AH-MAZING!

Yesterday my dad showed me an article in the paper about a little cupcake shop in Hudson Oaks (between Weatherford & Alvarado). So the next day (today) we were in the car driving the 35 minutes to get there. Yes I know that's a long way to go for a sweet treat when there's so many close by, but that was part of the fun. Let me just say that Ultimate Cupcake was worth the 35 miles it took us to get there. We got a dozen assorted cupcakes. They only have 7 flavors, but they are delicious. My personal favorite is pumpkin. Sooooo good! I'm cutting myself off today because I have already eaten 2. I know that doesn't sound like a lot, but they are so decadent that I couldn't eat any more. Not that I needed more. Don't worry I replaced cupcakes for lunch. Hey it's better than eating that in addition to. Anyway, you all are in luck because you can order these divine cupcakes & have them mailed to you! I may just do that at a later date.

Elliot's 12 Month Stats

Weight: 19 lbs 1 oz--20%
Height: 30"--80%
Head: 17.25"--15%

Doctor said she is doing beautifully. It's hard to believe she's only gained 2 lbs & grown 2 inches since her 9 month appointment. I feel like she's so heavy! Her head is still on the small size, but she's growing on her own little curve so that's ok. And her head looks proportionate to her body, except in the picture above. It does look a bit on the small side. LOL!

Moms Gone Wild!

This weekend we had a little getaway with just us moms! It was so nice & relaxing to just be around good friends & have good conversations. We stayed at Paige's parents' lake house in Horseshoe Bay (Austin area) & it was amazing. The house itself was gorgeous! As we were getting the tour I was speechless. Every room had a flat screen tv & king bed with a master bath. I don't think I've ever stayed at a nicer place.


The living room area. Comfy couches all around.

View off the balcony.

Beautiful kitchen.

I have to say I was a bit of a bathroom whore on Saturday. If you've lived in an apartment for the past 3 1/2 years, you would be too. So here is shower #1.

Shower #2. Now this here is a special one. It's a steam shower. I had water shooting at me from all angles!

Unfortunately I was unable to try out this bad boy. There just wasn't enough time in the day to take shower/bath #3. I'll just have to imagine what it would have been like.

The upstairs balcony. This is where we spent our evenings having hilarious girl talk.

We hit the beach Saturday afternoon. It sits right on Lake LBJ. We had lunch out here.

Paige (Hostess)

Regina & I

All of us baking in the sun.

We decided to take a dip in the pool.

Us with our fruity drinks!

After the beach, we went into town to do a little shopping. I got lucky & found the cutest top (I'm wearing it in the group pics) & some sexy heels. We then hit up this yogurt shop. Regina & I shared a Cake Batter yogurt with heath bar, butterfinger, cheesecake bites, chocolate, caramel, & butterscotch syrup. I've never had anything better in my life!

At night girl time til 2 in the morning! It was so funny because Lane had it in his head that we were going to go out to these clubs & really party it up. I died laughing when I heard that. Who does he think I am? Besides, this was way better than any club I've been to.

Paige & Amy

Kristen & Allison

Regina & I

Dressed & ready for dinner. We ate at this fancy restaurant called Yachtclub. The food was delicious!

Amy, Regina, Me

I am IN LOVE with this picture. Paige has some mad skills. Call her to take your pictures!

Kristen, Paige, Amy

Allison & Paige

The whole group

Us trying to be funny

Farewell ladies! Hopefully this will become an annual event. A HUGE thank you to Paige & her generous parents!

Elliot's 1!

My sweet baby girl is 1 year old today! I cannot believe it. She is so fun to be around. She's starting to walk, babbles a ton & constantly smiles. Unfortunately, today was a different story. I wanted this day to be perfect, but I should have known that it would go all wrong. Good thing she won't remember this birthday.
The first thing that should have tipped me off as to how things would play out today was the smell of burning batter. Last night I was making her cake & I filled the pan up too much & batter was all over the bottom of my oven. I quickly put a cookie sheet under then pan & let it bake. Let's just say the cake turned out horribly. I made one of those giant cupcakes. I had it in my mind that that would be the "birthday cake" everyone would get each year. But I'm scrapping that idea. It's a poor excuse of a cake.
The morning started off pretty normal. Lane was at school & she was happy. By the time 12 'o clock rolled around, she was so whiny (which is very uncharacteristic of her) & Lane still wasn't home. I put her down early & she never fell asleep. Lane finally got home an hour & a half late. Since she wasn't sleeping, we got her back up & decided to do her birthday cake. I seriously took 15 pictures & she didn't smile in 1! And she was still fussy. I went ahead & cut her a piece of cake & fed it to her. Then she started to cry when it was all gone. So I started to cut her another piece of cake. All of a sudden it falls on the floor. And THAT was the straw that broke this camel's back! At that point I was so frustrated. I looked at Lane & said, "I'm getting really mad." Then I proceeded to stab the knife into the cake & go into my room & cry. That's right. I was crying in my room & Elliot was crying in the kitchen. I'm sure Lane was SO glad that he came home. Yes I was a bit dramatic, but I was so excited for her birthday & was so upset that she wasn't enjoying it. I finally pull myself together & by this time it was 1pm, so I put her down for a nap. I thought it would be a good idea if I took one as well. Lane had to leave to go back to school at 2:30 & won't be back until 11pm. So he was home for a whopping 2 hours. Not his fault. Just another frustration. After our naps, things were much better. And all is right in the world again.

Here she is pre-tantrums

Cake time

Post tantrums

Happy birthday Elliot! I still love you :)

First Steps

This slideshow design made with Smilebox On Sunday, Elliot took what I consider her first REAL steps. I think it was about 3. I finally captured a worthy video to post.

Elliot's 1st Birthday Party

Elliot had a combined party with her cousin Eleanor. They are 1 month apart, so it worked out nicely. We had it at the Howard Moore Play Pool in Arlington & it was a success. I'm so glad we decided to do it in Arlington, otherwise, her grandparents & aunts & uncles wouldn't have been there. Here are a ton of pictures...

This is the adult food table. There was chicken salad sandwiches, pasta salad & fruit.
That banner says "Happy 1st Birthday". I kick myself that I didn't punch 2 holes in each circle so people would actually be able to read it. I even thought about it, but I was just too lazy. Pathetic I know.

Here's the kid food table.
Each child had their own little sack lunch. And then there's the dessert. My sister did a fantastic job with the cakes & cupcakes.

Here's a close up of E's personal cake.

Kids goodie bags. The sticker says "Eleanor & Elliot's 1st Birthday". Inside there were Swedish Fish & gummy mermaids. (Mermaids were the theme).

Adult party favor. Again, my sister made these & I absolutely LOVE them. There's a slide show for each girl on there.

Here's the play pool area.

Exploring

Sitting with Granpops. Spiked hair courtesy of Aunt Aly.

Grandma & Aunt Aly (Lane' mom & sister)

Amy & Allison

Imogen (My niece)

Caroline

Cru & Kelly

My mom & E

My parents with the birthday girls

Jim, Lexi, Susie & Vincent

Flying high

Vincent

Daddy & E

Regina & cute little Arden

Kelly. It was so funny because he ate the little starfishes off the tops of about 4 cupcakes.

I happened to take this picture at the exact time a little kid fell into the pool. It was pretty funny. Of course they were also concerned :)

Family shot.

Cake Time!

Eleanor & her daddy

Tasting the icing

Yum!

She really wasn't interested in the cake. Lane had to stick her hand in it. She didn't eat much. But she did reach for a strawberry. I guess I should be proud.

Present time!

Great birthday party. I'll post more about her turning 1 on her real birthday.