Soakin' It In

Dounts

2011-04-28T18:00:00.001-05:00

Today we had our first donut day. I don't know why we haven't done it yet. She loved the yellow swivel stools. She had a star sprinkle donut and donut holes.

Sliding Minnie down the "slide". I love Minnie and donuts!

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-21T23:16:00.004-05:00

30th Birthday

2011-04-17T22:59:00.004-05:00

Chris took me to eat yummy food on my birthday.

Mom and Dad threw me a party at main event that Saturday.

Valerie Swimming

2011-02-21T13:51:00.004-06:00

Valerie has loved being in the water since she was tiny. She has never been afraid. In November we decided to start her in indoor swim lessons since she loves it so much. Emler Swim school is a large company that has great techniques that works on teaching children to swim at an early age. She is their star student in the baby class. Uncle Jeff and cousin Julia came to watch today. Here is how amazing she really is at it.

Valerie's Bright PINK BOOTS

2011-02-03T07:42:00.010-06:00

This is Valerie.

These are Valerie's bright PINK BOOTS.

Valerie likes to wear her bright PINK BOOTS everyday!

She likes to wear them when she wakes up.

She wears them when she goes to bed.

She wears them when she eats.

She wears them to the stock show.

She wears them in the ball pit.

She wears them when she cleans.

She wears them when she reads.

She wears them playing with daddy.

She wears them when she dresses up.

She even wears them when she colors.

But Valerie does not like it when her bright PINK BOOTS gets wet.

Or when she losses a bright PINK BOOT.

This is Valerie. Valerie wears her bright PINK BOOTS everyday!

Play Room Renovation

2011-02-01T13:48:00.005-06:00

When Valerie needed extra room to play, I decided to make our middle room we have into a 'fancy' playroom with room for her to play but also for us to hangout in. I had a crazy idea to put bead board in it.

Here are the before pictures.
Picking the paint color

And after! Valerie in her new play area.

The after pictures

Laundry Room Renovation

2011-02-01T12:55:00.007-06:00

When we moved into this house 2 years ago, our laundry room was awful. It looked like a garage with a washer and dryer. There wasn't even a door from the house to the room. So with the help of family, we cut out a hole in our house and added a door as seen here. The rest of the room had bad sheet rock and wasn't insulated.

The window had tons of paint on it and you couldn't even see out.

So we hired a contractor to sheet rock, insulate, texture and to make it look like a room in the house.

The sheet rock

Putting in the tile

Picking paint color

The Final Product! I went to home goods to get decorations and decided to decorate in beach theme. it turned out really well.

My grandfather made these shelving units.

Rodeo

2011-02-01T11:24:00.003-06:00

I want to post about the Rodeo we went to this week. But, I didn't take many pictures. I have 2 good ones. Here they are......

Go look at my mom's blog for better pictures http://lorrie-b.blogspot.com/2011/01/fort-worth-rodeo.html

Bubble Day!

2011-02-01T11:20:00.006-06:00

Finally a SNOW DAY! We have been waiting a while. It was more ice than show. She yelled out BUBBLES! when she saw it this morning. Then when we were outside she kept saying bubbles bubbles bubbles!

She wouldn't let us put her down. But, of course as you see.... she HAD to have her boots on.

Daddy sliding on the ice!

NO BUBBLES! NO BUBBLES!

Rose Parade Trip

2011-01-16T11:20:00.006-06:00

My band I work for went to the Rose Parade this year. The parade was on 1-1-11. It was a very fun but tiring trip. Chris and I went out to California on Monday and then Mom, Dad and Valerie joined us on Thursday. We went to Disneyland with Valerie on Friday with the parade on Saturday.

The band Night out in LA

New Years eve In and Out burger

At the parade waiting to march

Me and my boss, Jolette Wine

Me and my captain, Mackenzie.

The cool cool sheilds one of our band parents made

The parade route was 6 miles long. I thought this was funny.

Cool pic of the mountains.
brushing our teeth in the hotel

Out to dinner with Brian (my uncle) and his family.

My cousin, Brianna

The Hansens and us

Disney

Tea cup ride

Looking at It's a Small World

Eatting a mickey mouse cookie

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T19:39:00.000-06:00

This was a very fun day! She got a new kitchen set and lots of new toys. She was precious the whole day.

This was the kitchen set Chris put together.

She adores it.

The apron was made by a birdville guard parent. So cute.

Then Grandma and Papa came over to open up other presents with us.

Then we went over to mom and dads for the rest of the day to see that side of the family.

Her finger is doing the sign language for "where" for the jack in the box.

Our beautiful Julia

She LOVES the doll house from Aunt Elizabeth

The table grandma and papa got for her new playroom

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T09:07:00.000-06:00

For Christmas Eve, we went to church with mom and dad as well as Grandma and grandpa Hansen. Then we went to Macaroni grill. She was so cute in her dress and jacket.

Nashville Christmas

2010-12-22T15:54:00.000-06:00

We went to visit Chris' family in Tennessee during the holidays. They have ALLLLL boys in the family. It is def a different environment for her to experience. She did well playing with all of them.

The minute we got there she started playing. Look at the look she is giving him... she doesn't quite know what to think.

Leave me alone! haha

With Grandmother Hattie

Uncle Lee is sooooo funny.

The crew downstairs.

Present time!

All the grandchildren got $50 rolled up in a coin roll. Evan thought it was $5 and was super excited.

$5!!! (only a few people would understand)

$5

Opening crayons and coloring book

And then Cousin Derek ripped his $50!

Dancing Santa

Boys being boys

Sweet picture

Then Mason and Evan got ahold of the camera.

Evans pic

Mason's pic

Then Valerie taking one (with my help....)

She loved this keyboard so much, we got her one when we got home and put it in her bed Christmas morning.

Her and Evan watching Dora before bed.

The younger boys and her. Yes, this was the best one out of the 50 we took.... hahaha

I love this picture of her and Luc so much.... and yes, Evans hand.

There was a lot of boys with shirts off alllll weekend.

Aunt Patricia singing one of her German kids songs to her.

School Party

2010-12-09T07:13:00.002-06:00

We attended Julia and Valerie's school party today. They had games and food. It was fun hangin with the cous

The two girls.
Valerie won the cupcake walk!

Her prize.

Then Julia won.

We watched Julia throw snowballs into the snowman's belly. Look closely, their is a daddy in there!

After our wardrobe change (messy diaper), Valerie discovered icing.

And liked it.

A LOT!

Priceless....

2010-12-08T14:30:00.002-06:00

Unbunco

2010-12-05T09:21:00.001-06:00

Each year, we have a Christmas party with mom's friends. These ladies have been friends of mom's since they worked together years ago. Now, their children are all grown up having children of our own. We use to play bunco every year, but now their are too many babies running around, we are busy chasing after them.

I HEART Santa.

I HEART Mommy.

I HEART Daddy.

I HEART Music.

Rudolph with Grandma

2010-12-04T12:43:00.001-06:00

Grandma took Valerie to her first casa show to see Rudolph. You can see the whole blog on my mom's at http://lorrie-b.blogspot.com/2010/12/rudolph-red-nose-reindeer.html

Here are the few cute pictures I got before they left.

Tada!

Beautiful

Helping daddy with work.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T07:37:00.006-06:00

This Thanksgiving was a busy day! First, I ran the 5k turkey trot with my friends. It was very cold.

Then we had a small Thanksgiving crowd at mom's house since the Hall's were in Corsicana.

Then we went to the Gaylord to take her Christmas card picture and to see ICE!

Valerie was amazing at how beautiful the Gaylord was.

She explored with Pawpaw first....

And then explored on her own...

A lot....!

Then we went to see ICE! She did not like not being able to move.

...still not happy with all the layers on.

Grandma hold me.

With many things in Valerie's life, give her 10 minutes and she is use to it...

Daddy petting ice snoopy

Trying to walk with the parka on

Finally, after a long day, it was gingerbread cookie time!

And then she barely ate dinner... haha.

I am Thankful for...

2010-11-23T18:29:00.006-06:00

...Valerie's daycare. It is such a good center. It is a Grapevine-Colleyville ISD development center for teachers kids only. It is ran by GCISD with all teachers kids! I think it is so good for her to be around that environment and learn from them. I know she likes it because she start screaming with glee and kicking her legs every time we drop off. Here are pictures from the Indian day they had as well as the Thanksgiving Lunch.

Indian "Jumping with Elmo"

Indian "Jumping with Elmo" with Indian "Dancing with Mickey"

Thanksgiving Lunch. Look at all that food they gave them!

Miss Meagan, one of her teachers.

Angela came to visit Valerie's class before going to Julia's class.

Then I went to visit Julia's classroom for her lunch.

Sunday Zoo Day

2010-11-14T19:38:00.005-06:00

Sunday we went to the zoo. We hadn't been in a while. It was great. She was decked out in her Thanksgiving outfit. I need to have a photo shoot with it. Cute cute cute!

Scared of the gorillas.

This bird hogged our stick. She was very hungry.

The bird flew away right after the flash with it this close. What a cool pic though.
Choo! Choo!

Riding the train.

Penguins eating breakfast.

Fun day Saturday

2010-11-14T18:59:00.005-06:00

Saturday night we went to Southlake Towncenter to eat and see the fountain.

Of course, we had a photo shoot beforehand..... She's marching...

The fountain area

Some kids (i figure) put soap in the fountain. It was very bubbly!

Runaway toddler. She is very fast.

Skydiving!

2010-11-13T20:20:00.003-06:00

Chris and I went skydiving for our anniversary. We decided to not get any gifts for each other and to skydive instead. It was amazing. I wish I had a 5k to run right after because my adeline was on fire! We fell for 54 seconds without a parachute and then the person we were falling with opened the chute.

Did I mention it was amazing. I am hooked.

The ride there.

Getting there. I don't know why we did so many thumbs up in these pictures. Maybe it was our way of telling ourselves everything is going to be fine...
Before the dive. I wore my butterfly shirt because I would be flying today.

The person I flew with.

The plane.

Taken off.

FALLING!!!

Ahhhh!

Me almost kicking Chris in the head when we fell.

ALIVE!

Chris' interpetration of the fall. He's so funny. He is the man for me.

After the fall. CRAZY HAIR!

Halloween #3

2010-11-01T20:32:00.006-05:00

Halloween night we went to Angela and Jeff's new house. They did a great job decorating it. The backyard is the perfect size to play and they have great trees to take pictures in front of. Their neighbors offered to take us around the neighborhood trick or treating so they can show us the "good streets". They are very lucky to have found such a good place to raise a family.

Valerie was in the traditional angel costume that every girl in our family wore. My mom made it in the 80s. Angela wore it first, then me, Kristin, Lauren as well as Julia.

Valerie tops us all.....

Julia was little red riding hood.

Halloween #2

2010-11-01T20:20:00.006-05:00

Halloween #2... The family took Valerie and Julia to mainstreet Grapevine on Friday night. The shops had candy and games. Julia loved the games, Valerie just loved observing like normal. I had a football game so I was sad I didn't get to come. They dressed Valerie up as a cat.

Halloween #1

2010-11-01T20:11:00.004-05:00

Halloween #1.... During the day of Friday the daycare had a Halloween party and parade. They dressed the kids up as M&M's. It was the cutest thing ever! Their teachers are great. We are very blessed to have a school like this to teach her the ways of the world.

Pumpkin Patch #2

2010-11-01T20:00:00.003-05:00

We went to the pumpkin patch a second time to go on the hayride. Here are the pictures from it....

GO RANGERS!

2010-10-22T08:16:00.001-05:00

State Fair

2010-10-10T20:38:00.001-05:00

Chris, Valerie and I went to the fair on Sunday. Here is what we did:

First, we took pictures in a booth.

Second, we fed the animals!

Then, we ate our corndogs.
Forth, we took pictures by the fountains.

Then, we played skee-ball.

Then we saw BIG TEX!

And we ate our first batch of cotton candy.

Finally, we looked at the horse lined up for the parade.

And watched them line up for the parade.

Pumkin Patch

2010-10-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

We went to the Hall's pumkin farm. It is becoming a tradition in our family every year.

She was such a dare devil on the slide. She has no fear!

Pumpkin Valerie getting a ride.

Toddler pumpkin with baby pumpkin

Doing some chores

Happpy fam

Pumpkin Valerie with Aunt Angela

Grandma and Papa with their lil pumpkins

The Slide again and again and again!

Riding the tractor

Happy October!

2010-10-03T15:17:00.000-05:00

Coup Car Craz

2010-09-26T21:01:00.009-05:00

Valerie is obsessed with her coup car. The coup car at school, the coup car at Grandma's, the coup car at our house. It doesn’t matter where the coup car is, she is inside it or moving it around. She watches her shows in it, she plays in it and she would eat in it if I'd let her. She is so stinkin cute

At the drive-in...

Grapefest

2010-09-26T20:21:00.002-05:00

We went to Grapefest a week ago with the grandparents. She had a great time at the petting zoo and merry-go-round. She was very brave at the petting zoo.

GO COWBOYS!

2010-09-17T12:50:00.001-05:00

We are ready for the weekend of football!
Valerie's version of hiking the ball.

2010-09-06T20:11:00.003-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa took Julia and Valerie to a Birdville football game. They made it to the end of halftime before Miss Cranky pants (Valerie) needed to be put to bed. She certainly does tell you what she wants without even talking.

Angela and I got football shirts made for the girls. Valerie's is yellow with a green football to match Birdville's colors. She even has her own ribbon that all my big girls (colorguard girls) wear to perform.

Happy birthday Daddy!

2010-08-29T17:37:00.005-05:00

We threw Chris a 40^th birthday party last night at Hibachi- Sushi place. (Yes, my husband is 40. Yes, he does look very young. Yes we are 11 years apart… lol) It was great fun. Julia and Valerie loved the fire! It was a perfect night with family and fun.

Happy Birthday honey!

Pre-School

2010-08-29T17:26:00.004-05:00

Valerie had her first day of pre-school last week. The daycare is ECDC which is a daycare for Grapevine-Colleyville teachers only. We are lucky we got in because of Grandma. It was a hard adjustment as you can see by the tears, but she is much better now.

Before school (little did she know....)

The school

With Ms. Megan and Blake. Blake is so adjusted, but Valerie just didn't know what to think...

When Mommy said goodbye : (

Toddler

2010-08-01T15:37:00.003-05:00

I blinked and she became a toddler! When did this happen? Did I soak it all in?

Quack Quack!

2010-07-31T20:55:00.007-05:00

We went to Chisolm to feed the ducks! She loved it.

This duck scared me a little.

All she did was eat....

And eat...And eat....

The one time she threw the bread!

Can I go swimming mom?

And of course, she couldn't leave the house without her new bracelet on! Such an accessory girl!

Splash Pad

2010-07-29T19:29:00.003-05:00

I took Valerie to the splash pad to play with Moote (2nd cousin) today. She was in heaven. It was so much fun. I got so many good pictures I couldn't narrow it down so here they all are!

Gatlinburg

2010-07-26T10:08:00.010-05:00

We went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for Chris' parents 50th wedding anniversary. It was beautiful. We hardly ever get to see Chris' family so it was nice spending 4 days in a house with everyone. Here are lots of pictures from it!

Before the airplane. Crazy girl at the airport

The cool playplace we found in the airport
Our view

Hangin with Nana
With Cousin Derek

Pops!

Our house we rented

The gameroom all the boys spent most of their time

The hot tub we treated as a pool....

Morning view

Big girl at the dinner table

Cousin Mason

Uncle Lee

Frame worthy...

The Cantrell's!

In the car

At dinner

Before swim time

We went and visited Chris' grand daddy before we left. He is 92 years old! I'm glad Valerie got to meet him.

Burgers Lake

2010-07-05T20:32:00.003-05:00

We went to Burgers Lake today. It was a blast. Mom was dreading it, but after we left she said she couldn't wait to go back. I'm glad we drag her to these adventures.

The whole crew.

Mom was so smart to bring this seat for her to sit in.

So chilled

My All American Baby!

4th of July

2010-07-04T20:40:00.002-05:00

4th of July was fun! We went out to eat at a Mexican food restaurant. Valerie ate her 1st quesadilla's. Then we went to Grapevine Lake to watch the fireworks. It was a great afternoon. Valerie was incredible hyper and didn't go to sleep until 10pm! It was a very late night for a very cute little girl.

Before Church that morning. She plays so well in the church nursery.
Watching fireworks at the lake.

I LOVE this picture.
At the lake.

Aunt Angela and cousin Julia.

'Take 57' with the grandparents... (its hard getting these girls to sit still)

The girls.

She loves swinging over and over again.

My beautiful baby.

Valerie Walking

2010-07-03T20:55:00.004-05:00

Attached is a video of Valerie walking! She is trying so hard to stay up. The ending is the best with her putting the blocks in the cookie jar. Chris' puppet skills are A+.

1st Haircut

2010-07-03T12:39:00.005-05:00

We got Valerie's haircut today for the 1st time. She was very chill and just sat there. She watched the Wiggles on the tv in front of her. She is such a big girl!

Before picture...
I don't know about this...
At least I can drum during...

Beep beep...out of my way!

I look good!

All done!

Best Zoo Trip EVER!

2010-06-21T12:38:00.006-05:00

We bought zoo memberships for the year. Every Monday in June, members can get in at 9am. The animals were entertaining. She is really beginning to understand how cool it is!

I wish I got more pictures of Chris with her. Apparently, he was the camera man today.

Fathers day was really fun! As soon as I get the pictures from mom I will get blog about it.

Waiting for the train!

Looking at the penguins! They were very active.

Feeding the birds!

I do it all by myself!

Whoooo Tiger! (look at our faces!)

Who needs waterparks.....

2010-06-04T18:50:00.006-05:00

....when you can create your own at home?! We got out the baby pool for Valerie this afternoon. She loved it. We pulled over her slide and connected it to the top of the pool. Daddy was very tired after we were done!

Climb up the slide....

Come down the slide!

Do it again, and again, and again.....

Like Duck to Water

2010-05-31T19:21:00.005-05:00

This child is FEARLESS when it comes to water. Valerie is usually very timid in new things she tries. But not swimming.....No fear in this kid when it comes to the water. I love that she likes it so much. It makes my heart happy when she is so happy.

Cousin Julia makes me laugh so much!

I am going to get very tan this summer : )

Kicking with Kristin.

I threw the rings for the big kids to get!

Rangers Game

2010-05-30T11:28:00.007-05:00

Last Sunday, we went to the Rangers game as a family. It was great fun! We never mess up her nap schedule - we always make sure she is home between 12:30 - 3:30. But, the game started at 1pm. She did great with the odd nap schedule. She was so happy, we passed her around the whole game and she loved the ice cream!

3rd Times a Charm

2010-05-22T17:24:00.006-05:00

Valerie didn't feel well at her birthday party. We tried doing the smash cake 2 times that day. She wasn't having it!

We put it in the freezer and decided to try once she felt well. Today we did it again. It went much better. However, she was not messy. She took small bits and liked the icing better than the cake. I thought she would have gotten a sugar rush.... but she took a nap soon after....?

Try #1 at her party.....

Try #2 at her party......
Today!

I all done!

Big Girl Chair

2010-05-21T09:37:00.003-05:00

We are lucky I am home in the mornings so Valerie always watches a baby Einstein after breakfast. Grandma and Grandpa Butts got her a big girl chair for her birthday. She loves it. I love it too because it is light and easy to store.

5 minute intervals: Like this......
Then this......
Then the cycle continues....

A Party without Umbrellas, but with some Roseola!

2010-05-18T12:50:00.020-05:00

Saturday was Valerie’s Birthday Party. It was suppose to rain. We watched the weather channel all week hoping the forecast would change. On Saturday morning it was suppose to start raining at 3pm (the time of the party). But, it blew over and it was a gorgeous day!

However, we thought Valerie was getting a case of the chickenpox! She just received her chickenpox vaccine and the doctor said some babies get a mild case of it a few days later. Sure enough, she got a fever for a few days, and then broke out in a rash. It was touch and go with her mood all day. She did not want anything to do with her smash cake!

On Sunday, once the rash got bigger we took her to Cook Urgent Care. It turns out, she had roseola and it had nothing to do with the shot! Go Figure! She was not contagious at the party. Apparently, the children are contagious during the fever portion and not contagious as soon as the rash appears.

Despite the rash, the party was a hit! It looked great. Thank you, mom for all your help. I defiantly couldn’t have done it without you!

The hit of the party: Strawberry Marshmellow Pops

Strawberry Crush Soda

The range of emotions from the sick baby.

Happy...

Sad....

Happy...

Sad...

The smash cake she did not smash....

Her new love, Strawberry Marshmellows.

The tradition of the shirts live on!

The party Guest

The rosela that joined us for the party

Things to do before I'm 30

2010-05-15T20:34:00.010-05:00

Yesterday, I tackled something I wanted to do before I was thirty..... Make a star-tip cake. Oh my, was it hard!!! Thank goodness Angela taught me how to do it a few weeks ago and Kristin came over and helped me out.

No wonder, people buy their cakes and not make their own. I feel very accomplished!

Make the pounds of buttercream icing.

Make the cake, cover it with icing.

Outline the face, fill in the shirt and bow.

Fill in hat and skin.

Fill in face, hair and name.

YAY!!!

Goodbye Bottle!

2010-05-11T20:24:00.005-05:00

Tonight was Valerie's last bottle and last formula. We have weaned pretty easily one bottle at a time since she was 9 months old. The 8p.m. bottle was the last to go. I talked and talked about it for weeks but I don't think she realized what was going on until I put the bottle in the trashcan and waved bye-bye (Chris got it out and washed it later). She threw a tiny fit......

She got 4 shots today and she lost her bottle. It was a rough day at the Cantrell house. I'll let you know how our next 3 nights go. I better go to bed now just in case I don't get any sleep over the next 3 days.

This picture has nothing to do with this blog. But, it is so freakin' cute I had to show you!

Birthday Stats and Activities

2010-05-09T16:08:00.008-05:00

Valerie,

Here are your stats for being 12 months old:

· You weight 21 lbs
· You are in a size 4 diaper
· You are in 12 month clothes; size 4 shoe
· You have been on several bike rides now!
· You love to snuggle in the morning. I love waking you up and rocking you forever until you are ready to eat. You lay your little head on me and let me sing to you. It is my favorite time in the day.
· You LOVE the outside. We go on a wagon ride around the neighborhood almost everyday. You rock back in fourth and drink your juice. You cry every time we come inside.
· You also love swinging and go down the slide in the backyard.
· You get more oatmeal in your hair than in your mouth each morning!
· You love patty cake and just you began to love ittsy bitsy spider.
· Your favorite songs are ABC’s and Itsy Bitsy Spider.
· You love for me to chase you all over the house while you crawl. You are such a fast crawler!
· You LOVE yogurt bites, mac n cheese, hotdogs, apple sauce and string beans.
· You HATE mandarin oranges!
· You love books and love to turn the page for daddy.
· You HATE your exersucer now. You cry every time I try to put you in it. Baby six flags has lost its thrill : (
· You are such a talker now. You are leaning new babble everyday!

It was so much fun sharing mothers day and your birthday on the same day! We went to the zoo in the morning. The weather was cloudy but that didn't stop all the animals from being friendly. The monkey's were the best! We got a membership to the zoo for the year. We are going to take you there all the time. Then we came home and attempted a nap before we had dinner with the family for mothers day and your birthday.

1st trip to the Zoo:

First we got the turn your car seat around! You were mesmerized by the cars in front of us.

Family pic with the elephants.

Looking at the big giraffe. You sucked your thumb when you were scared.

The gorrilla eatting his breakfast right by the window! Morning was the best time to go!

Merry Go Round in the Texas Section. The horse even went up and down! You keep rocking back and fourth to make it go faster.

At the monkey cage.

The trip home. You was asleep before we even pulled out of the parking lot!

Birthday Dinner at Abuelo's:

Elmo's SO BIG! Birthday Present from Grandparents

Valerie doing SO BIG!

Group Shot

Your pouty face because I kept pulling your thumb out of your mouth....

Valerie's Strawberry Shortcake Party is this Saturday (5/15). Pray for good weather. I will blog all our pictures after the party!

Happy Birthday!

2010-05-09T12:46:00.006-05:00

Happy 1st Birthday Valerie!

It is unbelievable to think that I finally got to hold you 365 days ago. The day you were born was a beautiful Saturday morning (actually, I don't remmeber the weather, it was beautiful in my mind). I had you from a c-section since you were breach. Your dad and I had to be to the hospital by 6am. Aunt Angela made everyone Team Valerie Shirts. Julia was so cute saying "TEAM VALERIE!" all day.

You were in our arms by 7:50am. I will always remember the first bonding moment we shared in the recovery room. The nurse and your dad went away for a bit. I got hold and talk you without anyone around. We were on our own island.

For the rest of your birthday, you were visited by lots of family and friends. When you would lay down in the hospital your feet would shoot up to the sky! The nurses said it was because you were a breach baby and you never really learned how to tuck your little legs in.

We came home on Tuesday May 12th. You were a little jaundice so we had you in your own "tanning bed" for a few days. It didn’t make me happy but, it was short lived.

Over the next few months you learned lots of things. Your looks changed drastically as well. You were born with dark straight hair and now you have curly light brown hair. Look at how much you have changed!

This year has flown by. It has been the best year of my life. During these past few memorable days I have been reflecting on the type of mother I would like to be.

Someday I hope to teach you…

… to be yourself and to love others for who they are not what they have.

… to love your family, God and yourself.

…. we are not all exactly the same but we are all in this together.

… its okay to cry but to seek support and not hold it in.

… what is said about you is not nearly as important as what you say about others.

Most importantly, I hope I can do as good of a job as your Grandmother did with me. My wish for you is to become an open-minded, successful, well-adjusted adult so one day you can write a year-end closing letter to your little baby....if that is where your life takes you.

Love,

Mom

Yay Spring!

2010-05-02T19:15:00.004-05:00

It is so much fun being a mom! Chris fixed up the bikes and put a baby seat on the back of mine. Then we took Valerie on her first ride. She loved it. She really enjoys being outside. She talked through the whole ride. We had a blast. Then Cousin Julia came over and played.

It was a great spring day!

Of course it wouldn't be an event without a few minutes of thumb-suckin'......Look at how big she is getting!

Tunnel

2010-04-26T18:44:00.004-05:00

Video of Valerie crawling through the play tunnel.

2010-04-19T20:55:00.008-05:00

We went to take pictures with Aunt Angela and Cousin Julia. It was 2 hours of stress for all of us. But, we all got ice cream afterwards because cousin Julia was promised it if she did good. But, I felt like it was a reward for all of us. LOL!!

Walking with Lion

2010-04-18T20:40:00.006-05:00

Valerie is walking with her lion now. She is so cute!! I still predict she will be walking on her own at 13 months. She is 11 1/2 months right now.

2010-04-09T10:11:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday Valerie!
You are 11 months old today.

· You are 21 pounds.
· You are in a size 4 diaper.
· You are fast crawler. You can go from one end of the house to the other in 4.5 seconds.
· You love crawling up the 2 stairs we have. You love sitting on the middle step and playing with your toys.
· You are pulling up to your feet and slowly walking with your moving lion. I think you will be walking, by yourself, at 13 months.
· You have started singing in the car with our sing-a-long CDs. It doesn’t song very good but it is music to my ears!
· You still only have 2 teeth – bottom center.
· You imitate really well. Your dad thinks of fun things for you to imitate and you do it flawlessly.
· You still LOVE patty cake.
· You had your first Easter egg hunt this month with Cousin Julia. You loved eating all the eggs. It was your last “first” holiday. That makes me sad.
· I cannot believe how pregnant I was at this time last year…. I was HUGE and now you are a big girl and such a bundle of joy to love everyday. It is hard to believe we created you!
· It has been a pretty quiet month. We are getting lots of fun stuff ready for your Strawberry Shortcake birthday party. I love that you were born in the spring for fun outside birthdays!

Playtime!

2010-04-03T13:42:00.005-05:00

Last night we went to Willowbend Mall to the play place. It was a blast! She meet new friends and crawled everywhere. Here is a video. Sorry it is 3 minutes long. I couldn’t decide what to cut out!

Pay attention 2 minutes into it when the little girl tires to play with her…. Is this forecasting into the future? Gosh I hope not!

Mom's Blog

2010-03-19T12:32:00.003-05:00

Hey Everybody.......check out my mom's blog. My cutie-pie is all over it as well as Angela's little girl, Julia (Valerie's cousin). She does a really good job updating it.

Click here!

Big Girl Food

2010-03-19T12:29:00.008-05:00

I love that Valerie has started eating grown-up food. During Spring Break I had fun cooking her new and different things. Here are the new foods she tried this Spring Break.

MONDAY

Real Chicken (not that gross processed baby food!) and Peas

TUESDAY
Vanilla Pudding! Who knew pudding was so easy to make……

WEDNESDAY
Turkey hot dog and Peas

THURSDAY

Blueberry Muffins! I love how she shares with me.

FRIDAY BREAKFAST

EGGS! (she didn't know what to think of them...)

FRIDAY LUNCH

Mac n’ Cheese (we already have had this….the picture doesn't do it justice how messy she got)
Yes, that IS a Christmas bib and Yes, she IS still in her pj's.... don't judge!

John Hughes Marathon

2010-03-15T21:58:00.003-05:00

This week is Spring Break! Since Chris has gone back to teaching this year we are off at the same time. I am so excited to spend an entire week with my baby and husband with nothing to do. The most exciting thing we have planned is cleaning out the garage. HA!

So to look into how weird Chris and I are… we have decided to have a John Hughes marathon. John Hughes directed great films like Ferris Buellers Day Off and Sixteen Candles. He past away a few weeks ago. Chris and I decided to watch all of his movies he directed during Spring Break from The Breakfast Club to Curly Sue!

Last night we started our adventure with The Breakfast Club. If you dare to gaze into my husbands crazy mind, you can read his facebook group. This movie does not have the effect on me as it does my husband. He was in 9th grade when his brother Tim snuck me him to see this R rated film. I was 4 year old….

The Breakfast Club is a timeless movie. I love that I will be able to watch with my children one day and they will “get it”. The movie reminded me how much ‘drama’ my high school students go through and how many emotional rollercoaster’s they have daily. These kids feel like their daily drama is legit (no matter how silly I think it is). I need to remember how sensitive they are when I teach them.

Today was my first time to see Planes, Trains and Automobiles. It might have been a big movie during its time but I didn’t like it that much. Most of the movie was Steve Martin and John Candy trying to get home for Thanksgiving and going through rough situations to get home. I don’t like movies that make me feel uncomfortable. Although, I’d have to say it had a good heart felt ending!

Hopefully, Sixteen Candles is next!!!

2010-03-09T20:49:00.007-06:00

Happy Birthday Valerie!
You are 10 months old today.

Time is flying by!

· You are crawling! (you started finally crawling about 9 ½ months old) Your knees are all red!
· You weight 20.6 lbs
· You are in a size 4 diaper.
· You had your first minor surgery this month – getting tubes in your ears, you did great!
· We moved your mattress in your crib down this weekend. Now that you have started pulling up we don’t want you to fall overboard! You are getting so big!
· You say ‘mama’ when you are upset and you say ‘dada’ when you are happy. It makes me happy. I always want to be the one you go to when you are upset.
· You have 2 teeth - bottom center.
· You LOVE patty cake…. You clap your hands whenever some starts singing it.
· We are working on ‘bye-bye’. You don’t do it on command yet. You only do it when you are eating perhaps saying goodbye to your food.....
· You are eating fun people food like rice, mash potatoes, Mac’n Cheese, mini spaghetti and meatballs, noodles. You are a good eater!

2 more months until you are 1 !!!

Eat your heart out hollywood!

Mommy - I don't know about this....

Who is that cute baby?

Merry Go Round

2010-03-02T08:25:00.006-06:00

Sunday we went to visit the Merry Go Round at Grapevine Mills. She loved it!

Getting Tubes

2010-02-18T19:34:00.010-06:00

Last Tuesday was Valerie’s surgery to get tubes in her ears. She has been sick since November. She had been on many antibiotics with 4 ear infection. We were excited to see this day come. We were at the Grapevine Surgery center by 6am. She couldn’t eat anything after midnight so I ‘slept fed’ her at 11:45pm the night before. The nurses couldn’t believe how happy she was in the morning. They gave her medicine to get drowsy and took her away. The surgery took 30 minutes. I can’t believe how calm of a mother I am. I didn’t feel freaked out at all when we were away from her.

After the surgery, the doctor said everything went great and that she was in recovery. The doctor was shocked how much fluid was behind her ear drums. It must have been a lot of fluid when the 70 year old doctor seamed surprised! She was NOT HAPPY in recovery. She cried for 20 mintues. The nurses were shocked at her set of lungs. They informed us she was crying because of all the pressure that is released from the drained fluid. We were home by 8am and she napped and played for the rest of the day.

Valerie is so much of a happier baby now that all the fluid is gone. She just seams so much more content. I am so glad we did it!

In the bed before we had surgery.

No makeup Mommy....

Happy Happy Baby!

2010-02-12T20:27:00.004-06:00

I called Angela today and asked if we could trade children for the day. I wanted a 3 year old today to play with in the snow. The snow was the most perfect stickiness and thickness for the best snowmen and snowballs. It was a great snow!!

I just got done working out... not my best look. But, I love this picture because she is kissing me!

Our house

2010-02-08T19:12:00.008-06:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VALERIE!!

You are 9 months old today!

· You weigh 20 lbs
· You wear a size 3 diaper – but we think we will move you to a size 4 very soon
· You are now wearing 12 months clothes.
· You started feeding yourself wonderfully! You love the puffs and yogurt bits. We will start cheerios this month. You also just started diced food like diced apples, diced carrots, and any soft fruit I can cut up. You chew really well!
· You finally got your first tooth. Now, your second tooth has just started peaking through. They are your two middle, bottom teeth.
· You are bouncing and rocking on your knees. You are going to crawl very soon!
· You have started imitating a ton of things I do. When I clap, you try to clap, when I pat my legs, you pat my leg.
· You LOVE peak-a-boo. You are so smart that you take the blanket and pull it over your face yourself and wait for me to peak-a-boo it off! I love that!
· You are so easy going when we are around people. They think you are the most chillin’ baby! You are always so content and happy when we are places.
· You talk a lot. You say, da-da, ma-ma, na-na, ba-ba etc…. you are very good at the syllables.
· We have retired the carrier and now you are in a back-facing carseat. You scream every time we put you in it…. (hum….)
· You have had 3 really bad ear infections. We go in a week to get tubes in your ears!

Look at how much you have changed! At this rate you are going to be such a beautiful girl.

(Love this picture....!)

Yum Yum!

ROCK STAR!

Where is my thumb!!

There it is...!

Kissy Kissy!

2010-01-24T18:13:00.001-06:00

Look who's Talking now!

2010-01-14T08:59:00.004-06:00

Well, after months of trying to get her to do it, Valerie is finally talking babble! Mostly da da da. This kid goes 0-60 fast, she was silent for 8 months, then all of a sudden yesterday she couldn't shut up! I love it!

She is sick so her voice is really raspy. She burps in the middle of it, that is why we laugh.

Happy 8 months Valerie!

2010-01-09T09:15:00.004-06:00

VALERIE - YOU ARE 8 MONTHS OLD TODAY! I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH YOU HAVE GROWN!

· You weight around 20 lbs!
· You are in size 3 dippers still.
· You just started wearing 10-12 month clothes. But, I am still putting you in some 6-9 months.
· You went on your first plane ride this past month… you did GREAT except for the big poop you had flying there and back!
· You love your new in-home daycare with Mrs. Deborah. Its your home away from home except for Grandmas.
· You love sitting up and playing much more than any other way
· You are doing much better with tummy time. You are moving in a circle and coming up on your toes and kicking really hard.
· You still LOVE your exersucer.
· You are still such a hugger and a lover. I love your baby kisses.
· You have almost tired every vegetable and fruit in stage 1. You just had your first meats last week, Turkey and Chicken. You didn’t quite know what to think.
· You meet your Tennessee family last week! They loved you, you loved them! It was so much fun. I think you are going to love going there every year. They will spoil you!
· You are just turning into the most beautiful little girl. You have such a sweet face.
· You got many new toys for Christmas that has been so much fun to play with.
· You took your first big girl bath in the real bath tub with Grandma, you were traumatized at first until you saw all the toys. We are going to transition you to the big bath this month.
· Your hair has thickened up this month. It is still a light brown color. I wonder if it will be curly like your mom and grandpa??!
· I literally can't get enough of you - I will never kiss you or hug you enough.

1st Swing Ride

2010-01-02T17:17:00.006-06:00

Here is a video from Valerie's First Swing Ride. She loved it!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2010-01-01T17:43:00.001-06:00

Christmas in NASHVILLE!

2009-12-31T10:06:00.012-06:00

We went to Nashville for Chirstmas to visit Chris' side of the family. She did great! The plane ride was a breeze! We love going there. We wish we could visit more often.

Waiting for the airplane 1st plane ride! She did great!With Nana and Pops
With Aunt Patricia and Luc
With Mason and Evan

Uncle Tim being silly!

Christmas in TEXAS!

2009-12-31T09:22:00.010-06:00

We had many Christmas’ this year! It was a perfect ‘babies 1st Chirstmas’. Here are some pictures from our many Texas Christmas'.

Visit to see Santa.

Decorating the Tree

Did I get too many presents for her?

Happy Family

The present daddy got for mommy!
Such a sweet face!

Her favorite toy!

Grandma went to Jareds! (for Angela and me)

Christmas at Grandmas with cousin Julia!

Birdville Colorguard Christmas party

Vegas Baby!!

2009-12-21T09:52:00.010-06:00

Chris and I went to Las Vegas last weekend for a friends 40th birthday. Mom watched Valerie all weekend while we went to party! It was a blast! Here are some pictures.

The four of us with Elvis

Had to put another Elvis picture in the blog...
The Bloody Mary at 10am.....
The rollercoaster ride right after the bloody mary..... not a good idea.....

The rain we rode the rollercoaster ride in.... safe right?

The water show at the Bellagio

Us in front of the Bellagio

The ceiling at the Venetian

Our hotel, the Luxor (pyramid hotel)

Us all dolled up to see the show Jubilee

Jubilee.....

Best $35 I Ever Spent

2009-12-15T21:10:00.001-06:00

How many times in my child’s life will I not be ready to go to the next step? Tonight we said goodbye to a dear friend….. THE MIRICLE BLANKET.

Valerie had minor colic and had bad reflux from birth to 3 months old. She wasn’t sleeping and she was crying constantly. Our good friend Nancy told us about a blanket that could have said “As seen on TV” on the box. This blanket is called the Miracle Blanket. It was truly a MIRICLE BLANKET. The first night she was in the blanket, I got my first full night sleep with many to follow. We became attached to the darn thing. Every nap, every time she was upset, put her in the blanket… crying/reflux gone. The colic and reflux came and went but the blanket stayed…. until tonight. She was ready to move on, but I wasn’t. The last time it was used I didn’t realize it was the LAST time. I didn’t get a proper goodbye.

Taking her out of this blanket means she is growing up. She isn’t a tiny baby anymore; she holds her own bottle for goodness sakes. So here I sit, 3AM reminiscing about the blanket that swaddled our little miracle every night so she felt safe. I have a bad feeling about this “growing up” thing. Am I going to be this dramatic over every tiny little thing?

Goodbye old friend, you will be missed. We will see you when the next baby comes someday.

Happy 7 months Valerie!

2009-12-09T07:51:00.003-06:00

VALERIE - YOU ARE 7 MONTHS OLD TODAY! I CAN’T BELIEVE HOW MUCH YOU HAVE GROWN!

· You weight around 19 lbs!
· You are in size 3 dippers still.
· You are wearing 6-9 month clothes although the feetie PJs are getting too short since you are so LONG!!
· You smile is sooo big all the time.
· You just started a new in-home daycare last week and you transitioned with ease!
· You have been sitting up very well since you were 6 months old.
· You still don’t like tummy time which worries mommy but we are working on it. You would much rather be sitting up playing with toys than on your tummy or back.
· You still LOVE your exersucer.
· You are such a hugger and a lover. I love it when you pull my face really close to mine to give me a kiss. You don’t actually kiss me but I know that is what you are meaning to do. I also love it when you are tired and you snuggle your face into my chest to go to sleep.
· You are so much fun to play with. I love how well you sit up and play with us on the floor.
· You are such a good eater. Your favorite is defiantly squash. You can also eat many things like carrots, green peas, apples, bananas (which you hated….we will try again in a few weeks), pears, and sweet potatoes.

WE LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!!!

Can you see where I put the paper in the first picture.... this is why.....

And then this......haha!

Valerie's first snow.....

2009-12-02T11:28:00.005-06:00

.........that lasted 5 minutes!!!

Today probably doesn't count for a first snow experience. She didn't even go outside..... I bundled her up and sat her next to the door - haha. It snowed for a total of 45 minutes today and now, 3 hours later, it is sunny outside. It was pretty while it lasted.

Gotta love Texas weather!

7:30 this morning......

And now.... sunny, sunny, sunny!

Black Friday Virgin

2009-11-28T17:11:00.007-06:00

Well I took the plunge! I conquered BLACK FRIDAY!!! Angela, Mom and I decided to meet the rest of Euless at Wal-Mart at 5AM on Friday. It was crazy!

We were black Friday virgins…we didn’t know what to do! Like dummies…. We went to the actually TOY SECTION thinking those would be where the deals were at…. No no – we were wrong. You have to search the store for the pallet of toys that you wanted from the circular. So we circled the store 3 times finding exactly what we wanted. But, we are hooked. We will do it again next year.

Then, I went to Kohl’s to get the rest of Valerie’s toys I wanted to get her. WHAT A DEAL!! They were having a 50% off every toy there. I got everything for the nieces, nephews etc….
I don’t regret waking up at 4:30am at all. I am going to plan better next year, and maybe put on makeup this time.

5AM!!!

The rest of Euless decided to join us!

What a DEAL!!

Babies 1st

2009-11-26T21:20:00.004-06:00

VALERIE'S FIRST THANKSGIVING DAY.

Have my morning bottle.
Take a bath - my favorite!

Watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade.

Go Over to Grandma and Pawpaw's house.

Help Grandma cook.

Take Family pictures.

Eat afternoon bottle with Elizabeth.

Take Afternoon nap.

Play with Aunt Angela.

Finally eat my Thanksgiving Dinner..... Sweet Potatoes yum yum!!

I All Big!

2009-11-25T20:45:00.009-06:00

Last night was my first dinner party. It went great! Friends from college came over with their significant others and kiddos. We have been through each others pregnancy, it is fun to keep up with them and watch their little ones grow. It was so cute watching them play together.

It was a big task for me. I have come so far from thinking that hot pockets or mac’n cheese was cooking. I finally got to use all my wonderful wedding presents I haven’t even touched.

The girls!

Mary and the babies.

Valerie and Elena = BFFs.

Valerie and Ethan = not so much BFFs......(look at her hand on his hip, so cute!)

The kiddos amused by our baby six flags.

Gary and Valerie

Angela and Valerie

Baptism

2009-11-17T18:41:00.010-06:00

I need to catch up on my post. There were so many things going on last week with her turning 6 months I never posted about her baptism. She was baptized on 11-8 at our church FUMC Hurst. The pastor who baptized her was Mike McKee. It was a beautiful service. She was very cute. She wore a christening dress that my grandmother made when my mom got baptized and we all have worn it since. The choir even sang a song with her name in it.

I did have a freak out moment when I forgot she needed the bonnet off for the actual baptism when we were standing in front of the whole congregation! The bow was tied so tightly around her neck and I couldn’t get it off. But what felt like 10 minutes, actually was about 30 seconds and I got it off. Whew…..!

Then we all came back to our house and partied.

Here are some pic’s!

Doctors Visit

2009-11-10T18:53:00.004-06:00

We had our 6 month well check today. Valerie is coming right along. She is weighting in at 17 lbs 8 oz and is in the 75% of her weight. She is still very very tall coming in at 27.5 inches (95%).

Here are some pic's we took being bored waiting for the doctor.....

Happy half-Birthday!

2009-11-07T13:02:00.021-06:00

Valerie you are 6 months old today! I can’t believe how much you have enriched my life.

You weight around 18 lbs! (95%)
You are in a size 3 diaper

You are wearing 6-9 mt clothes and have been for quite a while!
You LOVE your exersauces. We like to call it your baby six flags. You jump and jump and giggle at yourself.
You have been rolling over for quite a few months now.

You love to sit up - but you don't like tummy time too much.
You love sitting in your bumbo. You would much rather be in your bumbo playing with a toy than on the floor.
You only take your pacifier when you want to go to sleep (which I love!).

Your favorite song is "You are my sunshine". You giggle at me in the car when I sing it at the top of my lungs.

You are such a good eater (see bullet #1). You have been eatting oatmeal cereal for a month now.

2 days ago you started your first vegtable - green peas.

Overnight you have developed such a personality. I can tell you are going to be such a fun little girl to be around. Your daddy and I love you!I can't believe how much you have changed in six months. I can't wait to see the beautiful little girl you will grow up to be!

(I got this idea from kelly's corner, a very cute blog I follow!)

Halloween

2009-11-03T12:38:00.012-06:00

I have done a really bad posting this month. October has flown by incredibly fast. I was just trying to keep my head above water during marching season. Now, that it is over, I can relax and enjoy writing millions of papers for grad school. YAY!....and of course enjoy my little pumpkin!

Halloween was a blast. We started out at Angela's and carved pumpkins, then went to the trunk fest at their church. We then came back and ate yummy food Angela prepared and of course did some more trick or treating with the "big" kids. Chris stayed behind and tried to give a very tired baby a nap. Here are some pictures……

GREAT PARTY ANGELA!

These are the pumpkins we carved. Julia thought the stuff inside was yucky!

My little pumpkin with Kristin.

Bye-Bye Pumpkin. Hello Lady Bug!

Lady Bug mommy and lady bug baby!

Family of lady bugs!

Queen Lady Bug with Princess Cinderella (Cousin Julia)

Give me your glass slipper!!

The Royal Family (Aunt Angela, Uncle Jeff and Cousin Julia)

Chillin in my ride at the truck fest.

Poor tired Cinderella!

Lady Bug Princess stayed home and handed out candy!

2009-10-05T09:53:00.002-05:00

This morning was Valerie’s first day in her high chair and eating rice cereal. She did great!! We gave it to her at her first morning feeding. We first gave her a few oz of formula to help the process since she was so hungry, then we feed her the cereal. At first she kept looking at me like “what the heck are you doing mommy?” But, then she realized it was a new taste and started smiling after every bite.

Sitting in her new high chair.

Humm...... Mommy what is this??

I think I like it!

ALL DONE!!

Princess waiting for dropped food. Sorry Princess, no solid food yet.....

FUN PICTURES!

2009-10-05T09:43:00.004-05:00

I thought I would share some cute pictures that we have taken over the past few weeks!

ROCK STAR VALERIE!!

All decked out in Birdville HS colors to cheer on mom's colorguard.

GO UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE football

Bow head

Sittin' Up!

2009-09-17T10:08:00.005-05:00

My baby is learning how to sit up! Angela brought over the Bumbo chair and she loved it! She will sit in that thing for forever and just watch everything around her. I think she likes that more than her bouncy chair these days. So last night, Chris and I decided to get out the exersauser and put it together. THIS THING IS MASSIVE!!! It took up the whole livingroom to put it together. Where are we going to store this thing for 9 more months? Valerie didn’t quite know what to think about it. Too much stimulation. This morning, I put her in it and she cried instantly. It’s a process…..

Find Waldo! (did i mention how big it is)

Her feet don't even touch the ground. So I put the breaststool under her!

The way my beautiful livingroom use to look....

And now.....

Valerie + Bumbo = Love.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-09-02T07:12:00.007-05:00

Yesterday was Chris’ birthday! He is always on that crazy no-carb diet so I wanted to go to his favorite place so he can carb-it-up! His favorite place is Krystals. Yes, everyone, those nasty little hamburgers that you wonder what’s in the secret sauce when you take your first bit. His love for these little burgers comes all the way from when he grew up in Tennessee. He even has a system to eating them. We love him anyways!

So of course, I threw an awesome party at Krystals! We had birthday candles, balloons, and party hats – the whole nine yards! Grandma and Grandpa joined us as well. It was such a fun day!

Precious baby.

Happy little family.

Yum, Yum!!

Grandma and Grandpa joined us!

Valerie learning all about our friend, Johann Sebastian Bach.

Photoshoot

2009-08-30T13:02:00.008-05:00

Valerie didn't feeling well this past week. She had a minor cold. Today she woke up like a new baby! She was extremely happy. Of course I took advantage of it and had a fun photoshoot with her. Here are some of the pictures from it.

Happy baby!!

What a sweet face!!

Of course I had to add this one in the collection!

This one was from the night before, it was so cute I added it to this post.

MOMMY BRAIN

2009-08-23T11:39:00.005-05:00

Let me start my story by telling you that yesterday was our first parent performance for my colorguard. I was in front of hundreds of parents I have never met until yesterday. Chris watched Valerie while I was there. I was coming home at 11 to grab Valerie and go to moms. His job was to have her fed and changed into her outfit for the day that I laid out.

I got home and Valerie looked like this……

(ruffle in the front!)

Poor daddy! They didn’t teach him that ruffles go on the butt in birthing class. What you can’t see are the 20 snaps he had to snap behind her. He said “I wondered why I had to snap so many buttons while she was on her stomach….”

STORY CONTINUES….
Mom watched Julia and Valerie while Angela and I went shopping. We got into the dressing room and I start taking off my shirt. Angela goes “Renee your shirt is on backwards!”

(built in tag in the front!)

YES FOLKS…. I had my shirt on backwards the entire day, through the 2 hours practice with the students, through the parent performance, through meeting lots of new parents.

I HAVE MOMMY BRAIN!!!

Rollin...Rollin'...Rollin'

2009-08-18T11:52:00.007-05:00

Step 1: Play with all my toys in my playgym.

Step 2: See a baby in mirror, want to talk to her.

Step 3: Roll for some tummy time!

I DID IT!

HELLO WORLD!

2009-08-16T08:28:00.010-05:00

Valerie's favorite place to play.

Talking to her best friend.

Today is my first blog. I am very excited to blog about Valerie growing up. She is 3 months and a week old today. She loves eating, sleeping and playing. Her favorite place to play is in her bouncy chair. She stares at the lights and giggles and coo’s at them. Her best friend is the musical star. She talks to her all the time and has deep meaningful conversations. Valerie rolled over the day after her 3 month birthday! We had to move her onto the floor after that so she wouldn’t roll off the couch!