Destin 2011

Last week we spent the week in Destin with the Smith family. We had a GREAT time! It was so relaxing and fun! The kids all had a blast. Alyssa didn't really like the beach but she was in the pool from breakfast to dinner! We ate good and had great fellowship! We can't wait to do it again!!! Noah turned ONE the day we left. We had a small party then headed home. We turned his car seat around so he experienced a whole new world on the way home!!! I will post more birthday pictures later.

Mallory's First Dance Recital & Noah's First Day of MDO

Last Saturday night was Mal's first dance recital. It was so much fun!!! The program was amazing!!! The theme was The Little Mermaid. Mallory was a sea horse for her ballet routine and a hula girl for her tap routine. I must say the hula routine was my favorite of the whole show and not just because my child was in it! I was a little concerned because Thursday night at rehearsal Mal fell out of her folding chair and hit her eye. It was borderline needing stitches!!! It was swollen and blue. By Sat night the swelling had pretty much gone down and I just put dark eyeshadow on the other eye to match. She loved getting makeup put on!!! She really did great during her performances. She did most all of the dance moves! I wasn't sure if we were going to do dance again next year because she also does gymnastics and is very good at it but she quickly let us know she wanted to do dance again! While it was crazy it was so much fun and I can't wait to do it again!!!
Saturday morning was Parker's 2nd birthday at Gymboree in Shreveport. The kids had a blast!
Tuesday was Noah's first day at MDO. He did great! He didn't sleep very long but I didn't expect it. He will not sleep at church so I didn't think he would there either. He did however get sick!!!!! He woke up yesterday with a runny nose!!!:( This is lovely since we are leaving tomorrow morning to go to the beach for a week!!! He doesn't seem to feel bad just has a runny nose so hopefully it will clear up quickly. I should have known going somewhere he has never been picking up new germs would make him sick but it didn't even cross my mind!!!! I CAN"T BELIEVE MY BABY WILL BE ONE NEXT SATURDAY!!!!! Did you hear that??? Yes, I was yelling!!!! We will celebrate with a party with the Smith clan before we leave from the beach, travel back on his birthday, then the next day have a party with my family! He had his first taste of cake last weekend at Parker's birthday party so he is ready!!! He has decided that since he has tasted real food he no longer wants anything to do with baby food!!! This dude can eat!!! As soon as he finishes a bite he is asking for more!!! Well, I better go start packing for 4 of us!! I am DREADING this part!!!

Noah is 11 Months Old!!!

Where have the last 11 months gone?!? I can't believe we are just one month away from you being ONE!!! You are so much fun!! We just eat up every minute with you!! It is very hard to do the monthly pictures now because you will not be still! You were just wanting to play patty cake during this picture! Here are some of the things you have been doing this past month:
-You are growing lots of hair! I just LOVE it! It is blond and curly (just like your daddy's was when he was your age).
-You will drink from a sippy cup. You will drink your formula...still not too crazy about juice.
-You are signing more, milk, and all done.
-You LOVE to eat! As soon as you finish your milk you are signing more. We have slowly been introducing solid foods...your favorite so far is watermelon!
-You will walk holding onto something or someone.
-You love for us to sing "If your happy and you know it". You have learned the song and know when to clap when you are supposed to!
-You are still a great sleeper!
-You are a super fast speed crawler....we can't keep up with you. Your favorite game right now and playing chase. I love to hear your sweet giggles!!!
-You are finding things funny. Just about anything Mallory does makes you laugh!
-You are not too crazy about us reading to you...when I start reading you start turning the page!
-You have moved to a convertible seat. You probably could have fit in the infant carrier another month but you figured out a way to pull the foam out from under the car seat!!! We can't have you eating foam!!!
-You love us...it just melts my heart to walk into your room and see your huge smile and you reaching your hands out for me to pick you up. Now as soon as I pick you up from your crib you give me the biggest hug! :)
-You went to your first of many t-ball games this month...you really enjoy it. You love watching everyone and clapping when we all clap.
-Mrs. Glover from the church nursery told us you brought such joy to her. That made me feel so good to hear her say that because that is exactly how we feel. You definitely keep them on their toes!!!

There is so much more but it is hard to keep track of everything! We love you so much and are enjoying every minute with you!!! You are starting MDO one day a week in June. I hope you do well being away from me for that long. You love people so much I am sure you will do great!

Easter/Beach 2011

Trey, Mallory & I spent Easter weekend in Orange Beach, AL. We had a blast!! Trey & I were going to go by ourselves but our friends we were going with were bringing their little boy so we decided last minute to bring Mal. I am glad we did because they had a blast playing together. They kept each other busy. Mallory was not too crazy about the ocean but she liked the sand and the pool. We went to the pool (water park) at the wharf one afternoon and had a blast. We even went to an egg hunt at The Hangout in Gulf Shores on Easter. The weather was perfect! There are also pictures of Mallory's egg hunt at school. We also went to and egg hunt in the park the weekend before but forgot to bring the camera!!! We are going to Destin with the whole Smith family in June so A & N will get their chance to play in the sand & ocean then. Life is so busy right now. School is winding down and summer activities are beginning. T-ball games, swimming lessons, dance recitals, gymnastics...busy,busy,busy!

Noah is 10 months old!

This was the first time you pulled up...it was on the gate. We caught you before it fell.


I can't believe 10 months have already gone by!!! You are growing so fast! Here is what you have been up to this month:
- You are crawling EVERYWHERE! I can't keep up with you!
- You are pulling up and cruising. You pull up on everything. When you pull up on the couch sometimes you will cruise down the side of it to get to something you want.
- You are clapping. I love watching you do this. You get the biggest grin on your face when you are clapping!
- You love to roll a ball. If I roll you a ball you immediately roll it back to me.
- You talk NON STOP!!! In fact, you are sometimes moved up to the older class in the nursery at church because you are talking so much that the babies can't sleep!!
You say mama, dada, baba, no no, and bye bye. You shake your head when you say no no and you wave your hand to say hi and bye.
- You had your first surgery this month. Last week you had tubes put in your ears. You did great!!!
- Still sleeping great! You take 2 good naps a day then sleep from 7-7:30 or 8:00 every day.
- You are such a people person! You LOVE being around people.
- Your 12 month rompers are starting to get a little tight on you...I have a feeling by the time summer comes you will be in 18 month clothes.
- You are a thumb sucker! I think it is the most precious thing...you only do it when you are tired or when you get really upset(which is usually because you are tired).

There are many more things you have done but I can't keep track!!! We are loving every minute with you. You are so easy going!

Spring Break 2011

We had a great spring break! It was pretty relaxed and low key. Tuesday we went and had lunch with my Mom and visited my Dad at work. Wednesday we went to Monroe and ate at the new chick fil a and the kids got to play on the playground. Of course I had to go up in the play area to get A down! Then we headed over to the Childrens Museum. The kids really liked all of the fun things to do there. There was a police car that they really liked playing in. Let's hope this is the last time we ever see Mallory in the back of a cop car!! :) Thursday we went to Shreveport and had lunch at Superior :) then headed to Chuck E Cheese. Why oh why did we do this???? It was Caddo & Bossier Parish's spring break too so you can imagine the crowd!! It was hot and stinky and I could not wait to get out of there!!! Friday, a friend and I headed to Tyler to go to a MOPS conference. We spent a couple of hours in Shreveport...shopping of course! The conference was great! We got home Saturday evening. The girls played out in the sprinkler most of the afternoon on Saturday and had a blast! It sure was nice to sleep in every day!!! Come on summer!!!

Dad's Christmas Present Fishing Trip

Daybreak at Toledo Bend--3/17/11

Dad patiently awaiting the next bite.

We saw several eagles soaring throughout the day.

Bro. Joe fighting one of our 12 keepers.

Toledo is about 7 ft below normal now.

Our guide....Joe Joslin

Bro. Joe fighting a 5 pounder.

Our largest of the day jumping at the boat.

Today's lunker....4-5 pounder.

It was goose mating season on the Texas Islands.

My best attempt at capturing the eagle while on a boat in 20 mph winds.

This is an eagle's nest...about 6 ft in diameter...they use the same nest year after year.

Dad's final fish of the day

Get the Net!

This was fish 21 of the 22 we caught today. Overall a great time of fishing and fellowship.

Noah is 9 months old!

Noah, you are growing so fast! I can't believe you are 9 months already! Here are some of your stats for this month:

-You weigh 19lbs and I am not sure how long you are...you have been sick several times over the last month so that is why I know your weight! Your check up is next week!
-You are wearing 12 month sleepers and 6-12 month clothes.
-You are sleeping 12 hours at night.
-You are napping two good naps a day.
-You are still not crawling...buy you are SO close!!! You do however roll everywhere you want to go. You get frustrated starting to crawl so you just throw your head over and roll.
-You will give kisses pretty freely!
-You are into everything!
-You will eat any fruit baby food. You do not prefer the veges!!
-You are jabbering and making lots of sounds. You will repeat some of the sounds we make. You do say mama & dada.
-You are still loving your big sisters. If they are in the room you are following every move they make.
-I LOVE your new smile!!! It covers your entire face! You wrinkle your nose and show your teeth!
-You are very friendly...if anyone we see smile are talks to you, you smile and talk right back!
-You LOVE being outside!! We set up your baby swing on the swingset and you can swing with your big sisters. You also enjoy just sitting in your exersaucer on the back porch.
-Unfortunately, you have also had 3 ear infections in the last 6 weeks so we are going to see the ENT in a couple of weeks to discuss getting tubes put in your ears. Both of your sisters have had them so we know once you get them it will make this problem go away!!

We are just loving every minute with you!!! Happy 9 months my little man!!!

Alyssa is FIVE YEARS OLD!!

Alyssa turned 5 today!! My how time flies!!! We had her birthday party Saturday. We had it at the church playground and it was perfect! Her favorite thing is to be outside. The weather was wonderful and I think everyone had a good time. I can't believe she will be starting Kindergarten in the fall!!!

I LOVE Kool Kids!!

For those of you who don't know what Kool Kids is it is a huge consignment sale we have in Ruston twice a year. Everyone in the community can put kids items in the sale. It is 3 sisters who put it on and they rely on volunteers to help work it. If you volunteer for 4 hours you get to shop before the public. We all line up at the civic center and anxiously wait for the doors to open. It is SO much fun!!!! It is like waiting to open presents on Christmas morning!!! Anyway, I thought I would share some of the fabulous finds I purchased. As you can see I mainly bought for Noah. EVERYONE runs straight for the girls clothes so if you do not go there first there is nothing left. I prefer not to be trampled so I go to the boys section first then later see what everyone else has discarded for the girls (or have a wonderful friend who will look through it with the crowd and pick out some cute stuff)!

Here is a wooden rocking airplane I just HAD to have for Noah!!!

Here is an airplane lamp that matches perfectly with his room!

Here are all of the clothes I found for him!

This was probably my most favorite thing! I LOVE these shoes!!! If you notice to the left I found his 1st birthday outfit!!

Here is what I found for the girls. All of the dresses are for Alyssa and the sandals are for Mallory. Mallory really didn't need anything since she has all of A's hand me downs and she can wear a lot of her stuff from last year!

Noah is 8 months old!!!!

It is hard to see how much you have grown because you wouldn't stretch your legs out!

Getting ready to crawl!

Your first bath in your big boy tub. You LOVED it!!! You just kept grabbing the bubbles.

I can't believe you are already 8 months old!!! Time needs to slow down!!! You are such a joy! You are the happiest baby I have ever seen! All we have to do is smile at you and you give us the biggest grin! Here are some of the things you are doing this month:

-You can say mama, dada, and baba - you are always talking. You wake up talking and go to sleep talking!
-You can wave bye-bye. You are not consistent but you do it some of the time.
-You recognize when we leave the room. You usually cry if I leave the room.
-You LOVE to eat! You take four 8oz bottles a day the last one has cereal in it. You eat baby food twice a day. You LOVE puffs!!!
-You are constantly moving. I can barely hold you still to change your diaper!
-You are wearing 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers.
-You have EIGHT teeth!!!!
-You are getting up on all fours and rocking but not crawling yet....it won't be long!
-You sit up without help and can stand up briefly holding onto something. You are trying to pull up on the exersaucer. (This is where your sisters starting pulling up.) We had to lower your mattress because you were pulling up in your crib!
-You sleep 12-13 hours a night and take two 2 hour naps a day.
-You follow every move your sisters make!!!

We are loving every moment with you!! I am currently writing this post from the bed because I have the flu!!! Daddy has taken over and I have been quarantined to the bedroom! I am praying no one else gets it!!!

Mallory's 4th Birthday

We had Mallory's 4th birthday party last Saturday at CC's Gymnastics. She had a blast!!! There were lots of kids and lots of fun!!! She wanted a snow white theme. Do you know how hard it is to find snow white stuff?? The only thing I could find were the snow white cupcake toppers so that is why we had cupcakes! I found a cute design for a cupcake stand so I make it! It was really cute - not extremely sturdy - but cute!! I make candy apples for party favors to go with the theme. Her actual birthday was Tuesday. We bought her a hopscotch princess rug for her room so I laid it out while she was sleeping. She was excited when she woke up and saw it. She came in our room saying "I am not 3 anymore, I am 4 now". She had a birthday heart shaped donut on our "special day" plate then went to school to celebrate. I picked her up from school and she got to have a date with Mommy & Daddy. We went to build a bear, ate at chick fil a, rode the carousel, and ended the night with a cookie. It was all about her!!! I think she is most excited that she is in a booster seat like Alyssa now. She asked me every day for a month when she would get to switch!!!

Noah is 7 months old!

I can't believe you are 7 months old!! Here are some of the things you are doing now:
-You are sleeping from 7 or 7:30-8 or 8:30 every night and are taking two 2-3 hour naps a day.
-You eat four 8oz bottles of formula a day and eat baby food twice a day. You REALLY like fruit. You wouldn't eat any of it until here recently now you eat the entire jar!
-You are busting out of your 6 month clothes but 9-12 month are still a litte big.
-Sitting up with confidence. I can leave you sitting there by yourself with a toy or something to keep your attention and you are fine.
-You jabber & squeal with delight all of the time!!!
-You are very grabby....will grab anything in sight!!
-You are cutting your next 2 teeth. Your top front two are at the edge of the skin..we can see them but not feel them quite yet. We are checking every day because it will be soon!!!
-You love for us to sing to you. Mallory especially!! If you are upset for any reason all we have to do is sing to you and you calm down.
-We went to the doctor 2 weeks ago for your 6 month check up and your stats were 16lb 8ozs and 27.5 inches long.
What a happy seven months we have had!!!!


You loves his baby food so much he licks every single spot on your mouth to get it!!!