Happy Birthday Daddy!

We celebrated Steve's birthday this past weekend with a little get-together at our house. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a fun time playing outside in the pool. Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate: Grammy, Mema, Papa, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Chad, Haylie, Aunt Katie, Macee, Max, the McDaniel Family, and the Gonzales Family!

Daddy and Sydnee

Blowin out candles!
Mema, Papa, and Sydnee

Aunt Katie reading to Sydnee

Macee filling up the pool.

I think Haylie was saying she needs her earplugs so she can swim!

Haylie loved swimming!

Max loved to crawl ALL AROUND!

Macee and Max splashin in the water!

Sydnee and Max

Love the style!

My Cousins, My Friends!

Aunt Nancy retired from AT&T after working there 33 years so she threw a party to celebrate. Sydnee and I drove in to go to the party and we also had a chance to play with some cousins. Stephanie brought Makayla over for a little while so the girls could play together. They had a good time and as always, we had fun watching them.

It's great to have cousins close in age! Oh how I can't wait to watch them grow up together (although I wouldn't mind time passing slowly so I can savor each moment!)

It's Great to be EIGHT!

SYDNEE IS 8 MONTHS OLD TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!

She is trying hard to figure out how to crawl. From a sitting position, she will usually lean forward getting on all fours and then face plant, but it doesn't seem to phase her too much. She can scoot around to get what she wants but usually gets frustrated when she can't get it fast enough. Yesterday I put her on the blanket to play and before I knew it, I turned around and she scooted herself to where my flip flops were and was chewing on them...ewww!

She is also working on pulling up to stand. I had her sitting in her crib after her nap and she reached up and pulled up on the bars to get her mobile. She was successful but let go of the bars and fell back down. I guess it's time to move her crib down another level! I love watching her "problem solve" as she discovers new things.

I am amazed at what she picks up on. She has a new toy that says "bye-bye" and when it did it the first few times, I would say it and wave "bye-bye". Now every time she hears the words "bye-bye" from her toy she looks at me to see if I am going to wave. Also, she knows the word "more" because we are trying to teach her some sign language and even though she won't sign the word yet, when I say it, she looks at me and at my hands and knows she will get more.
She is also really into feeding herself...which can be quite messy but it sure is fun! (The dogs really think it's great too.)

Before I know it, she will be one! Ahhh, where has time gone???

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...Oh My! (Well, no bears...)

Last weekend was beautiful outside...sunny and warm! We couldn't wait to get outside and do something, however, living in Victoria, we have limited access to family activities, but believe it or not, Victoria does have a zoo! It may be 1/100th the size of the San Antonio zoo, but nonetheless, it is a zoo! So, we headed out for a few hours (you really can see everything there in 20 minutes, but we walked at a snails pace) and enjoyed walking around looking at the animals. The tiger was being agitated by some other people and was very active, charging the glass and roaring so he put on quite a show. It was quite entertaining and a little scary at the same time. I think Sydnee enjoyed getting out and watching the excitement. Our favorite animals to look at were the lion cubs and the tigers.

Easter Swim

Well, for Easter this year we stayed at home and enjoyed the day together as a family of 3. Sydnee enjoyed some time outside swimming. She loved splashing around in the water and chewing on her bath toys.

I can't wait to get her to the lake house to enjoy the water there. I have so many wonderful memories of the lake and being SO EXCITED to get in the lake for the first time of the season and I hope that Sydnee can have the same kind of enjoyment and excitement that I had while growing up. Hopefully soon we can make a trip there and create some memories that will last a lifetime!

Wild About Fabric!

So as I was walking around Hobby Lobby the other day, I saw some really cute fabric and thought I'd buy a yard of two different prints and see if I could create something cute. I didn't have any patterns to go by so I kinda created my own from another dress hanging in Sydnee's closet. It took me about 4 hours to make, which I guess wasn't all that bad, considering it's my first! I'm really pleased with the way it turned out, however, I think next time I'll use a pattern and not so much guess work!

I owe a big thank you to Meemaw for teaching me some very basic sewing skills when I was probably 10 years old. I also used Meemaw's sewing machine which Mom said she bought when Mom was a little girl. That machine was obviously taken care of because it still works like a charm!

This dress may just be the beginning to a new found hobby...stay tuned!

My Heart Smiles...

MY HEART SMILES because I love ALL things girly and since I have a little girl, that is all the more reason to make girly things (tutu's and bows to be exact!) I was at Hobby Lobby one day a few months ago and saw that tulle was on sale so I decided to buy some, with the hopes of making a tutu...little did I know just how addicting this hobby became! I made a red and black one first (Sydnee was pictured in it a few posts back). These tutu's and bows pictured below were some I created this weekend and now I'm looking for any reason to make girly things. I'm sure Steve is wondering how many bows and tutu's Sydnee actually needs, but I figured that one day she will want to play dress up and then she will have many tutu's and bows to choose from. (Actually, most of the ones I've made are for other sweet, little girls, so she really doesn't have that many....yet! HA!

I made the pink and green tutu for my sweet niece, Haylie. I can't wait to see it on her!

Pink & Green Bow

Pink & Green Tutu with Flower Headband

Pink and Teal Bows (a new design that I created and I LOVE it!)

Pink & Teal Tutu

I think she likes dressing up!