I'm so proud of her.

Who you ask?





My girl Macy.





Why you ask?





First let me give you a little background so you will completely understand my pride. When Macy turned one she was not much for "table food" she still preferred her baby food. We slowly over the next few months tried to introduce her to more and more "table foods" and move away from the baby food. She did ok but still preferred the baby food. Once she started at the MDO (Mother's Day Out) they wanted her on solid table food. I sent her with finger foods I knew she would like and eat. However, she still wasn't a big fan of solid foods and now didn't want the baby food either. Now I was stuck with a picky eater who wasn't sure what she liked. During this time, she was struggling with weight gain. Although she was eating picky she wasn't gaining. We did a number of tests on her to see if we could pinpoint a potential problem. All tests came back negative or showed no sign of concern. We chalked it up as, She would just be my petite one. My pediatrician also put her on Pediasure two times per day. Thankfully, she LOVES it. It's her drink of choice. She'll pick it over juice anytime.

Just to give you a sample of what her meals normally consist of I'll give you a list of the foods she WILL eat.

* Chicken nuggets

* Mac n Cheese (most of the time)

* Spaghetti O's (most of the time)

* Cheese (she could live on cheese)

* Pancakes (most of the time)


That's about it for meals...She is a HUGE snacker. Although I try to limit her snacks so she will eat more at meal times. She eats a lot of fruits but eats NO vegetables. She also eats NO meats.



Now, I know you may think that that is a lot of different choices but when you think about 3 meals a day, 7 times a week, the pickings are VERY SLIM.



So, why am I proud?



In the past week, she has eaten taco meat and hot dogs. I know, not the healthiest choices but it's something different. I was happy that she would even try something new. I know that if she would try new things she'd find that she likes more than she thinks. Slowly, we are introducing new things and PRAYING she likes them. Meal times with her are always SO STRESSFUL. I know she will eat when she is hungry but it's so frustrating that she doesn't want to eat. Madeline was NEVER like that. She was and still is a FANTASTIC eater. Madeline eats things that I won't even eat.



Any of you have picky children? What do you do to get them to try new things or just to eat? I'm open to ANY and ALL ideas.



For now, I'm proud of her.

YAY FOR MACY GIRL!!!

Big Girls Weekend.

I got to spend the entire weekend with only Madeline. Hubs and Macy left for Oklahoma Friday morning to spend the weekend with Granddad and Gramme. It allowed for Madeline and I to have a weekend of just Mommy and Mad time. We had a blast. Friday, Madeline had her GRADUATION pictures taken at school. Can you believe her kindergarten year is coming to an end. Before I know it, she'll be taking her senior graduation pictures. Of course, I had to snap a few pictures of her at home before taking her to school. She looks so grown up.

Isn't she lovely? I don't know where my girls got their LONG eyelashes but I wish I had half of what they have.

Daddy and his girls.

After I picked Madeline up from school we headed out to do some shopping. She had two birthday parties this weekend so we were on the search for the perfect gifts. She decided on a webkinz for each. After about 2 hours of shopping and getting all the "supplies" (ie. popcorn, candy, pop, chips) for our "Movie night" we went to grab some dinner. We went to a little hamburger place where we played a game of Trouble while we waited for our food. After we DEVOURED our dinner we headed home where we played more games. After playing Candyland, Chutes & Ladders, Pretty, Pretty, Princess, and Connect Four we decided it was time to watch our movies. We snuggled on the couch with all our comfort food in hand and watched Bedtime Stories. Very cute movie, by the way. I believe we were "crashing" from the sugar high we had been on that we both crawled into bed and slept till 9:30 Saturday morning.

Saturday morning we lounged around and then had to get ready for the first birthday party of the weekend. Madeline had a great time at Sweet and Sassy getting all made up. Check her out....


Here she's being asked questions about her favorite color (pink), favorite celebrity (Hannah Montana), Favorite store (walmart-seriously?), etc.

Before the party started and they were waiting for all the girls to get there, they let them walk the cat walk. I think Madeline has this modeling thing down. What do you think?

This is after she had her make up done, her hair fixed like a rock star, and her nails painted...

After the party, Madeline's friend Tyler came home with us to play for a few hours. While the girls played, I relaxed, curled up into the recliner and watched one of the movies I had rented for myself, Nights in Rodanthe. I had read the book so I was looking forward to seeing the movie. I liked it. Of course, I cried. Once Tyler left, we went over to the neighbors where my neighbor and I worked with the girls (Madeline and Rachel) on the dance that they have to know for their cheer squad. Let's just say, it took A LOT of time and A LOT of patience. OH MY!! My neighbor and I then went and had dinner by ourselves. It was nice to sit and visit in quiet.

Hubs and Macy arrived home at about noon. The girls were so excited to see each other. We sure missed them but REALLY enjoyed our weekend together. We need to have more weekends just like that. Thanks to Hubs for taking the little one with him. Madeline had her 2nd party of the weekend today at 1:00. She picked out her outfit and did look so super cute.






I also was a little creative this week and made a few more frames to show you guys.
I know many of you want the instructions on how to make them. I'll type them up this week and post them later in the week.

Oklahoma State.

I made this one as a gift for a teacher/friend at Madeline's school that just had her first baby girl Thursday evening.

I loved this zebra print and just made it a "generic" one.

If you'd like me to make one for you just leave me a comment with colors, verse, names, or whatever you'd like it to look like.

Have a super week!!

I got a little "Crafty"

A friend of mine made me this AWESOME frame (don't have a picture) but it looks like a frame that you would pay about $35 from at a boutique type gift store. I was VERY IMPRESSED and wondered if I could make them too. Now, if you know me at all, then you know I am not a very "Crafty" person. I'm not "artsy", I don't have "the eye" for things, it's just not me. However, I asked my friend to give me the scoop on how to make these DARLING frames. After a short (ok, LONG, thanks Shawna) tutorial and a trip to Michael's and Hobby Lobby to get all the supplies needed, I sat down to make it all happen.
The main reason I wanted to make these frames was because this week is Teacher Appreciation Week at Macy's MDO and I thought these would be perfect for her teachers. I also made one for my wonderful friend and neighbor. I worked on them for a few hours this evening and here is the finished product....Tell me what you think?















I have so many more ideas for ones that I want to make for upcoming baby arrivals, Mothers Day, etc. So get ready friends and family. You know what your next present will be...HA!

This week is a busy week in our house. Tomorrow I have a meeting with the other homeroom moms to plan our end of the year party. Every Tuesday afternoon for the next 7 weeks I am meeting with a group of 4 women to do a Discipleship Bible Study. We get together for lunch and do the study and visit. Last week was our first week and I'm really looking forward to tomorrow. Although, I will have to cut it short because Miss Macy has an appointment with the ENT doctor to discuss her ears and if she needs to have another set of tubes put in. Wish us luck! Thursday is the big Teacher Appreciation breakfast and lunch for Macy's MDO teachers and I am helping serve and set up for that. On top of all that is going on I have a house to clean and laundry that needs to be done. It will get done sooner or later.

Have a great week everyone.

Happy Easter 2009.

I hope you all had a blessed Resurrection Sunday. What a blessing it is knowing that on this day Jesus rose again just like he promised and is alive today. Thank you my Savior!!

We had a pretty lazy weekend around our house. Saturday was spent finishing any straggling laundry, bathing the pup, (who isn't much of a pup anymore), tidying up the house, and hubs mowed the lawn. In the afternoon we let the girls dye and decorate Easter eggs. Macy had a blast and made a COMPLETE mess. I think she dyed her hands more than the eggs.

Can you see the Masters one that Hubs made? He was so proud.

We woke up bright and early Sunday morning to get ready for church as we chose to go to the early service (8:30) so that myself and my neighbor could work in the nursery during the 10:30 service. We had a GREAT group of 1.5 year olds. They are all so precious.

The girls loved getting dressed up in their Easter dresses and couldn't wait to see what the Easter bunny brought them in their baskets. Macy woke up and came into the bathroom where I was getting ready and asked, "Did that big bunny come last night?" HA!! She went to wake Madeline up so they could see what he brought them. Can you believe that I forgot to take pictures of them with their baskets?

Here are some pictures before leaving for church..............

Precious girls.

Looking so grown up.

My little ham.

Mommy and her girls.

Daddy and his princesses.

After we got home from church we had lunch with our best friends/neighbors, The DeCordovas. We had the BEST lunch. YUM!! After lunch, the girls all hunted Easter eggs and had a blast even though they had to hunt inside because of the rainy weather. I however, couldn't wait to take a nap. I was able to get in a FOUR HOUR nap. It was amazing. We had a great Easter although we missed seeing our families. We love you all.

One more thing before I go for today. Many have asked about our puppy Cooper. He's doing great. Growing WAY TOO FAST!! He's still into everything, chewing on things, and has an occasional accident in the house but is getting MUCH better. He is sleeping all night and LOVES his brother, as you can see in the picture below.

He loves to snuggle up next to Riley and Riley is getting used to Coop being around. I think he even likes him. Just to give you perspective of how much he has grown. This is Cooper the day I brought him home (Feb 6.) He weighed 12.5 pounds.




And this was taken last night (April 12) and he weighs about 30 pounds now.


You can't tell a lot of difference because he is laying down but he has doubled in size. I'll try to get some better pictures of him. He's so cute but a mess.

Until next time....

Loving Today

What a beautiful day God gave us today! The sun was amazing, the wind was just right, and we enjoyed the warmth. I love days like this. I did absolutely nothing (well, I did empty and load the dishwasher) today. I told myself that was ok. I could have a day of doing nothing. Macy and I played and visited with my neighbor a lot today. I thought (for only a micro second...is that such a thing?) about cleaning out my flowerbeds and getting them ready to plant flowers this weekend but didn't do it. I thought about all the laundry that I still need to do but I didn't do it either. I thought about the shopping (getting Easter basket goodies, a dress for Macy (got Madeline's), something new for me to wear) but didn't do it. I thought about cleaning out under the stairs but didn't do it.
All in all I thought A LOT today and did NOTHING!! It felt good.
Maybe tomorrow will be different. That is TBD (to be determined).
Hope you all are enjoying this GORGEOUS weather we are having.

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

Pajama Party

Madeline celebrated her 6th birthday by having a Pajama Party. We had 12 girls total for a Girly night. All the girls showed up in their pajamas and house shoes. They all looked super cute and so comfortable. What a way to party! I even wore my pajamas.

Mommy and Madeline before the party started.

Madeline, best friend, Rachel, and Macy

Mommy and her girls.

Once all the girls got there it was a full blown party. They were singing and dancing to High School Musical. Who knew 12, 5-6 year old girls could make so much noise. We ordered pizza for them to eat. Here are they are enjoying their pizza.

After the pizza it was time to do something "GIRLY". All the girls got their fingernails and toenails painted. They were super excited about this. Each got to pick their own color and design.

Getting toenails painted.

More painting...

After all the girls were beautified it was time to pig out again with cupcakes and ice cream cups.

The cake was actually 24 cupcakes covered in icing to make a cake. It was SCRUMPTIOUS!!

It was present time. Madeline got LOTS of good stuff. She has really enjoyed playing with it all. Her friends were very good to her.

At the end of the night each girl got to make her own Candy bag. I had bought 6 different kinds of candy and each girl got to get a little of each kind for her goodie bag. It was a real hit. What child doesn't like candy?


The pajama party was a HUGE success.

The whole gang in their pajamas....

Madeline is front and center with the green pajamas on.

Let's get caught up!

*WARNING* This post is probably going to be ALL OVER the place and will include A LOT of pictures. It's necessary to get you caught up on our lives. Where did I leave you last? Oh, we had just found out that my brother in law and sister in law (Hubs' sister and her husband) are having a BABY BOY!!! They have decided that his name is going to be SUTTON KYLE. My SIL has always loved the name Sutton and Kyle is after a friend of my brother in laws that was killed in a car accident while they were in college. I love the name and can't wait to meet him. If you remember from the last post they were coming down to visit and we did LOTS of shopping. I think Sutton went home with at least 15 new outfits. It was so much fun. While they were here we had planned a special birthday surprise for our oldest, Madeline, who turned 6 on the 24th. Madeline LOVES (is really an understatement) High School Musical. I saw back in October that the play was coming to the Civic theatre in Ft. Worth. I knew she would LOVE it. It just so happened that the play was in March, right around her birthday, so I decided to get tickets for Madeline, Hubs, and I to go. We'd make it a surprise day for just her. I took her to get her hair all cute and put up, then Hubs and I treated her to lunch, and then on to the surprise. She had NO IDEA what we were doing until we got there. She was beyond thrilled to the point her stomach was hurting because she was so nervous. She loved the show and sang to EVERY song and danced around in her seat. It was a FABULOUS day! Here's how the day went:

Just getting started with her hair.

A little twist here, a little tuck here.

Almost done. Just a few more bobby pins to hold it in place.

The finished product. (It looked a lot cuter in person) On the way, she still has no idea where we are going. At lunch with Daddy. And Mommy.. On the marble steps inside the building. Reading the program, waiting for the play to begin. The backdrop. Now that was fun...Before leaving the theatre. I think she's ready to see it again....SOON!! I have to say, I'm very proud of Hubs because as you can imagine going to the theatre isn't a man's favorite place to go much less watching HSM. He was a great sport and we had a great time spending the day together, just us and Madeline. Macy got to hang out with her Aunt and Uncle while we were gone. I think she gave them a GOOD TASTE of parenthood, as only Macy could. She's my spitfire. Speaking of spitfire, a few days before our company was coming to spend the weekend with us Macy was coloring a picture with markers when she decided to color her forehead with BLUE marker(sorry no pictures). I had to give her the speech about how we only color on paper, yada, yada, yada. So imagine my surprise we she comes into me THE DAY our company is to arrive while I am vacuuming to tell me that she colored on the couch. Inside I'm thinking yea right. I walk into the living room and this is what I see...........

Yes, that is BROWN marker all over the cushions.

I immediately start FUMING. You know like on the cartoons when the steam comes out of their ears and their head boils over. Yes, that was me at this point. I took a VERY DEEP BREATH and went looking for the child who was already in her bedroom, in her bed because she knew SHE WAS IN BIG TROUBLE She got a spanking and had to stay in her room for a while. Thankfully our cushions zip off so I was able to throw it in the washing machine and it did all come off. Lucky for her, huh? See why she's my spitfire? Moving on, after my SIL and BIL left we headed to Oklahoma for Spring Break. We spent the first part of the week at my parents. My dad was gone fishing with his buddies so it was my mom, the girls, and I. We got to spend lots of time outside playing. While we were there my mom purchased Madeline a new BIGGER GIRL bike for her birthday. This one had NO training wheels and she had never rode without them. I was ready to spend an ENTIRE day trying to teach her how to ride this new bike. I was ready for the challenge. CHALLENGE...NO!! The girl took off on her FIRST attempt. I couldn't believe it. She did great as long as she didn't have to turn. HA!! However, she quickly got the hang of it and before we knew it she was riding circles around us, stopping and starting on her own, and having a blast.

Madeline with her new bike. Helmet and knee pads are a MUST!! Right Aunt Katie? Crash!!! (My parents dog, Willie, making sure she was alright. Can you see Macy in the background doing what she does best.) I got a video of her learning. Look how good she is doing.

Here's what little sister was doing while Madeline was learning to ride her bike. Playing in the dirt.

While we were in Oklahoma I got to see me precious niece and nephew Garrett. Look how chubby she's getting.

Madeline and Garrett smothering her.

She's definitely a lap baby. She loves to be held and loved on. Which we have no problem doing.

We spent the latter part of the week with my in laws and got to see LOTS of my handsome nephew, SIL, and BIL (Hubs' brother and wife). I can't get over how much my nephew changes and grows each time we see him. He is starting to talk more and more and is turning into a little man. He's not a baby anymore. The girls LOVE him so much and love playing with him. Madeline is kinda like his little mother and Macy, well, she's just his boss. See for yourself.....

Dragging him where SHE wants him to go.

Now over here, Austen.

Don't you want to play over here, Austen?

The three Stooges...

Just Austen (20 months)

Fishing in Gramme and Granddad's backyard pond. They can spend HOURS doing this.

She looks so cute and innocent here. Wonder what she's going to be up to next?


While we were there we celebrated Madeline's birthday with a little cake. Madeline helped her Gramme make it not knowing that it was her own birthday cake she was making.
Here she is blowing out the candles.

I have so much more to say and show you but my hands and neck are tired. I think I'll continue this tomorrow with all of Madeline's 6th birthday celebrations. Now you know what we've been up to.