Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...

I decided to copy my BFF Audra (check out her blog here) by posting how my fall decorating is going. Now, I'm never going to be as crafty as she is, but I do my best. In fact, today I dedicated a couple hours to pure, undiluted CRAFT TIME! with my friend Madeline H. She brought over her little one, and while the girls played, the mommies crafted and enjoyed some "coffee talk." Loved it! We decided to make some Rag Wreaths to celebrate Halloween. If you are interested in how to make these super-cute wreaths, check out this excellent how-to guide--written by the aforementioned Queen of Crafts herself, Mrs. Audra Lynn. I made only a few modifications to make it more "Halloween-y."

Here's the finished product:


And a close up of the cute fabrics I found at--drumroll, please--Hobby Lobby, the happiest place on Earth!

In another tribute to dear Dra, I'm including a picture of my Fall Mantle Makeover. I didn't think to take a before picture...but here is the after!

Happy Fall, everyone!

Adventures in Aggie-Land

We spent last weekend enjoying the hospitality of our good friends the Spences. Brian, Dawn, and Nathan live about 3 hours away from here, right next to Texas A&M University. Since they are A&M alums ("Aggies" if you will), along with neighbor-pal Scott, all the guys decided to take in the football game on Saturday while the girls hung out at the house. Andy had a great time at the game--A&M is rich in tradition, and Brian and Scott really enjoyed showing Andy their Alma Mater. And of course I had a fabulous time hanging with the girls. Maddie and her "boyfriend" Nathan definitely had their ups and downs, however. While they did share their first kiss while watching Baby Einstein, there were a lot of issues sharing toys. Soon enough they'll learn what their parents have...love is all about compromise!

Playing with "George" and "Duck"--the most fought after toys of the weekend!

The lone Vol fans!

She'd rather read than watch the game...

Maddie is looking irritated, like I interrupted a private moment or something!

She would not get out of the dog's bed...poor Allie!

First Haircut (for Maddie and Mommy!)

When your baby is born bald as a cueball, and stays looking like Bruce Willis for a looooong time, you kinda forget about haircuts. I never thought I'd see the day when needing to give her hair even the teeniest little trim would be necessary. However, over the last 13 months or so, slowly but surely...her hair has been growing. Maddie has what I deemned the "Reverse Mullet." Long on top, short on the sides. Party in the front, business in the back. Not very comfortable for her, I'm sure. We tried rocking the "blowhole" ponytail (you know, the one that sticks straight up), we tried little pigtails, but today I had to admit it...she needed her haircut. She looked like a sheepdog. I was scared to death of making her look goofy, or worse, like a boy. I contemplated taking her to one of those little kid hairsalons...but I finally found enough courage to tackle it myself!

Here's the before....

during.... (at this point I was really freaking out, not to mention the fact that I was having to CHASE HER around the room holding scissors!)

and after! I was convinced I had made a huge mistake. All I could think of was being approached by a million well-meaning old ladies saying "Oh, how cute! How old is HE?"

So, to make myself feel better, I grabbed the closest hairbow and voila! Instant baby girl!

The evil glares are because I was getting in the way of her Baby Einstein video. So no damage done, no eyes poked out, and she can actually see now! About an inch and a half of baby bangs are taped in the baby book, and we can move on to the next milestone!

One Year Portraits are Here!

Many of you have already seen these, or will see them when I email them out here in a few, and upload them onto Facebook, blah blah blah. But without further adieu, here are Maddie's amazing One Year Portraits from Erica Joyce Photography. Jake even blogged about how great the shoot went (see the link on the right). They are just fabulous and I think that the family photos turned out awesome, even though Andy and I joked about how we look like the Pasty Family from Whitetown, Canada. Not much chance to get a tan when you are chasing Maddie around!

Anyway, hope you enjoy. Family, I am emailing these out right now. Thanks EJP, you rock!

Click Here to See Maddie's Slideshow!

Delayed Birthday Post!

As you know, Maddie celebrated her first birthday on August 11! We were all so excited for this big milestone. The day was a little bittersweet, I have to admit. As much as I am proud and excited of how much she has grown and learned in the last year, I can't help but be sad that she isn't a "baby" anymore! She is eating grown up food, walking (sometimes), talking (sort of) and just turning into a big girl before my eyes!

I was also a little sad that we had to celebrate her big day so far away from family. We were really conflicted about whether to have a big party or not. We could have very easily filled up the house with all our friends and their kids...but in the end we decided that having to host a party would distract us from really enjoying Maddie's day, and making sure she enjoyed it. I think if we had been at home, it would have been a different story. But we still had a great time with our little party of Mommy, Daddy, Gigi, and Maddie!

Maddie got some really cool presents from family and friends including pretty clothes and shoes, new toys, books, and two very special baby dolls. Thank you to everyone who sent gifts, cards, and called to wish Maddie a happy birthday! We all appreciate it so much.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day!

Maddie and Daddy sharing a birthday smooch...

Maddie and Gigi...

A new red wagon from Mommy and Daddy....

Her very own chair, from Gigi...

Cruisin'...


All smiles!

Keep an eye out for my next post (I'm sure the excitment is killing you)...I'm including a link to Maddie's awesome One Year Portraits!

Birthday Week So Far...

If you are looking for a birthday update, you will get one--soon! We are all super swamped this week since my Mom is visiting, and we have had a few unexpected events that took up some time as well. Just a few tidbits to tide you over until I can post more....

1) Monday we had our One Year Session and Family Portrait with Erica Joyce Photography. We also did a fun "cake smash session" for Maddie. I think the pictures will turn out great, and as soon as they are ready I will post a link!

2) Tuesday was Maddie's 1st birthday...oh, I could write a book all about it! And I will write a much longer blog post, including pictures, completed devoted to her big day. Just not right now!

3) In case you didn't hear, Maddie can walk! It happened last week, but I couldn't ever catch it on video until her birthday. Here's the video if you haven't seen it!

4) I got such an unexpected surprise on Saturday. Through the magic of Facebook, I discovered that a good friend from high school, who I also lived with in college, was driving from Knoxville to San Francisco on her way to begin Seminary. I hadn't seen Carmel in about 5-6 years and I was so thrilled when I saw she was stopping to spend some time in Fort Worth! So of course I let her know she couldn't leave Texas without seeing me and my family. Carmel is a great person, beautiful inside and out, and has devoted her life to serving Christ in whatever way she could. She even spent a year in Africa doing missions--she said the heat here in Texas reminded her of Botswana. Nice.

We had a fun lunch in Sundance Square, and I got to introduce her to Andy and Maddie. We chatted about friends from high school and college, and did a little reminisicing. She seems to have forgiven me for the horrible roommate I was. She is definitely in my prayers as she begins her Seminary training.

So that's all for right now, but I will get a post up as soon as I can about Maddie's big day! Love and miss you all!

Babies, Babies Everywhere...

This past weekend we had another visit from Audra with Aidan and Neely in tow. Hank-dog stayed back in Louisiana, and the cats were very appreciative. As usual, we had a lot of fun and got into some crazy adventures...well, as crazy as two mommies with 3 kids age 3 and under can get! (Audra, I'll get all this pics to you ASAP).

The girls at the pool...


Nee-Nee being flippin' adorable...


Ditto...

Aidan burning off some energy...

We took the kids to Cabela's too. Why, you ask? Because Cabela's is awesome. The one here has a huge walk-through aquarium of freshwater fish and turtles, plus several museum-like displays of stuffed animals (the shot and stuffed dead kind, not the cute and plush toy kind). Probably not the most cheerful thing for a kid if they know the difference between an animal that used to roam free in the wild and a "furry statue"--but luckily none of ours did.

Maddie: "Fish are cool!" Neely: "Meh."


Excited Aidan...

Cabela's has great clothes too. I though about buying these shoes...

...to go with this swimsuit.

Andy, aka "Uncle Pants" also had a good time with the kids, although he conspicuously stayed "busy" most of the time. Hmmm.

I was sad to see everyone leave and hopefully they can make a trip back soon. Or maybe I'll make the trek to Shreveport again! The kids have more and more fun together as they get older. Luckily I don't have to worry about not having houseguests for too long--GiGi gets here on Friday!!!