my girl

first...let me apologize for the ellis overload you are about to witness! there were so many cute pictures of her...these are just my favs!! and if i had known she was going to smile as if she did this kind of thing for a living, i would have had an outfit change in there somewhere!!!

i can't believe i have a 3 year old! really...where does the time go? before i know it, she will be in kindergarten. sad. anyways...here they are. i love the girl we use...mackenzie...she took ellis' newborn pics 3 years ago and we are still using her: http://www.chubbyfoot.com/

as long as the kids perform, i know the pictures will be wonderful...and the best part is- she gives you the CD. none of this $30 for a 4X6 b.s.!!! anyways...if you are ever looking for someone, she is great!

not everyone has love for the texas bluebonnet...

the kids and i met a few of their best buds for an attempt at bluebonnet pictures last thursday. if you have ever driven on 290 or i-10 west of houston in the spring, you know what i am talking about. people pulled over on the side of the road...trying to get their kids to smile. total nightmare. luckily, we weren't on a highway...we were in a ditch!! that's right...a huge ditch...in kingwood actually. we parked at tiffany's and pulled the kids over in a wagon. beautiful weather, cute kiddos...all we needed were SMILES!! those were hard to come by :( anybody with kids knows what i am talking about. ugh!! beckett is actually super easy...pinkie pie is not. she will smile...but not look at the camera. she is hit or miss...it can be slightly frustrating...but i suppose i will just live with it :) oh, and needless to say, she was less than impressed with the bluebonnets...if only they had been pink! she did manage to find a pink weed which kept her happy enough....

this one pretty much says it all...beckett, did the bluebonnets hurt you? kate, did they taste bad?? and micha just looks totally over it. i literally have 20 shots that look like this...but worse!

i brought a little prop along for beckett...

we caught them in a smile!

with her pink weed and her buddy michael :)

royal b-day pics coming soon!!!

i need a new excuse...

ellis has been giving me a hard time when i leave for work lately (i go on mondays and thursdays)...she doesn't want to stay home with "the boys"...she wants to do "girl things" with me. it's been going on for probably a month. and everytime she complained i would just say i needed to go so i could make money to pay for her birthday party and birthday presents. she would quickly understand and let it go. well...her party was yesterday. after i left for work this morning, she asked brandon:

"daddy, whose birthday party does she have to pay for now?"

sibling love...

i caught them on a good day...actually, not a good day...a good hour. beckett and ellis had a photo shoot last week for their 1 and 3 yr milestones. beckett is getting like 16 teeth right now...so i was truly dreading the appointment. he justs wants me to hold him. all day. not good for photos. i thought about rescheduling but figured if i did, one of them would end up sick, it would rain, etc. so we just decided to go for it. we did it @ susie and philip's...they have lots of pretty spots in their house...and the kids did so great!!! as great as a 1 and 3 yr old can anyways. here are a few of my favs of them together....i will do a post later for their individuals :) i know, you are on the edge of your seat right?

pretty cute right?

spring cleaning tip

the arrival of spring means it's time to go through ellis' closet...shove all winter items to the back...or move them all to her other closet (yes, she has two rooms)...see what fits from last year and pack up everything too small...to store away in case we are blessed with another little girl in the future! it is quite a task. 99% (my best guess) of moms go overboard when it comes to children's clothing. at least for sure in the beginning...do you really need 5 smocked dresses for a 3 month old? no. they are either in a swing, in a blanket, or strapped in a carrier for 23 out of the 24 hours in a day. 2 people might see her in a dress she wore once that you spent way too much $ on. plus, they look silly. in a dress....just laying there. i can say this because i have been guilty of it all. ellis actually never wore the same thing twice to school this year...how bad is that?!?! i didn't mean for it to happen...it just did. i ended up buying something here, something there, things on sale after the season for the next year, etc. you don't realize how many things you have until you pull it all out...and yikes. oh well...you live and learn right?

sooo...here is a little something i figured out...don't pay too much attention to the sizes on the clothes...ellis still wears a dress from when she was 9 months old, 18-24 mo jeans, etc. kids don't really get much wider, just taller. the dress was from oilily...kinda pricey...but so damn cute. she wore it for thanksgiving when she was 9 months old. just once that year. i wished she had worn it more...but you know, you save those dresses for "special occasions"...you don't want them to get stained and gross. i was so happy when it still fit her the next fall! it was obviously shorter...so i just threw some tights on under it and she wore it a few more times. not for special occasions...just because. and then this year...it STILL fit...even shorter...but perfect everywhere else!! she wore it as a top with jeans. looked darling. so this dress that i spent too much $ on was actually worn for 3 years and totally worth it. and i still LOVE it.

here is another example...the dress below is a 12 month dress...and as you can see, as a 3 year old, she is still wearing it. i don't do this with all of her dresses...just the ones that i really like...or feel the need to justify the $ i spent on it!

she first wore it in new orleans...

bourbon street...and then with silver man...traumatized for life

and as an almost 3 yr old :)

first swim of the season!

those winter months of buyer's remorse over the pool in our backyard were quicky forgotten when we swam for the first time this year!!! we heated the pool for beckett's birthday party...and just kept it warm for a swim filled sunday. SO much fun...ellis is at the age where she would stay in the pool all day. and beckett is a total water baby...he is happy to float in his little contraption as long as you let him. he has always loved the water...he once took a 2 hour bath on my back patio when he was around 5 months old. i had a group of girls in town...we were all outside with our kids...and he was tired of being out there...i just brought his little bathtub out there and let him play in it for literally...hours! i see a lot of time being spent in that pool on hot summer days. for the first time in probably 4 years, i might get a tan! yay!! come swim with us!

one is so much fun!

my baby turned one last thursday!!! i can't believe it. such a fun age...i wish he could stay this tiny and sweet for forever. although, i know it only gets better. we had the party saturday...and wouldn't you know, he woke up with a snotty nose. ugh! it seems like this always happens...ellis got her first cold of her entire life the week before her first birthday...it was just a runny nose too...but still...it stinks! so, he didn't have the best day...but we all survived. ellis was up way past her bedtime the night before @ the taylor swift concert...so she was a peach at the party too. not really...she was pretty great...but when it came time to sing to beckett she threw a fit because she didn't want other people singing (see post below for more on that!)...i am hoping it is just a phase...but she acts so crazy sometimes...she just wants to sing by herself...it's probably my fault too because i had her sing to him earlier in the day...all by herself...for a few pictures. whatever. as you will see below...she takes her singing very seriously...eyes closed...concentrating...belting it out.

orange & blue were the colors of the day...can you believe i found those shoes? hilarious. ellis wore a combo of orange and her signature color...the kids and adults had fun...we heated the pool and all of the "older" (2 yr olds) kids played in the water. the guys watched basketball & the girls chatted away. we fried fish, drank beer, and texas lost :( better luck next year! it was fun...and we couldn't have had a more beautiful day...as ellis would say, "thank you mother nature!" next up- ellis turns 3!! ...16 princesses @ the house for an afternoon of royal fun! pics below of my cutie pie 1 year old!!!

below...how cute is that book?? and ellis' motto is beckett's toys are mine and my toys are mine :)

thanks for looking...and thanks to everyone who came to celebrate!