's and Christmas outfits! I even managed to narrow down some pics of my sweet babies for my Christmas card. I just have to find time to get them ordered!!!

Thankful

As everyone else I suppose, with tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I have tried to put some thought toward what I am truly thankful for. I know that on my list of things I'm thankful for are alot of the things that so many others are thankful for, my home, my children, my friends and family, but how often do I stop and really take the time to be thankful?

I get very caught up in the rush of daily activities that I sometimes take one simple fact for granted. As a little girl, I used to think about what I wanted my life to be like someday. And it occurred to me, that I have truly gotten everything that I wished for. I knew that someday I wanted to have a husband to love and who loves me. I have two beautiful healthy children who fill my world with more joy than I ever thought possible. I have my health to be able to enjoy them. I have a family that loves and supports me no matter what and I have friends that I know I could count on in the best of times and the worst of times. I have a church that I can go and worship the Lord and I have a home that is my favorite place on Earth to be. I have salvation that I know about and I have a peace in my heart that I don't fear what will happen to me when this life is over.

Am I rich, certainly not. Do I have my share of disappointments and frustrations, you bet...but in the end of the day, I lay in bed at night and just have to whisper a prayer that simply says,

"Thank You."

Anyone feel like this?

Sometimes I am completely amazed at the words that I hear coming from my own mouth. For example, the other day, I found myself having to say,

"Do not put your sister into that duffle bag...."

Really, does this post need anything else???

Just a Little Perspective

Some days I run in a complete circle to get everyone fed, and bathed, and clean and on time for church. Some days I totally lose sight in the reason I go to church in the first place with all of the shuffle that goes on to get us out the door on time on Sunday mornings. Then some days like today happens.

This past week has gone by in a blur. I have worked almost non stop when I wasn't with the kids. I have fretted myself to death about orders getting completed, customers getting called back etc. It has almost gotten the best of me.

So back to this morning...We are on the way to church this morning when Lilly has fallen asleep and Noah is in one of his "thoughtful" moods. In other words, he's not jabbering on a mile a minute and he's not singing, or fussing, etc. These are the times when I try to have our Mommy and Noah talks. (Because any other time he's talking too much to listen so it seems like these talks happen either when we're in the car, we're cooking dinner together or I'm tucking him in at night) I take the opportunity to talk to Noah about church.

"Noah, do you know why we go to church on Sundays?" I ask

"No, why" says Noah

"Well do you have any good ideas?" I ask him, he thinks about it and then answers, "Well God and Jesus."

I tell him that is right, and that that is the most important thing we do. It's the most important thing we will ever do and the very most important thing he will ever do, is to go to church and to try to serve God and love him and to raise his family when he is a grown up to love God. I repeat again, that it's the most important thing he'll ever do.

He thinks about this for a long long moment and then his answer made me catch my breath.

"Mom," he says, "It's more important than money?"

Trying to answer without him hearing my voice catch, I reply, "Yes, buddy, it's more important than money."

It amazes me that through one tiny conversation with my five year old, God can completely put my week back into perspective.

I Did a Bad Bad Thing...

Today I did a bad bad thing...My poor baby has been sick for a week and she has absolutely whined and cried her eyes out. Like lay in the floor and cry and weep...

She has discovered that sippies of warm milk and mommy holding her are the only thing that can help. Yesterday she drank one sippy after another and managed to get constipated....that didn't help the crying.

Today is the third day of the nonstop crying...and today I broke out the Pacifier. Yep the pacifier that she has been rid of for over a month...but I did a bad bad thing and I gave it back. And you know what it helped...

Yes I know it will be torture getting her to part with it again.

Yes I know she's too old for it.

Yes I recall the reason we took Noah's away is that it was starting to mess up his front teeth...oh yeah her front teeth are already messed up (you know like missing..)

But you know what else I know, I am the Mommy and it's Mommy's job to make things better.

But for today I did a bad bad thing...but I have a happier baby


And I heart happy babies...

I also heart husbands who work through their lunch hours to come home early to help out with the sick little ones so mommy can take a shower! They're the BEST!!!

Croup...

Every year....I repeat EVERY YEAR since Noah has been born he has gotten sick around Halloween. I mean like with one or two days before or after...Six years straight...and guess what. Lilly Grace has been sick every year around Halloween also.

So true to form, last Thursday, Mom calls me from school to tell me Noah is feeling bad and is running a temp. I took him to the doctor than afternoon and he has "croup". This is most common in babies but we have the "big kid" version as the doctor phrased it. So after a little rest, a little juice, and a lot of Steroids, Noah is good to go. He still has a cough that sounds like some sort of oversized sea lion, but OK none the less.

Yesterday Lil wakes up with that unmistakable bark in her throat so after a trip to the dentist to get the tooth checked again (and driving back to Brownsville I might add because I left my stupid wallet at home...) we are back in the same doctor's office. They inform me that "yes, she's caught the same virus...but it's triggered croup AND an asthma flare-up." Thanks, doc, I tried to tell you that on the phone to save myself an office visit....Nonetheless we are sent home with (you guessed it) steroids, and round the clock nebulizer treatments.

I'm wondering if there is some sort of prescription drug rotation we can sign up for where they just send us an automatic prescription of steroids every October. If so, sign up the Parsley house!

But to look at the bright side of things, me and Lil have got to wear our comfy clothes today, and sip juice, and tea, and rock in our rocking chair and watch a whole lot of cartoons and. And I have enjoyed snuggling my baby, even if she does sound like a seal, or a sea lion...

Where does the time go???

Halloween Pics

Yikes...I'm still catching my breath from last week!!! Anybody else feel this way? It was fun but super busy! I've had sessions back to back, baked and decorated cupcakes for Noah's class, went to three doctor's appointments, attended Noah's class party (with Lilly along), shot sessions Saturday morning, went Trick or Treating with the babies, visited with family, and cooked and hosted about 30 or so people at my house on Sunday for Mom's birthday! Today I did go and update my little man's fall wardrobe and did some grocery shopping before working tonight. So I took a break from the computer work to update my blog with pictures of my sweet babies in their Halloween costumes. Noah was "Captain Jack Sparrow" from Pirates of the Carribean and Lil was Batgirl for the kindergarten Halloween party and then she was a UK cheerleader for Trick or Treating. Thanks Lindsay for the bows...they were perfect!!!

Lilly goes back to the dentist tomorrow for another "tooth" update and more X-rays...and I'll try not to think about all of the sugar and candy they ingested over the weekend...oh well I did make them brush extra times after the candy gorging...

Because Every Little Girl Needs a big Brother

to hold her hand...

and show her the way...

to protect her...

and to be her best friend always

Jackson's Orchard 2009

A couple of weeks ago we took advantage of the beautiful fall weather and visited Jackson't Orchard after church. We spend the afternoon with Randy, Sherian, Michael, Kimberly, and "Sprout" (as he's known to the blogging world!) to celebrate Randy's birthday. Enjoy the photos!

Boo Who?

Today I got to play with two of my favorite girls dressed up in their Halloween gear to test out a new set I'm using for a Halloween special at the studio. Here is one of my favorites from the session.... Thanks Ellie Claire...you were a perfect little model. To find out details about the Halloween special and to view more shots from Ellie Claire go to www.jparsleyphotographystudio.com/blog.

Check it out

Long long ago I started a studio blog using a blogspot address and I was never satisfied with the results. So fast forward I have developed a pro studio blog that will help clients keep up with what's going on in the studio. If you want to view it go to www.jparsleyphotographystudio.com/blog

Enjoy!

PS If any of you have links to the old blog it will soon be taken down so you may want to take it off your bloglist.

Pumpkin Pickers

These were taken a few weeks ago (before we got rid of Paci due to the injured mouth) but they were too cute not to post. Before reading this please pretend that my children are clean, with combed hair, and dressed in seasonal matching attire...there now proceed...

Way back in the spring when Travis planted our garden Noah decided he wanted to grow pumpkins. However, being rookie pumpkin farmers, we let them get a little too ripe and they were already mushy. However, these are the photos of the kids picking them and giving them a bath. They love to get out in the dirt with their Daddy and help. I was cooking dinner and watching my bunch out the window and I just had to run out and snap a few shots before the fun ended! Maybe next year we'll pick the pumpkins a little earlier and we can actually use them to decorate with. Anyway, the kids had fun and that's really all that matters!

This is What Happens When....

Your Mom is a photographer....

When you're two you wail and cry at the sight of a camera and when you're five you pretend that if you ignore the camera it will magically go away.

Notice I have perched the children on the KITCHEN TABLE to attempt to snap one photo before they shimmy down to the floor and run away

Somehow I can manage to take portraits of other people's children that bring tears to their eyes, that they send to their loved ones in their holiday cards, that they proudly display on their walls, however, my own little subjects are not quite so cooperative.



Should I tell you that most photos of them are when they are dressed to go to church with Travis in the background fuming and saying, "We are going to be late...do you have to take pictures now" then someone usually is being threatened to be spanked if they don't at glance in the direction of the camera and remove their fingers from their own nostrils or their sisters nostrils, or their ear, or mouth, or... well you get the picture...literally....

Updates

Lilly's tooth is "somewhat" better. It is tightening up some on it's own and the gum still looks good. Dr Scott says that doesn't mean it won't have to come out but it looks ok for now. We go back again in 2 weeks.

Flu update...Noah's test result ending up coming back negative but they are still treating them both with tamiflu. His fever broke Sunday and he feels great. Does this mean he didn't have the flu, or he did have the flu and it didn't show up on the test, or that he had a very very mild case? You're guess is as good as mine!

Just a thought...

I've often heard it said that it takes a village to raise a child...unfortunately no one ever mentioned where the village was or how to get there!

Not a Great Week at the Parsley House...

Hello all, wish I had a more cheerful post today but I don't...

Thursday we were all playing at the house and enjoying Noah's first official day of fall break when we were getting ready to go upstairs to play in the playroom when Lilly fell on the steps at our house and hit her mouth. When I picked her up she was bleeding (not badly) and when she calmed down a little I was able to get her mouth open and we saw that her two front teeth were not in the same position as they had been. I immediately called our dentist who referred us directly to a pediatric dentist and we took her directly there. Long story short, after x-rays and an exam Dr. Scot Barbee (who is AWESOME by the way) decided there was no way to one of the front teeth and had to do an emergency extraction. We are still watching the other tooth and it may have to come out as well. So basically Lilly will be without her tooth until her permanent tooth later comes in. (The damage to the root, and bone was too extensive to leave it in place for risk of infections, etc.)

Lilly is actually doing fine. She has never acted like it hurt or it bothered her in the least. She is not even doing too badly with having to give up her pacifier and her bottle and sippy very suddenly. (Sucking would cause her gums to form a "dry socket" that would impede healing)

Mommy however has been very very upset over the fact that I was standing right with her and I keep going over and over in my head how I could have stopped her or caught her somehow even though I know it was just an accident.

Then today we get up out of bed and Noah has a 102.6 temperature and after a quick trip to the doctor's office to see Dr. Stewart she decides he has the flu and is waiting for a strep test to come back as well because he has infection in his ears and his throat is very very red and swollen. My poor poor babies!!! They are treating both the kids with tamiflu (to help Noah get over it and to help Lil keep from contracting it...)

Seriously? Isn't fall break supposed to be filled with fun outings to the pumpkin patch and such? Not emergency tooth extractions and instructions on how to keep from spreading the n1h1 virus to the rest of our family!

Sorry to be so cheerful today guys, maybe my next post with be fun and filled with cute pictures of the kids...at least I hope so!

Birthday Festivities

Lilly before church Sunday

As I mentioned before, this past weekend was basically completely spent celebrating Princess Lil's second birthday. Her actual birthday party was on Sunday after church at the park next to South Edmonson. We used the meeting room to have her cake and gifts and the kids spent a lot of their time playing on the playground equipment. Ms Donna Long made the birthday cakes and they were sooo Cute!!!

We invited family and a few friends Lilly's age to help us celebrate and we had a great turnout. Everyone seemed like they had a good time, especially the birthday girl. Enjoy the photos!

Instead of treat bags we did a candy buffet...

Every year since I was born my sweet Pappaw Porter has gotten me and my cousin Beth nightgowns for our birthdays (which are only 1 day apart) . He still does it to this day and he is continuing the tradition with his great-grand daughter. Lilly Grace is crazy about him and I'm so glad to have this memory of them to treasure forever.

Please double-check

Hey guys just a quick note...I've gotten a lot of comments the last little while that some of you had sent me emails that I haven't received. Just want to make sure that you're using my email address at jparsley@windstream.net. Forever, I used the email address jparsley@alltel.net and after alltel switched to windstream for a while both email addresses worked. However, my alltel.net address does not work at all now and I don't think it gives you and error message or anything it just never sends the email. So anyway, if any of you have tried to email me lately using the alltel.net address I probably did not ever receive your message. Just wanted to let you know!

Happy Birthday Lilly Grace!!!

Lilly on her 2nd Birthday

It's Official...our little princess is two years old today. I can honestly say the last two years have flown by in a whirlwind.
Lilly Grace less that 1 hour old

(Below is Lilly at her first birthday party...not even walking yet...)

This little fireball sped into our lives over 1 month before her due date and (couldn't even wait for a doctor to deliver her) and we should have known that was an indication of things to come. Miss Lil likes things her way and on her schedule. She is full of energy and spunk and she keeps us all on our toes. She stole her Daddy's heart from the second he looked at her and she is Mommy's best girlfriend...but her best friend ever? Big Brother for sure.

We've spent the weekend getting ready for the party on Sunday. Friday night I decided to attempt decorating her an Elmo cake to have here at home so she could blow out some candles on her actual birthday (today). It turned out OK and today we ventured out to Chuck E Cheese and to pick up some last minutes things for the party tomorrow. Then the grandparents came over to share some cake and some presents before the big bash tomorrow.

It' s challenging to say the least to get a cake to hold together when you can' t use eggs. The first attempt at the Elmo cake ended up as a large pile of crumbs...tasty enough but you can't really decorate a crumb pile...take 2 fared much better...Lilly decided to sample a little cake batter before we washed up the dishes!

OK please note in the photo Lilly is wearing her brother's spongebob shirt...we couldn't get the thing off her. It was 3 sizes too big and she kept saying "Bubba's sirt..." and then cried to sleep in it and the princess gets what the princess wants (at least on her birthday...) Ah yes....terrible twos here we come!!!

Baby Ballet

Lilly is full swing in to her baby ballet class. It is just the cutest thing ever and those little girls are so sweet. They go for about 45 minutes on Friday mornings. Lilly doesn't really understand the directions, and occasionally out of pure accident she does do the same moves as the teacher, but it's OK because that's what the rest of the girls are doing too. Can you imagine trying to teach a room full of 2 years olds a ballet move. Anyway, we are having fun, and that's all that counts!!!

All Good Ballerinas need a little protein (in the form of a baby bottle!) before the perform...don't they???

And aren't all really good ballerinas a little vain...(notice the tutu has somehow wandered below her butt in the picture...)

Apparently Lilly is much too exhausted to actually learn how to stretch....she thinks she'll just take a little rest and let the other girls do the work...

Isn't everything more fun with a friend along? Lilly and sweet Maggie are celebrating making it through the first class!!!

Little Diva

AKA: Lilly Grace, Lilly, Lils, Lil, Sissy, Sister,

Eyes: Blue with some crazy long eye lashes

Hair: Out of Control curly

Favorite Pastimes: drinking milk from a baby bottle, sucking on a "Das" (pacifier), trying on shoes and jewels, pilfering through drawers and cabinets, passing out kisses to the men in her life (Dada, Bubby, Papa, Pappaw)

Favorite food: anything and everything as long as there's lots of it...is especially fond of yogurt, bananas and breakfast sausage

Loves: Frogs, Bubble baths, Little Bear and the color "lellow"

Dislikes: dirt, grocery shopping

Most Notable Accomplishment: stealing the hearts of her Mommy, Daddy, and big brother.

WARNING: this little diva starts ballet class on Friday...they may have to close down the school after Lil takes a stab at dancing!!!

Fires and Fun

With the unseasonably cool weather this weekend we took a little break and headed to Nana and Papa's to do one of our favorite things. To roast hot dogs on the fire. Mom cooked some chili and we invited my grandparents and let the kids have a ball running around the yard. The weather felt just like fall and we had the best time! I towed my camera along, hope you enjoy the photos!