houston...we have a tooth!

what i see is actually a teeny, tiny speck of white...but it has to mean a tooth is on its way up! and more importantly, that white speck explains my son's nasty attitude as of late. little miss perfect never EVER let me know her teeth were coming in. beckett is such a wuss! i thought he was going to be 1 and toothless. there is no way you could see it in a picture so i will just post a couple pics from this week...took the kids to the zoo...not beckett's first time there but the first time he actually knew what was going on around him. and ballet...still hilarious. this week they did a number where they danced while holding a teacup and saucer. oh...one more thing- went to a shrimp and grits party...not the food :) they sell children's smocked clothing at pretty reasonable prices. got the both of the kids seersucker swimsuits. so damn cute!! here is the link: http://www.shrimpandgritskids.com/

it is REALLY hard to get beckett to stay still for a picture now that he is on the move!

ellis thinks she is his babysitter...

ellis' favorite part of the day- rufus, one of the animals, had a birthday party in his cage...this was a first for me!!! ellis thought it was FABULOUS!

you know i love for them to have coordinating outfits!!! these are the softest shirts...and they are "green"...beckett wore a lot of stuff from here when he was tiny... http://www.babysoyusa.com/

and a couple of ballet pics...i just realized her hair is long enough for pig tails!! except, i have to call them pony tails (she is crazy for my little pony)...

here are ellis and ainsley patiently waiting for the class before theirs to end...how cute are those leg warmers?

i have a girls night tonight @ my friends ranch...should be fun...and next week the rodeo starts!! ellis LOVED it last year so i know this year will be even better :)

party on.

we had a party filled weekend...okay...it was really just 3 parties...all of which my kids also attended :)  first up was a birthday party for one of ellis' classmates.  it was at a local fire station...such a cute idea!  i didn't even know you could hold parties there...the firemen did all of the entertaining...took the kids on the truck, put on a little safety demonstration, etc.  and the best part?  totally free!!  the firemen just asked that there be extra cake for them :)  

next up was a one year old b-day party for beckett's great friend micha...he is a cutie pie...he worked on his cake for at least an hour.  i hope beckett dives into his cake next month...it makes for such cute pictures.  ellis wouldn't eat the cake @ her first b-day party.  i seriously don't remember her even touching it.

and finally, as you can see in the picture to the left, we went to an oscar party here in the neighborhood.  it was AMAZING.  the pictures won't do it justice.  amy went ALL OUT...she is so so so creative and throws a great party.  kids were invited too...she had 3 sitters at her house to watch the little ones...although i have already decided i will be leaving the kids at home next year...i wanted to stay till the end!!! 

everything was perfect...so many cute details...ALL food and drinks were named for a movie or actor- here are a few of them:  SlumDOGS (hotdogs) w/  troPICKLE thunder (relish) and angelina chil-i, CrabKATE Winslet (crabcakes), Meryl Strips (chicken strips), The Garden (veggies)...i could go on and on!!!  for the dessert table- Wall-e pops, BenjaMINT Button, Heath Ledger (heath bars), sean pennut butter balls, frank lanJELLO, robert BROWNIE jr.  

had enough? 

the margaritas said "the reada"...get it?

and look at the brie!!  are you kidding me?  it is all pie dough...

slumdogs millionaire :)

check out beckett's hair from static in the bouncy...yikes!

and ellis...i went upstairs and found her like this...she had discovered macy's dress up trunk!

i could be out dancing right now...

...but we had nowhere near enough wine in us :)

i met a few girlfriends in town for "confessions of a shopaholic" tonight. we were all supposed to meet in the lobby of the theatre @ 6:30...but instead, ended up having margaritas beforehand...a pre-party of sorts. the movie was cute...thanks to isla fisher :) anyways...after the show, me and rach went to get our cars (we were duped into paying $9 for valet @ the movies!)...and then decided we needed a drink. did i mention that i caught the virus beckett had? fun stuff...i have been cooped in the house for 2 days getting us well. the wine was a must. wine and conversation btwn friends...what could go wrong? 

"barry" is what went wrong.

i will call him barry.  about 2 minutes after we get our glass of wine @ smith & wollensky's, he walks up.   barry is an older gentleman...he asks us if we want a drink.  "ummmm, no.  as you can see, the waiter just brought this one."  "well", he says, "i mean after you drink that one".  we just laugh.  he makes conversation...divorced, millionaire, etc....he owns car washes...we are trying not to engage him...thinking the more we talk, the longer he will hang.  he asks us what we do and we tell him we are moms...barry seems confused.  "then why aren't you wearing wedding rings?", he asks.  of course we both are...and we show him.   he says "i thought those were just some kind of fashion statement."  

what?  

barry asks us if we are HAPPILY married (yes) and then asks if we want to go dancing (no).  we do tell him that we like dancing, we just don't have it in us tonight.  we filled him in on the black swan (barry likes to stay near the galleria for dancing) and how rachel broke the dj booth there one night.  by this time, we are finished with our wine...he desperately wants to buy us another glass but we tell him we have to leave...he gives both of us his business card w/ his cell number to call when we are up for dancing...or a free car wash.  he leaves the table...but not before planting a kiss on both of our heads.  did i mention he was foreign??  

so, i didn't get to talk w/ rach for more than 5 minutes thanks to barry...but i will be taking him up on that free car wash :) 

 

love in sickness or in health...

so our plans for valentines day were to stay home, cook, and watch gran torino on DVD...yes, DVD. my cleaning lady hooked me up with an illegal copy she bought @ the flea market. AND it wasn't even the kind where someone snuck their video camera into the theatre...this was HIGH QUALITY :) besides the warning across the screen...something to the effect of "if you are watching this you are breaking the law"...whatever. we actually ended up watching the movie friday night because my favorite sitter for the kids called me friday afternoon and said if we wanted to go out for valentines, she would watch them (she has a spring break trip coming up and wants $)...i said yes before she could finish the question.

we woke up saturday w/ big plans...beckett took his nap (we don't do anything before that happens) and we were all off to lunch...after taking ellis to the bathroom a minimum of 10 times at the restaurant, i diagnosed her w/ a UTI (urinary tract infection)...she was also in pain, obviously. we got our food to go, dropped beckett and brandon off at home, and ellis and i were off to the ER. that is the beauty of kids getting sick on the weekend- pediatrician isn't open...only after hours clinics and ER's. i called one urgent care clinic- 2 hour wait...minimum. not gonna happen. i am just not going to sit in a room of colds, flus, and god knows what else...for 2 hours...just waiting for ellis to catch something. gross. i called another place- 10 minute wait. i'll take it! we get there and they explain to me that i will have to pay my emergency room co-pay...fine...whatever...i have a 2 yr old w/ a bladder infection...i know how bad those hurt. we were in and out...YAY!! after the antibiotics kicked in, she was good to go.

we are still lined up for the sitter. she shows, i leave the cell #, and we are out the door by 6:30...off to a little dinner party in town. we have fun...LOTS of fun. in fact, so much fun that brandon manages to drop his blackberry in the sink...that was full of water??? WTF? it's dead. and doesn't tell me this until we are on the way home (at 1 in the morning). i explain to him that if this happens in the future, he needs to let me know so i can call the sitter and give her an alternate phone number. BUT, i have never had a sitter call so i am not too concerned. well...wouldn't you know...we pull into the drive, walk into the house and the sitter is there holding beckett. she says she had been trying to call for an hour...beckett was crying and had gotten sick in his crib. nice. we won't be winning any parents of the year awards. hope everyone had a lovely valentines day...i sure did...try changing a crib sheet after you have been drinking heavily for 6 straight hours!! good times :)

here is ellis w/ a pink rose her dad brought her...as you can see, it is like halloween everyday at our house...

here is the little one...i tried to dress him valentiney

here is the loot from ellis' school party...she also had a party @ ballet...her valentine mailbox is made from a spraypainted kleenex box...teachers are so creative :)

and finally, the valentine ellis passed out to her friends...it is so fun getting to do all that silly stuff...once you have kids, EVERY holiday is about them...even this one

happy valentines day!!!

it's official...

my little man is walking! he started taking steps right after he turned 10 months...3 steps here...5 steps there, etc. but it is safe to say he is officially walking this week...my life forever changed :) here is a video i uploaded...i am SO fancy! ellis thinks it is great..."walk to me beckett, walk to me!!!" all day long.

my showgirl

here is the link to more pictures of ellis' wedding weekend if you are interested :) see next post for the narrative!

http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=8BcuGzJu0csrE

best. flowergirl. ever.

so this past weekend, we were in key largo, FL for a wedding. the bride was brandon's cousin, danielle...and ellis had the duty of flowergirl :) stinky poo brother (as ellis lovingly calls him) stayed home with bebe. do you see a pattern here? i pretty much take only one kid w/ me wherever i go...maybe that's why i think having 2 is so easy!?

we flew in friday afternoon...other than the airline calling @ 2:30 a.m. friday to tell us our flight had been cancelled (we got on an earlier flight and had to connect thru dallas), the day went great...we skipped out on the rehearsal @ the church...i had to get little miss and myself ready for the rehearsal dinner...which is so much more important than the actual rehearsal right? dinner was a success and susie offered to stay in w/ ellis while we went out to "the big chill" with a big group of people. it got ugly quick...jaeger, patron, etc. brad (brandon's brother) made out w/ a bridesmaid (actually, have you ever been to a wedding where this hasn't happened?) and i realized my husband drank about 10 scotches too many. he is still hungover by the way. seriously.

saturday morning ellis wakes up ready to go...i had told her we would drive around key largo, go to the beach, etc. brandon is in NO shape to join us but he probably thought i would give him a hard time if he stayed in bed (nooo...not me!) in my defense, it was already 10:30 a.m...not 7 or something crazy. he came along but literally laid down in the back of the car the entire time...never got out. ellis kept asking him why he was so "sleepy". we are on our way back to the hotel when brandon says to pull over...quick. he proceeds to get sick on the side of the road...ellis says "oh no, we have to get daddy to see the doctor...this is an emergency"...needless to say, philip (brandon's dad) and i are laughing hysterically at the scene. we get back to the hotel and have like 30 minutes until it was time to leave for the church...2 p.m. wedding. brandon 100% would not have gone to wedding if ellis hadn't been in it. he looked like death.

we arrive at the church. ellis is LOVING every minute. if you know ellis, you know she loves attention. i am starting to get a little nervous...even though she says she is going to walk down the aisle, you never really know. i mean, she is 2. as soon as i introduce her to the ring bearer, i know she is going to perform. she can't stop smiling...she is in a zone. i leave her in the back w/ michael (the ring bearer)...and go sit in the front of the church. i figured i might have to do one of those numbers where the mom coaxes the girl up the aisle?? not so much. she walks down the aisle right on cue. perfectly...slowly...smiling at all of the people. couldn't have cared less where i was....or anyone that she knew for that matter. she gets to the front of the church and goes over with michael and the groomsmen. i get her attention and motion for her to come over and sit w/ me (on the opposite side of the church- the bride's side). not a freaking chance. she is staying w/ michael. and this is where the hilarity begins to ensue.

i wasn't prepared for her to sit by herself...she threw me a curve ball there. i hadn't told her anything about being quiet, sitting nicely, etc. how will she be able to sit over there quietly for AN HOUR? she started off great...she would stand up and sit down when she was supposed to...things are looking good. 20 minutes in she starts looking like she is getting restless...playing w/ her basket...throwing the flowers on the ground in front of her seat...which is on the front row mind you...harmless though. i then look over and she has the basket on her head. there are a few LOL's from the crowd...but still, no big deal. it is now time for the rings...she walks up w/ michael to hand the rings to the priest...i am 99.9% sure she wasn't supposed to play a part in that...but whatever...we are close to the end and she isn't causing any real trouble. time for communion (catholic wedding)...i look over...oh no...no...she couldn't be...she is in line w/ the bridesmaids for communion. i kid not. there is no time to stop her. she gets to the front and puts her hand out for the circle thing and the priest just pats her on the head. that worked for her...and she returns to her seat. the wedding wraps about 2 minutes later. success.

i will quickly wrap this up...promise! we head to the reception, brandon heads to bed. there are cocktails outside first...then the party moves inside for dinner...and dancing. ellis is like a rock star @ the reception...everyone is coming up to her congratulating her on her good job. in fact, the organist @ the church said she was the best she has ever seen :) ellis is so proud of herself...she decides she wants to take it to another level and continue her show. she heads for the dance floor...obviously, nobody else is dancing yet. just her. it is only like 5 p.m...people just aren't drunk yet. she starts by doing a few of her ballet moves...twirlng, arabesques, etc. she then ups the ante and does a few forward rolls. and then a number of moves where she is on the ground. an hour later she is still out there. i am telling you...one hour...not a single break. by herself. i tried to go dance with her...she politely asked me to get off the dance floor. she wanted it all to herself. i could go on and on...but i won't. i will say that i finally called brandon and said get your ass down here...ellis is on fire. he GLADLY took her to the hotel room around 7 to rest and watch cartoons...i think they were both asleep by 7:30. i, on the other hand, stayed to party w/ the rest of the group...we had so much fun. ellis inspired me i guess...i haven't danced that much in i don't know how long!!! if you made it to the end of this, thanks for hanging in there :) pictures are below!

jumping on the bed before rehearsal dinner

checking out key largo...somebody needs a tan!

she arrives @ the church! in the last pic, you can see how far away she is from me...

blogger is screwing the order of pictures up everytime i add one...i will figure out how to post a link to the rest of them tomorrow...bye for now!

i might become an addict

i think i might be hooked on photoshop...and it's all my friend ally's fault! her son micah is in a playgroup w/ beckett. she is always doing creative things on the computer...christmas cards, birthday invites, cool things on her blog, etc...every time i ask her "how on earth did you do that?" the answer is always the same- freaking photoshop. i have had the photoshop CD @ my house for over 6 months and had never even opened it...until yesterday. what finally convinced me to check it out was what you can do w/ your photos- duh. ally explained to me how EASY it really is...she literally sent me an email with step by step instructions. i may never learn to make b-day invites (i have too much fun going to the store to pick those out)...but photos i can relate to. so...i pulled up an OLD picture of ellis...i have always liked this picture for some reason...we were in florida...she was around 15 months old. look @ the before and after. this pic was taken on my old camera...so crazy!! it could look better...no doubt...i just need to play around with photoshop more. i have a TON to learn but this was done w/ the click of one button. love it. and the little girl below :)

Before

After

OR...maybe it's not so great? brandon just said he likes the first picture better...of course he does!