A Great Chair and a Sweet Girl

What can I say...she is the sweetest child alive.

SB and PawPaw. She doesn't like many men. He's won her heart though.



An old chair, a red velvet reupholstry job, a roll of green tapestry from the thrift store and the sunlight streaming through the front door = the perfect setting for a great Christmas picture.

My not-so-secret secret - the photo below was taken outside.

Oh, the sweetness she oozes.

A Visit from Lilly Mae

Skirts and dresses ONLY!!! That's Lilly Mae's rule to live by.

For her birthday in October, I found this dress and thought she would love it since she refuses to wear anything that resembles something a boy would wear. Until our post-Thanksgiving visit, she refused to wear her "Ni Hao, Kai-Lan" dress. Yes, it's girly, shiny, Kai-Lan...ish, satiny smooth. Somehow, it hasn't met her strict standards. Katee, her mom/my sister, has tried to offer it to her as an option many times, but it's always been, "No, not today." But...Today was that day. She wore it for the low low price of some small candies. I'm satisfied.

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It's hard to ask a 3 year old to smile.
You NEVER get what you ask for.

Isn't she a beauty?

Lilly Mae, You look beautiful in your Kai-Lan dress! I'm glad you came to visit me at my house. Thank you for a great picture. Sarah Beth misses you and I do too!

Monkey Cake

Here's a cake I made in June - a good learning experience. I've been asked to post it even though it's an older one. This happens to be the second cake I've ever decorated. The design is copied from the birthday party invitation. The mom/party planner wanted the cake to go with the theme of the party so I figured I'd do well to make the cake look like the card. Happy birthday again, Allie.

Family Pictures

There's this place near my house that has a really beautiful gazebo. Very picturesque. We decided to try it out as a location for some family photos. My photo partner and I took turns taking each other's family pictures. These are the best we could get with SB. She doesn't like the camera these days...or the time change for that matter.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we visited the pumpkin patch - 'tis the season, you know. Here are some pics we took during our visit there. Sarah Beth's SO SO hard to photograph these days. She hates the camera.

SB is sporting my latest sewing experiment. I am sporting "3 days without a wash" hair. Todd is sporting a pink and yellow polkadot diaper bag that he's not afraid to carry. That sun was blinding today, but lovely compared to all the rain we've gotten lately. And that chilly breeze was a nice touch too. Thank you, Lord, what a perfect day.

Who wouldn't want their picture with this human-sized black crow?

Down the hill and facing the sun.

Todd, SB, and Mr. Chicken. She was a little apprehensive about him. (I think it was the comb on top or maybe the size.)

SB and Daddy, my treasures.

She got to pick her own pumpkin which is now sitting at home with the rest of her toys on the shelf.

A "Beep" in the flesh/wool. There was a great petting zoo there. She loved them all but was a little less timid around the bunnies and pigs.

These days it's VERY hard to get any good pictures of her. ANY good pictures. She sees the camera and runs the other way. I took 151 pictures today. I think I really like 2 of them.

Nana taught her to stop and smell the flowers - a good rule to live by.

I like this one. She's really THIS sweet. So sweet that the crows want to lean in and get in the picture with her. I don't blame them.

Now I'm sad those old crows are in the picture. She's cute and sweet without them.

A marvelous pick. She later used her chosen pumpkin as a telephone to call whomever she was conversing with on the way home. I wish I had that picture.

Summer Fun

Fun with cousin Lilly Mae at Papa Steve's and Granny's

Fun with Nana Cathy once a week this summer to give Mommy some ME time

Fun with Mommy always

Fun with friends at a girls weekend getaway

Fun taking naps and waking up with crazy bed hair

Fun with Daddy at Jambalaya Park

Fun with Micah, Judah and Gabe as they get their new birthday present (a puppy)

Fun with Jess as she gives her kids their birthday gift

Fun taking pics of SB

Fun at the Sprayground

Fun licking the water that falls on her face

Fun taking wedding pictures

Fun staying up until midnight 3 nights in a row to make this luau themed birthday cake

Fun making the smash cake for the 1 year old, Gabe.

What a whirlwind...so let's rest until next summer.

Belated Birthday II

Here are a few pics from SB's birthday party. With all the hullabaloo, I didn't think about taking pictures, so most of these have been borrowed from those who did. As big of a deal as I made of this whole thing, I did not make any effort to document the event. I guess you can't do it all.

This picture I did take at my house on her real birthday. She was really sick and needed some cheering up, so my mom brought over her birthday gift even though her party was cancelled. -It's a kitchen that talks to you. She still cooks for us everyday... (The food tastes a bit plastic.)


Her BirdDay cake - 5 layers of sagging fun. Lessons learned: 1. Round cakes make it harder to smooth fondant. 2. Fondant - only pleasing to the toddler palate. 3. When cakes look crowded it just might be that someone is trying to cover a mistake ... or lots of mistakes. 4. Chocolate icing is yummy! 5. I love to paint fondant - (Sadly, the only things I painted were the birds.) *Not too shabby for my third cake ever although I liked the second cake best so far.

SB in the inflatable jumper. I think she would have been happy in that thing all day long.

SB and her daddy who thinks she hung the moon.

The image above and the next two are the only evidences that there really was a party. No one seemed to take any pictures of anyone other than Sarah Beth. Family came in from out of town and I didn't get any pictures of them...bummer. I did manage to get a few chopped off heads.

These girls look pumped about watching her open presents! Observe the enthusiasm.

She uses the word duck frequently and quacks when necessary. Thanks for the duck, Mrs. Polly.

My photo. Yeah, it's mine. Sadly it's blurry and blown out. Still, I like it and I'm keepin it!

Belated Birthday

So it's been quite a while and I have more than enough to say, although I plan to keep this one short. My last post was April 6th. Sarah Beth's birthday was May 6th. We had her birthday party today. The photos in this post were taken a few days ago. Her birthday pics will be posted when I get enough energy to retrieve them from my camera.
What's that you say? Why a month and a half later? Oh...that's a story of its own. May 2nd was her original party date. Plans changed the day before the party. Lots to do with contagious viruses, vacations, rodeos, school, other birthday parties, text messages, the kitchen sink...
In the end things all worked out. We scaled down the party to include close friends of the family and family members. Even with the smaller crowd, it was very busy. She has been receiving presents now for over a month, because people felt bad about not giving her a present on her birthday. They've been trickling in here and there through mail or passing by. She's an old pro at unwrapping packages or removing tissue from bags. Todd says she'll think all birthdays last a month long. We'll have some 'splainin to do next year.
As a christian mother, it is my goal to teach her not to treasure trinkets. Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful for all the gifts - these people are helping us provide for our girl. Those are clothes we don't have to buy. And those toys - how expensive are they! Yes! I am thankful for every last ribbon and battery. I just want her to know that they will not bring her lasting contentment. Eventually as we all do, she will outgrow the clothes and get bored with the toys. I pray that Todd and I will succeed in teaching her to love and cherish the imperishable treasure who "gives life and breath and all things to all." For anyone reading who doesn't know what I'm talking about - it's Jesus.

I love that smile and those sweet baby blue eyes.

Little bit of attitude coming through there...