29 April ~ Let's see what this baby can do...

I'm definitely still a novice photographer, and I know my fancy schmancy camera can do far more things than I understand how to do.... so I'm trying out new things. I actually took it off "automatic" today and took some shots of Sailer trying to play with settings and this is what I came up with. Someday I'm actually going to get real camera lessons (I know big Mark will be proud (= ).

28 April ~ Baby in a Basket

Sailer's nana has this great little buggy that I just had to take a few shots of Sailer in... she loves to be pushed around in it like a little baby. She actually lays down in and stays down while you push her around which is pretty incredible.

SHINE

Hi- this LO is for this week's challenge over at Scrapping the Music. The song this weekend is Shine....check it out! The journaling reads, "At 1, you've only just begun to SHINE."

OMG- Publication!!

I simply CANNOT believe it... but I just received a message that Scrapbook Trends, my favorite scrapping magazine, is going to publish one of my layouts in their September issue. When I read it, I screamed and scared the crap out of Mark. I'm beyond honored and am so freakin' excited!!!! So check out the mag stand in September to see my sweet Sailer!!(=

Waiting on you....

I love the style that Stephanie Howell, a long lost college friend now scrapbook superstar... let's just say Prima Flowergirl, has! Check her out at Just me and my 2 little chicks. A lot of her LOs are simple but intricate at the same time, and always use her own penmanship in some little journal to her girls. I love this touch. I'm not really confident about using my own handwriting yet, but I finally bit the bullet and did it anyway. This is a photo of Mark and I when I was NINE months pregnant and SO ready for Sailer to get here. Although she was well worth the wait, that last month was pure torture (for everyone...(= ).

25 April ~ Can we say BED HEAD?

Before nap:

After nap:

What the heck is going on in that crib??

24 April ~ Girl Power

Tonight we went to a cookout at some friends' house, and this is a pic of the kiddos playing in the backyard. In looking at this photo, it made me chuckle because this is the amount of kids Mark says he wants...and I'm pretty sure, they'd all be girls too! Can you just imagine the amount of shoes??

23 April ~ Binkie Couture

The title of this post is this new brand of clothing I've discovered for Sailer.... isn't it cute? Our house likes to use the phrase "mini-me outfits" for those clothes that Sailer wears that look like something I would wear. Well, these definitely fall into that category. Enough of that, S is starting to be quite the ham. When I get out the camera, she starts the cheesy grin shown in the photo below. And I just had to include the pic of her in a total sassy pose!

She is...

Another LO from my leftover scraps from my Cherry Arte stash...the kit came with a pack of chipboard stickers with different adjectives. So many naturally described Sailer that I thought it made sense to just list them.

22 April ~ Earth Day

You might have noticed the globe on the right hand side of my blog- it tracks the location of where people are viewing my blog that day. I just thought it was cool because over the last week, people from Malaysia, the Phillipines, the UK, Japan, Canada, and of course, the good ole US of A.... it just reminds of the miracle of technology and how it can bring any culture together.

Today was such a fun day- Sailer and I met her friend Jack at the Library for Reading Time. They were all over the place! A lot more playing than reading, but they had fun nonetheless.

And lastly, just a cute pic of Sailer walking her lion! Don't you just love this little sailor!

PArent Admission...

Ok- this is another LO for SGD. I do a lot of LOs about all the cute and happy things regarding Sailer, so I tried to do something from a different angle.... mine. I entitled it "Parent Admission" because the little journaling bit reads "Sometimes I'm scared to death to be your mama. I just love you so much and want to everything just right." I think this all the time- I have small panic attacks about how I'm supposed to handle tantrums with love, the question of do you hold them too much (is that possible?), am I doing enough to help her increase her vocabulary or learning curve (even though she can' say a word), is she eating healthy enough foods (minus the cheeto obsession), etc. I'm still so new at this mom thing- and it's so easy to second guess yourself at each turn. Especially when you look down, see that perfect little girl, and your heart just lurches at the possibility of failing her.

Perfect Smile

19 April ~ A Perfect Saturday

What a great day! We did a little house shopping and then, Mark and I actually got to sneak in a round of golf! It was SO great to get back out there, and I didn't even humiliate myself too badly. (=

Thought I'd leave you with some cute pictures of Sailer and her Daddy....

18 April ~ Aren't they growing up too fast?

Sailer was trying to make a run for it.... unfortunately, she was heading straight for the street! Anyway, this also shows my favorite trend in baby clothes... I love how they're using the old handkerchiefs and floral chenille to make sundresses, bloomers, etc. You will see Miss. S in that a lot this summer. It's chic AND comfortable, which I can't say for some of S's other frocks.

We had some neighbors over for a little cookout and playtime...I still can't get over how fast these babies grow! The twins were both so tiny when they were born, but look at them now. Simply amazing.

April 14-17 Catching Up

Well, I've kind of slacked on keeping up with this this week- here's a just a few snapshots of her this week. Sailer is becoming her "own person" and I'm pretty sure that's going to include a pretty strong personality (which might come naturally). The pics are of her getting a little upset when I took away her (my) makeup, a close-up of how long her sweet eyelashes are getting, and finally, a picture my day yesterday trying to get the house ready to show that morning. Luckily, I got a really needed girls night last night with some friends, so that made the day all better (or maybe that was the margaritas)!

Love Birds

Ok- my assignment this month for SGD was to alter this mini bird book, and I just thought it would be cute to do a take on the children's rhyme... Two little love birds......sitting in a tree....k-i-s-s-i-n-g...first comes love..... then, comes marriage.... then, comes a baby in a baby carriage. It's pretty simple compared to my usual LOs but I think it turned out pretty sweet.

Fancy a Polka?

This LO is from the April kit from Scrappy Girl Designs using Cherry Arte, which I just LOVE!

15 April ~ Inspiration

Ok- I woke up this morning to a super sweet surprise...I received an e-mail from one of the Design Team over at "Inspirational" which is (like the name infers) a blog that was "created to showcase creations from around the world." They asked to highlight one of my LOs today on their site. I feel so honored! Anyway, go to their site and check it out.... there are so many incredible artists on Inspiration!

14 April ~ Upsy Daisy Designs

Ok- this funky, fun LO was done with my new fave manufacturer... Upsy Daisy Designs. I found them totally by chance because I hadn't seen their papers in any of our local stores (that are all sadly now closed), so I ordered one of pretty much every one of their lines. It's entitled "Her future's so bright, she's gotta wear SHADES"

13 April ~ Love Like This

My first week as part of the Scrapping The Music Design Team went live tonight. This week's challenge is to use the song "Love Like This" by Natasha Beddingfield. I immediately knew I had to use a photo of Mark and me. This is what I came up with...

11-13 April ~ Sailer's First Hill Country Getaway

I love going to Fredericksburg, Texas. It's been sort of a thing my family does together- it started with my grandparents, then, my mom, and now me. It's tranquil and refreshing, but at the same time, it has tons to do and see (and buy)! I love how so much of the town is untouched or at least refurbished to its original beauty. The food was wonderful and I think Sailer enjoyed it (especially all of the puppies). The slideshow gives a few shots of our trip....from stopping in Salado, another one of my faves, Main Street Fredericksburg, and then, finally our last dinner at the Herb Farm. the coolest thing about the Farm is that the herb garden is grown in the shape of a star for Texas, and everything they serve utilizes something straight from their garden. Needless to say, it was incredible! Now I just have to talk Mark into going down there with me for the weekend to hit up some more of the vineyards!

10 April ~ Just help yourself...AND Sailer in her "big girl seat"

I just LOVE this... I was cleaning out the fridge (it needed it desperately) and Sailer helped herself to some snacks while I was cleaning.


And then, oh sad day for me, happy day for Sailer, but we got Sailer's "big girl seat" in the mail today. She finally gets to turn around and see the road, so I'm sure she's going to go crazy tomorrow on our road trip. We did a lot of research on this and ultimately, decided on this one! It's by Recaro who makes racing seats... so her daddy is clearly thrilled! And it is also the most highly ranked one on the market so that makes her mommy happy.... she, on the other hand, could probably care less! (=

9 April ~ One Cool (but dirty) Chick

I think the picture speaks for itself...

Dance Like No One's Watching....

This is a LO for a challenge over at Scrappy Girls.... you had to do a LO with the size 6x12 and utilize several pics. I did this one in about 15 minutes, so it's not my best work but I love the pictures regardless.

8 April ~ Le Artiste

Well, I grabbed a bucket of sidewalk chalk from the $1 bin at Target today and let Sailer try her hand at driveway doodling. She wasn't quite as excited about the drawing as she was putting the chalk into its bucket and then dumping it out again. It was good to be outside to enjoy the beautiful day though.

7 April ~ NCAA National Champs

In light of last night's victory and in honor of her grandparents' and cousins' alma mater, I thought it only fitting to post a pic of Sailer (and her favorite cousin, Gavin) cheering fully clad in their KU spirit.

6 April ~ Standing Alone

Sailer has officially mastered the ability the stand up by herself and stand.... you can't really tell unless you watch them in fast forward but she's dancing in the front yard. Where oh where did my little baby girl go???

A Weekend of Golf Lessons

Golf is a staple in our home, so having a club in Sailer's hands at age 1 is no surprise. Our club starts lessons at age 3, and her daddy is chomping at the bit to get get her out there.... sometimes he forgets that she just learned to stand up alone just a few days ago. (=

Joining the Scrapping the Music Design Team

Ok- I've been busting to post this all week when I found out.... but as of tonight, I have officially joined the design team over at Scrapping the Music!!! I could not be more excited or honored, though a little intimidated by the massive talent that my new cohorts possess. For those of you that aren't familiar with STM, it's a challenge blog that utilizes music and lyrics to inspire artists in their layouts, creations, etc. A new song is highlighted each Sunday night along with the Design Teams's interpretations. I'll start next Sunday, so come check it out!!!

You're So Pretty

5 April ~ More Birthday Celebrations

Today we went to the Fort to have a birthday lunch at Reata for my grandpa, Pom, and my brother. I just love it there because of the beautiful rooftop patio, not to mention the tenderloin tamales which are to die for. Anyway, hope you enjoy the slideshow, it also highlights Miss. S's obsession with lipstick. She has her own purse full of Mac lipglosses (they're the not-so-pretty colors her mama will never wear) that she can play with. Unfortunately, she's gotten into the habit of trying to lick them when you apply them. She'll learn... sooner than I would hope, I'm sure.

4 April ~ Doesn't She Just Look Like Trouble...

3 April ~ Which is Greener?

Someone thought I messed with this picture of Sailer, but her eyes were really that green against the grass. They change with everything she wears.



And can someone please explain why she must try to eat the mulch EVERY TIME she crawls by it??


Don't you just love this little "mini me" shirt? That's what I call all of her clothes that look like something I would wear if it would fit!

1 April ~ Date Night

I'm fully aware they'll both kill me one day for these.... but I just couldn't resist. Sailer and Grady have had many date nights at our fave sushi place. It's so cute b/c we've taken them there together since they were newborns, so the little ladies all know and love them there. Every time we go there without the clan, they always ask, "where's her boyfriend??" Too cute. And finally, Sailer and Grady can actually EAT there. Anyway, although G & S are intended for an arranged marriage, I'm pretty sure they'll just be best buddies. Who knows though???