Birthday baby

My sweet girl will be three years old on Monday. Three years of my life that I would not change for anything. Three years of love that I did not know my heart needed or could even be prepared for. She has brought so much joy to my life. Keith Urban has a song called "Without You" and my favorite verse says this:

"Along comes a baby girl

And suddenly my little world

Just got a whole lot bigger, yes it did

And people that I barely knew

They love me cause I'm part of you"

This could not be more true. Lucy Clare, I have said this many time before on my blog, but dear, you are the musical masterpiece my heart had been singing long before I knew the tune. And the music you bring into our lives now....how precious you are. You fit into this world and bring such a light to others and to us, that is indescribable. I prayed so many different (and still do!) prayers for you, and it is so amazing to watch God work in your life. To see little things you do and wonder if that will be your calling, already just at this young age! 

To brag on your singing ability already, your quick wit, quiet humor, your ease at picking up new tasks.. I know you are smart, but dang, you amaze me sometimes! I just laugh and pray that while you get some of my left brain creativity, that for the love, you get your daddy's quick math skills and directional knowledge! (I also really hope you get your daddy's legs!) You are funny and so dramatic. (her momma's child for real!)

So, three years ago I was waiting every so not patiently for you to make your arrival. I was fat, swollen, and miserable. And then you came along and rocked our world in such a good way.

And now, when I ask you if you'd like to have a baby at our house, a brother or sister, your reply is always "No, I'd like a puppy." ha! (which neither is happening anytime soon, people! The baby or the dog!)

You have us wrapped, little thing. Thanking God for the past 3 years, and praying for many, many more with you. My little "bootsie" and daddy's "sugar plum." May you always know the love we have for you. That so many people have for you. Thank you, baby, for teaching me about a love I didn't know, could only have wished for, and for helping me to be a better person, a better teacher, a better everything.

Happy almost birthday.

I love you to the moon and back.

Loving on "monk-a-licious"

Birthday desert at Mexican Connection!

Learning how to fold washcloths. "Fold it, smooth it, fold it again!"

Beach time with my girl. Love that face!

Happy birthday present. A new pet fish named "Nemo." I love her face there. Every day she runs into the kitchen and checks him, talks to him, takes pictures of him. Happiness in the fishbowl!

The Future....

With the Olympics on its way, I sit and wonder what my sweet child will be doing in the future. Will she make it on an Olympic team? I surely don't have a clue, but from these pictures, she will make an excellent swimmer or cheerleader!

She's already got the most wonderful cheerleader stance. All I see here is "Ready? Ok! 1, 2, 3, 4!"

Summer loving...

Oh, summer! How I love this time of year. Sleeping in, pool time, and tons of family time. This is how we have been spending our summer so far--- 

I started taking Lucy's picture before we left the house everyday to send to her daddy, my mom, and her Godmomma B. I have created a monster. We can't even step out into the garage now without a photo shoot. She has come up with some amazing poses and totally cracks me up. The above photo is by far the best one and she makes me laugh with that "toe pop" and her hand on her hip. Notice her Toy Story lunchbox? We don't go anywhere without some sort of Toy Story toy in her hand. We are a little obsessed around our house. I do look at that picture and think to myself that I have a little sorority girl on my hands!

I have taken up running at night and Lucy thinks that every time I put on my tennis shoes that she needs to get dressed too and go with me. She calls it our "Mousersize" time. We have our running shorts and wild tennis shoes on. Surprisingly, she is a great runner and she keeps up. Tonight she got tired and I ended up carrying her on my back and running the rest of the way home like that. Bonus workout for me tonight! She also makes me stop at stop signs and do jumping jacks with her! We dance, walk, and when she's ready, we run. I know the neighbors must enjoy seeing us come around! (She also calls those workout shorts she wears her "party rock" shorts. They look just like the pants the guy from LMFAO wears. And yes, Party Rock is one of her favorite songs to run to!) 

Here is another one of Lucy's best poses. It reminds me of a little dancer move. And of course, we have on our Toy Story shirt!

I got away for a weekend for an all girls weekend. We headed down to PC for a nice weekend of beach time, dancing, and all out fun. I love these girls and am blessed they are a part of my life. Every mom needs a great group of friends... and I have that is these girls. My bunco group turned best friends. I love that.

Another pose! My little hip-hop girl. This time we are carrying the new dolphin she got when she went to Gulf World with her daddy!

Another day of posing. We were heading to a pool party and guess who had to come??? Ol' Woody!

We have also been spending each afternoon enjoying our mini-pool in the backyard. I work on my tan and she burns off a ton of energy in the pool and water hose. She's a mess and I love it!

We are experiencing the "Terrible Threes" already. Temper tantrums to the max. They are not funny at the time, but so funny when I sit down to think about them.

She is out of daycare for the summer and we are spending a lot of time together. I love this. I love that I am able to spend the summers with her and seeing each part of her funny, sassy, loud attitude.

Her birthday is next month and we are already planning an amazing...wait for it...yes, you guessed it!

Toy Story party! She is so excited and can't wait for it.

Happy Summer, friends!

A wedding weekend

This weekend we headed down to Mobile for a wedding of a dear friend. I love weddings and I love friends, so this was a perfect combination. I have known sweet Anne for most of her life and I have enjoyed watching her grow up. She had a wonderful party and Catholic wedding and I was honored that they invited us to join in on the festivities. I am dumping my Iphone with our pictures of this fun weekend.

Anne and Josh's first dance. It was a Foo Fighters song played by members of the bridal party. I loved it. I loved the flash mob at the end!

Sweet Lucy has figured out how to take her own pictures with my Iphone. I literally have to clear out 100 pictures a day. I adore this picture of her sweet face. She is beautiful.

My parents at the reception. I love them. I am so blessed that I can say they have been married for 34 years. That is a blessing. I am so proud of the love they share and the example they are to us!

So....Lucy got this pet Pony at Build-a-Bear. I was dancing and having fun at the reception. I have in Lucy's big hairbow and am busting a move with the Pony. Good times!

This would be Lucy at the Bear store brushing her new Pony with the "paintbrush." We carry that Pony with us everywhere we go.

Totsie and Lucy playing a little game of checkers. Notice her Toy Story shoes? The girl is obsessed with Toy Story.

They even had a slushie machine at the reception. Lucy's favorite color is blue so she loves this picture. She's a mess!

And lastly, can't live without this sweet man. God sent him right to me! I love my husband!

I am so glad we were able to go to Anne's wedding. We made some fun memories and I pray they have a long and fulfilling marriage!

I am super excited that I only have 7 more days of school before summer break. It is very bittersweet because I love this class and I am sad to see them go. They have pushed me in my teaching. We don't have many big plans for this summer and for that I am grateful. Just one teacher conference and some beach trips. I am super excited we will be going back to Disney this year in the fall and I also have a special 2 year old who will be turning 3 in July. Where is time going? She is getting so big so fast. You can probably guess what kind of party she will be having.. Toy Story. She is so excited about it and tells us all the time her birthday is "July 16." Looking forward to a fun filled summer with friends and maybe a Zumba class or two!

I am mother, hear me roar!

 

  

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers in the world today! I had a wonderful weekend. Of course, I can't celebrate this day without first thanking my mother. She is an amazing mother and friend. I am so honored to be her child. I even love it that I have taken a second place to my own child in her life! She was and is definitely what I want to be in a mother. She was the mean momma when she needed to be and a ear to listen when I was crying about whatever boyfriend broke up with me and whatever girl I was fighting with had done me wrong. She gave good advice and let me make my own decisions but always led me in the right direction. She fostered my love for Jesus and helped me along my Catholic faith. I am so glad God chose her to be my mother. And now I am even more pleased that we are friends.

 (but Lord knows, she still can scare the mess out of me...don't cross Barbara!)

I love you, momma!

And now I am mother to a fancy, hilarious 2 year old. She is the light of my life and I don't know how I lived life without her (or Max and Ruby and the Fresh Beat Band.) I love hearing her say "I love you so much, momma" and I love her sweet singing voice and her laugh and the wild things she says....

Like asking me when my stomach hurt one day if I had "skid marks in my underwear."

(and for the record, the answer is NO!)

I love when she gives me big hugs and when, even when she only wants her daddy, she will still come right to me for a kiss.

I love her dramatic personality and how sometimes she just needs "a cold rag for her head" and how when she takes a bath the water has to be "warmyhot." And how she needs a "soft blanket" and right now with a tiny cut on her leg she needs a "soft bandaid to make it better."

I love hearing Farmer in the Dell sung by her sweet voice. I love how she thinks any time we go to church that mommy will be in the choir. "You sing in choir mommy? I sit with GigiTata?"

I also love how daddy has nothing in this house. It's "mommy's bed, mommy's house and mommy's car." (Poor Scott, he only gets his truck and his "tractor")

I love how I can reason with her and talk her through any situation. Until she points her finger at me. Then we are done.

She is smart, funny, lovable.... and she's mine.

I hope that I can raise her right. I hope that I can help her make good decisions.

 That in life, she will come to me, like I do with my own mother.

I said it before and I'll say it again.

Thank you, Lord.

And I can't be a mother without my husband. While he might drive me crazy on a daily basis (and throw my new belt away.) I still love him and am so happy I found him in that bar years ago. He is kind to me and an incredible daddy to Lucy. I am blessed.

They showered me with gifts and cards today and woke me up with kisses. Yesterday, he even let me sleep in till 10 am! Yes. Amazing!

I had specifically asked for a scale. Yes, the kind you stand on to see your weight. And I promised I wouldn't get mad. I need a scale. I've been trying to shed poundage. (and lots of it) so I needed a scale. He always gets the best gadgets, and he didn't fail me today! But my big surprise was a new pair of running shoes! I had mentioned I loved these shoes after seeing them on a commerical, but I knew I would never buy them for myself because I only wear white tennis shoes. But these were calling my name! And that was all I thought of it. Was so excited to get that Nike box this morning! And when I went for my "run" (really... I look like a fat kid running for the birthday cake.) they were amazing! I felt like a real runner tonight! It's wild what a pair of good shoes can do for you!

So, thank you Momma. Thank you Scott.

And special thanks also to Scott's momma for birthing such a wonderful man.

I am blessed.

Thank you, Lord!

Happy Easter!

May your heart be full this Easter day! He is alive and for that we are redeemed and have everlasting life! Alleluia!

Sweet girl growing...

Sometimes I look at Lucy and cannot believe how big she is. How much personality she has and how smart she is. She loves puzzles. She doesn't love just the hard wooden puzzles, but regular big puzzles. And she can do them. I also love puzzles, but she is really good at them. We recently had character dag at school and Lucy dressed up as a brown bear from the book "Me and my Mom" her favorite book. She was so cute and loved when I painted her nose and put blush on her cheeks! She is just so funny and full of life! I love it! Here are some pics of her shining personality!

1. Make-up time at Gigi's house.

2.Pouty lips. She's got them down!

3. Brown bear, brown bear!

4 New raincoat, umbrella, and boots from Gigi.

5. Rock and Roll hot stuff!

6. Enjoying her BK icecream at our school fundraiser.

7. Waiting for Daddy to try on new clothes. We had our own photo shoot!

She is a mess. Can't imagine how I've lived my life not knowing this precious girl.

One of the funniest things she does now is when you ask her how old she is she will tell you she is 3. She knows we told her we will take her back to Disney when she is 4, so she is trying to hurry up and get back!