My Girly Girl

It's funny because I am not a "girly girl" at all. As far as I know, I never have been a "girly girl". I like my cargo pants and chaco sandals. I like that when I look in my closet it's nothing but browns, blacks, and whites - no pink. I'm trying to be a little grown-up (I am 30) by wearing necklaces and earrings and stuff, but I still have a hard time wearing dangly earrings. But - there's something so sweet about dressing up my little girl in bows and pink and frills. Here she is showing off her girly side. She LOVED playing with this beaded necklace at Birdie's house.

Every chance she could get she put these beads on.

Jeggings - check! Graphic tee - check! Talking on the phone - check!

Black leggings and an adorable pink jacket - she could be a New York girl with this outfit.

I LOVE that I can put her hair in a ponytail. This might be my new favorite look...too cute!

October Recap

October was a really busy month: Grandpa surprised us one night and came down for a visit. He was only in town long enough to take us out to eat, and we made sure to enjoy every minute of it!

Delaney turned one and we had a super weekend of celebrating.

October always means pumpkin patch time, which just make me so happy.

Melody couldn't make it to Laney's party so she came over for a play date later that week.

The Rangers were in the World Series and even though they lost we had a great time cheering them on! Maybe the third times a charm?!

I can't forget about Halloween - including Halloween parties, Halloweenie Roast in our cul-de-sac (hosted at our house), and trick-or-treating.

Brooks was Josh Hamilton for Halloween - jersey, beard, tattoos, wrist bands, bat and glove included. He was the cutest baseball player I've ever seen.

I would like to report that Laney was her happy little self on Halloween night, but that would be a lie. She was probably the grumpiest I've ever seen her. I tried to get a cute picture of her in her adorable unicorn costume but there was no chance of that happening. So, here's a picture of real life instead.

Brooks scored lots of great candy. This is how he celebrated when he got home - he sorted it all and organized it nicely in the garage!

My 1 year old

It's still hard for me when people ask how old my baby is. I always think in that split second, "Is she really, one?! YEP!" Here's Delaney at 1 years old - 19lbs 13 oz(25%) and 31 1/2 inches long (97%):

Look at the pictures above compared to my little baby girl a month after she was born (still wearing preemie clothes):

Delaney enjoys standing (not walking) and talking on the phone. She did take her first steps a week after her birthday, but not much since then. She's VERY stubborn and likes to do things when they are her idea. She's really quite the diva. When she sees what I have on my plate during dinner she points and speak gibberish to tell me she wants what I have. I say no and she throws her head back, opens her mouth as wide as it will go, and wails! It's ridiculous. In case you're wondering - I don't give in. She's forced to eat her food first. Even Brooks has gotten good at saying, "Oh please, Laney."

My big girl also enjoys playing with baby dolls. This doll in particular came from her Auntie Pat. She loves hugging on her baby and putting her paci back in her mouth. I love having baby dolls around the house to balance out all the cars that we have.

Those baby blues are still melting my heart! I also LOVE that headband that she's wearing (she got it for her birthday). You can't see from the picture, but she has two big teeth on the bottom and is working on four teeth on top. They are popping through like crazy! Pretty soon she'll have a set of pearly whites to go with her smile.

Of course she still totally enjoys playing with her brother. She's also already gotten good at "tattling" on him. As soon as he takes a toy away from her she screams. I come running to save the day. I'm working on sitting back and letting them figure it out. Brooks is helping her learn to say new things since she still doesn't say much other than mama, dada, bye, yes, and woof. He labels everything for her, "SHOE, this is a SHOE, pumpkin. Say, SHOE." And of course he uses that adorable baby talk voice to help her understand. I love how much they love each other. I know this post is about Laney, but I have to say this one thing about how much Brooks loves his sister. This was his dinner prayer the other day: "God, thank you for the food, and that we went hunting with Daddy, and for watching a movie, and I love Delaney. Amen." They are seriously so sweet together.

I'm so glad that Delaney loves the outdoors as much as we do. She recently discovered how much she loves to swing and how much she loves to slide.

PRECIOUS! I just love her so much! Someone gave me this outfit when she was born and I've been waiting 12 months for her to wear it. Girl clothes are so stinking cute!

What a wonderful year it has been. Not a day goes by when I don't stop and think to myself how incredibly blessed I am.

T is for Tenley and Teagan

One of the best parts about Laney's birthday was that our good friends from Colorado came to celebrate with us. My friend, Kristen, came out and brought 2 of her 3 precious girls: Tenley (3 1/2) and Teagan (8 months). It was so fun to have them here. I absolutely LOVE to hang out and be silly with Kristen, and because our children are so close in age it's great to see them get together and play. We had fun eating out together.

The kids had fun taking bathes together.

The kids snuggled in the pumpkin patch together.

The little girls got to know each while playing outside and playing in the tubberware together.

Brooks and Tenley hung out in the tent together.

Pops even had a good time hanging out with all the girls.

One day we'll get both the kids to smile for a picture.

Man, I miss this family! Thanks, Kristen for bringing your family down to Texas - I LOVE YOU HILL FAMILY!

The Birthday Cake

Funny - I don't actually think that any of the cake got in her mouth. Also, lesson learned when picking out a first birthday cake: orange, brown and green were not a smart combination of icing choices...it looks like she has poo smeared all over her face.

Pumpkin Patch First Birthday

Delaney's birthday was absolutely perfect! I had lots of ideas and high expectations - and it was everything that I hoped for. The weather even cooperated. Kristen (my friend from Colorado), and my mom and I stayed up well past our bed time on Friday night to make sure everything was set. The decorations were set all ready for our guests (in the garage). Kristen helped me make this adorable banner and Brooks added his special touch with the pumpkin on the wall. I also found a recipe for a pumpkin pie dip that's set down in the middle of apple slices and pretzels...yum!

I found this idea below on another blog and I just had to try it. Chad's job was to find the branches and they fit perfectly in the vase. I made the cones out of scrapbook paper and filled them with kettle corn. The branches are now in our house and might serve as a permanent decoration because I love them so much!

A delicious cheese ball shaped like a pumpkin? Doesn't get any better than that!

HEB had pumpkin cakes on display so I went ahead and got Delaney one for her party. For the guests I served cake pops, candy corn, and candy pumpkins.

I had mini pumpkins for party favors.

The Birthday Girl with some of her guests: Delaney and Birdie - all smiles!

Gammy and Pops came in for the weekend.

Birdie, Delaney, Scoops and Brooks hanging out.

Suzanne and Laneybug - Suzanne takes care of Laney everyday. She was also the one who made Laney's shirt and bow - she's the best!

We had the party in the front yard and it was perfect! All the kids just played on the playscape and the adults just sat around and mingled and drank beer on a beautiful Saturday. It really was perfect (have I said that already)!