may babies

May is a fun and busy month in our house!  Big E turned 8, Miss Em turned 3, Mom turns **cough** thirty-something **cough**, and then add on Mothers Day, teacher appreciation week/end of school stuff, and capping it all off with Memorial Day! Whew! 

Here are a few highlights from my growing babies...

BIG E:

• Loves to dress in black, neon, camo, and sometimes all three.
• Loves swords, nerf guns, and spy gear. Requested a double-edged sword for this birthday, but settled on a hatchet.
• Went turkey hunting for the first time (no one was hurt - not even a turkey)
• Best friend is Kale
• Aces most spelling tests
• Super responsible kid and an awesome big brother! He makes me proud every day!

MISS EM:

• Loves to wear her "cow boots"
• Rough & tough girl. Walked in one day to find her sparring with a boy from her class.
• Loves to sing, especially Happy Birthday, ABCs, Old McDonald, and Little Bunny Foo-Foo
• Wanted scissors and candy for her birthday 
• Best friend is Sutton aka "Sutt-Sutt". Other buddies include Sibley "Sibby-rose" and Kate.  
• "Yesterday" means anything from this morning to three years ago (example: "I was at that hospital yesterday when I was a baby."
• Total daddy's girl, but gives mama plenty of hugs and kisses too. Love our baby girl!

This year the kids had a horse party for their birthdays! If you ask Em which was her favorite: the slower smaller horse, or the bigger faster horse, the answer is of course the big fast one (not pictured)!

lady bug birthday party [Emma is ONE!]

Sweet baby girl is ONE! What a wonderful year is has been. I have tried my best to soak in every single moment with my sweet pea. I average about 300 photos and videos a month (triple backed up of course), so not too many moments went by without proper documentation. 

Her birthday party theme was lady bugs.  I didn't have too much other than her shirt, cake and balloon. Everything else was just red and black, but it all looked cute together.

I got my craft on and made these ladybug invites.  I think they turned out pretty cute. They were fairly simple to make, just required some new supplies since I'm not an everyday crafter.

Our Lady Bug is turning ONE!

          Her super-cute birthday shirt custom made by The Sassy Squirrel.

Her amazing lady bug cake created by Nellie's Custom Cakes.

Cute little daisy smash cake. All white, of course.

Her party was a lot of fun with family and friends.  She wasn't too sure about everyone singing to her and staring at her to eat her cake. Once everyone started eating their own cake, she got into it a little bit.

She received some beautiful handmade clothes and fun toys. She got a little kitchen that sings a lot of cute songs and the night of her party she started dancing and hasn't stopped since! She does a little side-to-side swing move and the classic bounce.  She just can't hold it in once she hears the music. 

The next day was Mother's Day. We went to Grammy's for a shrimp boil and then baby girl played and danced in the pasture while the boys fished in the pond.

In the last month, she has gotten her two top teeth, some blond curls, started pointing and making new sounds, and... drumroll... started walking!! She started out very hesitant, but now she jumps up and goes as fast as she can a few steps and then falls. She can go the length of the driveway if she's really focusing. She loves playing with balls and bubbles.  She makes the "buh" sound for both, as well as for her bottle.  She's kind of a tom boy too.  Loves to get dirty and play with (and eat) sticks and rocks. 

The photo below was taken in April. It's amazing how much she grew in a few weeks! The new little blond curls make a lot a difference. 

This blue dress was mine when I was her age.  Mom found it while cleaning out the barn - so glad she did!  It looks adorable on Miss Em! I call it the Shirley Temple dress.

And just one more because she's so cute.  Here she is lounging while mom drinks her coffee the Saturday morning of big brother's birthday party.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl! We love you SOOO much!!

80s prom party

Who doesn't love a good theme party?  Well my friend Bunny sure can throw a great one! Reminiscent of her "Hot Tranny Mess" party from several years back, this weekend was an 80s Prom birthday party for her hubby who never had a prom in high school.  

awesome party invite!



the girls lookin' SO good!

PB&J

Kiki and our visiting friend from Egypt

the fabulous Liz

me & my hot date

the Prom King & Queen (a.k.a. birthday boy and his bunny)

The party pad was decorated in old photos of the birthday boy in white pants, suspenders, etc, silver stars, a silver curtain, and silver balloons which covered the ceiling.  Snacks included Bagel Bites, Boozy Bears, Doritos, and of course the punch was spiked.

It was totally fun to be in high school again for a night. Oh, until 2am when the baby woke up. :)

FOUR

It's official. My baby is now four.

grammy's pool

grammy's pool is a wonderful place. countless summer gatherings have been held here - memorial day picnics, family reunions, a few redneck luaus, parties for no particular reason, and one pretty kick-ass wedding.

one summer in high school i worked at smithville lake and i remember getting off at 8 after working all day in the sun and just jumping in the pool with whatever i had on when i got home. then there was that one summer in college when i was taking morning classes and working at a factory until 7 and getting home only to jump in the pool with whatever i had on. ahh.. the joys of living in the country. and having a pool.

grammy's pool is opening today! of course it'll be about another month before it's warm enough to swim, but it'll look pretty until then. i miss the days dad would make it as warm as a bath tub so we could slip in pre-season, but i'm sure mom doesn't miss the gas bill.

so we'll enjoy grammy's pool as much as we possibly we can this summer until we see this little sign pop up again...

that was good, i'll have another!

The much anticipated Redneck Luau III has already come and gone. Here are a few of the highlights...




This guy was pretty friendly.

Mom with her new tattoos and Martin in his old overalls with some strategically placed duct tape!

My brother Terry playing all the lastest hillbilly hits...

This is the toughest I've ever seen Cousin Jack look. I think it's a good look for him. Ethan kept saying "Jack is Dangerous"! Ethan adores Jack; he wouldn't let him out of his sight the entire night. I think it's cute how they unintentionally dressed alike.

Me and my little redneck: