Texas Blue

This season we spent a lot of time in the bluebonnets... I used my little man as a stand-in for all three location shoots. The first two he was down right NOT having it! And on the second to last shoot not only did he pick a bluebonnet and laugh about it... he totally would not stop for even a second to take a family photo since Mea and Pop were there. We managed to get one... and if that is all we got, I am grateful! He was saving up for round three...because I finally got to capture my handsome man amongst the Texas Blue and on that day... he took my breath away. Enjoy!

OLE!

Last night as I was clearing memory cards, I ran across these... I am pretty sure it makes me a pretty bad daughter-in-law to forget such an important post... and I have been blessed with a pretty amazing father-in-law so my deepest apologies Pop!

Harper's Candyland

Harper celebrated her second birthday in Candy Cane Forest just around Gum Drop Mountain! This little lady in curls with melt your heart! And her mommy is one of the most beautiful people inside and out. We miss our little stars class so so much and there is nothing quite like the bond these children have with one another. Our precious, precious babies are 2!!

Baby Q

I mentioned in my last post that two of my very best friends were having second boys... Pretty soon we are going to have an entire football team! wink... Oh Ashley... I am so excited for you! It seems like yesterday we were welcoming Noah into the world. That perfect little boy with a head full of gorgeous, dark brown hair. I remember getting the call and running out into the yard screaming at Bill as he was mowing that baby Kerr was here! I am pretty sure I scared him to death! It is incredible how much our lives have been changed in just 3 years and in just a few short weeks you are going to have a family of 4! I cannot wait to meet him.

When it comes to party planning... it doesn't get much better than Aunt Colie (Nicole Smith Designs). For this very special Baby-Q, we started with our very own inspiration board to get the juices flowing. I love all of the special touches Nicole designed from water bottle labels, to placecards, to the Kerr glass jars. The color scheme was just beautiful and everything was perfectly set in Amelia's new home. I still have kitchen envy. We served baby burgers (sliders whose aroma filled the room), potato salad, and mini pecan pie bites from Alisa's kitchen that were to die for.

Pamper Party

Two of my very best friends are having second boys this summer and I could not be more thrilled for them! Like over the moon happy for them. On May 6, we got together to "Pamper" Carin before her baby arrived. Ryne has since made his arrival and he is simply PERFECT. I will hopefully blog about him later...

Happy Birthday Jackie

This post is going to be so out of order, but it is way over due... A couple of weeks back we celebrated Jackie's birthday dinner with the girls. While in college I never would have imagined that I would get to continue on my life journey with so many of my Aggie girlfriends. I love getting to share this part of my life with these girls. I love being a mom and sharing in that with Jackie who has the most adorable little girl by the way. She is an incredible mom and I am so blessed that she is in my circle of friends. Jackie is one of the most genuine people and gives some of the best advice, esp when it comes to kids. I appreciate her friendship so much. With all of our increasingly busy schedules, I am so grateful that we set aside time to get together and celebrate. This time it was margaritas, Mexican food and James Avery! Happy Birthday Jackie... love you to pieces and hope you had a wonderful birthday.

Rodeo 2012

I love the rodeo... it makes me feel like a true Texan! The Houston rodeo is always so much fun and I get all excited to wear my cowboy boots. I posted our glimpse photo from that week as the boys looked on at the Ferris Wheel, but I have been so far behind in posts, that i never posted the photos from our rodeo day with the Domann family and the round-up activities at Liam's school. It seems every year we attend at least one of the concerts, but our schedules made this year's rodeo seem like a blink in time.

I love seeing all the kids in their western gear. I get such a kick out of their pint-sized boots. This year we took Liam to Cavendars to choose his own boots. Bad Idea. His first choice were the red, roper pair which daddy was quick to veto! He finally settled on a pair of "ostrich" to be just like dad (don't worry, his were fake). He took them up to the lady at the counter and informed her that "Biam wear boots like daddy!" Luckily we have had lots of cowboy practice with the spring horse and cowboy hats we received at Christmas. The final touch were the boots and he was truly a cowboy.

Rainbow Eggs

I mentioned in my last post how my mom always had fun projects for us at each holiday. One of fondest memories was the time that she helped our entire class make paper-mache pumpkins that then mildewed over the weekend because there was no air circulation. I remember how incredibly fun it was, but I am sure all my mom can remember is that dreadful smell permeating the classroom when we returned on Monday! Disaster or not, it will be a memory that stays with me a lifetime.

Liam is getting to the age that we are able to do more activities and it thrills me! For Christmas we painted pottery mugs, we had several crafts like glitter train wheels for his birthday in January, there was crayon shaped hearts for Valentine's Day and then painting the egg-shaped chalkboards for Easter. But how can you have Easter without those colorful plastic cups and wire octagons? The ones so flimsy that you splash the dark green, vinegar water all over yourself because the egg is too heavy for the wire to hold. I bought a tie-dye Easter kit, but as you can tell from the photos... that was very unsuccessful.

The classic colored cups were perfect and Liam was fascinated by the way the tablets changed the water colors and oohed and ahhhed when we pulled the white eggs from the cup and they all of the colors of the rainbow! I think he would have dyed eggs all afternoon. I know one thing is for sure, his GiGi is going to be very proud of his color wheel in the future. Ever since he was a tiny little thing, he has been a master of colors. Even grey, pink, and gold... most recently we were informed that his shirt was turquoise... But if you really think about it, it isn't surprising. With an artist for a grandmother, that is totally normal I think. It will be interesting to see if he is also left handed!

Easter 2012

Easter this year was packed full of activity. Our neighborhood continued the traditional Easter egg hunt and the big hit was finding precious "gold" coins hidden inside the eggs. Liam was quick to remember how to hunt and went running to fill up his basket until of course he got a glimpse of the playground swing set... and that was the end of it. Unlike last year, Liam was not a fan of the man in the bunny suit. Sure, a thumbs up or a high five was fine.. but no way would he sit in his lap.

I still love our neighborhood. I love all the families and taking Liam down to the pond to feed the ducks. It has been a wonderful place to raise Liam. A small town feel in such a big city. We have recently started playing with the idea of moving... just talking about it. And I will say that it will be difficult to leave when the time comes. The way this market is working, it may be 2-3 years... haha... but still.