One year pictures!

As promised!

I am in love with these. Rebecca from R&J Photography has outdone herself again :) She also did Finley's newborn photos at 5 days old *sigh* almost a full year ago.

Catch-up time

Okay so I need to update here more. So that's the plan.....like it always is ;)

Today we did Finley's one year photo shoot! Agghhhh. I know I know. Lets not dwell on the fact that my girl will be a year old in 17 short days <insert big huge tears>. So yeah, check back for those new pics from the shoot soon! I just got some of the sneak peaks and I am in love with them. Today she had her first taste of sweets, other than fruit of course. She had cake during her shoot. I think she liked it. Luckily not too much. Only a little actually went down ;)

Oh and one more thing. This is big.....I had fully decided that F was not going to crawl. That she was going to go straight to walking from her pro roller state. Just like her non-crawling Daddy did. Well she fooled me. Yep, just today, at 11 1/2 months old she decided that she really didn't want to skip crawling and is all over the place all of a sudden. She had been getting on all fours for a while but then getting down flat instead of moving her legs forward. Then this morning all of a sudden she thought moving her legs might be nice. I have now had to fish her out of the dogs water bowl twice. They have since been relocated. Guess it's time to buy some cabinet locks.

Now time for some picture updating here....

This is Finley with HER dog, yes hers. Duchess was our second dog. She was an on a whim decision made by me calling Joe "telling" him I was getting a new dog. I went with a friend to look at pups for him and came home with one of my own. I even had a bit or remorse in the very beginning because I felt like I was taking some of the love and attention away from our very first baby, Chloe (our Yorkie). I hate to even admit that because she quickly became a part of the family that we love so much. She is the sweetest, most loving, well behaved and good tempered dog. That decision, almost two years before Finley was born was meant to be. I feel now like she was meant for baby girl. Duchess loves Finley and Finley loves her. It's so cute. I always have to watch Duchess to make sure her kisses don't go too over board because F is more than willing to accept all the kisses Duchess will give :) Finley barks just like Duchess and even pulls her in her arms for big bear hugs. Of course with Mama watching to make sure she isn't squishing the heck out of her or ripping her fur out because Duchey will totally let her without even flinching. I can't wait to see them blossom together even more over the years.

My big girl.

Someone like to rip all her bows out now so this is how we keep the hair from her eyes pretty often. lol

This is dinner time in out house daily. The dogs learned really fast.

This is while we were getting ready for pictures today. I was running errands and had the balloons for the pictures in the back row. Not sure how she managed to get a hold of it but she was pretty proud of her find.

Happy Easter!

My baby girls first Easter!

We will be going to Joe's work for brunch with my parents. Easter brunch is a big deal there. It was actually featured last year on the Food Network show, Unwrapped as one of the top Easter Brunches in the country. Should be fun. Then for the rest of the day we plan to just hang out at my Parents house.

The Zoo!

Our little trio went to the Zoo last Monday for baby girls first time. She really liked it. Towards the end she passed out in her carrier!

First we went to eat at Cafe Express inside the Art Museum (after a little diaper blow-out mishap that we some how managed to recover from, OMG). Then we headed over to the Zoo. On the way home we stopped at Frobergs, the farmers market. Daddy wanted some of the sausage they make there. I almost talked him into topping the day off with some Strawberry picking but just then we got a call to head over to Chris' house for a last minute Crawfish Boil!

Feeding the giraffes.

 Taking a breather.

Finley with her BFF Rylee at the Crawfish Boil :)

Enjoying playing outside.

With all we did that one day it really was enough running around for three days. lol. Talk about busy. We had so much fun though but were totally exhausted after it all!

.

1st Rodeo and Some Pig Tails!

The Friday before last Finley went to her first rodeo AND her first concert, Reba. She was such a good, happy girl. Our Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a huge event every year. Millions of people go and it's a big production. Baby Girl was dressed for the occasion ;)

I also wanted to post her first pigtails. Last week while I was at work Daddy needed to run  to the barber so he called his sister, F's aunt to come by and watch her for a bit. I got off work and came home to this ;) She looks way too much like a big girl! I had been avoiding them because I was worried about the bands pulling out hair but they didn't.

9 Month onesie pictures.

Yes. I realize Finley tuned nine months like two weeks ago and also that my last post was her 8 month onesie pictures, which were also late. I swear I'm not quitting this blog! I've just been so busy with real life. Trying to limit internet time a little bit to devote to other stuff that needs my attention.

Anyways here they are.

...and a few other recent ones for fun.

 first time having spaghetti & feeding herself (besides puffs & yogurt melts) at a restaurant.

a walk with Momma on a pretty day

Looking though old pictures I realize she is getting so big. It's harder to see when it's happening every day before my eyes. I took this picture today. It won't be too long before our girl is walking....I swear she'll walk before she ever crawls! Grandma says Daddy never crawled. She sure is the talker though. Daddy says she's taking after Momma with all that talking and the non-crawling (my athletic skills) Shush Daddy! lol.

I just love all the silly sounds she makes. She mocks every single thing I do with my mouth. She gets her lips to make pop sounds. She even figured out how to click with her tongue sort of. It's so fun watching her attempt it. She is still going strong with using her finger and lip together to make noises. If she throws her toys out of her carseat she keeps herself occupied with her lips and finger or her many squeals and conversations. Cracks me up. I started showing her this thing the other day where I make sounds while sticking my tongue in and out and sure enough she was mocking it right away.

She loves her puppies Chloe and Duchess sooo much. Sometimes I have to put them in another room to get her to pay attention to eating her food because they can distract her. Her favorite is when they wrestle with each other.

While I'm a little sad that my baby love is growing so fast it's all so exciting. She's my little partner. I love that I get to be with her five days a week and the bond that we have. I wouldn't have it any other way. These times are so short.

Well, that's all for now. It's getting late. I'll try to update again before the next onesie shots, I promise!

Better late than never!

Yes I am aware she turned eight months over two weeks ago. She's really not feeling the sticker on the shirt thing anymore. ha. The smiling ones took a LOT of sillyness from Mama.

In a years time...

Amazing what can happen in one years time.

A year ago today I was recovering from my Cerclage placement surgery that morning and fighting pre-term labor. Yep, the anniversary of the day that literally saved our girl. Technically I think it was both this day and the day prior, when they actually confirmed my cervix shortening. That day before was actually the worst for me rather than the surgery day. That's when my world happy world came crashing down and I couldn't even think straight. I went from a normal pregnancy to needing surgery to save her in an instant. I wish I would have known then that it would all be okay. After months of tears and worry from my bed I watch our sweet girl bouncing like a little bunny on her Jumperoo, babbling and smiling at me.

If you didn't know of follow me then here is the whole story.

That whole memory is still an emotional one for me. It may not seem like a big deal right? She is fine and here. I think that because I was just so vunerable, there was nothing I could do...it really scared me. Being confined to bed leaves you alone with your thoughts and Dr. Google, all.day.long. The guarantee of our girl was gone along with my cute happy pregnancy that I had always imagined. The trade was well worth it though ;) Those times are still never far from the back of my mind. For others it may seem so minor in the scheme of things but living that story and fear was not minor. So today and every day I am very thankful for my little love.

Fun Family Day!

One full day a week we get to hang out as a Family. I work two days a week (Tuesday & Saturday) so Joe's second day off is when he stays home with Finley while I go to work.

We try to always make the most out of our one family day. Sometimes it's just errands and lunch out. Sometimes we go for sno-cones, coffee or cupcakes. Other days we just do all the yard work with Finley in her stroller supervising. We go get the cars washed, shopping and take the dogs to the groomers. The Zoo and Aquarium are among my favorites.

Monday we decided to make our way down to Galveston beach since the weather was sunny and the temperature pretty warm for mid January, about 70. It was the best day!

First we just drove down the Seawall checking out the water and sights. I know Galveston isn't the most beautiful beach but it's what we've got and it's a beach! Then we headed to walk the shops at the stand. For a late lunch we went to Fishtales and ate on the second story balcony patio overlooking the beach and the construction of the new boardwalk pier being built. We even took a new, off the freeway route home to change up the scenery. Of course Finley was worn out so she napped the whole way home.  I think we would all agree that we really enjoyed our day. I made sure to snap some pictures too ;)



^at the shops. Check out Daddy shopping in the background. haha

^Best picture ever! She was Cheesin' for our Waitor! (click to see it bigger!)

^Candid!