Father's Day Mini Photo Shoot

 Thursday afternoon Kate and I met Mrs. Betsy for a mini photo shoot. It was the first time I had done a mini photo shoot and I think it's quickly becoming my favorite. It is cheaper, quicker, and easier to select pictures since I have fewer to choose from. It took about 30 minutes and Mrs. Betsy gave me about 35 pictures - perfect amount. Ms. Kate was a busy girl from the moment we arrived and thankfully Koby was there to get a few smiles out of her. Since none of the guys in the family read my blog, I figure it's safe to share some of my favorites.

 

I have already created our Father's Day cards.  Shutterfly is doing a special promotion right now where you can get up to 5 free Father's Day cards.  I wish I had seen something like this at Mother's Day (and maybe they did and I missed it).  I hope Daddy and the grandfather's like them!  Thanks Mrs. Betsy for the wonderful photos and sign me up for the next mini session! 

Mother's Day

I had a great Mother's Day Weekend.  It started off Saturday with lunch at Red Elephant with Uncle Jordan and Aunt Katie and then Saturday night we went to a cookout at the Reavis's house.  We always have a great time with Raymond, Tracy and Audrey.  Rob, Sarah and Peyton Mullinax and David and Brittany Covan (minus Kendal) and Uncle Jordan and Aunt Katie were also there.  The three girls had a great time playing together and they put on a fantastic dance show in the living room.  Kate dances like her momma - she just sways back and forth from one foot to the other.  Thank you again Reavis family!

The coveted bead necklaces.  Luckily Peyton didn't have much interest in them because there were only two.  Audrey could put them on herself, but since Kate couldn't, she just tucked them under her neck and held her chin to her chest.

Love her!

On Sunday we tried something new for lunch.  Instead of fighting the crowds, my parents hosted lunch and we each brought a dish.  I gave each grandmother a couple pictures of Kate and I received several thoughtful gifts and even a homemade card from Justin.  It was a great Mother's Day!

The best gift in the world!

Updates

A couple family updates that are long overdue:

1.  Justin has been doing great.  Thankfully, he hasn't had another seizure so if he can be patient two more months, he will be driving again.  I think we are both looking forward to him being able to drive, but for different reasons.  Aunt Katie has offered to help us out and pick up Kate during the summer until Justin can drive.  Thank you Aunt Katie!!

2.  I am going back to work full time on June 1st.  I'm not looking forward to it, but it's time since we need the money.  Justin's business is looking promising, but with 5 months and counting of no paycheck, things are getting tight.  I'm dreading the work weeks when I'll see Kate for 45 minutes in the morning before daycare and only an hour in the evenings before bed. Going full time means spending less time with Kate, but since she'll have Aunt Katie and her daddy to spend time with, that's reassuring to me.   I know I'm not the only parent to have to work full time but I already hate it!

3. The business is going good and like I mentioned above, it appears promising.  Lanier and Justin have already gotten several contracts and even completed a few jobs, but the delay is waiting on checks to come in once the work is done.  I think if they can make it through this year, hopefully they will start next year with a surplus and steady paychecks.

I started off my week on a bad note - I got a speeding ticket as I was pulling into the parking lot at work Monday am. I certainly didn't need it, but I know I deserved it.  I hope the week starts looking better from here becaue I want to enjoy my last two weeks as a part-timer!

Diaper Cake

A couple weeks ago, I helped host a baby shower for Laura Lasseter at Meredith Sullivan's house.  Laura and Jaime are expecting a baby boy, Brooks Michael, and one of her requests was a diaper cake.  My mom has made a couple diaper cakes before, but this was the first one she made for a boy and my first diaper cake ever.  We used Pampers Swaddlers size 1 diapers (the best brand in my opinion) but we probably could have used a size 2 to use less diapers overall. There are approximately 50 or 60 diapers in the entire cake.  We individually wrapped each diaper with a rubber band and then held the layers together with the ribbon.  The trickiest part is getting the ribbon tight enough around each layer and centered.  We used several items to decorate the diaper cake with - Johnson's travel size lotions and shampoos, spoons, pacifiers (Nuk brand), a stuffed monkey, baby shoes, and scrapbook stickers.  For the base, Mom purchased a cardboard cake base from Michaels and we decorated it with wrapping paper.

Here is the final product - front:

and the back:

  

That Sunday (the day of the shower), I took a couple pictures of the shower decorations before guests started to arrive.  

Meredith ordered personalized M&Ms for Brooks.

The bassinet Laura's dad made for Brooks - which is the biggest bassinet I have ever seen.

And because the bassinet looked empty, we made a diaper baby to lay in it.  We bought size 2 Target brand diapers and filled the onesie.  With a matching hat, pacifier, and blanket - it made the diaper baby complete.

Here is a picture of the diaper cake my mom made for my baby shower (before my blogging days).  Girl diaper cakes are easier to decorate, but our boy version turned out just as cute!

Our Easter Weekend

Our Internet has been down for a couple weeks so I haven't been able to post our Easter pictures until now.  We started off our Easter weekend at the Olk's pool (Katie's parents) on Saturday morning.  Thank you Mrs. Marta for the adorable swimsuit and sunglasses!  Kate loves her pink zebra sunglasses.  She wears them in the car, walking into the store or church, and of coarse at the pool.

After a quality nap (thank goodness) we headed over to my parent's house for our family celebration with Uncle Jordan and Aunt Katie, Nanny, Gigi and Grandaddy, and Mimi and Papa.  I know I say it at every holiday, but it is such a blessing to be able to celebrate the holidays all together.

Ready to hunt Easter eggs!

Kate looks a little lonely hunting eggs all by herself.  But on the bright side, no competition!

A close up on Kate's Easter dress, a beautiful smocked yellow dress Nanny bought for her.

Look at that good looking family. :)

Justin said I looked like a lemon in my bright yellow dress, but I was proud I picked out something other than black or white.

 After church, we were invited again to the FSU Alumni center for Easter brunch with Katie's parents.  There were real bunnies and chicks for the kids to play with, but Kate was content to just look. 

Getting sleepy.

After lunch, Kate watched the Easter Bunny go around the room and take pictures with all the kids.  She kept shouting "bunny!" but as soon as he reached our table, she didn't want anything to do with him (basically the same reaction she had to Santa Claus this past Christmas).

And because a year makes such a difference, here was my sweet little girl last Easter - loving the Easter Bunny.

Thank you to everyone for all the wonderful Easter gifts and we hope everyone had a great Easter!

Mother's Day Tea

This morning I went with Kate to her school to participate in their Mother's Day Tea and I loved every minute of it. Of coarse I rushed out the door without a charged camera, but here are the few pictures I was able to take before the camera shut off.

The gifts Kate made for me at school - a place mat and a Mother's Day card.  The place mat says "Mom, Of all the fish in the sea, I'm glad God picked you for me!".

  Inside the card was Kate's hand print made to look like a flower with a glitter heart drawn on her palm.  The card read:

A piece of me

I give to you

I painted this flower

To say " I love you"

The heart is you,

The hand is me.

To show we are friends -

The best there can be.

I hope you will save it

And look back someday

At the flower we shared

On your special day.

Happy Mother's Day!

We also decorate a picture frame together.

 

And if that wasn't enough, Kate brought home her first "pet" - a goldfish.  My goal is to keep this goldfish alive as long as possible, but Justin told me the water needs to be changed once a day since the bowl is smaller than most tanks.  That sounds like a lot of work for one fish, but Kate loves to look at him.  Tonight she told him "Night Night".

I'm looking forward to Sunday - here's my wishlist: a date night with Justin, girl time with Kate, and get my blog printed!

18 Month Pictures

I am finally getting around to sharing Kate's 18 month pictures at Dorothy B Oven Park back in March with Mrs. Betsy. This was the most challenging photo shoot I have had with Kate so far, and I blame it on her age. She doesn't want to sit or stand still for a second and she's still too little to bribe to behave and smile. Despite her stubborn personality and unwillingness to cooperate, Mrs. Betsy managed to get some great shots.

 

 

Thanks Betsy for another successful photo shoot!