Elliot Time

Lately I've felt like Elliot hasn't gotten to do anything just for her. So Lane & I took her to the mall to play at the kids spot. I hate that place because there's too many people, but she loves it & that's all that matters. Before we left, we decided to let her try out the carousel. I had no idea if she would like it, but these pictures speak for themselves.

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Walking Practice

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My Dog the Escape Artist

As I'm sitting in bed reading I hear this noise coming from the kitchen. So I get up to investigate. It's my dog, Winnie. Well I guess technically she is my parents' dog, though they don't claim her. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take her with me when I got married. Anyway, she is trying to squeeze through the gate we have up between the kitchen & living room. If you notice, they even have one of her old collars locked around the gate to secure it. I get her situated & return to my room. Five minutes later I hear the same noise. Bless her heart, she never gives up. I waste no time & grab my camera. Here she is, caught in action.

Project Mom & Dad #1

While we're staying with my parents for a while, I have all these projects in my head that I want to do around their house. The house is as old as I am & I have lived in it from age 1 up to age 24, when I got married. I don't think many people can say that about their childhood home. Needless to say I have many great memories there & would love to get it back to where it once was. Since I nor my parents are made of money, we're sticking to simple things that will make a huge difference...aka...paint. And the first thing we did was turn my old bedroom in the basement from this:


That's right. I had stripes & polka dots on my wall. And I used all 70s colors. I did that piece of work when I was in high school & thought it was the coolest thing ever. I have to admit, that I still like those colors & it was a bit sad painting over them. But the finished product was a little more mature & pleasing to the eye.

Now it looks like this:

Simple & clean. I am really happy with the end product. It's so light & airy. The blue looks lighter in person than it does in the picture. So that's 1 project down & thousands to go!

4th of July Weekend

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The past 2 days we've been in Whitney with Lane's mom & Rich. A lot of Lane's family were there. My parents came along. We had so much fun hanging out with everyone & eating. We stayed in a condo on Lake Whitney & it was so relaxing. They had a fireworks show & all we had to do was go out on our patio. So nice! We were for sure the fireworks would wake up Elliot, but somehow she managed to sleep right through it. We went out on the boat & did some knee boarding. Well, everyone but me, Kate & Eryn. I'm more of a tube person. I actually just prefer to stay in the boat & get a tan. But the guys of course all took turns. And then there was Lexi who put everyone to shame with her mad skills. I was a really bad picture taker, because half the people we hung out with this weekend are not in any of the photos. Elliot played so hard. She got to hang out with Vinny. He's only 2 days younger than her. We also went to a nearby park where she had a blast swinging & going down the slide. She was so tired that she passed out on Lane. Good times were had by all.

Arlington Parade

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Today we went to the Arlington Parade. I haven't been in forever & have always loved going. It looked like it was going to rain the entire time, but it was perfect. There was a little breeze & we had front row seats. It was a great time.

Aunt Alys & Cousin Harrison

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This week we've been hanging out with Lane's sister, Alys, while she's in town from California. E got to meet her cousin Harrison for the first time & I have to say she loves him! They get along so well. Of course Elliot totally manhandles him. She uses him as a rock to pull up on, spanks his bottom, tries to poke his eyes out. It's amazing he still plays with her. They're so cute to watch together.

What A Day!

Today I drove down to Arlington without Lane. He had a test & would have to fly in later tonight. So it was just me & Elliot. I've done the drive once before, but still get nervous. You just never know how it's going to go. She did pretty well for the first part. I stopped halfway to fill up the car, change her diaper & feed her a bottle. Then it was back on the road. Not 10 minutes into my drive did she start crying. Her pacifier had fallen in her carseat & she couldn't find it. It was pretty frustrating because I had put on her pacifier clip just before we left for this very reason. I figured she could get it if it was attached to her. So I pulled into a rest stop & plugged her back in. Then we're off again. What do you think happened? Yep, same situation. I kept telling her to just pick up her little chain & she would find it, but she was not having it. So AGAIN, I exit & plug her back in. Luckily she kept it in this time because I probably would have lost it if I had to stop a third time.

During my drive I'm talking/texting on & off to Mike & Amy to find out if Regina had little Arden yet. She went into the hospital at 6am so I figured it would happen pretty fast. I talked to Regina at about 11:30 & she was dialated to 9.5 & about to push. Well, apparently it took longer than expected (but I'm also impatient), so I thought I may be able to make it to the hospital before she arrives. I drop E off at my parents' house & then head towards Ft Worth. Well I get the text with a picture from Amy. Unfortunately I am about 20 minutes late:( But that's ok, I hang out at the hospital & love on Miss Arden for a while. Regina did great!

Arden Kate
8 lbs 15oz (Are you serious?!)

After all of that, I rushed home & got ready for my cousin's wedding. It was great & she looked amazing. The ceremony was outside in the hot, humid, with a few sprinkles weather. Luckily it didn't last very long & the reception was inside.

Here we are with the bride. Elliot did have on a bow at one point, but she never keeps them on longer than a minute anymore.

No No No

This picture slideshow generated with Smilebox E likes to play in the boxes under our tv & pull out all the dvds she can get her little hands on. It's a pain to clean up, but I have no where else to stick those boxes at the moment, so I deal with it. I've been telling her "No No No" & I'll wave my finger. Pretty much the 1st time I did that she copied me. I wish she would pick up on other things that quickly.

Houston Symphony

At the Miller Outdoor Theater they sometimes have things in the early afternoon for kids. Christina told me about the Houston Symphony being there, so I met up with her & the boys. We were lucky enough to sit under the covered part so the sun wasn't beating down on it. It was actually quite enjoyable. I love symphonies & any type of performing arts. They took us on a musical journey through Europe. I think we stopped in Turkey, Italy, Hungary & a few other places. Elliot seemed to enjoy it and she got to put her clapping to good use! My hair looks funky in this picture but I love the way E is leaning into me. So sweet!

Lane's 1st Father's Day

This was Lane's 1st Father's Day. I would say it was a success. He got a new pair of shoes as his gift. Below are the cards from Elliot & myself.

We started things off this morning with breakfast. I made blintzes. It was my first time trying the recipe & they were soooo good! I posted the recipe on my food blog. They were super easy to make but look really good.

Then we headed off to church. For dinner I surprised Lane with salad, sushi & chocolate mousse. He absolutely loves sushi but never gets it because I don't eat it. But because it was his special day, I got it for him anyway. I just stuck with the salad. Dinner was especially nice because Elliot happened to be taking a nap, so we got to enjoy it without constantly trying to keep her happy.

And we ended the night with popcorn & a movie. We watched The Family Jewels. It's this old Jerry Lewis movie that he likes. It's crazy how different movies are today compared to back then.

No More Food Comas For Us

After eating so much last night that we were both hurting & still feeling it this morning, Lane & I have decided to go back to splitting our meals at restaurants. There will be 2 benefits to this switch: 1) it's cheaper and 2) we will be forced to eat a reasonable amount instead of hoovering everything in sight. This is a hard one for me. I get territorial over my food & hate sharing. I guess it's because I feel like I order something that I really like so that I can enjoy every last bite. Plus, I feel like I limit what Lane can choose because I tend to get the same thing all the time. And then there's Lane. The waiter will come by & try to pick up his plate because it looks as if he's through. But little does he know that the tiny bit of guacamole in the corner of his plate still has the potential of being eaten with chips. It's so embarrassing when this happens because Lane comes across as this ravenous creature, which I'm beginning to believe that he is. Oh I guess this will be a good thing for us. We always end up being so glad that we split something in the end. It's just the beginning that we have to get passed.

Mariachi Music

Tonight we went out to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Escalantes. Every Friday they have a mariachi band and tonight we were one of the lucky ones they sang to. Well I guess I shouldn't say we...it was just Elliot. She started to get a little fussy & they came over and started serenading her with the song "Cielito Lindo" (pretty little heaven) aka the Ay Ay Ay Ay song. Elliot was mesmerized by them. She absolutely loved it & didn't take her eyes off them the entire time. It was probably one of the sweetest moments I have ever seen. They were singing with so much emotion & it was all for my little girl. I almost cried & gave them a hug. She had everyone's attention too. All eyes were on her during her special moment.

Daily Happenings

Today we went to the zoo with my sister-in-law & a friend. We had a lot of fun. There was a new baby elephant that was absolutely adorable. It's 1.5 months old. It was the cutest thing to watch. He would run around all wobbly & trip, but just keep on moving. I couldn't get enough of him!

I've always loved giraffes.

Other things going on around here...
Not too much. This past week, E has been the biggest love bug. She's never been much of a snuggle bunny, but lately she has been voluntarily resting her head on my shoulder or chest. And she's also giving out lots of open mouth kisses. I am in hog heaven. I wish she would stay like this.

She's also learned where her head is. Sometimes it will take a while for her to finally point to it, but she knows!

The Slingshot

Lane is pretty creative when it comes to entertaining E. His latest game he made up to amuse her is called "The Slingshot". We have a skinny patch of wood flooring between our couch & tv which makes for a perfect runway to roll across. He starts at the kitchen & "slingshots" his way across the room. She seems to like it. These are actually action shots even though they look like their sitting still.

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