The Hidden Sippy

Pumpkin Baby

2011-10-20T18:27:00.002-05:00

The other day my moms group got together and took pictures of our babies in a pumpkin. Yes, that's right, not next to, or on top of a pumpkin. In it.

Our wonderful hostess carved two leg holes, and a lid, and hollowed that big ole' pumpkin out. Then we all stuck our babies in it and started snapping photos. It was FUN.

We got this fabulous idea from Pintrest (the coolest website ever.)

At first Tessa was unsure of this idea....

But then, I fed her an itty bitty bite of candy corn, and it warmed her up to the idea...

And lastly, we have got to have a "Sister's" photo!

Hello Ballet!

2011-10-07T23:14:00.003-05:00

My little girl started ballet and she is in LOVE!

What she loves most:

the clothes... the dancing... the teacher... the mirrors...

the femininity... the shoes!!

Eloise is in Heaven! Week number 1 was Tutu week. Eloise was happy to oblige.

Eloise with her dance instructor, Ms. Tavia

Storybook Ranch Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-07T22:20:00.003-05:00

Fall is one of my favorite times of year. I love the cooler weather, fall clothes, warm colors and pumpkins. After this record breaking summer, I welcomed fall with open arms.

(More like ran to it, screaming and yelling, while obnoxiously waving my arms in the air...)

Anyway, to celebrate a new season, we went to a new pumpkin patch, Storybook Ranch! It was a fun day with our friends from church. The pumpkin patch had pony rides, hay maze, petting zoo, bounce houses, hay ride, and, of course, PUMPKINS! To say we enjoyed ourselves would be a major understatement.

My Gooser
Little Miss Peaches
Prissy Peaches... check out that sass!

Punkin' Pie!

Her face says it all... she LOVED the pony ride

(A first for her! I'm so proud that she's trying new things.)

Lucie and her pony

Lucie, doing what she does best.... JUMPING! Having loads of fun in the bounce house!

Punkin' Pie picking out her pumpkin!

Eloise and Lucie picked their little pumpkins and then is was time to go!

We can't wait to go again!

Its a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2011-10-03T15:20:00.001-05:00

It is a GORGEOUS day in McKinney! We started off at 65 degrees and got up to 85... Purrrrfect! We dusted off the ole' bounce house. The girls got to jump and play for a while. Then we had lunch and Tessa also got to participate in her first backyard picnic (until the bees showed up, then we went inside!). Can't wait to enjoy the great outdoors more in the next few weeks! Now I'm going to work on my projects outside before the kids wake up from nap! :)

Glow Bath

2011-09-27T18:58:00.002-05:00

Today the girls took a glow bath. "What is that," you ask?

The only things you need are glow sticks, a bath tub, and some dirty kids!

OK, OK, so that last one is not particularly necessary...

Oh my gosh, the girls LOVED it!
15 glow sticks for $1 in the Target dollar section!

The glow bath!!

The girls having a blast!!!

FYI: you are going to have to set a timer to warn the kiddos before taking them out of the tub. Otherwise you might experience a meltdown... it was THAT fun!

First Pedicure

2011-09-26T23:13:00.001-05:00

Eloise has had a pedicure done by me, but never at a spa... Until now. We treated ourselves to a spa day after our balloon release. It was a tough day... and we deserved a pick me up. Eloise thinks she's pretty special. And, you know what? She is! Here is our photographic evidence. Enjoy.

A is for cookies...

2011-09-25T11:01:00.001-05:00

Oh wait. NO IT'S NOT...

Eloise's class does show and tell weekly and each child brings something that begins with that weeks letter. For the first week we decided to treat her classmates to "A" shortbread cookie!

So, although "A" isn't for cookie, the students and teachers don't seem to mind when there are shortbread involved!

A Package For Papa

2011-09-17T14:46:00.005-05:00

One year ago today my father passed away. Knowing this date was drawing near, I wanted to find a way to recognise him as a great father and grandpa. The girls often talk about him. I encourage it because I want to keep his memory alive. Talking about him will help them remember how lucky they were to know him, even if their time together was brief.

To acknowledge this day I decided we would write Papa letters, draw pictures and send photos up to Heaven with a balloon release. The girls dictated what they wanted to write in their notes and I wrote it. They each signed their letters and drew pictures for him. I had photos from the past year printed and included a personal note to my dad. Each item was sealed in a white envelope and attached to 24 white balloons.

The contents of Papa's package

Eloise putting her items in the envelope.

Lucie stuffing her items in.

We then went to a local park to release our package.

My Girls and I before the release.

The package on it's way to it's destination.

I am convinced it got there, and Papa is smiling while he reads his notes and admires his pictures.

Lucie's Haircut!

2011-09-14T14:59:00.002-05:00

Lucie has an interesting head of hair.

She has two "swirly twirly do's" on her head. One is on the left side of her hairline in the front. The other is smack dab on the top of her head. These two "swirly twirlies" fight with each other on a daily basis. The one in the back wants to push all of her hair forward, but the one on the front left wants to push all of her hair to the right....

I blame the "swirly twirlies" on her daddy... I am fairly positive this trait is not from my side of the family.

So, we went for another haircut.

The before:

See? All that hair in her face?

The after:
Oh, hello eyes... Nice to see you again.
The hairstylist gave her side swept bangs. See the spirally tuft of hair to the left?? Yep. That's it. The "swirly twirly." I think it looks MUCH better.

The before:

We decided to "stack" her bob in hopes that it would tame that little stinker back there.

The After:

A super cute little girl poof...

Nothing Earth shattering, I know... but a small improvement. The longer it gets the less control those "swirly twirly's" will have!

A Rosa's In Our Own Backyard!

2011-09-10T16:09:00.003-05:00

Guess what restaurant opened it's doors in McKinney/ Frisco??

Take a wild guess...

The Title and the photo doesn't give it away at all....

I'll give you a moment to think about it.................

ROSA'S!!!

(And I say that with a rolled "r"... because it's more authentic!)

If you have ever lived in West Texas or Attended Texas Tech you know what a little gem this is. We would go eat here after Chapter Meetings for my sorority. It was an affordable but yummy place that the college kids enjoyed. Going here makes me feel like I'm 20 again. There are a few other locations in DFW, but none this close. Patrick and I have been known to drive all the way to Hurst to have Rosa's for dinner. Then they opened one in Coppell. That one was a little closer.

But now we don't have to make a road trip out of it!!

My cute family outside the brand spankin' new building on opening weekend!

(I embarrass them with my photos and enthusiasm.... lil' stinkers!)

The munchkins enjoying some delicious cuisine!My lil' sleepy head. Mexican food has the same effect on me...

(Too bad I had to drive.)

My New Look!

2011-09-10T12:21:00.001-05:00

My sorority sister from Texas Tech, Alisha Kensing Pemberton, redesigned my blog!! Don't you LOVE it?! It's so colorful and happy!

Alisha can do anything... Bake beautiful cakes and cookies, sew gorgeous things, take amazing photos, digital scrapbook and design blog layouts! I wish I was half as talented as she is!!

Thanks Alisha! I couldn't be happier!

First Week of Pre-School

2011-09-09T12:58:00.001-05:00

First week was a success! The girls are officially pooped!

First Day of Pre-K

2011-09-06T15:43:00.004-05:00

Today was our 1st day or Preschool! We woke up early and the girls shared a special breakfast of Butterbraid, scrambled eggs and milk! Mmmmmm....

This was our fund raiser for preschool last year...

(We had to make it, because someone... ahem, me.... accidentally left the freezer door open and it started to defrost and rise. So... What a super special breakfast it was!)

Tessa was ready for some special 1 on 1 time with her Momma!

After the girls finished up breakfast, they got their special new

first day t-shirts on...

Sparkle backpacks and Twinkle Toes
(I guess the glasses are so that Eloise can see past all the glare?)

We had to send The Gap on a customer service nationwide hunt to find this sparkly pink masterpiece

(The silver one I got previously hadn't met my little Miss Priss' expectations...

good thing she has a super nice and persistant Mommy.)

I realized after Dropping Eloise off at her Caterpillar class that today was her FIRST and LAST 1st day of preschool. She started mid year in the 2's class and missed the 1st day last year because we were spending precious time with Dad. It's her last 1st-day because next year she will be in Kindergarten!

(sniff... tear.. unactractive sob.... PULL IT TOGETHER, KELLY!)

Little Miss Lucie was excited about starting her first year (that she remembers) as a Guppy!!

She actually FELL ASLEEP at naptime! That's something I have a hard time getting her to do...

You think I could get her teachers to come to the house on her off days??

You didn't think I could leave Lucie out of the sparkly goodness, did you??

;) never!

I can already tell that we are going to love this years teachers!

We are looking forward to an awesome, educational, and exciting year of preschool!

Meetin' the Teachers

2011-09-01T22:04:00.002-05:00

It's that time! Pre School is almost back in full swing. Today we went to "Meet the Teacher"

Lucie went to MDO when she was a baby, and then took last year off. This year she is in Early Preschool and is thrilled about being a "Guppy"-- she calls herself a Bubble Guppy after one of her favorite cartoons! She is lucky to have one of Eloise's previous teachers. The other kids were so friendly and loved getting to know each other! I know Lucie is going to make some great friends and she is so excited to go to school!

Miss Lucie sitting in her "cubby"
We made some new friends!

Lucie and her lead teacher, Mrs. Lisa

Now this is where things get sappy for me.......

My Eloise is starting her last year of preschool. By this time next year Kindergarten will be in session. How can this be? Time simply MUST slow down.

Anyway, Miss Eloise is a "Caterpillar" this year, which she loves because caterpillars turn into butterflies-- her favorite thing EVER! She was instantly comfortable because her teachers were so nurturing and friendly. Her class has 8 girls and 4 boys, just as she would prefer!

My Peaches outside of her last Pre K class

Ms. Kim, Eloise, and Ms. Margret. They gave each student a stuffed caterpillar, which quickly made them the most popular people in the room!

I know I'm bias, but I happen to think I have the cutest "Caterpillar" and "Guppy" to ever walk, crawl or swim the face of this planet!

You know you're old when....

2011-08-29T21:52:00.004-05:00

You choose to spend your birthday money doing this.....

After you purchased this....
And yearn to load it and listen to it's quiet purrrr....

We had to take a break from all of the excitement to leave a mark on our house...

It's a small but precious window into our lives in the first house we call home

Summer Photos!

2011-08-23T15:22:00.002-05:00

I bought my Groupon with a Lewisville Photographer, Blackall Photography, back in March. I cashed it in for a summer session for the girls. It was early, but still hot, and I was worried about how the photos would turn out! I am pretty pleased!

The above photo was posted on the photographers facebook page, but you can view the rest of the gallery on her website www.blackallphotography.com

Enter her website and then click on the "client" tab. Scroll down on the page and enter in the password "surratt" Photos will be posted for 2 weeks! I hope you enjoy!

Eloise's Swim Lessons

2011-07-29T12:47:00.004-05:00

This year was our first year of swim lessons. We took them through McKinney ISD. Eloise had a total of 3 weeks of one 1 on 1 instruction. She gained confidence in the water and will now put her face in, blow bubbles, kick with a kick board, jump off the wall of the pool into someones arms and pushes off of the side with her feet to glide to someone.

We still aren't "swimming" yet!

In my dreams I had envisioned her doing freestyle laps in the pool.... keeping up with Micheal Phelps. Olympic qualifying swimming.... graceful strokes, strong kicks, swim caps, speedos, bull horns.... OK, ok, maybe not that serious.

Baby Steps, Mommy... she's making baby steps

All in all, I am satisfied with the improvements. My little gal is NOT a risk taker, so these small steps are leaps for her! We will continue to practice and before long, I know my hesitant little girl will turn into a confident fish!

Stay cool, y'all! It's hot out there!

I'm baaaaack....

2011-07-25T15:13:00.003-05:00

After an oh-so-long hiatus, I am making my blogger return. With a whole new look!

(it was about time to get rid of the Christmas theme!)

Honestly, blogging was too hard to continue after my Dad passed away. My heart continues to mend. The truth is, he loved my blog. Loved. It. He would also tell me that when life gets messy, you can't just give up.

Therefore, before you and all of my followers

(crickets chirping...)

I solemnly swear to snap more photos, post more often, and keep on truckin' whatever path God sends me down. If not for all of you, for my dad, who wouldn't want me to stop.

Keep posted....

Disney On Ice: Princess Wishes

2010-12-09T20:56:00.007-06:00

When the rest of the world was hunting for a bargain on Black Friday Coco treated our little princess to Disney on Ice! Eloise LOVES everything that is pink, glittery or princess, so this was heaven to her. Coco, Eloise and I all enjoyed the show!
Lots of the little girls were wearing their princess gowns!Coco and EloiseWhen I asked Eloise what her favorite part of the show was, she informed me that this was the moment... When the prince gave Sleeping Beauty a kiss! Such a romantic!Eloise also told her teacher that she wanted to be a figure skater when she grew up... I think we need to move to Canada for that to happen!Belle and BeastTechnically Tink is NOT a princess, but I'll let it slide! Cinderella's carriage and fireworks at the grand finale!

Eloise's reaction to the finale!

Holiday Greetings Coming to A Mailbox Near You!

2010-12-08T21:40:00.005-06:00

Christmas is such a festive time of year! As soon as I have turkey in my tummy I am decorating for Christmas. The sights smells, tastes and sounds of the season overwhelm me! It truly is magical.

One of my favorite holiday traditions is sending and receiving Christmas cards! I love seeing how family and friends change throughout the years. Each trip to the mailbox is filled with anticipation... Who will be behind that little black door? When Patrick and I were first married we saw a lot of newly wed cards and now we are seeing everyones expanding families!

We got to talking about this years card and decided on a photo card! You can see how challenging our photo shoot was in my previous post, but I know I will cherish these shots in the future! Patrick and I started shopping around online and found really cute cards on Shutterfly! They have awesome designs offering both flat stationary and folded cards- something for everyones taste! One year I used Shutterfly to make a "Grandma Calendar" for my mom. It was a wall calendar customized with photos of the grandkids. It was such a hit we started doing it annually!

My next challenge: Narrowing down my options... here are a few.

Vintage Inspired Traditional
Fun!

Which one is your favorite?

A Family of 5 Photo Shoot

2010-12-08T16:48:00.005-06:00

Remember me telling you about all of the pretty decor at the Gaylord Texan? While we were at the Gaylord Texan we attempted to take our own family photos for this years Christmas card...

WHEW! EXHAUSTING! It is an almost impossible task to get 3 kids (all under 4) to LOOK at you and SMILE without doing other (unflattering) things....

We had...a crier...

a slider..

a grump...a lip biter...a thumb sucker...and an escape artist...

DID WE GET ONE, YOU ASK?

Guess you will have to wait and see!

Thanksgiving Alternative

2010-12-08T16:15:00.006-06:00

We wanted a Thanksgiving alternative this year. The day was going to be hard for us (in my dads absence) so we opted out of the traditional turkey-dinner-around-the-dining-room-table.

In stead, we went to Great Wolf Lodge for their Thanksgiving Feast! We had a good time, and especially enjoyed skipping the cooking and cleaning part of the day!

The Loose Moose Cottage, where we enjoyed out mealCoco and Eloise in front of the lobby's fireplaceThe Lobby of Great Wolf Lodge

~~~

Quickly after dinner we went to the Gaylord Texan. It is always decorated so nicely for the holidays! We really enjoyed walking around looking at the train exhibit, visiting Santa, and enjoying a glass of wince while listening to their live music! The Lights in the main atrium!

Such a poser!

Lucie and mommy!

Happy First Brithday, Sweet Caroline!

2010-12-08T15:16:00.003-06:00

A few weekends ago we went to celebrate my niece, Caroline's, first birthday! We had such fun! The decor of the party was red, turquoise and pink. My sister-in-law pulled out all the stops with all of the small details. There was a candy bar with matching lollipop decor! And the sweet birthday banner was adorable, too! But, my favorite part of a first birthday is watching the little ones DIG into their first bite of cake! Nom Nom Nom....

Happy Birthday Sweet Caroline! We love you!

Preschool Tanksgiving Feast

2010-12-01T20:58:00.002-06:00

Before Thanksgiving Eloise enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with her class! It was fine dining: White bread, turkey lunch meat, green beans, and applesauce! Dessert was a rice crispy treat! How cute are these little pilgrims??

Eloise and her class!

Halloween Festivities!

2010-12-01T15:06:00.008-06:00

The Surratt's had a whole week of Halloween this year! Our girls are VERY much into the Disney Princesses this year, so you may see a theme...

Our week started off at church. They held their annual "Trunk or Treat" event and we decided to host a trunk! Our theme was..... YOU GUESSED IT!!! Princess!! Patrick and I were the Royal Parents and we had our 3 little princesses (ok, one was a fairy but, hey, close enough!) His and Her Royal Highnesses King Patrick and Queen Kelly

Her Royal Highness, Miss Tessa Rea, Princess of McKinney

Trunk or Treating with Great Aunt Debby while Mommy and Daddy hand out candy at the Pink Palace.

Train Ride!

Eloise and her buddy Felicity in front of the Pink Palace!

(our trunk... Sadly the best photo I have of it!)

Lucie, AKA Tinkerbell!

After Trunk or Treat our Sunday school class went to "Gouls on the Lawn" at Tucker Hill in McKinney. Here are all the kids!

~~~

For the actual Halloween weekend we burned rubber down I-45 again, and went to Houston. My sister was in charge of her church Pumpkin Party! We went there first to do some more trunk or treating and other fun activities!

My cutie patootie nephew, Travis, the train conductor!

More trunk or treating!
~~~
After having fun at the Pumpkin Party we went to my brothers house to attend the annual block party! It's always a lot of fun with pinatas, balloon artists, costume contests and festive food!

One super cute pink poodle... My niece, Caroline.

Two princesses and a bride trick or treating!

My little angels with Coco!

Eloise and her balloon scepter

Cute Chickadee!

Daddy's Birthday!

2010-10-14T15:20:00.003-05:00

Patrick is 31!! We celebrated his happy birthday by taking our little Eloise out on a "Date." I know, it sounds unusual for a birthday celebration, but we BOTH really wanted to see Toy Story 3 with her. The little ones stayed at home with a babysitter and the 3 of us went out to dinner and a movie! Cupcakes from The Cupcakery... yummmmmy!

Eloise loves anything chocolate!

Hippo birdie two ewe. Hippo birdie two ewe. Hippo birdie, deer ewe.

Hippo birdie two ewe!!!

(hehe)

Nursery Debut

2010-10-10T15:26:00.005-05:00

I figured it was about time to post some pictures of Tessa's vintage inspired nursery. As you know, we didn't find out her gender ahead of time (s0 fun!), so we started with a pretty neutral "canvas" and added most of the decor after her delivery.

The first colors in her room were khaki, white and black. After she was born I decided to do a splash of about every other color in the rainbow! When you are working with such a simple canvas, you can go crazy with the details! Anyhow, here is her name hanging over the window.

The simple nursery bedding was sort of the rooms "little black dress." Meaning you can change the entire look of the room by changing the accessories and use the same bedding.

(Kind of like you do with your perfect LBD.)

The photo quality of this one isn't great, but I thought it captured the room in it's entirety.

The quilt on the chair is the one I made for Tessa. It has been pieced, layered and quilted. It still needs to be bound. I plan to hang it on the wall behind the crib in replacement of the one currently there. It's 6' x 6' so it will take up the whole space, and add a lot of color to the room.

This little "vintage" dress is MY coming home outfit that my Dad picked for me after I was born. This is my absolute favorite addition to the room.

On top of the white shelf rests a cute little vintage balloon lamp that once lit the walls of MY nursery (Oh, and my siblings, too!) It also serves as a night light. Also some "Bunnykins" china and the Baby Book (that you first met HERE.)

The baby changing station... a must have in any nursery!

Above the changing station is are two shelves that hold all kinds of little vintage treats! A Raggedy Ann and Andy, tin duck pull toy, a spinning top, lantern, baskets of baby goodies, adorable record of birth art and....My special little gift. The perfect perch for our new bear! It's like a little guardian angel watching over baby Tessa.

Also, one of my favorite additions to the nursery....

Dallas Arboretum Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-08T17:09:00.004-05:00

My mom was in town this week and we decided to take the kiddos to the Dallas Arboretum. If you are ever in Dallas, you should make a point to go to the Arboretum! It is gorgeous any time of the year. However, during the fall, they have a HUGE pumpkin patch and fall play area for the kids! We loved the opportunity to take some photos

(not sure the kids loved the pictures so much, but too bad... mammarazzi was out in full force!)

First up was sweet baby Tessa.

I love photographing her.. because she has no choice but to sit right where you put her ;)

Lucie, on the other hand, didn't cooperate as well. She wanted to RUN and PLAY! So I got some action shots of her. The only way to have her sit still for longer than 2 seconds was to have her throw the hay!

And then you have the 3 1/2 year old... ahhh. Eloise cooperated most of the time. At the end she started saying "Mommy, I'm sick of saying cheese!" I can't blame her...

Here is the BEST attempt at a group shot.

(Meaning everyone is in it and no one is crying.)

Eloise LOVED playing make believe in the old pioneer village. Here she is in the covered wagon saying "goodbye" to me before she left for her long journey!

Before we left I wanted to get a shot with Coco and the girls.

(they were spent, can you tell?)

A Special Gift

2010-10-08T14:01:00.002-05:00

The last few weeks of my Dad's life was spent under hospice care. VITAS took great care Dad and my family through difficult times. One of the wonderful things they do for the families in their care is make bears out of their loved ones clothing. I took my favorite "Dad Shirt" to them. It was the shirt he wore when Eloise was born. I just received my finished bear, and a photo of him in the shirt.

It brought tears to my eyes; it was just perfect. Now, all I have to do is find the perfect perch for our precious gift.... I have a special little spot in mind!

Stay tuned....

Baby Cole's Shower and Quilt

2010-10-05T20:52:00.006-05:00

I have been on a blogging hiatus lately. With everything that was happening in my life, I just couldn't muster up the energy needed to keep up. I had great intentions. I kept taking my pictures, but didn't follow through with my blog. All that being said, I am going to try to catch up!

My bestie, Holly, was expecting her first little bundle. A bouncing baby boy named Cole! We couldn't wait to celebrate him with a shower!The Mommy- to- be!Welcome to the party!

There was some great company! Me, Eloise and Tessa.

("Where is Lucie," you ask? ...)Eating...

she did the WHOLE time!

How could she not... the food was devine!

About the cuisine...Tea and strawberry lemonade to wet the pallet.French house Chicken salad and Kuby's pimento cheese sammies, fruit skewers, tomatos capris, bacon wrapped little smokies (mmmm... you have no idea), kettle corn, and mini cupcakes!And a candy bar! The little ones LOVED it!

(notice who's there.... scavenging some more...)Holly and a cousin sippin' and snugglin'

I made baby Cole a personalized quilt. I used this pattern from Moda Bake shop. The fabric selection was the Blue "Lilly and Will" by Bunnyhill Designs for the border and aplique and a simple muslin for the center.

Throughout the smaller prints you can see bunny sillouhettes... so I chose to do a bunny applique along with the name.I did "stitch in the ditch" quilting on the border and a simple lined stich for the center.Holly LOVED little Cole's quilt!

(Sorry about the horible photo quality)

Did I mention that Baby Cole made his apperance? Yep!! That's right, he arrived on September 2nd! Isn't he scruptious?

(I can't take credit for the photo... It's by Sweet Louis Photography in Austin. Kerry does great work if you are in the area!)

Congrats to Holly and Phil on the new, adorable addition!

At Peace

2010-10-05T17:45:00.010-05:00

Back in April my Dad had a routine medical procedure called a cardiac ablation. During the procedure there were some medical accidents made which lead Dad to have several strokes. He went into a coma on May 23rd. My Dad had been in the hospital almost ever since Tessa was born. After 3 1/2 months with little improvement, his health began to deteriorate and he went to be with the Lord on September 17th. I am heartbroken. I know Daddy is at peace, but human nature is selfish, and I want him here with me.

My Dad was a hard working, caring, God fearing man. He was my biggest advocate. He would be there for me, no matter what, even if it wasn't convenient for him. My Dad treated everyone with respect and dignity, no matter who they were or where they came from. He was an outdoors man. He enjoyed spending time with his family, especially his 7 grand kids. He was a college football enthusiast. He was a terrific example to all. He was a husband of 38 years, a grandpa, a coworker, a boss, a friend to many... he was my Dad.

I hold so many memories close: Meals around the table every night, family vacations, youth basketball coaching, college tailgate parties, weekends at the river house, special times with his grand kids.... I could go on for days. That doesn't even scratch the surface.

Give your loved ones a kiss and tell them how much you care about them and never, ever, take one moment with them for granted.

Love you Daddy.....

Tricky Mommy

2010-07-07T16:12:00.005-05:00

Bwaaaa haaa haaa haaa !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(in my most convincing evil villain laugh)

Veggies disguised as cheese= Pure genius!

The Unsuspecting Victims:

Jackson Hole Wedding Time

2010-07-06T15:59:00.002-05:00

The whole family just got back from a well deserved vacation to Jackson, Wyoming for a wedding! We decided to stay a week and soak in the sights of Jackson, Yellowstone National Park, and The Grand Teton National Park! We had so much fun with all the the extended family in a gorgeous house that my parents rented. After long days of sight seeing and wedding events we relaxed in the hot tub on the back patio! Although the absence of my dad was obvious, we made many memories that we will cherish forever. Here are some photos (Okay, LOTS of photos) from our Wyoming adventure!

The grand kitchen/dining/living area of the house

A view of the bonus room from the kids loft!

The double stroller saw good use this trip! Tessa enjoyed the average temperature of 70*!

The first day we went to the historic Jackson Square, and rode up the air tram to the top of the Teton Mountains.

Photos at the famous Elk Horn Arches Flanking the corner entrances to the Jackson, WY square.

Eloise enjoyed picking the flowers in the backyard!

Taking a ride up the mountain in the air tram

SNOW!

The view from the top

~~~

The next Day we made the long drive out to Yellowstone National park to see Old Faithful, and the Geyser Basin. We also caught a glimpse of some cool wildlife!

The family in front of Old Faithful in Yellowstone

The inside of the historic Old Faithful Inn

Lunch at the Old Faithful Inn with the cousinsWe called it a deer, but it may be something else...

Geyser Basin bubbling geysers

A rare sighting of a GRIZZLY BEAR!

Don't worry... We weren't this close... I zoomed in.

~~~

A trip to Jenny Lake in The Grand Teton National Park provided hiking and some beautiful photo ops.

On the way out we saw a mangy moose in need of some dinner.

Lucie on the hike

Eloise on the kike.

~~~

Finally, it was wedding time! My cousin, Melanie, married Tim Grayson at the Jackson Golf and Tennis Club. It was a beautiful location overlooking the Tetons! It was such a fun evening and I was honored to be a bridesmaid by her side. I was apparently having so much fun that I forgot to take pictures. Thankfully there was a professional photographer, so we can get those later!

Patrick and I at the reception

The beautiful bride and my Aunt Debby, the mother of the bride.

Melanie and Tims first dance.

~~~

On our last full day in Jackson we went back to Teton National Park for a picnic lunch overlooking Coulter Bay and an easy hike along the lakeside trail.

Picnic time with Eloise

Daddy and Tessa on the lakeside hike

~~~

We had a hard time leaving Jackson; It was gorgeous! A fun time was had; a big congratulations to Melanie and Tim!

Pause.... REWIND!

2010-07-06T15:03:00.005-05:00

The past month and a half has been a whirlwind! With all that is going on in my life I sometimes feel like my head is spinning!

At the end of May, about a week after Tessa was born, we celebrated the end of the school year at preschool! Lucie and Eloise both had parties with their class. Posted below are a few photos of the events

Lucie and her little friends had a "picnic." They all sat around some blankets on the floor and had some snacks while all of the mommies chatted.~~~

Eloise's class had a "beach party" where they had a sand and water table, bubbles, "car washing" and sprinklers. She had a great time.

Having fun in the sprinkler with her classmates

Eloise and her favorite teachers, Ms. Lisa and Ms. Debbie!

Prayers for my Daddy

2010-06-10T13:59:00.004-05:00

10 days after Tessa was born my Daddy, Bill Thielhorn, suffered several small strokes following some complications during a routine surgical procedure. He has been in a coma since Sunday, May 23rd. Doctors say his brain needs time to heal the damage that was caused and are unsure when he will "wake up." Please pray for him to heal fully, his medical team to have the knowledge and compassion to work with my father and stregth, hope, and peace for me and my family. I am a strong believer in the power of prayer and I know that God hears us!

Welcome Baby Tessa!

2010-06-10T13:30:00.004-05:00

On May 13th, 2010 at 5:29 pm I delivered my third baby girl! Tessa Rae Surratt weighed 8 Lbs. 12 Oz. and was 20 1/2 inches long! By far the largest baby I have ever had (as predicted.) The delivery was difficult. I had to push for over an hour! Whoever told me the more kids you have the easier it gets LIED to me. :) However, all of that work was worth it! Here are some photos from the hospital!

In the elevator on the way to L&D

Our first family photo post delivery. (Nothing like birthing a baby to make you look terrible.)

I love Lucie's expression in this photo. She was smitten from the beginning.

Eloise and Aunt Michelle watching Tessa get her first bath!

Tessa calmed right down when she felt the water!

The girls and Coco visiting our new addition!

Me and my girls!

Eloise holding her new sister! Daddy is watching with great pride!

Tick Tock... Tick Tock

2010-05-11T12:12:00.002-05:00

38 weeks and counting... This is BY FAR the longest I have ever been pregnant. Eloise graced us with her presence 5 weeks early and Lucie made her arrival 3 weeks early. So, to me, this pregnancy seems to have lasted FOREVER! I have been going to the doctor weekly now for 3 weeks. I have been at a 3 and 50% for 2 weeks and today I had another doctors appointment and I am dilated to a 4, and 80%! So now, we wait...

~~~

Reasons this pregnancy has been different:

1. Unplanned- so everything has been a surprise this far!

2. Baby is bigger, much bigger. Last week the doctor estimated 7Lbs, 5 oz. None of my kids have ever broken the 7 Lb. mark.

4. Don't know the gender and not telling names (it's made the preparation process VERY different.)

3. Carrying baby higher (or baby is longer)- I can feel Peanut moving behind my ribs. Sometimes Peanut literally takes my breath away after a sharp jab to the lungs.

4. I actually look pregnant. Previously my children would spread out (making me look wider.) This baby is all out front. It's new for strangers to come up to me and ask me "When are you due?" I am used to telling people I am pregnant, and having them act surprised after finding out!

4. I am uncomfortable... and when I used to hear this from others I would think that the mom's meant they felt big and bloated and miserable. NO- for me it means lots of PRESSURE... and the sensation that the baby is coming... NOW. Exerting any effort hurts (literally.)

~~~

Things I am Most Looking Forward to:

1. I am looking forward to knowing the Peanuts gender the MOST.

2. I can't wait to see my Lucie be a big sister.

3. Eloise is going to be able to help me more this time around. She is already so independent!

I look forward to my next post about the baby's arrival! Pray for us!

Date Night With Eloise

2010-05-09T13:31:00.003-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of going on a date with Eloise. I think she senses a change is on the way. She has been dying for attention lately and has been a little on the emotional side. So, I decided to treat her to a night out- just the two of us! We headed out to Stonebriar Mall in Frisco for some mommy and me fun!

~~~

Our first stop was Build a Bear! Eloise picked out a brown puppy.

Here she is making a wish and placing the heart inside her new buddy. This is the "stuffing machine" where you add the cotton filling!
After her puppy was stuffed we headed to the "washing station" where you bathe the animals in high pressured air to fluff them up and brush the fur for a beautiful shiny coat! Lastly, Eloise dressed her new puppy, and received a birth certificate for her new dog named "Kitty."

Eloise insisted on carrying that big box all by her self!

After Build a Bear we went upstairs to have Chick-fil-a for dinner. Eloise wanted Kitty to have her own seat right next to her!

You can't take a kid to Stonebriar and NOT ride the carousel! So, finally, we ended the night with a spin on this beautiful pony!

Our night out is just what the doctor ordered! Eloise (and I) LOVED every minute of it!! I think we might just have to make a tradition of it!

Muffins with Mom

2010-05-05T15:58:00.007-05:00

The girls preschool held their "Muffins with Mom" this week in honor of Mothers Day! I had a fun time attending both parties and watching my sweet babies in their "element!" I got spoiled with lots of fun gifts, songs and hugs!

Lucie LOVED the blueberry muffin!

I loved getting hugs from my little muffin!

My Sweet gift from Lucie- a flower frame and poem

The poem reads:
"The hearts are for you
the hands from me
to show we are friends
the best there can be.
I hope you will save it
and look back some day
at the flower we shared
on your special day!"
~~~

Wednesday was Eloise's turn. She had been telling me about some of the things ahead of time! The muffins were, again, delish. But my favorite part was getting to spend some special time with my girl!

Me and my sweet Eloise.
Pay no attention to pregnancy nose....ugh!
Eloise and her classmates singing the Mom's a song "Mommy takes good care of me"
Getting ready for a muffin with mom!
My gift from Eloise: A photo box of chocolate kisses and hugs!

Inside the box is the following poem:
"This is a very special box,
that only you can see.
The reason it's so special is,
it's just for you from me.
It's filled with hugs and kisses,
as sweet as sweet can be.
Just hold the box close to your heart,
and you'll always think of me!"

Tierra's Baby Shower

2010-05-03T15:14:00.004-05:00

This weekend the ladies from the YMCA celebrated one of our own with a baby shower! Tierra and I actually started at the Y on the same day and our due dates are just 8 weeks apart! I was honored to be able to hostess a baby shower for her. We all had a great evening hanging out with the ladies!

The Mommy to be with Marissa and Jessica.

All of the party guests sipped drinks out of baby bottles!

The whole group went in on Tierra's Pack-n-play!

Some of the delectable treats! We had delicious tapas!

The baby's quilt I made. The nursery decor is purple, black and white!

My favorite part of the quilt isn't pictured... the purple and white damask MINKY material!

SOOOOO SOFT!

The whole YMCA Childwatch gang!

One of several GORGEOUS flower arrangements!

And, finally for desert we had chocolate fondue and cake! MMM MMM GOOD!

Congratulations to the Mommy-To-Be, Tierra!

Melanie Comes to Visit

2010-05-03T15:08:00.003-05:00

My cousin, Melanie, came to visit us from Jackson Hole, WY. She is getting married this summer and came to do some wedding planning. We don't see her too often, so it was a treat!We grilled burgers on the barbie, had pedicures and hung out. Eloise and Melanie had so much fun playing El's favorite new game (Hide and Seek!)
We can't wait to fly up to Jackson Hole this summer to go to Melanie's wedding!

Professional Bluebonnet Photos

2010-04-19T14:56:00.004-05:00

Last week I posted some photos I took of the girls in the Bluebonnets. The professional photographer just emailed me the password to proof her shots! If you want to check them out go to: THIS LINK . Then use the password: surrattbb

I love the one of Eloise and Baby Bump in the Bluebonnets! I am buying the digital copies of several....

Thanks to the photographer Erin!

Chocolate Bunnies

2010-04-15T13:25:00.003-05:00

The girls both got a small chocolate bunny in their Easter basket this year. Earlier this week they had the opportunity to enjoy them after dinner. We stripped them down to their skivvies and let them dig in! Here are pictures of the aftermath!

Kid Country

2010-04-14T21:45:00.005-05:00

After taking Bluebonnet pictures in Coppell we spent the evening playing at an amazing park called "Kid Country." We had a picnic dinner and played for a LONG time. Unfortunately my camera battery died when we were there, so I had to use an Internet photo of the park. None the less, we practically had to pry the girls off of the playground. Coppell isn't very close, but I still think we will go back and enjoy this park again.

Kid Country

Swinging!

Lucie was getting very sleepy!! Can you tell?

Bluebonnet Photos

2010-04-14T21:33:00.004-05:00

This evening we went to take some photos in the Bluebonnets. I took these, but the purpose of the trip was to have the girls photos professionally taken by a buddy Erin. She is starting out her photography business (Brooke Shelby Photography), so we were happy to be some of her early clients. I haven't seen her photos yet, but these are some that I got with my camera! I'll post Erin's pictures when I can!

Lucie Rose... I couldn't get those straps to stay up!
Eloise Noelle (don't call the wildflower police, she's only 3!)

Mommy like....

2010-04-14T15:44:00.003-05:00

Say hello to my new little friends! I got an extra special treat for my birthday this year! My family all pitched in to get me these cute little gold Tory Burch ballet flats. They feel like heaven on my feet (not an easy task for shoes to accomplish these days.) I might never take them off!

Pay no attention to the swollen puffy ankles attached. Focus on the gold cuteness with tortoise shell detail!!

33 Weeks Pregnant

2010-04-05T08:44:00.005-05:00

At 33 Weeks BabyCenter.com says that the baby is now the size of a pineapple (minus the leaves!) They also say that Baby has passed the 17 inch mark and its skeleton is hardening. Baby's primary task now: gain weight! (Maybe that's why I feel hungry all the time...) Can you believe we have only 49 days left until the due date!? I am getting anxious to know what I am having!

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T17:20:00.006-05:00

This year we decided to stay home for Easter. It was a low key, family day! We missed seeing all the cousins and grandparents, but it was nice to experience a holiday at our own house. First we woke up and the girls found their baskets left by the Easter Bunny! They were so excited to look through their treats.

Lucie's basket (on the left) had bubbles, two new sippy cups, new lotion, princess body wash, chocolate bunny, a princess ball, shoes, socks, PJ's and a coloring book with big crayons! Eloise's basket (on the right) had a Dora paint set, Dora ball, pink converse, socks, PJ's, Dora sippy cup, Dora bubble bath, bubbles and a pinwheel.

After looking through the baskets we all enjoyed some breakfast (muffins and milk!)

Then it was time to put on our Easter best and go on an egg hunt!

Eloise found the candy filled eggs quickly.

Lucie found a few candy filled eggs but mostly stuck to the hard boiled eggs.
~~~
Next up mommy wanted to do a photo shoot of the girls!

Finally, it was time to go to church! It was so nice getting to see our pastor and our friends at the services! The sermon was awesome and we enjoyed listening to the Easter Story and talking about how "Jesus Lives!" The sanctuary was decorated beautifully, too! (Unfortunately, we forgot to take the camera!)
~~~

When we got home the girls took a nap and Mommy started preparing Easter dinner.

On the menu: Ham, green bean casserole, potato casserole, deviled eggs, fruit salad and rolls!

At last, we sat down and Eloise blessed our meal.

Her prayer: "God is great. God is Good. Thank you for Eloise's happy birthday, thank you for dinner, thank you for Easter. Jesus Lives! Amen."

I'm so proud of my little girls and my family. God has blessed us in so many ways! Happy Easter!

Egg Dying and Bunny Photos

2010-04-03T13:04:00.004-05:00

We woke up this morning ready to dye our Easter eggs in preparation for tomorrow! It is such a fun tradition that the girls truly enjoy. Last year we did it with all of the cousins in Houston, but this year we are celebrating Jesus' Resurrection right here in McKinney at our house and in our own church!

Eloise getting an egg dying lesson from daddy before beginning.

Waiting on the eggs to soak up all of the bright colors!

Lucie enjoyed watching and playing with a plastic egg, because lets face it, giving a 1-year-old an egg isn't a great idea! (Maybe next year...)
Our finished product. (Tomorrow's deviled eggs...mmmm.)

~~~
After egg dying we had to run a few errands. Along the way we swung by Macy's and they were doing photos with a real Easter bunny! This was an unplanned photo shoot, which is why the girls are not coordinated or matching (you know me...)

Lucie, being my fearless child, loved the bunny! She wasn't being very gentle... so, I am not sure the bunny felt the same way.
Eloise, on the other hand, only liked the bunny if it was in it's cage. Therefore, no bunny in her photo (unless you include the giant stuffed one next to Lucie.)

Happy Easter Everyone!

Lucie 15 Month Stats

2010-04-02T12:29:00.002-05:00

Lucie went to the pediatrician for her 15 month well visit on Wednesday. We missed her 12 month visit due to the craziness of the holidays so we had some catching up to do. We had to split all of her shots so she didn't get all 6 at once. So she had 3 on Wednesday and will get 4 at her 18 month visit (the three from this month plus one she would normally get at 18 months!) It breaks my heart every time they stick her, but I know its necessary! Here are her stats:

~~~

Weight: 22 Pounds 3 ounces (35%)

Length: 30 3/4 inches (53%)

Head Cir.: 19 inches (95%)

Here she is, all stripped down and ready for her physical. Lucie's favorite thing to do at the doctors office (sick or well) is push the rolling stool around the tiny room!

~~~

Can you believe this tiny thing will be a BIG sister in a little more than a month?!

Outside Playtime!

2010-04-01T17:14:00.002-05:00

The weather has finally been pretty enough to enjoy some outdoor play time! Eloise got a cool new playhouse for her birthday from her Nanna and Pappy! Daddy set it up last weekend and the girls have been having a blast playing outside in their new playhouse all week. Here are the photos to prove it!Eloise, the hostess with the mostess! "Nanna and Pappy, come on over to my house and play!"Ding Dong! Sissy wants to come in and play!

Thanks Nanna and Pappy!!

Me too, Me too! I love it, too!!

Pre-school Easter Celebrations

2010-03-31T15:26:00.004-05:00

This week both Eloise and Lucie had their Easter Party/ Egg Hunt! First was Lucie's. It was so cute watching the little ones "hunt" for eggs. The eggs weren't really hidden at all, more scattered on the floor in an open room. Anyway, Lucie had a good time!

Lucie and I during the egg hunt! MMMM... the plastic eggs taste yummy!
~~~

Wednesday was Eloise's party. She got all dressed up in her Easter dress for the celebration! Eloise got a great collection of eggs, however, Lucie and I had doctors appointments, so we couldn't stay for her egg hunt.

Doesn't she look angelic?? (Ahem... more like on a photo protest.)

Eloise with her dear teachers Ms Lisa and Ms. Debbie

Little bunny Lu-Lu. Each girl had stick on earrings, painted finger nails (El picked silver!) Each kid had a painted bunny face and bunny ears!

Eloise's Easter bunny basket filled with treats from her friends

Kelly, Master Blogger...

2010-03-26T13:45:00.002-05:00

Holly, one of my blogger friends has awarded me a "Master Blogger Award." This honor comes with an assignment: Name 6 things I am a master of. Then tag 6 more people as "Masters" to play along (if they wish...) SO-- HERE WE GO!

1. Party Planner: I LOVE planning any kind of party! Wedding showers, baby showers, birthday parties-- You name it.. and I love it. Coming up with a theme, invitations, menu, activities... I eat it up!

2. Creative projects: I go in spurts on this one, but I still consider myself to be fairly talented in the creative department. Whether it's quilting, baking, knitting, sewing, scrap booking, etc. I like it all and can pick up on it fairly easy.

3. Remembering faces and names: I can usually remember people I have met easily. I think it is similar to a photographic memory. I see a persons face, and instantly picture where we were when we met. About 80% of the time I can recall a name but it takes a few extra minutes (sometimes a few minutes too late!)

4. Patience with kids: And I mean any ones kids. I think I took this away from my teaching days, but I refuse to let a child ruffle my feathers. I am good at talking to them on their level and diverting problems before they occur. If they want to throw a fit, that's fine... but I will not join them.

5. Multi-tasking: Holly, I am copying this from you. I can be doing a number of things at one time: talking on the phone, while preparing lunch for the girls and jotting down a grocery list all at the same time. It's an adaptation that all women acquire when they become a mother... It's inevitable.

6. Baby maker..... LOL (I crack myself up.): OK, so this is no. 6 and I am all out of ideas! But, how many other people do you know that have or will have 3 kids, all 3 and under?! There has to be a reward out there for people who can (and I will) pull it off!

OK, so there you have it. It wasn't as easy as I thought but I accomplished the challenge set before me!

I award these 6 blogger friends the "Master Blogger Award" and challenge them to pass this post along:

Lucie Lunch Date

2010-03-24T15:05:00.006-05:00

Ever since Eloise started preschool in December, Lucie and I have had "mommy and me" time every Wednesday! We go to the Y to work for a few hours and then before we head up to church to get Eloise we usually enjoy some lunch together! I cherish my Lucie lunch dates because it gives me the opportunity to give her my undivided attention!

Today's lunch: Pizza, Raisins and milk at Market Street!

A-DORA-ble Eloise Turns Three!

2010-03-24T11:32:00.010-05:00

I can't believe Eloise is three!! It seems like just yesterday we were in the hospital with that "new parent glow!" We have been so blessed to have Eloise in our lives. God knew what he was doing when he gave me Eloise; she is exactly what I needed in a first child! Thank heaven for my beautiful, kind, sensitive, and opinionated Eloise!

~~~

On Saturday, Eloise officially turned 3! We had quite a day planned. As soon as she woke up she was treated to a chocolate chip muffin! We put a candle in it and sang to her! Unfortunately the photos of that somehow got deleted! After the Birthday Girl finished her breakfast, Patrick and I gave her our gift, a new dollhouse! OH MY GOSH... I think it might be her most favorite gift EVER! As soon as she wakes up in the morning, she asks to play with her dollhouse... and it provides hours of entertainment for her! We have to pry her away from it at bedtime.

Eloise enjoying her new gift. A lot of the parts actually work (i.e. the phone rings, the piano plays, the refrigerator light comes on when you open the door, etc....) It is the COOLEST!

This is how she found it that morning. It is folded up. The whole house opens like a book to reveal the inside!

~~~

That afternoon it was off to the YMCA for a "Dora the Explorer" birthday party (per Eloise's request!) We had half of the gym set up for the party. It included "a build your own trail mix" station with Chex cereal, raisins, marshmallows, pretzels and M&M's. We also played games, had coloring pages, and a bounce house. Of course, the festivities included CAKE! The party turned out to be SO fun, and I couldn't have been happier with the celebration!

As the kids arrived we had Dora the Explorer coloring pages, stickers and snack mix to enjoy.

Eloise and her friends playing and dancing!

Is this not the CUTEST bounce house you have ever seen? I thought I might be able to call it Swiper (I know... Sttrreching my imagination!) Anyway, it was adorable!

Some of Eloise's friends on the way out of the bounce house.

Bounce house fun!

Here Eloise is playing a game of "Dora, Dora, Swiper" (Duck, Duck, Goose- only we changed the words.)
The hysterical part was when someone was tagged "Swiper" the WHOLE group got up and ran instead of just the one child! We were rolling on the floor laughing!

Our party had it's very own "Swiper" (more commonly known as Lucie) Anytime someone left their snacks unattended, Lucie was there scavenging. Here I caught her in action.

We brought out some of the gymnastics mats as a last minute addition and it turned out to be a popular activity!

After all of that bouncing and playing, it was time to fuel up on some cupcakes!

Eloise was very serious about blowing out her Dora candle!

Enjoying cupcakes with her friends

"Backpack, backpack... Backpack, backpack..." Each child took home a "backpack" filled with party treats including bubbles, Dora stickers and temporary tattoos and "estrella" (star) treats!

Unfortunately the party had to come to an end! Here we are saying our goodbyes!

~~~

The night of Eloise's birthday it snowed! So when we woke up on Sunday the ground was COVERED! I am pretty sure Eloise thought that it was her birthday all over again! This snow was very powdery and not very sticky, so it wasn't perfect for snow man building, but we tried anyways! Coco and Grandpa were still in town and got excited to play in the snow (since they RARELY see any in Houston.)

Lucie has become quite the ham... she now says "cheeeeeeese!" every time she sees the camera.

Eloise and Coco with their mini snowman!

Fun at the Party Store

2010-03-18T12:14:00.004-05:00

We've been feeling better so we decided to head out and run some errands. Along the way was U.S. Toys, a party store in Plano. Oh MY, that place has everything. It was FUN!

We just HAD to try some things on!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-17T09:56:00.002-05:00

Do you know why we celebrate St. Patrick's Day? I didn't until I looked into it this morning. It isn't about wearing green, pinching people, or drinking Irish beer...

As history tells it, St. Patrick was held captive in England for his Christian beliefs. After 6 years of captivity, he escaped by walking over 200 miles to Ireland. This is where he became a minister and priest to the Irish people. Many believe that St. Patrick is single handedly responsible to bringing Christianity to Ireland's then pagan people. After his death on March 17th, the Catholic Church made him a Saint. That is the reason for St. Patrick's Day! Now THAT is worth some celebrating!

Here are my cuties wearing their St. Patty's Day green!

Momma is tired!

2010-03-16T04:49:00.003-05:00

Notice the time stamp on this one............ It is EARLY! Seems like no matter what, no one can be healthy at my house (at least for now!) Last week Lucie had a stomach virus that lasted 2 days. Soon after, Eloise got an ear infection and the beginning of what looked like pink eye! And now, me (Momma,) have bronchitis and can hardly BREATH, let alone sleep. Lucie still wont sleep, eat, or produce normal dirty/wet diapers so that leaves me with a LOT of worry, too. So far, Daddy has been OK (he must be exhausted from dodging all of these bullets!)

Please pray for health in my house. I am ready to SLEEP normally and move on with daily life (not to mention, have a successful 3rd Birthday party for Miss El on Saturday!)

Lovin' on my Lucie

2010-03-10T12:38:00.004-06:00

Although we officially have 1 week until my little Lucie turns 15 months, I wanted to post a blog just about HER! Sometimes I find my heart aching when I realize she only gets to be the baby for a teeny-weeny bit longer. She is such a sweet, snugly little girl. And, even though she is small, she's feisty little thing with a personality twice her size!

"One thing I LOVE to do is climb on things! Here I am scaling up the couch. Mommy tells everyone I am going to be her extreme sports girl. I don't know... how about rock climbing or cliff jumping? Anyway, I am FEARLESS!!"

"Mmmmm... If my momma would let me, I would drink milk ALL DAY!" "I adore my big sister! Sometimes it annoys her that I follow her around everywhere!! OH WELL! Here we are snuggling in the princess tent!"

"Staring out the window is also one of my favorite past times. Mommy and Daddy have learned to just leave the blinds up, because if they don't I will tear them apart just trying to sneak a peak!"

"One thing that is very different about me and my sister is that I will eat almost ANYTHING! One of my favorite treats are clementines and Mandarin oranges!"

Baby Name Buzz...

2010-03-02T14:44:00.004-06:00

YEP!! You guessed it! This is yet another thing you will have to wait to hear. We have decided not to share baby names until Peanut is born.

I know, I am doing every ANNOYING thing I swore I would never do. First, not finding out the gender, and second not telling name choices. However, Patrick and I don't see the point in telling everyone the names, if we don't know what we are having. Plus, leaving the names a mystery carries on with our "surprise" theme!

SURPRISE pregnancy... SURPRISE gender... SURPRISE NAME!!

I know its tough people but, hang tight... May will be here before you know it!

Bye, bye CR-V

2010-02-25T15:38:00.006-06:00

It's time for Patrick and I to consider upgrading to a bigger vehicle. With Peanut on the way, the CR-V just isn't big enough (sniff, sniff.) The thought of selling my car has been so sad for me; we have only had the car for 1.5 years! I love my Honda... It drives smoothly, turns on a dime and gets great gas mileage (not to mention the cuteness factor.) I'm not sure what I am going to get to replace it, but I know it will have to be BIGGER and BULKIER (and probably a lot less cute.) Anyway, we are trying to sell it, so if you know of anyone who needs a great reliable car, send them my info!

2008 Honda CR-V w/ 23k Miles

Valentines Cookies

2010-02-18T13:24:00.003-06:00

One of our snow day activities was baking valentines cookies! Yummy! Eloise loves to help me in the kitchen (but, mostly likes to lick the batter off of the mixer.) We had a lot of fun staying in our pajamas, making cookies, and even coaxing daddy out of the office (briefly) to come help us decorate them!

Eloise in her apron enjoying some cookie dough.
Helping cut out the heart shapes.
Decorating the sweets with daddy!

Of course, we had to sample some, immediately!

Lucie really enjoyed the icing. What a mess!

Our colorful creations

(completely out of red food coloring... so no traditional pink cookies!)

This is SNOW exciting!

2010-02-12T14:47:00.010-06:00

In DFW we have received 12.5 inches of snow in 24 hrs! We have reached a new record for snowfall in one day. The snow began on Thursday morning at about 6 am and didn't stop ALL day. We woke up Thursday morning and Eloise immediately wanted to go outside. She's been learning about snow and snowmen at school and couldn't wait to get in on the action! We bundled up in several layers of clothes and headed outside.... Here are some of the photos I got.

The front of our house and the snow fall.

Looking down the street... it was so beautiful!

Daddy wasn't feeling well... in fact we spent the previous night in the ER. He had a terrible headache that wouldn't go away. After calling the doctor, they pointed us to the ER. There we found out he had a massive sinus infection. So sad! They gave him a bunch of meds and he was KNOCKED out, so he missed out on some of the fun.

He's going to kill me for putting this photo on my blog! :)

Eloise, my little snow angel, having a blast.

As much as Eloise loved it--

Lucie was not a big fan....

Daddy couldn't stay inside any longer... He had to come show Eloise how to make a snow angel.

This was Eloise and my first snowman. It was the first time in both of our lives that there was enough snow accumulated on the ground to make a full 3 ball snowman!

WE HAD A BLAST!

We couldn't find a hat, so ours has a bow, and is now a "snowgirl!"

Lucie liked it better if someone was there to make sure she didn't fall down!

I know I'm bias... but could she be ANY cuter?

~~~

It snowed overnight on Thursday. McKinney was a winter wonderland Friday, as well! As soon as the girls saw the snow out the window, they wanted to go out again.

Daddy felt much better so he was able to join us! Here we are headed to make ANOTHER "snowgirl"... Eloise couldn't wait. And we had a solution for Lucie's problem with touching the snow.

We learned some valuable lessons about "how to build a snowman" from Daddy- He thinks he's a pro because he spent 2 winters in Wisconsin! So this "snowgirl" was MUCH bigger, and sturdier. Here Patrick is helping Eloise "mold the head."

Our finished product. This one is in the front yard for all of the neighborhood to enjoy!

Lucie enjoyed the snow much better from her exersaucer. No tears!

Eloise liked the snow so much that she

let her dad bury her in it!

I hope we don't have to wait forever before

we have snow like this again! It was a day filled with

fun memories with my family.

We enjoyed every minute of it!!!

Lucie Rose is walking!

2010-02-11T17:38:00.004-06:00

I wish I knew how to post a video because still photos just don't capture the cuteness of a new walker! We went down to Houston a few weekends ago and Lucie decided to become a full time walker. She went from crawling to walking one day. The next day she mastered getting from sitting to standing all by herself (not needing to pull up on furniture first.) And she's OFF!Lucie in her "new walker stance" legs wide, arms out for balance... now just imagine a waddle and march combined and there you have it! Lucie is officially mobile!

I have a feeling my job is about to get a LOT harder....

Valentines Celebrations

2010-02-11T13:12:00.007-06:00

Eloise and Lucie had their first Valentines celebrations at school this week! Lucie's was first, on Monday. Her class is the youngest in the Mothers Day Out program and they are all so cute! They are called the "jellyfish" and their party pretty much consists of eating a cookie and all of the mommies and teachers making a fuss over them. Of course, they all had their Valentines attire on! Lucie and her teachers Ms. Tara and Ms. Karen
My sweetie "made" me this Valentine. I love that big goofy grin!

Here is Lucie enjoying her cookie and water. She pretty much ate the whole thing in one bite... this little one can EAT!
~~~

Eloise and the "tadpoles" had their party on Wednesday! They made ice cream sundaes with all of the toppings (whipped cream, syrup, chocolate chips, m&m's, sprinkles, and a cherry on top!) Eloise enjoyed eating the chocolate chips and had only a few bites of the ice cream... she is my picky eater. After she had her treat she and her friends made candy necklaces and posed for a photo shoot.I scream, you scream we all scream for Ice Cream!

Eloise in her Valentines outfit... Strike a pose!

Some of Eloise's friends from class: Kennedi, Carson, Eloise, and Noah!

A special treat for mommy and daddy... Eloise says "I made that You!!!" (I made it for you!)

We hope you have a fun and love filled Valentines!

Homemade Valentines!

2010-02-10T15:18:00.004-06:00

As I was flipping through a " Disney Family Fun" magazine at the dentists office last week, I found the cutest handmade Valentine idea. Eloise and Lucie had their first Valentine parties this year (more pictures of that to come) and I thought it would be a great opportunity to make these adorable creations and teach about reusing old materials instead of throwing them away! Best of all, when their friends plant their cards in soil, they will get to watch wildflowers bloom!

We started with an old newspaper and cut it into small pieces

Then, we soaked the pieces in water for an hour (We added red food coloring so our finished product would be PINK!)
This was the messy part (and where mommy did most of the work.) We pureed the water/paper mixture in a food processor, sprinkled in the extra special ingredient (wildflower seeds) and then poured it into a shallow baking dish.
In order to make the paper mommy had to make these 5x7 screens out of window screen material and masking tape! Eloise enjoyed playing with them! We dipped each screen in the paper mixture, smoothed them out with our hands, and air dried them overnight on a bakers rack.This is what the handmade paper looked like the next day. Each rectangle allowed us to cut out two hearts!

Then we attached a green pipe cleaner, green yarn and a leaf with an extra special message. It said "Watch Our Friendship Bloom! Plant the heart in soil, water often, and wildflowers will bloom!"

Of course we kept some so we could plant a few, too! I'll keep you posted on the growth of our wildflowers! ;)

MUST... STAY... STRONG...

2010-02-10T10:27:00.002-06:00

I am leaving for my final ultrasound in about 10 minutes....

We have found out baby's gender ahead of time with BOTH of our other girls. As I have said before, Patrick and I decided to make this baby's gender a surprise. I want to stick to that plan because I think it adds an element of intrigue to the whole delivery process and makes it a bit more exciting. Plus, everyone says "It's one of the only TRUE surprises in life!" and I agree.

That being said... here I am. About to go to an ultrasound, knowing I COULD find out, if I wanted to... This is the ONLY time I struggle with this plan.

RIGHT BEFORE THE ULTRASOUND!

Anyways... wish me luck! I must stay strong... it is my last moment of temptation and should be smooth sailing from here... Promise to post pictures afterwards!

Eloise's Grand Prediction

2010-02-08T20:59:00.002-06:00

So... For the past two days, without mommy asking, Eloise has blurted out to me (or random strangers):

"Mommy has a baby BOY in her tummy!"

I don't know where the little fortune teller gets her info, but maybe she's onto something...

What do you think? ;)

My first purchase for "Peanut"!

2010-01-20T15:17:00.006-06:00

I got the most gorgeous baby book for my little "peanut!" I am super excited! As many of you know, we are not finding out the gender of this baby ahead of time. Patrick and I are waiting to find out at the delivery. We figured the pregnancy was a suprise, so why not make the gender a suprise, too? It's kind of fun. I thought this baby book was so sweet, gender nuetral, and VINTAGE looking!! (Which happens to be how I envision the nursery looking.)

The front cover. It's so darling!

One of the interior pages. I think the art is so adorable!

Take a second to take the poll on the side of the page... Tell me what you think the gender of the baby is!

Visiting Lubbock and Meeting Miss Camille

2010-01-19T14:33:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we went to Lubbock to visit Great Gammy and see our friends, Brooke and Joey. Brooke and Joey just had their first baby, a little girl named Camille! We could hardly wait to hold her and kiss her to pieces. Great Gammy was the "hostess with the mostess" and showed us a great time! Hopefully, next time we can stay longer!

Look at that face... isn't it sweet perfection?

The new family

Eloise and Joey have quite a connection!

Brooke and Camille. Isn't that quilt adorable? :)
Eloise soaked in Great Gammy's bubble tub! (Miss Lucie is going through an "I hate bath time phase" so she didn't want ANYTHING to do with it!)
Eloise and Great Gammy had a lot of fun coloring together!
On the way out of town we went to visit the late Great PaPa.

All tuckered out and on the way home..............

December Fun

2010-01-19T13:08:00.002-06:00

There was a lot going on in December! We had Journey to Bethlehem at Church. Eloise enjoyed the breakfast, Christmas show and petting zoo!

(I know I took more pictures than this.. but they seem to be lost in the dark abyss of my hard drive.)

Eloise and Patrick with a baby goat in the petting zoo.

Eloise also performed in her pre-school Christmas show! The two year old class came in at the end of the Christmas Story and sang "Jump for Joy". Eloise and her friends sure had the jumping part down! Afterwards they had their class Christmas party where they got to enjoy some sweet treats.

Eloise and her best bud, Noah, "Jumping for Joy"

Devouring a HUGE Christmas cookie!

I threw this one in just for fun! Miss Lucie loves to get in Big Sissy's baby doll bed! Eloise gets a big kick out of seeing her in there.

Christmas!

2010-01-18T14:48:00.006-06:00

Christmas was a lot of fun this year! We drove the "Texas Triangle" to go visit the family! (McKinney, to San Antonio, to Houston and back home!)

First we went to see Nana and Pappy in San Antonio for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day! This year was really special because Eloise understands Santa Clause! Christmas Eve was full. We decorated cookies for Santa, opened our traditional Christmas Eve Pajamas, went out for a delicious dinner and then went to bed early to prepare for Santa's visit. During bedtime prayers Eloise BEGGED for us to wake her up when Santa came (quite cute!) Of course, Christmas morning was magical watching the kids get so excited over their gifts. Lucie was able to participate a little more this year. :) The girls big surprise was a pink retro kitchen! There were so many cute moments and adorable gifts. Here are a few photos from the day.

Opening the Christmas Eve pajamas!

Cookies and milk for Santa.
We woke up Christmas morning to find an adorable pink castle tent from Great Gammy!
Lucie on her new "bike"
Lucie's first crayons
Eloise playing in her new kitchen
A Cinderella dress!!
Both girls in the new tent!

After opening gifts we sat down and enjoyed a Christmas feast!

The night of Christmas we drove from San Antonio to Houston to see Coco, Papa, and all of the cousins! The morning after Christmas was Christmas part 2! The kiddos opened gifts first, and then we ate lunch. During nap time the parents/adults exchanged gifts. It was another great day!
Receiving the 2nd half of their kitchen
Aunt Michelle made these adorable dolls for all of the girls!
Connally and Cate got this jump house from Santa and it was a HUGE hit!
It's time to say goodbye! We loved spending Christmas with everyone!
Thanks for a magical holiday!

Merry Christmas from the Surratt's!

2009-12-21T13:59:00.003-06:00

Our 2009 Christmas card

Patrick, Eloise (2), Kelly and Lucie (1)

May your Christmas and New Year be flilled with many blessings!

Happy 1st Birthday, Lucie Rose!

2009-12-21T12:49:00.005-06:00

My precious baby girl turned 1 last week. Can you believe it?! The last year has flown by. We had a big party for her and our family last weekend. Lucie had a BLAST. She pushed her walker around the party looking up at everyone with a huge grin on her face as if to say, "Hey guys! Welcome to my party. Thanks for coming by!" The whole night was so special; here are a few photos from the event.

The big 1 year old!

Yummy food table... Chili with all the fixings, queso, apples, and chocolate covered pretzel rods!

This cake was delicious and adorable!

Santa holding birthday balloons greeted guest from the yard!

My pals from Walker, Amy and Marea!

Mike and Michelle in front of my mini tree this year (couldn't do the full sized one, because we were afraid little Lucie would pull it down!)

Smash cake time! Lucie dug right in!

My messy little Birthday Girl!

Great Grandma and Nana

What great gifts!

We had such a great time at the party! Thanks to everyone for making it so special!

SNOW DAY!

2009-12-03T13:24:00.003-06:00

It snowed in the DFW area yesterday (Wednesday!) Unfortunately by the time Eloise and Lucie got all bundled up and ready to play in the snow, it was mostly melted and the ground VERY soggy. It didn't stick around long, but it put us all in the Christmas spirit!

So I have updated my page... The song playing reminds me of Christmas as a child. Bing Crosby was always playing at our house at Christmas time! Happy holidays to you!

Guess what?!?

2009-12-03T13:11:00.004-06:00

...Eloise got into pre-school! We were on the wait list and received a call the week before Thanksgiving informing us a slot opened up in the class we wanted! This past Monday was the first day of school for my sweetie! She did great. She has the same teacher that she has at Sunday school and knew about 5 of the kids in her class. So, it was an easy transition. Eloise goes twice a week and Lucie goes once, therefore, I have my Mondays FREE!! :) It was pretty exciting. I guess I should enjoy the new found freedom while it lasts because once "Itty Bitty" arrives, I will have my hands FULL!

Getting ready to leave for school!

She walked right into her class room and didn't look back! What a big girl!

Houston Zoo

2009-12-03T12:53:00.005-06:00

The day after Thanksgiving we went to the Houston Zoo with the family! Little did we know it was one of four "free days" they host a year... so, it was pretty crowded! It was still very fun. Here are a few photos from our fun excursion.

Lucie and Daddy watching the Meercats!

momma and baby Giraffe

Me and Eloise went into the prairie dog tunnels!

Coco and Eloise watching the leopards!

Papa making monkey sounds with his two girls

Thanksgiving and a Happy Birthday!

2009-12-01T12:52:00.003-06:00

We went to Houston for Thanksgiving this year. We got to meet our new niece and play with all of the cousins! Of course, the food and company were superb! The guys decided to take a shot at frying a turkey. It turned out great. All of the side dishes were fabulous, as always. We had MORE than enough food, so leftovers were a sure bet! It was a very fun filled week!

My girls and me snuggling on the couch in our jammies!

All the kids watching the Macy's Thanksgiving day parade.
Coco and her girls watching the turkey frying
Testosterone central! How many guys does it take to fry a turkey?... 4 1/2!
The sweet kids table set up for the big girls. (sadly I didn't get a picture of the grown up table!!)

My big brothers birthday is on November 28th, so we had a small celebration for him on Saturday. Pizza, salad, cookie cake and red velvet cupcakes... YUM-O!
Uncle Pat and Travis

All the girls playing in the bedroom.

Delicious cookie cake

Happy Birthday, Aaron!

A new addition to the family!

2009-11-30T20:59:00.002-06:00

Sweet Caroline was born on November 18th! The proud parents are my big brother, Aaron, and his wife, Lara Marie. Caroline is lucky to have two caring big sisters, Connally and Cate! She is such a sweet angel and I loved getting to meet her and hold her over the Thanksgiving holidays!

What happened to November?

2009-11-30T10:40:00.009-06:00

... IT FLEW BY!!! I haven't had the opportunity to blog lately, but I have been taking my pictures and have had grand visions of what my posts would look like. However, somehow November crept by without much attention. So, here is my "catch- up" post. (be prepared... it's going to be a long one!)

High School Reunion

Ok, So, my high school reunion was actually in late October... but I still haven't posted any pictures yet! I was unsure about what to expect from my reunion, and was hesitant of whether or not I should even go. But I figured that it only happens once so I went. I am glad I did! I had fun catching up with some old buddies and reliving old memories.

Visitors from Lubbock

My buddies from Lubbock came to visit us and we went to our favorite meeting spot, La Hacienda Ranch! Brooke and Joey left us (sniff, sniff) to pursue dreams in west Texas! Brooke is expecting a baby soon, and I can't wait to meet her little bundle! Eloise ADORES Joey... and Patrick and I truly miss having them around. It was a fun visit, and we look forward to going to see them in Lubbock soon.

Brooke and I

El and her buddy, Joey

I LOVE these red Adirondack chairs... I wonder if La Hacienda sells them?

Eloises' first movie

I took Eloise to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" one Monday while Lucie was at MDO. UM.... I don't recommend the movie, unless you like silly and pointless, but Eloise enjoyed the "movie experience." We went and got Chick-fil-A at the mall food court and ate it in the theater. It was nice being the only people... because I could pull out the camera and document it! We can't wait for "The Princess and the Frog" to come out next!!

Although the photo doesn't show it... she loved it!

Lucie's using the walker

... and she's OBSESSED with it! I swear, if the child is awake, she wants to be pushing this thing around. Look at that grin! Can't you tell she's in heaven? It'll be no time before she looses the walker and takes off on her own!

The Cheerio debacle

I was getting some work done around the house and thought to myself "Lucie is being WAY too quiet.... Whats going on?" I went into the kitchen to find her like this...

the little stinker had pulled the cereal box off the table, and dumped it out. It was a full on FEAST! :) I couldn't get mad, though, look at that cute face!

Lucie's in MDO!

2009-11-11T13:54:00.004-06:00

... And she has been for a while, but I am just now getting to blog about it! It seems a bit backwards... Like Eloise should be in pre-school and Lucie should be at home hanging with me. However, our church preschool is pretty hard to get into, and both kids were on the wait list. Lucie ended up getting in, and Eloise is still waiting. But we have fun!

Lucie's teachers are the best! She has so much fun. So far they have painted with red cool-whip, and orange pudding! (I wish I could have been a fly on the wall for that!) They also get to go for rides in the "bye bye buggy", which is pictured below and have music and movement class!! We always get fun "craft" projects (it usually involves some kind of handprint or thumbprint.) It has been a great experience for all of us!

(We'll keep our fingers crossed that Eloise doesn't have to wait much longer!)

From Left: Lucie playing, Lucie with one of her teachers, and Lucie in the "bye bye buggy"

Butterfly Exhibit

2009-11-06T08:42:00.004-06:00

When we were in Houston for all of the festivities last week, I got the chance to go to the butterfly exhibit with the family. Eloise went with her Coco earlier this summer and has been talking about butterflies ever since. We decided to make an encore trip. It was a lot of fun going and seeing her reaction. Lucie loved watching all of the butterflies! We had a fun time hanging out with Aunt Shell, cousin Travis, and Coco, too!

Eloise posing on the GIANT caterpillar

They had dung beetles! Eloise watched the video clip and thought they were quite disguising, hence this photo!

A New Big Sister!!

2009-11-04T13:12:00.005-06:00

It looks like I am going to need to start shopping for some new t-shirts for my girls! I have posted some ideas below!!

Patrick and I were VERY surprised to find out that the Lord is blessing us with another little one!! Lucie is going to be a BIG sister! Can you believe it!?!

Lucie's t-shirt.

I am about 12 weeks along and have been feeling a bit miserable due to crazy pregnancy symptoms. My due date will be May 21st, making Lucie and her new sibling 17 months apart!!!

(I guess I have a bit of an excuse for the lazy blogging lately... huh?)

Please keep our family in your prayers!

Halloween Havoc

2009-11-04T12:17:00.005-06:00

Get ready for a LOT of pictures, because Halloween was quite an event for us this year! It all started the Sunday before at a pumpkin party at my sisters church. She is the Children's Sunday School Director, therefore in charge of the festivities! Great job sis!My friendly little witch, Eloise. Cousins, side by side.Remember all those firsts I mentioned before...jumping in a bounce house was another first for Eloise!! :)
Trunk or Treat! (eating candy.. another 1st.)

On Halloween morning we went over to my sisters house to celebrate cousin Travis' 1st birthday! His actual birthday is Oct. 30th, but we celebrated in Halloween style! It was such a special occasion!

"Super Man" in the mini bounce house
What an adorable (and delicious) cake!

The birthday boy digs in.
Mom (the cat) Dad (the cowboy) and birthday boy (superman!)
And don't forget Coco, who's sweet as cherry pie!
Lucie had fun playing in the living room. Here's the back of her pink poodle costume!

After the party the kiddos took naps and then we headed over to my brothers neighborhood. They have a big Halloween block party every year. The girls had a great time getting balloon animals, snacking and playing with their cousins!

Both of my precious pink poodles on the way to the block party!
Me, my girls, and my mom!
Papa and Superman!
Eloise and her "Catie bug"
Cousin Connally is a serious crafter! (kinda like her aunt Kelly!)

Finally, on the way back from the block party, the kiddos got to do some trick-or-treating. It was every ones first time and they really enjoyed it!

Pumpkin Farm

2009-11-03T16:49:00.007-06:00

One of my favorite annual activities is heading out to the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm in Celina, TX! This pumpkin patch is out in the country about 15 minutes north of McKinney. They are the real deal with a petting zoo, pumpkin farm, hay ride, and much more! We took the girls out a few weekends ago to enjoy the awesome fall weather, and of course get some cute shots with all the pumpkins!

My two little "punkins!"
Eloise has tried a lot of new things this month that she has been to "scared" to do before! I am so proud of her for feeding these little goats this year!
Family photo
The sun's in my eyes!Searching for the perfect pumpkin in the patch.

Found it!

Brooke's Baby Shower!

2009-11-03T16:24:00.007-06:00

My sweet friend, Brooke, and her hubby, Joey, are expecting their first baby this December! In early October I helped host a baby shower for them. I am so excited to see them experience this magical time. There is nothing else that can be compared to the thrill of having your first baby!! They will be such great parents to their new little girl, Camille Elizabeth. The party was such a fun day, everything went off without a hitch!

The mommy to be, Brooke

Mommy, and both Grandmothers!

The hostesses with the honoree... Too bad the centerpiece is in her face!!
The welcoming walkway with jar lanterns and vintage baby buggy.
The chocolate fountain! Yum, yum!
Vintage baby girl clothes in the coffee table display

Name swag to match the quilt.
Opening gifts... and the only picture I have of the quilt I made her (on the chair!)
Baby food jar candles for party favors!

Look at all of the goodies Brooke took home!

Carousel

2009-10-01T14:57:00.005-05:00

We recently took a trip to the mall to ride the carousel! Eloise and Daddy rode together and Lucie and Mommy watched from the sidelines. Whenever I try to take El on the carousel she wants to ride on the bench, and acts scared of the horses. Well, lo and behold, when Daddy’s around, she must feel more adventurous because she hopped right up on a horse and had the time of her life!

Waiting in line.

Yes, it was a Tech gameday, therefore you will see lots of red and black and Double T's!

Big smile!

El and Daddy

Lucie in the stroller watching.
I'm telling you... this carousel is faster than it looks! I actually got motion sickness riding it once!

OK, this one was just too cute to not include! Eloise has mastered getting her "guns up!"

A Visit to El Paso

2009-10-01T14:08:00.002-05:00

Last weekend my dear friend, Holly, and I flew to El Paso to see our sweet friend (and new mom), Danielle! It was so great to see Danielle in her hometown and meet her darling new daughter, Blythe Elizabeth. Blythe was 9 weeks old at our visit, and is an adorably tiny little thing weighing in at 10 Lbs! We went out to eat, shopped and most importantly had some well needed girl time! I, of course I took my camera to capture some shots of little Blythe, and our girls weekend, but the battery went dead, and silly me forgot to pack a charger! So here are the only shots I got from the WHOLE weekend. Miss Blythe Elizabeth (Whom I fondly refer to as "BE!") on her new quilt! (this one is the first baby quilt I made!)

Danielle and "BE"

Danielle, thanks for being such a great hostess. I adore your new baby and home. I can't wait till our next visit!

Lucie's 9 Month Stats!

2009-10-01T13:59:00.002-05:00

Weight: 18 lbs. 4.5 oz (33%)
Length: 27.75 inches (48%)
Head Cir.: 18 inches (88%)

New Milestones met: Crawling on all 4’s (really fast!), pulling up, and cruising around while holding onto furniture, transferring from one piece of furniture to another while cruising, babbling “Mama and Dada” , she has 4 teeth, and beginning to eat some table food (Gerber puffs, baby mum mums and soft fruit.) using the pincher grasp

I know I have said this time and time again, but I just can’t believe how fast Lucie is growing! Before I know it she is going to be 1. I wish I could freeze time for just a moment so I could soak up as much baby Lucie as I could! The other night, she actually let me rock her to sleep and it was PURE heaven.

My first 5k

2009-09-20T20:01:00.003-05:00

As you may remember from my previous post, I have been training for a 5k, and am working my way up to a half marathon. Well, on Sunday,September 13th, I completed my first 5k (in the rain, may I add!) I didn't win any medals, or break any records, but I achieved my first goal (which made me proud!) I hope to run another 5k soon! Thanks for all of your well wishes and prayers! You all kept me motivated and on track.

Waiting for the race to begin... Oh, the anticipation!
And I'm off!

My official race "Chip". (It kind of made me feel like a convicted felon.)

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-20T19:22:00.007-05:00

.... OK, so I'm a little late on this one, but I had some GREAT pictures of my girls and the cousins, so I am going to go ahead and post them!

For labor day we went to my parents river house off of the Guadalupe! Our family friends, who have a house 2 doors down from my parents house, let us invade their house, too! It was AWESOME! The whole family got to come, and we had room to spare. Here are a few photos from the weekend!

Patrick, Eloise, and Connally... everyone loves Uncle Pat. (Can you tell?)

Lucie enjoying her jumper on the patio!

Eloise helping Cate back up the hill!

Papa and all of his Grandgirls!

Can you tell these two like each other?

Swimming time...

Connally in her sassy supermodel pose!
Lucie and Travis... They are only 7 weeks apart! You would never know by looking at them!

Ha! I thought this one was funny... T-bone's giving me the stink eye!
After a long day we all settled in for some family snuggle time on the couch and watched a Disney movie with the kids!

This picture CRACKS me up! Eloise and Connally have never shared a room before. They had a blast playing and talking until the wee hours of the morning. I had to do the mommy thing that I remember my mom and aunt doing with me and my cousin Mel: "OK, it's time for bed girls, and if you can't sleep together, we WILL separate you!" I felt so old. Anyhow, the girls had fun, and as you can see, they eventually passed out where they landed. We're just lucky no one got kicked in the face!

Two teeth!!

2009-09-01T13:06:00.002-05:00

Lucie finally has teeth!!! (OK, it actually makes me kinda sad... I like big gummy grins!)

You can see them if you look really hard!

By the way....This is Lucie with attitude! I think she was sick of the mammarazzi in her face!

Messy mealtime and bathtime solution

2009-09-01T12:38:00.005-05:00

It was almost bath time, so I decided to let Lucie Rose play in her food. She had a good time... as you can see.

MMMMM... lasagna with meat sauce

Her first table food. Baby Mum Mum rice wafers

You may have read my earlier post about bath time difficulties. Lucie has literally been trying to crawl out of the tub. I found my solution... a bath seat! Now she can bathe with her sister safely. And mommy can relax!

HAHAHA!!! It works! She can't crawl out!

I couldn't resist the bath time Alfalfa hair!

Having a blast at Aviator Park!

2009-09-01T11:56:00.005-05:00

It seems like lately we have been going, going, going and hardly having time to sit back and relax! So this weekend we had a blast being at home. The weather in McKinney was gorgeous all weekend! We couldn't stand staying inside so we took the girls out to a newly discovered park. It is a hidden treasure called Aviator Park. There is a toddler friendly playground, and a splash pad. The park sits right next to McKinney Municipal Airport so lots of little prop planes fly over head while you play. Eloise loves planes, and enjoyed watching them take off and land. After having so much fun there on Friday, we went back on Saturday!! We are hoping this new fall weather stays and that the heat of summer is long gone.Eloise "push the button!" This turned the water on and was her favorite thing in the park!
This was her face as she run under the squirting water! EV-ER-Y TIME!
A view of the splash pad.

My little lady.
Miss Lucie enjoyed the swing!
The airplane bouncers were a big hit!

Lucie Rose is making a b-line for the slides! I swear she thinks she's as big as her sister!
I sweet father daughter hug. Eloise makes sure to always tell us "thank you" and give hugs at the appropriate times!
Lucie chewing on her favorite teether. A spoon!! :)

My little sweetie!

Sisters..... who's who?

2009-08-25T14:16:00.005-05:00

YOU TELL ME!!!

Bathin' in the sink and playin' around!

2009-08-24T12:58:00.003-05:00

My little Lucie Rose is starting to be a little TOO mobile (if you know what I mean!) She wants to crawl and pull up all of the time. Including while I am changing her diaper, or bathing her. She's started to scare me a little when trying to pull up and crawl in the tub. I'm afraid she'll slip and bonk her head or drown in the 1 1/2 inches of water! SO, I decided to give her a solo bath in the sink. Needless to say, you can tell she enjoyed herself from the photos.

Water baby LOVES to splash! I had to mop after this bath!

I think she liked it!

It's so hard to find matching outfits when you have one infant and one toddler. I got this set at Target (My favorite store!) months apart from each other. Don't they look adorable?

Eloise's new favorite past time is closing doors. Which is OK, but she hasn't mastered OPENING them yet. Sometimes I panic when I can't find her, and it's because she has closed herself in a room or closet and can't get out!

Melanie and Tim's Texas Weekend.

2009-08-24T12:21:00.007-05:00

Last weekend my dear cousin, Melanie, came to visit from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She is engaged to marry a wonderful guy, Tim, and they were in town for a fun engagement party in their honor! I am lucky enough to be a bridesmaid in their wedding, so I got to help her shop for her dress. SO FUN!

Definitely NOT the dress she picked!!!

On Saturday we got together for the engagement party! It was a fiesta catered by Blue Mesa! YUM-O! Of course we all had a great time. I enjoyed seeing my cousins; since they both live out of state, we rarely have that treat!
The happy red-headed couple!
Some of their loot!

The brewsky

Floral centerpieces... (don't they look similar to Patrick's B-day centerpiece?)
The sweets
Yummy Blue Mesa dinner.
The cousins, minus Aaron and Lara Marie
Tim's ADORABLE niece, Cici (Love the name!)
Tim and his other cutie niece, Lilly.
Aunt Debby and Cousin Jacob soaking up the "sugar!"
Mel, Tim and Jean (Melanie's Grandmother)
Some fun items for their house!
One proud Mamma and Pop!
Melanie, and Aunt Cindy (My mom!)

Patrick, the girls and I are all looking forward to the wedding next summer in Jackson Hole! I hear it’s a gorgeous location!

My little secret....

2009-08-12T20:40:00.003-05:00

I have always wanted to be a runner!!!

So, I am coming out of the running closet, dusting off my running shoes and training for my 1st 5K, the Fire Fighter 5K run on September 13th, in McKinney. No more saying "I can't" and making up excuses. My ultimate goal is to do a 1/2 marathon in the late fall (White Rock Marathon) or early spring (Dallas Rock N' Roll 1/2 Marathon.)

So........Now, I actually have to do it, right, because I am professing my intentions so publicly via Blogger?!?!?!

Patricks Party!

2009-08-10T13:28:00.007-05:00

We celebrated Patrick's 30th Birthday this weekend with lots of family and friends! The theme was "Burgers and Brew" and my Aunt Debby and Uncle Chuck were awesome to open up their house for the festivities! We had cheeseburgers, potato salad, asian coleslaw, beer and margaritas! The dinner and drinks were devine! So many special people were there. Patrick's whole family came in from out of town! My parents and sister came, too, as well as some dear friends of ours from Lubbock! We also had a lot of our local buddies here. Thank you to everyone who was able to come. We all had a great time! Here's to 30 more wonderful years!

My Cute Hubby and meSome of the decor on the kitchen island.
Centerpieces on the dining room table
Patrick's favorite brew is Guinness, so the cake was supposed to look like the label.
The Bakery got the size wrong, so that's why there were 2 cakes!
Papa and LR
Lucie Rose "walking"
Pappy and Eloise playing
The Guys
The Gals (yes, El was up WAY past her bedtime!)
Margarita Machine... mmmm... Made the heat a lot more bearable!
The wind blew out most of the candles, so it wasn't that hard for him!
Patrick and his new Callaway golf clubs from his parents... how nice!!
My top secret project. Patrick's college t-shirt quilt. This was very difficult to pull off, since Patrick works out of the house. I had to be VERY sneaky. Sewing only when he was gone, or sneaking off to friends houses...... His reaction was worth it, though!

I love you, babe! Happy 30th!

A post nap suprise!

2009-08-04T20:18:00.003-05:00

I went in to get Lucie Rose up from her nap today and found her like this.........

Yeah, that's right... she's standing up!

We knew she could pull up onto her knees, but this was a big shocker. I think we are going to have to drop the mattress again! I had a little chat with Miss Lucie and told her to stop growing up so fast! :) It's crazy how this time flies!

Peek- a boo!!!

(Thought I might throw this one in just for the cute factor!)