Sweet Elle

I wanted to dedicate this post to our sweet, unappreciated dog, Elle. She was our baby first and has been replaced two times over. The life she once knew (sleeping in our bed, curling up on the couch, etc.) has drastically changed. Through it all she has remained just as sweet as before. Last night I was watching Ava try to ride her and Sam pull at every part of her when she gets close. Elle just lets them, and I think a part of her likes it. She would take any kind of attention!! She is very high maintenance, but we could not have asked for a sweeter dog.

The night before I had Ava - Feb 2007


Ava and Elle - Feb. 2008 She is the only dog I know that watches TV - seriously!!!


Sam and Elle - January 2009


Elle may not be the brightest puppy, but she definitely has a leg up over this crazy dog!! The poor thing - his leg is really out to get him!! My sister sent this to me and it is a must see - only 41 seconds and worth it!!

My secret obsession

OK... well it is not so secret. I LOVE cupcakes. To me, they are the best dessert and it may be because I don't have to share!!! Almost every week I make a different kind of cupcake for all of us. Last week we had spice cake with cream cheese frosting and the week before that, all vanilla with sprinkles (Ava's favorite). I should make a note that I get a lot of help from Duncan Hines, but I really wish my cupcakes looked like this.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Weekend

I wanted to update on our busy weekend. Saturday night James and I had a babysitter and went to our neighborhood progressive party. We had a blast and I wish I had pictures to post, but since this is only our 2nd time to attend, I didn't want to be running around snapping pictures. Three of our neighbors graciously volunteered their beautiful homes and we all traveled from house to house by golf cart. Each house had a theme and drinks and hors d'oeuvres to go with it. For instance, the theme at one home was a fiesta and they served margaritas, chips and salsa and quesadillas. IT was such a great way to socialize with everyone and meet some new neighbors.

On Sunday the kids and I went to Dardanelle to visit Erica. We all went to church and then to lunch at Cracker Barrel. For the most part, my kids behaved themselves. Sam is just LOUD and cannot sit still so it is a lot of work to sit with him for an hour. And if someone could help me out that would be great, but he won't even let anyone else look at him. He is adorable though!!!

The kids at Cracker Barrel - we are minus Nick (he went camping), but Tyler brought his friend, Dakota.

Last night Joey and Jennifer stopped by to visit . Sam screamed at them all night, but Ava loves them both so much especially Joey. She is so shy around him though - she won't even look at him - it is very cute. But, every time she is on her pretend phone, I say "Who are you talking to?" She smiles and says, "Joey!"

This was at Ava's birthday party - I didn't take any pictures last night. Ashtyn, Jennifer, Ava and Joey.

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day everyone!! We did not do anything great like plant a tree or pick up trash, but we did spend the day outside enjoying the beautiful weather.

We spent some time at a park near our house. Ava didn't spend very long in what she called the "baby swing." You can't see very well, but Sam was smiling SO big - he loved the swing!

We played outside even more when we got home - Sam is just now getting used to sitting in the grass if only I could keep him from eating it!!

Cover Shot

It is time to put your kids on the cover of Parents magazine. Enter here http://www.parents.com

Here are my cover shots -

I love Sam's hair in this picture!!

Bath Babies

I love giving baths in the sink and my kids love it too!! Of course, Ava has graduated to the bathtub!!

Sam - yesterday

Ava - October 2007 (8 months)

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Family Photographer

I wanted to share some photographs from a budding little photographer in our family, my niece Haven. On Easter, Haven somehow ended up with a camera and took a ton of pictures. Now, there were some that were of random items in the house, but I really liked most of them and and she did a great job taking pictures of my kids - not an easy task!! I think she has a future ahead of her.

A self photograph of the photographer

If I had to choose a picture to describe my life right now, it would be this one!!

This is my personal favorite!!

Such a cute picture of Tyler and Sam!!

Great job Haven!!

First Tooth

Sam has his first tooth!!!! I didn't even know until I felt the other day and it had already come through. The second one is well on it's way. As you can see from the picture, as soon as he gets something in his hand it goes directly to his mouth. And the poor little thing - Ava has claimed EVERY toy in the play room and all day she says, "No Sam, Ava's" - we need some serious lessons on sharing.

On a side note, Ava rarely wants her picture taken anymore, but she was in a pretty good mood this morning so I got a smile out of her!! Thought I would share!!

Easter.....Take 2

We had a very fun and busy Easter . I have decided though that I need to let go of my need for perfection. I just had this idea of the kids behaving perfectly and getting the PERFECT picture in their Easter outfits - HA!! I didn't even manage to get a family picture and really not a good one of the kids - OH well! I did take them to a professional photographer Friday, so hopefully he took at least one good one. It rained all day here so all of the Easter festivities took place indoors. Ava was amazed the Easter bunny came to visit and had a blast hunting eggs. Sam had a blast eating the grass out of the Easter basket.





Ava on Easter morning - the Easter bunny brought Sleeping Beauty DVD and some princess toys.






Sam's first Easter morning - the Easter bunny brought him bath toys, but his favorite was the grass.


Ava is having her Easter Egg hunt in the living room. She has enough candy to last until next Easter!!

The best picture I could get of Sam in his little Easter outfit. Yes, it is a pink shirt - real men wear pink!!!

I had to bribe Ava to sit and take her picture. We are in the process of decorating their bathroom and she loves the new stools. We had to take our pictures on the bathroom stools and this was as good as I could get.

Ava and Haven


The kids are ready for the Easter egg hunt at Mimi and Papa's!

The aftermath of the hunt- that is the fun part right? Andrea (Mimi) had this great idea. She put numbers on the eggs and then went to the Dollar Store and got a ton of prizes and put corresponding numbers on them. Then they called out the numbers and she gave them the matching prize - I thought that was fun!


Andrea makes this cute bunny cake every year.

Ava eating cake - the little girl can eat her sweets!!

Sam and Erica - check it out - he is not screaming!!! (no smile either though!)

Happy Easter everyone!!!

Zoo Day

We took our first trip to the zoo yesterday. You could not have asked for better weather and we had a great day!! I was curious to see how Ava would like all the animals, and she did great. There were lots of empty exhibits, but she got to see elephants and giraffes and a fox (Swiper no swiping) - she said!! The little wild woman's favorite exhibit was the snakes and the lizards.

She wanted Papa to carry her all day!!

She loved riding on the little train.


We are on the train and she would NOT look at me - she was having too much fun. Hopefully you can see the little grin on her face.


Here is how Sam spent most of his time on his first trip to the zoo!

WOW - snakes and lizards!!!

Poor little Sam wants his mommy. I have A LOT of pictures like this.

Thanks Papa and Mimi - we had a great time at the zoo.

Easter Eggs Fit for a Princess

We dyed Easter eggs yesterday afternoon. I gave Ava the choice of puppies, Nemo or princess (that was all the grocery store had available) and she chose the princess. Now I don't know what her fascination is since she has never watched a Disney princess movie, but she loves them. She knows them all by name even!!

I think Sam may have had more fun than Ava with his graham cracker!!

Ava was amazed that she was getting to color the eggs. She really thought it was fun.

I tried to get her to show me the egg and smile, but she was too busy naming all the princesses. We definitely had a good time with the eggs and she couldn't wait to show Daddy!!