Abilene, Abilene, Prettiest town I've ever seen

In honor of Micah's birthday, we headed to his all-time favorite restaurant, Perini Ranch. Lucky for us, they also have a ranch house that you can rent. If you are in the market for some good eatin' and a really nice place to stay, this is the spot for you! We had a great time with Trey and Brittney (also celebrating Trey's b-day) and we've decided that it needs to be a yearly tradition!

We also made our way to the Rodeo last week. Thanks to one of Micah's clients, we were able to sit on the second row!! So close, the horses were actually kicking dirt on us! I only took one picture and it didn't turn out all that great, but here it is anyway.

These are just some sweet pictures of Micah and Annalee before one of our evening walks the other day.

Watch out world!

Ok, so she may not be running marathons, but Annalee has started to take a few steps!! We were working on her walking skills this afternoon. Enjoy, and ignore my giddy laughter and excitement. :)

I love a good deal!

Remember my flip-flop blowout? Well, today I headed over to my favorite Reef retailer-Ruby's. They have the biggest selection of Reefs that I've ever seen! Anyway, they were having a promotion to get 20% off a new pair of shoes if you brought in an old pair. They donate the old ones to a local charity. Also, if you are on their e-mail list you can have an additional 15% off!! That's right 35% off a new pair of Reefs. Add that savings to the $12.99 gift card that I had leftover from 2 Christmases ago and I only paid $17.00 for a $45.00 pair of shoes!! Woo Hoo. In case you were wondering, no, I didn't donate the broken pair-those went in the trash. I had another old pair that I didn't wear anymore. I know I just went on and on about shoes, but I love 'em! :)

Milk, it does a body good

Guess who just drank cows milk without spitting it out in my face....you guessed it, Annalee! Until today, every time I gave her milk in her sippy cup she would literally spit it out at me. I know this may seems silly to some of you, but for us it's huge! This gives me light at the end of the nursing tunnel. :)

A little of this, and a little of that

No point to this blog, just random stuff on my mind.

Today I blew out a flip-flop...bummer.


This past weekend we went on a hike at our local nature center...didn't even know we had a nature center until then!! We were trying out our new backpack for a certain little miss. Micah wants hiking to be a new hobby for our family. I think it just might work out!


Apparently she likes the new ride...went right to sleep!



I also have some new favorite things that I would like to add to my favorite things list:

1. The Dirt Devil Vibe....I picked one up at my local Target because I needed another defense against the crumbs that collect in Annalee's high chair. This is a dream come true. It is fully equipped with a crevice tool!! Love it!



2. My Vera Bradley wallet (thanks Rachel). It doubles as a wristlet too and matches my baby bag.


3. Anything and everything at the Container Store. I have to have a bucket, bin, or tub for everything! It's an obsession, really. :)

Party Review

Each time there's a fun event that my mom and I host or attend, we always call each other afterward to have "party review." Hence the name of this post. Saturday was Annalee's birthday party. We had a great time with friends and family celebrating the glorious event! I'll let the pictures do the talking.






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Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl

Today is Annalee's first birthday! WOW, what a year! I can't believe how fast time has flown. This time last year I was in the hospital, my water had been broken (at 8:30 am) and I was just dialating away! I received my epidural around 12:30 and at 3:00 pm on the dot, she was here.

It's just amazing how much I love her. She is so awesome. I love how curious she is, how interactive she is with people, and how happy she is. I love her smile and her giggle. I love those big blue eyes. I love the way she gives me big open-mouthed kisses on my cheek. I love hearing her say bye bye when she waves at someone. I love the little noises she makes when she eats her food (this girl loves to eat!). I love watching her play and learn new things everyday. I love hearing her "talk." I love seeing her turn the pages of her books and point at the pictures. I love bathing her and watching how excited she gets when I put the bath toys in the tub. I love it when she claps her hands anytime someone says yeah or sings pat-a-cake. I love the expression on her face when she hears her daddy coming in the door at the end of the day or when she hears the Praise Baby music coming on--so excited! I could go on and on...I love everything about this sweet girl. What an amazing blessing she is to me and Micah every day. Thank you God for letting her be a part of our lives.

Portrait Time

This week we headed over to Portrait Innovations for Annalee's one year pictures. We also did some Christmas poses too. Here's a sample of what we captured.

Ho, Ho, Ho

Another year older

Well, it's official...I am 28. Yikes! That's so close to 30. Yesterday was such a great day. It was filled with sweet text messages, e-mails, voicemails, and phone calls from friends and family wishing me a super day. Thanks guys! Micah really outdid himself this year. In a nutshell...he set up a spa day at the Gaylord Texan Hotel, then dinner at their steakhouse, and finally a super comfy hotel room to crash in. Thanks to Mama Jo and Papa, Annalee got a break from her Mama. :) Here's a picture from the evening.



Micah also has a birthday tradition where he gets me a funny cake. This all started in college when he grabbed a hamburger cake just to be different and funny. Since then I have had a beer bottle cake (on my 21st, handmade by Micah himself), the grinch, a reindeer, a cheese wheel with mice, a dragon, I know I'm forgetting one. Well, last year since I was pregant on my birthday he decided to try his pastry hand again and make a pregnant lady cake...check out the pic.



Well, what would be more appropriate to follow that than a cake of a baby?! So there you have it, my cake for this year...a baby sleeping in a bed.

Cupcake Shoes

Remember when I couldn't sleep at 3 am? Well, I did some online shopping and found the most adorable cupcake shoes for Annalee for her birthday. Her Mama Jo is smocking the cutest dress with cupcakes on it. I ordered the shoes in a size 4 and when they arrived I couldn't believe how big they were. Without trying them on Annalee, I took them back to the store and traded for a size 3. Well, Wednesday night she was going to wear them with another dress that matches and her big foot wouldn't fit in them!! I had to do the walk of shame BACK to the store and trade again for my original size 4's. Amazing. I promised the lady that I wouldn't be back anytime soon. I secretly wish that they had half sizes because she really needs a 3 1/2. Thanks for hanging in there for my pointless blog...Christmas card pictures coming soon!

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

how lovely are your branches.

Here's our week so far in pictures...

We found the perfect tree! Tall and skinny!




Checkin' out the tree with my belly hangin' out.




Of course, our 11th month picture with the bunny. That's right people, my baby is 11 months old!!




My little mess maker has struck again! She was digging the paper out of the shredder. (don't worry, it was off! and yes, she was still in her p.j.'s)

Baby, it's cold outside!

What a treat, cold weather in the winter! Who would have thought? We had a chilly night at the Parade of Lights on Friday night. Thanks to Aunt Rachel, Annalee didn't have to go without a coat! However, I couldn't find any baby mittens, so we had to use socks. :) Aunt Kandi fixed that for us later, though.





I love this picture of Annalee and her PeePaw (my dad) on Thanksgiving day.



I had to get a picture of her first Thanksgiving plate!

Wide Awake

So, it's 2:50 am and I am wide awake!!! We went to bed at 9 because Micah was going to get up at 3 to start smoking our Thanksgiving turkey. When he woke up, I did too and here I sit...wide awake. I know I'll crash later, but for some reason, I can't sleep right now. Might as well blog, right?

Annalee's new thing is to clear any surface of all items! She really loves to do this with her bookshelf. You might notice Micah's legs in the picture...he was dead asleep while she was doing this!


Ooo..maybe I'll read this one before I toss it over my shoulder.


Roasted Annalee, anyone?

Fun Site for People with Kids

People always say that Annalee looks just like me, but this site seems to think otherwise. Try it with your own kids! Interesting.

Sorry!!

Sorry for the long break between posts...we've been busy with life!

This past weekned we took a road trip up to Searcy, Arkansas to visit Micah's sister at school. That was definately Annalee's longest time in the car, but overall, she did great. I love the pretty campus up there! We had fun just hanging out and eating! Annalee can start to make an educated decision on her college choice now that she's been to both of Mom's alma maters. :)

Annalee sitting on the "Welcome to Harding" sign.

The fam sitting in a famous Harding swing.

Ready for church on Sunday.

First time to take a bath in the "real" tub. (We used the kitchen sink for 10 months!)