Monday, May 16, 2011

Just a Learnin'

Rhett has been on a learning streak the past few weeks. I've been coaching him for what feels like the last two years on the foot pump while swinging and it just wasn't clicking. One afternoon Bobby spent two seconds going over it and the next thing you know he's swinging like a maniac and giving all credit to his father. Hmmmph.

Here's a goofy mid-swing foot pump picture:


One check mark in his mind's list (and his mind has LOTS of lists).
It wasn't three days after he learned to swing alone that he decided to tackle the jump from the swing. He didn't start out with small beans either. This child has never muttered the word fear.....he laughs in the face of it as I stand beside and gasp.
So far all of our limbs and bones are intact. Knock on wood. Someone please knock on some wood.
A fun series of leaping shots:



Somehow, after all the leaping, I was left with a surly child. I can't recall what his problem was but, frankly, these days, even the smallest disagreement brings on pouting, negotiating, arguing, pouting......who knows.
On to the next lesson: biking. His school had bike day and it was his goal to be on two wheels before the big day. We practiced and practiced and finally he got it. And, just in time to impress his buds at school ( thank goodness because one more day of hunkering over and holding his seat and my back was going to be a goner!)
Up the street, down the street, up the street, down the street.....and only a couple minor wrecks in between!

Got it!
After learning all these new things Rhett said, "Well, guess I've learned all there is to learn now. Don't know what I'll do with the rest of my life." Direct quote. No joke. It's such a travesty when you peak at such a young age. Guess it's all downhill from here.....

Friday, May 6, 2011

Birthday Girl!!

As hard as it is to believe, one year has already passed since we laid eyes on the most beautiful baby girl we had ever seen. It's been so easy adding pink into this family and we were ecstatic to be celebrating a whole year with her. Here's the birthday girl (who is still not walking, barely pulling up, and can't stand to stand on her own! What's up with that??) She's still super cute though:)
Pictures were great for a time but quickly lost their luster when she didn't want to be in the grass anymore. Hey, it's her birthday she can cry if she wants to.
I got all crafty (crafty for me, anyway) and made some of those cute tissue ball puff things for party decor. I was impressed with myself since I'm certainly not even close to being a Martha Stewart.
Add some balloons to the birthday girl chair and we're set! I tried to get glitter ponies, a small pink ferris wheel, and all the disney princesses to come but quickly realized I'm not on Real Housewives of Orange County so I stuck with the tissue balls and balloons from Kroger. Oh well.
Birthday girl didn't seem to mind. Put her in her swing and she's golden!
Here she is with her grandma.
Danielle made the cutest birthday sign for Elaina. It's going to be a yearly staple for our birthday decoration. I loved it!
Here's a pic of the actual crafty person with my birthday baby:
One thing I did splurge on was her cake. I'm always looking for a reason to get an IveyCake so I jumped at the chance for this special occasion. It was strawberry and it was delicious!
The most interesting thing about this cake is that it weighed more than Elaina. I'm not even joking. It was the most dense, heavy cake I've ever seen! It weighed in at 19lbs and Elaina was only 18lbs! Crazy ! Isn't it pretty though??
Elaina would have been happy just playing with her balloons.
She was clueless about what in the world was going on with all these people singing at her and all.
She had her own cupcake but I didn't dare light it until the last second because she's got the grabbiest little grabby hands.
She needed a little coaxing to take her first bite of sweetness. She'll learn soon enough!

She still wasn't too sure about it!
It didn't, however, take her long to smash it to pieces even though very little of it ever made it to her mouth. Babies are always good at making messes. Too bad she didn't realize she just destroyed a little piece of heaven in that cupcake goodness.
The big kids at the birthday didn't waste a minute digging into dessert. They are well versed in birthday parties!
Lanie had only two friends her age at her party: Carris, her bff.
And Ms. Logan who was born just a few days before her.

I did catch her trying to stand up next to the picnic table. Maybe walking really is going to be in her future! (Right now I'm doubting it!)
Aunt Tracie made the party just in time. She had to come straight from work.
Mommy and Birthday girl:
Daddy giving birthday kisses!
Party attendees (minus Logan and Keaton).
She actually enjoyed opening all of her presents. She got a kick out of pulling things out of the bags and tossing them. I love her little smile in this picture!

Dear Jesus, thank you for this beautiful first year of my life. Thank you for this great party with all the people I love, and thank you for a mommy and a daddy that will love me for ever and ever no matter what.

Happy First Birthday, Elaina!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

O-N-E!


It's hardly believable to me that today my Little Tee-Tiny turned one. The time has passed so quickly. I just wish I could scoop it up and bottle it so it would stand still. I went back to read my post from this day in 2010 and what a difference a year makes! This time last year I was a nervous wreck; my insides all torn to pieces. We held our 5lb 9oz bundle of pink for the first time and it felt just like I had always imagined.
This gal is keeping me on my toes lately with her bootie scooting. She refuses to do a traditional crawl despite all my instruction and encouragement. If there is one thing I've learned about her it's that she's in NO hurry to meet developmental milestones in a timely fashion. There is no pulling up but she will stand when propped. She complains about it though....and right now she's still cute when she complains (give it another year).



It's been a great first year and I can't wait to watch her continue to grow. I'm so excited to be hosting my first pink birthday party. I even got crafty for it. I'll have the big reveal in the party post. Don't get your hopes up too high. I'm still far from Martha Stewart.

Happy First Birthday, LanieBugs! Here's to at least 99 more!!

Saturday, April 30, 2011

An Honorary Blog

In honor of all of the lucky (but hopefully not TOO lucky) highschool kids that are heading to prom this very night, I thought it would be fitting to take a little lookie back on prom way back in the 90's. I would SO go to prom right now if I hadn't read in the paper a few weeks ago that the "average couple" spends an estimated $1,300 on prom night! Whaaaa??? I guarantee that wasn't happening back in '94. I'll tell you what WAS happening: my sequins and this backdrop. Please view Magic Carpet Ride 1994, Bobby's Junior Prom.....and note the magic carpet below that looks very oriental ruggish to me.

When 1995 rolled around I still thought the sequins were a great idea, along with the updo. This year, however, I threw in the dyed shoes from Payless. Apparently I wasn't the seasoned shoe lover I am now because those are not cute in any way, shape, or form. Surely I wasn't going for comfort? How ridiculous. Bobby pretty much played it safe in the exact outfit from the year before. The tux didn't evolve much in the 90's.

Ahhh, 1996. My senior year. The year Bobby and I like to recall the unfortunate mishap with his tux (which, again, is exactly the same) and the picture prop. His coat was caught on the column behind him and increased the appearance of his derriere by at least 3 pant sizes. This is one moment when the bootie was, well, too juicy.



I just kept with tradition and rocked the sequins, updo, and dyed shoes. I also must note that I left the curling iron on the bang a little too long giving that nice "I-just-curled-my-bang-under" perfectly placed turd roll. But I do have danglies on the side that I still find nice.


Prom. I loved it. Dance hard young people.....next thing you know you'll turn around and have 4 kids, a mortgage, and sun damage from tanning for prom. Memories. I love them!



Friday, April 29, 2011

Kids Rock!

For the third year in a row Cade donned his Nikes to take on the INGKid's Marathon (formerly known as the Country Music Kid's Marathon). Grant finally decided he was good to join this year and pounded the pavement with him. We got a late start this year and had to double up many days and run 2 miles. I could never get the boys running good on the same day....there was always one complainer. But, alas, we got 25.2 miles in and were ready to go on race day!


The drive to Nashville was completely stressful this year given the insane amount of traffic. I was pretty sure we were going to miss the whole thing but the good Lord rolled us in the parking lot just in time to hoof it to find our team waiting right at the front of the start line. (That was first! Usually we're WAY, WAY in the back.)



I only had a few minutes to get ready to take pictures. Bobby headed to the finish line area and I had grand aspirations of getting myself settled somewhere nice to get a few action shots of the boys running. Didn't happen. After only one minute of working through the crowd my pits were sweating and I found that I was only a few steps ahead of the runners. Durn that 'being in the front of the start line' stuff. I did manage one of Cade...
And I caught the rear end of Grant speeding by:
It was at this point in the race that I laughed at myself (it happens every year) because I was being that mom......sprinting, jumping over chain fences, ducking under tree branches, weaving in and out of helpless, slow people, just to catch a second glimpse of my little runners.
This is when Grant kicked it into high gear. He ran as fast as his little legs would go and he was right on Cade's heels. (We let Grant run with Cade instead of running in his age group to save time.)
I missed the crossing the finish line shots because I was stuck behind a goofy barrier thing and a lot of crazy parents....not counting myself. I found Cade in the kid crowd packing in some after race goodies.
He and Grant went straight for the ice cream.

These brothers worked hard to get to the end of this race! I was so proud of their perseverance (though it was sometimes highly encouraged...oftentimes with threats).
A pic with the dad:
Way to go, boys!! I'm already looking forward to next year. Grant? Not so much. Cade? Undecided. I can almost guarantee come February Cade will get the itch again. Grant's a wild card that only time will reveal. I can't wait!