Laney's 3rd Birthday Party

Last Saturday, we went to Laney's 3rd birthday party on the lake. It was a great time. Going to the lake is possibly my most favorite thing to do ever. We had SO much fun celebrating Laney!

It was a Dora theme party because Laney is obsessed, which worked out well because Ella is too.

First things first, Ella had to get her Dora tattoo. Kristin and Laney were comparing tattoos.




Soon after we got there, Kristin's step dad took us for a ride on the lake in his boat. This was Ella's first time on a speed boat. The only other time she had been on a boat was at Disney World and it was very slow.


I thought she was going to be scared because she tends to be a little timid with some things. But man, she loved it!! The faster he went the more she laughed! I was so proud of her.










Ella holding hands with Laney & her cousins.


Laney had a Dora pinata. They did pretty good, but we were wondering at what point do they forget it's filled with candy and realize they are beating the crud out of their hero.






Laney's dad, Todd, may or may not have busted the body off of Dora after all the kids collected candy and it may or may not have traumatized the birthday girl to the point of tears. But after she recovered, it made for a great puppet.


One of Laney's b-day presents were these pink flip flops. Ella happened to be wearing the exact pair but in silver. These two sweet girlfriends were so excited that they had on matching flip flops it's all they could think about for the rest of the party.


They spent the next 20 minutes running around and then they would randomly stop and compare their shoes again. It was really cute!




Happy Birthday Laney!! We love you so much and Ella is so blessed to have a best friend in you like I have in your Mommy! We look forward to many more birthday celebrations.

P.S. Don't forget about the giveaway. It ends Thursday night at midnight.

A Giveaway! My Very First One!

I have been given the opportunity from EMI Christian Music Group to give away a wonderful gift! They just released a new album called Faith, Hope & Lullabies: Songs of Worship.

They sent me a CD this weekend and I have been loving every second of it. It's a CD full of worship songs that we all love, set to beautiful instrumental music. I can not tell you my excitement when I saw that Everlasting God is on this CD. That has been my FAVORITE worship song for the past 2 years and it makes me so happy to hear it in this way.

This CD will help calm baby & mommy and help bring peace to your home...I promise.

I am giving away 2 CD's. All you have to do is leave me a comment. It will end, Thursday, 4/30 @ midnight. And I will announce the two winners on Friday.

You can go here to listen to the entire CD.

Easter Part 2

I have to go back and cover our Easter day because we had such a great one.

That morning, I was at church bright and early at 7:30 to rehearse with the praise band. We had the normal praise band, the normal choir and a special orchestra for our services. It was awesome!! It made for an amazing morning of worship!

After service, we took our traditional family photos.


Ella and my parents.


Ella and my grandparents.


The G-Force (Ella's grandmas)


4 generations! This is so special to me.


Ella refused to wear her hat, so the G-Force thought they would. Aren't they cute?




Another progression of pictures trying to get a group photo of the children!
This shot is Toby H., Ella, Karoline & Klair. Aren't they so cute in their matching dresses?


Joshua, Gabe & Bear made it in this one. I just love these kind of pictures. They are classic.


After church, we went over to my parent's house where the Easter bunny (AKA...my mom) delivered Ella's Easter basket filled with lots of fun goodies.


Ella got some flash cards in her basket and so my Grandad and Ella spent a lot of time playing with those. I LOVE my Grandad!! I know I say it everytime I put a picture of him on my blog, but I just think he is the cutest Grandad ever. And just as sweet and wise!






Heath and I got this for Ella because she loves her some Kung Fu Panda. It is the most hilarious thing ever when Ella starts doing her Kung Fu! Don't make her mad or you will suffer the wrath.


Soon after this, my Uncle, Aunt and cousins showed up. And this is what occurred for the next several hours. Mayhem.


They did stop long enough for our Easter feast! We were so blessed to have Heath's sisters and mom with us too!




The kiddie table + my cousin Tiffany.


After the delicious dinner, we had our Easter egg hunt. Since it was still gross outside, we had to do it inside.




Cousin Ethan always looks after Ella.


Every year for my birthday, my mom makes me my favorite cake in the whole wide world, her chocolate cake!! We hadn't had a chance to celebrate my birthday yet, so my mom made her cake for this day. This year she made it dark chocolate...oh man, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.


The cousins pretending to take a nap.


It did not last long.






The boys love to wrestle and Ella tries to participate as best she can without getting hurt.


I think she did a pretty good job keeping up.


It was a great day of celebration with family!!

The Weekend

We had a fabulous weekend. Curtis, Amanda, Jackson & Annabeth came in town!!! I am the worst friend ever and never made it down to Houston to meet Annabeth. So I have been so anxious to meet her and she is just as beautiful as all the pictures show her to be. I actually had a flashback because she looks just like Jackson did, except with a bow. Those same big blue eyes took me back to 3 years ago.

I am kicking myself that I never got a picture with her, but here is one with her & Heath.


We got to hang out with them and Xavier, Sunni, Ava & Clara on Saturday! Jackson, Ella & Ava have known each other since their first days of life and that bond is was still apparent this weekend. They love each other.

Good friends


They started right where they left off!








Our hubbies so sweetly watched the 3 older ones, so Amanda, Sunni & I could get away for lunch and actually finish a conversation. It was great catching up!

Sunni has that Floam stuff. The kids loved it.


Jackson was doing some crazy stuff with it entertaining Ava & Ella.


After the Floam excitement, they took a break to watch Monsters, Inc. It was hilarious watching their expressions.






Ella & Ava...such the Miss Prisses


Sunni ordered the most adorable cake so we could celebrate their birthdays all together.




Amanda got the girls matching outfits from Baby Gap! I love it!!


Ava & Ella ended their evening with a tea party in the bathtub.


The next morning, the Jones's came to church for a visit. Everyone was so excited to see them. Pastor John made an announcement welcoming them back. I think it took Amanda 20 minutes to get out of the nursery because there was a line of people waiting to meet Annabeth. They are so loved!
After church, we got to have lunch with the Jones's & the Calverts who we always love hanging out with and don't get the chance to enough.




It was such a great weekend!! Thank you guys for tackling a drive with a newborn and a 3 year old!! We love y'all!