Eh, I Had A Kid, Whatever

Apparently even the birth of a child wasn't motivating enough to for me to write a blog post. It's been a strange year, maybe because I spent the majority of it in bed. I'm sure I'll look back on 2011 as "The Phantom Year" since I have little record that it even existed. (Except for the little person I grew and delivered.) But 2012 is going to ROCK! I can already feel it. And since it will be so fabulous maybe I will even blog about something now and then. Maybe. In the meantime, check out my new little person. I love her. LIKE. A. LOT.

Ava Victoria

Born September 16 (4 weeks early)

6 lbs. 15 oz.

I made this before and after print to hang in her nursery. The "before" pic was a week before she was born:

Happy Columbus Day

Operation: Sticker Therapy

Saw this blog post today and thought I could help. I am gearing up to clean out my scrapbook room anyway.

This is Abigail, who is undergoing cancer treatments. She also loves stickers.

Operation: Sticker Therapy is putting together sticker kits to help distract and entertain the kids as they undergo their treatments. If you have any stickers you want to donate - any kind are great, I would be happy to ship them with mine. I will be sending a package out in a couple of weeks. Or if you would rather mail them directly, shoot me an email and I can give you the address. Thanks in advance to anyone who wants to help.

Dear Craig,

That pretty much sums up the week, don't you think? XOXO!

So Close I Could Almost Taste It!

I might have actually beat Craig at bowling, but I choked on the last frame. Someday, victory will be mine...

Fourth of July Weekend

We finally upgraded my old iPhone to the iPhone 4. I know the 5 is coming out this year, but I couldn't wait anymore. My piece of junk kept freezing up, among other issues and was driving me crazy. Craig finally saw the light and decided to switch over from the droid too. Now that everything is up to speed, I'm realizing how bad my old one had really gotten. It's so nice to have things functioning normally. I downloaded some new stuff too, and I am LOVING the Instagram App. I used it to document all our patriotic activities this weekend. We had a great time - hope you did too!


Saturday, AJ wanted a star in her hair for watching fireworks that night.


She completed her look with a patriotic manicure.


What's a holiday weekend without a nap?!


We have been getting snowcones almost everyday. There is a place around the corner from our house that has the best EVAH! It's too dang hot to eat anything else!!!


AJ and I made Red, White and Blue Popcorn for her and her friends to munch on during fireworks. It was yummy. Recipe HERE.


Amy and AJ - I overheard them saying even though AJ would have a sister soon, Amy doesn't have a sister so they have to be best friends until they both DIE!!! This conversation was immediately followed by how to coordinate their outfits for the next park day. These are their big concerns. I love the simple life of kids.


Glowsticks are always a hit with the kids.


Great fireworks.


Today, we did a BBQ by the pool with Craig's brother Paul and wife Jess. It's been fun having family down here to celebrate with.


It's also fun to swim when it's a billion degrees outside. Did I mention how hot it is?!


The ever-charming snorkel mask.


AJ loves scary movies. We all went to see Super 8. I was worried it might be a bit much for her, but she did OK. After it was over, she told us the scariest part was the fake zombie movie the kids were filming. She wasn't even scared of the alien. I thought the show was pretty good - kind of like a next generation Goonies (but set in the 70's.) And just FYI, much like the Goonies, this one had a bit of bad language.


We wrapped the weekend up with dinner at BJ's. They have a pretty good gluten-free menu, for anyone out there who has a super-fun gluten allergy like me.

What a great weekend! I love Independence Day and am so thankful for the freedoms we enjoy. A big salute to the men and women (and their families) who defend those freedoms and make sacrifices so I can enjoy days like these. Happy Fourth everyone!

Photo Fun: Day 10 - Animal

Dixie

She's such a cuddler. She just wants to live on someone's lap, all the time. She really has become part of the family. We love her.

Photo Fun: Day 9 - Fresh Fruit

Although berries will always be my first love, I have been craving lots of oranges since I got pregnant.

Photo Fun: Day 8 - Sunset

Photo Fun: Day 7 - High Angle

Apparently High Angle = Huge Stomach and Midget Feet

My prego physique does look bad in real life, but not this bad. Yet.

Photo Fun: Day 6 - Books

We always have a bag of books checked out from the library. This is our current stash. 10 for AJ, 2 for me.

My rule for AJ is to always have 10 books checked out. Even if she doesn't want 10 while we are at the library (though that rarely happens), I grab a couple extras until we get to the magic number. That way, I always know how many I need to round-up on the due date.

Photo Fun: Day 5 - Breakfast Today

I had big plans for homemade gluten-free waffles this morning, but A.J. woke up throwing up, poor thing. So this is what I got instead:

Photo Fun: Day 4 - Clouds

Since there's not a cloud in the sky today, I have nothing to photograph. So I'm cheating a little. I took these photos last week when we were having crazy tornados. These were right above our house, you could see the clouds spinning. A few tornados touched down in the area, but luckily we escaped without any damage.

Last Day of School

Today was A.J.'s last day of Kindergarten. WAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! Not because she's home. In fact, I am ecstatic that she's out and we can spend the Summer together. I've missed her! Plus, this is the last Summer it will just be the two of us, so I want to make the most of it. But I can't believe how quickly the year went by. My baby's growing up WAY too fast.

First Day of Kindergarten:

Last Day of Kindergarten:

Pics from her graduation program (for grandma and grandpa): Her class sang "You Are My Sunshine" and the whole grade sang "What a Wonderful World". I feel like I've already sat through my share of boring, cheesy programs, but this one was actually really cute.



A.J. and her teacher Mrs. McGinn:

Photo Fun: Day 3 - Hands

It's already so hot outside! I have a feeling we'll be going through lots of these this Summer.

Photo Fun: Day 2 - Your Favorite Shoes

Who said I have to have one favorite? I would say this is my favorite ROW of shoes...

Photo Fun in June: Day 1 - Self Portrait

I rarely follow-thru on anything, especially when it comes to my blog. So I thought I'd try to change it up a bit and see if I can complete this 30-day photo challenge. We'll see.

Here's the list, you can join too!:


Here we go: Day 1 - Self Portrait (Whenever AJ hears a camera click, she magically appears and insists on being in the photo. In this case, I think she improved it, especially since she was wearing magical gift wrapping bows which give her special powers.)

Outnumbered

He's a boy

I'm a girl

She's a girl too

Even she is a girl


And today we found out...

IT'S ANOTHER GIRL!

Craig doesn't stand a chance. ;)