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!

ellis sees the princess (taylor swift)

that's what she calls her...the princess. ellis knows the words to at least 5 songs of hers...2 of her favorites talk about princes, princesses, white horses, etc...so i think that is where she gets her little nickname for taylor. anyways...when my dad said he had 8 tickets from work to see her @ the rodeo this past friday night, i was thrilled. there is a reason ellis knows all the songs- i love taylor too!! it was so much fun...ellis had a blast...the seats were SO close...she loved the actual rodeo too...and she totally hung in there for the entire concert. it didn't hurt that there were vendors walking up and down the aisles selling blinky necklaces, boas, princess hats...just her style. at one point taylor had everyone in the audience hold up their cell phone to light the place up....ellis found this to be fabulous and held brandon's cell up too. after each song she would scream "bravo...bravo". i have no idea where she even heard that word. toward the end...taylor played love story...ellis' FAVORITE song. i am not allowed to sing it in the car...she wants to be solo on that one. well, ellis got really upset...crying...when she saw girls around us singing and dancing during the performance...it wasn't a pretty sight..."tell her to stop singing mom...i want to sing it by myself" pointing to strangers! her first real concert...i have the ticket saved for her baby book :)

ONEderful party!

beckett's bff, kate, turned one last week and her party was saturday afternoon...it was freezing cold and raining outside...but that didn't stop anyone from having a fabulous time :) since my last posts have been all about my girl, this one will be all about my boy...and his girl, kate! i knew pink would probably play a part in the festivities, so beckett wore the color of the day to honor his friend. he totally pulled it off...in my opinion! see below for pics...

i had to snap fast...she was not a fan of the hat!

clapping for herself...love it!

she shares so sweet :)

my little boy ain't so little anymore!

i would challenge anyone who says they know a baby that smiles more than beckett. he is hilarious...i hear something about him being the happiest baby ever at least once a day from total strangers...no joke.

happiness w/ cheerios! and as you can see from this picture, the tooth still isn't visible to the naked eye!

i am only posting this pic so you can see the curls beckett is sporting these days...adorable. i guess the "curl" gene is a VERY strong one!

here he is being pushed around by the girls...he is thinking "what the f are you wearing, sis?"

beckett w/ the birthday girl!!!

what do they see down there?

and finally, a little shout out to will...how sweet is it that he just picks up kids that aren't his for no reason?? not crying, not hurt...just because he wants to. i don't know many guys who do that. obviously he is a really great dad (and i can attest to that!)

country gone bad...really bad

my friend cassie turned 30 today...we celebrated last night @ blanco's dressed in "retro country" attire. all of the guests were supposed to dress the part...but some of the party goers took it to an extreme...and i was for sure one of them! as of friday at noon, i had nothing to wear. my mom kept the kids while brandon and i were off to some resale shops (goodwill & H.A.M.M.) and a consignment shop i knew of. goodwill was a bust...but i found a little ditty @ the consignment shop...a fully sequined cropped western jacket w/ black suede fringe...for $6!!! i'll take it. now i only needed accessories. no better place to go than my mom's closet. need something gaudy? she will have what you are looking for. brandon found a really worn in pair of wranglers for $3...they are a perfect fit...he loves them and says they will be his new game day jeans. it's the little things in life right? we had a hard time finding him a shirt so we ended up on the clearance rack @ cavenders...just as bad as anything you could find elsewhere really.

here are the earrings...i was debating btwn 3 pair...one had boots, hats, etc dangling down...i was afraid i would lose one of those...















the boots...also from bebe's closet. yes. those are gold sequins.




















the piece de resistance...all i can say is wow. they don't come any uglier.




















want to make sure you can see the fine detail...and intricate bead work














my mom also had an old bolo of my dad's...do you remember those?? brandon refused :(




















mullet wig!





















another western trend was the cut out shirt...HI-larious




















she is so damn funny...















lauren was SUPPOSED to wear this cut out shirt...love it





















but instead managed to look cute...by the way- there were 50 people at this party...not just the 6 of us!!

the birthday girl and her new fiance!!! i wish i had a picture of cassie's hair close up...she had indian feathers in the back...beautiful.

he done good. real good! they got engaged earlier that day. SO FUN!

thanks for such a good time cassie!! dress up parties are the most fun :)