A Day At The Dallas Zoo

   Today we went to the Dallas Zoo with Omi to try and get the kids energy out before our long flight to Germany tomorrow. It also helped that it was a gorgeous, sunny day outside and we were able to get some much needed fresh air and Vitamin D.

Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies

    If you know me, you know that I love to bake! The holidays are an even better reason for me to do it, and I love that Connor likes to help. Today I made chocolate chip peppermint cookies from Plum Street Collective {you can find the recipe here}. They came out so good, and definitely a recipe I will make over and over {and not just during the holidays}. I already told Aaron that when he gets home I am making them for him!  They were that good!

Connor's Christmas Performance

   Connor had his winter program at school this evening and he did great singing with his classmates. He had been practicing at school in music class and at home {usually while in the shower} all week long. 

     We ate a quick dinner before and I snapped a few pictures of the kids before we went to it. They looked so cute!

Connor's Favorite Winter Drink

   For the last month Connor has been begging me to get him hot chocolate from the store, and I always forget. Well his elf, HoHo, brought him some today to enjoy as an after school treat. He was really excited to drink it the minute he got home from school. 

B & W Pictures Of The Kids

   Over the last couple weeks I have posted some really sweet pictures of the kids in black and white that I don't want to forget this everyday moments of them.

October 26, 2018:

Playing in the playroom.

Strep Hits Again

   My poor Connor, he's always sick! I got a call from the school nurse that he wasn't feeling well and had a fever. I took him to the doctor, and my poor little guy has strep.

You know he isn't feeling well when he naps! 

National Redhead Day

   Happy National Redhead Day to my little ginger. I am obsessed with her hair. It's long {for a 1 year old}, and gorgeous, and the color is so unique! 

Halloween 2018

   I love Halloween, and what I love even more is seeing my babies coordinate with their costumes. This year the choice was easy. Over the summer Connor purchased a knight costume on our amazon account. We decided then that he was going to use it for Halloween and we would make Olivia a princess, because she truly is our little princess. I also love that they can re-wear the clothes for their costumes out and not just at home for playing.  

 A princess + her knight in shining armor

Trunk Or Treat

   Our city had their annual Trunk or Treat today. It was supposed to be at the city park, but they moved it at the last minute to the school near our house because it had been raining and the park was really muddy. I am really happy they did because my good friend and her daughter were visiting us for the weekend and it was really convenient for us! My kids dressed up as a knight {Connor "accidentally" purchased this costume over the summer from our amazon account} and princess, and Ellie was a ninja turtle.

A Day At The State Fair

     The State Fair of Texas: Where you cane act like a kid and eat as bad as you want for an entire day  and not feel guilty about it!

When The Piggies Come Out...

...this is what we are left with!

Playground Date

   This weekend we needed to get some fresh air, so I took the kids to the playground for about an hour to get some energy out. I miss Aaron being with us and doing stuff with us on the weekends, and I know Connor does too, so this was a good distraction for us. 

My Gorgeous Girl

   One of the perks of me having a bow business is that I always have updated photographs of Olivia because I need them to show my products. Today I took some new ones of her wearing one of my leather bows, and I can't stop staring at them because she is so gorgeous!

Superhero Party For Dominic

    Today we celebrated my adorable nephew turning THREE. I can't believe he is already a year older! He loves superheros, so they did a superhero themed birthday party for him. Of  course my kids had to dress the part:

Olivia's Pigtails

   Olivia is finally able to wear pigtails and oh my goodness does she look adorable! They are cutest little piggie buns you have ever seen!

Freedom Walk

    Today Olivia and I attended the annual Freedom Walk at Connor's school in honor of those that lost their lives on September 11, 2001. I am so glad we went and got to spend this time with Connor and his school. We walked around the parking lot while the kids waved around their homemade streamers, had a moment of silence, and then the students and teachers gathered  in a circle and sang and danced to a few songs. It was really sweet.

Olivia's Milk Bath

    Yesterday Olivia had a bath that was fit for a queen. Well, maybe more so for a little princess. I have wanted to do a milk bath photo session for her since I can remember, so after her cake smash I finally did it. It was actually perfect for her because it combined two of her favorite things: baths and flowers.

Olivia: Twelve Month Check-Up

     Yesterday was a fun day for Olivia. She ate cake, had a milk bath, and got new toys to play with. Today, wasn't so much fun. This morning she had her 12 month well baby visit. She is doing great! She is meeting all her milestones and continues to be a petite little thing. She's 28 inches long, weighs 18 pounds and 3 ounces, and her head is 42.5 cm {3%}. I didn't get her height and weight percentiles, only her head because that's where I am most concerned since it is on the smaller side. The doctor said everything looked fine and developmentally she is right on track, so they will see us again in three months. She got four shots, but has actually handled them really well. She cried for a minute, and has been fine since!

Olivia's First Birthday

My sweet Olivia,

     Happy Birthday baby girl! Today is your day and you are ONE! How has the time really gone by this fast? I remember the day you were born like it was just yesterday. I reread your birth story today and couldn't help but get emotional. I even cried last night because it was my last time rocking you as a "baby." Obviously my emotions are running high because you, my love, are growing up faster than I ever wanted, but also because daddy isn't here to celebrate this big day in your life. Just know that he has been thinking of you all day! We both love you so much and hope you have enjoyed all your birthday celebrations this month.

 XOXO,

Mama

Olivia's Floral First Birthday Party In San Antonio: Part 3

The Guests:

Olivia's Floral First Birthday Party In San Antonio: Part 2

Her Cake:

Because I was planning a big smash cake for her actual birthday, we kept it simple and ordered cupcakes. Olivia wasn't too impressed with it.

Olivia's Floral First Birthday Party In San Antonio: Part 1

   The Decor:

     Today we celebrated Olivia's First Birthday with my side of the family. Because Olivia is obsessed with flowers, I decided to have flowers as the theme. I wanted to keep it simple and very feminine.

 Flowers were scattered all throughout the house.

Connor's First Day of Kindergarten

 My handsome boy started kindergerten today! I can't believe how big he is already. He was really excited and had a really great first day.

Olivia's First Birthday Party

    August is Olivia's month, and we are celebrating her all month long. Last Sunday we had a tiny birthday celebration for her and my father in law at their house. Olivia and Pappy share a birthday and we wanted to celebrate them before the summer ended and I came back home. We had cupcakes, they opened presents, ate steaks, and swam.

 My beautiful girl with some very rosy cheeks.

A Surprise For Daddy

    Before we went to South Carolina, Levi asked Connor if he wanted to work on a special project for Aaron. Anyone who knows Connor knows he is always up for a project! This boy lives on them, so of course he was excited and said yes! When Levi asked what he wanted to make for him, he responded with an American flag. Little does Connor know, that is Levi's specialty. He makes them in his free time and then sells them.They are beautiful and as you can see in the following pictures, they are wonderfully made and very time consuming.

Their surprise all finished.

Greenville, SC Day 6 to 9

Day 6: August 1, 2018 

      Today was a rainy day. We started by taking the kids to open gymnastics. Connor liked everything about it. The foam pit, the bars, the rope swing... Olivia just liked being able to crawl everywhere. Ever since Connor was a baby and picked up hand, foot, and mouth disease from playing in a public play area, it freaks me out to let Olivia play in a place where there are tons of kids. I let her anyways and just washed her hands really well afterwards. The girls got tired about 30 minutes in, so we left a little earlier and let Connor stay with Levi. We took them to Chick-fil-A and then went home where we put them down for naps and then let them play afterwards.

Greenville, SC Day 4 & 5

Day 4: July 30, 2018 

    On our fourth day in SC, Levi and Connor had a boys day, and Morgan and I had a girls day with our girls. The boys went fishing, and us girls went shopping. Connor and Levi also started on their surprise for Aaron, but I will do a separate post on that because it was really special.

 He caught two fish total.

Greenville, SC Day 1 to 3

    This summer has been one trip after another for us. We decided to end our summer travels by making a trip to South Carolina to visit our best friends Morgan and Levi, and our goddaughter Olive! We had so much spending time with them and playing with the kids.

Day 1: July 27, 2018 

    Today was Olivia's first time on an airplane. We got to our gate just in time for them to start boarding. I took Olivia to see the airplane in the window and she was so excited. She got mad at me when I had to put her back in the baby carrier so we could get on the airplane.

 Waiting to get on our plane.

Bath Bombs: Connor's Latest Obsession

   Connor likes taking baths, but when I give him a bath bomb every once in a while, he LOVES it! I added these to the gift bags from his birthday party and just now remembered I had extras. He was so cute, I snapped a few pictures of him before he submerged it.

Olivia: Eleven Months

Olivia Ann,

     Happy ELEVEN months beautiful girl. You have grown so much over the last month. It seems like everyday you are doing something new. You have developed quite the little attitude, and you love to show it! You get MAD when you don't get what you want and make sure everyone knows it. We like to blame it on your red hair. ;) We love you so very much and can't wait to celebrate you for your birthday {I'm lying. I can wait because I don't want for you to turn one!}. We have some fun stuff planned for you and you will finally get to try cake for the first time! I promise you will love it!

XOXO,

Mama

4th Of July

    Yesterday was Olivia's first 4th of July and I made sure to go all out with her and Connor's patriotic outfits complete with star sunglasses. You know me, always ready to coordinate the family for the holidays. I snapped some really cute pictures of them before we left to the park for the firework show and I can't get enough of them! They looked so cute!

Grandma Sunshine's Visit

     Aaron's grandma, Grandma Sunshine as we call her, came to stay with us for close to a week. She lives in Florida and hasn't seen Connor since he was just 11 months old. I was so happy to have her stay with us and keep me company.

June 26 

     Grandma loved playing with Connor. They played doctor today. I'm not sure what her diagnosis was, but she was okay.

June in Review

 It's been a busy month of traveling and visiting with family! I have blogged about our trips, but here are some pictures I want to remember from days that didn't make it.

June 1: We were driving up to Plano and waiting for our lunch at Sonic and Connor told me "Mom, you look so beautiful I want to cry." Even though he was just being silly and I was dressed down in workout clothes, it was so sweet!

 

South Padre Island, Texas Day 4 to 6

Day 4: June 13, 2018

     We took the morning very slow. After we all put on our swimsuits, we went out to the pool and spent the entire day there.

South Padre Island, Texas Day 1 to 3

    This summer we went to South Padre with my family. The only person missing was Aaron. I missed having him there so much, but we still had a lot of fun!

Olivia: Ten Months Old

Livie,

Happy TEN months beautiful! It has been a month + 4 days since daddy has been gone, and he has already missed seeing your grow so much. You have gone from always wanting to be held, to wanting to crawl around and get into things you  shouldn't {like the kitchen cabinets}. Don't get me wrong, you still love to be held, by me especially. I think in the next month you will be walking, or close to it. Slow down little one, you don't want your daddy to miss too much. Love you sweet pea!

XOXO,

Mama

Swimming At Pappy's

    Connor has been off school for a week and we have been on the go since! We spent Friday-Tuesday at Pappy and Omi's house and swam most of the time we were there. The water was the perfect temperature, and Connor is getting really comfortable swimming and diving underwater. I think that by the end of the summer he will have it down. Olivia is taking after her brother and also loves the water. She prefers to be held or sitting in a floatie with someone rather than by herself in hers. Splashing the water with her hands is her favorite part.

Saturday Morning at the Aquarium

    If you live in the DFW area and haven't been to the Dallas World Aquarium, I highly recommend it! We went Saturday morning and had so much fun. We've been before, but Connor was a baby and didn't remember. His favorite animals were the ocelot, otter, and baby birds . His least favorite were the "tincans" {toucans}, owls, and the monkeys.

May In Review

    May has been a crazy month. It's been very emotional {with Aaron leaving} and busy! I've blogged quite a bit, but here are some days I missed. 

May 10: Connor took his teachers flowers for teacher appreciation and then later that day he and Aaron made snow cones with his new snow cone maker. 

It's Summer Time

    Connor is finished with pre-kinder and it's officially summer vacation! I am so excited to get on the road and start visiting family. My plan is to keep Connor really busy this summer so he doesn't think too much about Aaron being gone, plus it will be good for us to be around family. I surprised him after school with a bubble gun, road trip bingo, and a workbook to help prepare him for kindergarten. He was super stoked about the bubble gun. 

Olivia: Nine Month Check-Up

    Not only did Olivia turn nine months old today, she also had her nine month well baby visit. It went great. She was in such a good mood and got so many compliments on how pretty she is. She is still my petite girl, and her stats show it! She is 26 inches long {27%}, weighs 16 pounds and 7 oz {12%}, and her head is 42 cm {6%}. The doctor was happy with everything, so they will see her again in three months. 

Olivia: Nine Months Old

Olivia Ann,

    Happy NINE months my love. You are 3/4 of a year old today! That means that in just three short months you will be able to eat your very own cake! Let's not rush it though because I want you to stay little forever! You have grown so much developmentally over the last month, it's crazy. It seems like everyday you are doing something new. You are mobile now, so you get into everything, especially big brothers toys. All I hear from him when you're around him is "Olivia Ann! No!" It's pretty funny. He loves you so much though, and so do I! 

XOXO,

Mama

Rabbit Fest

    Last night Aaron and I took the kids to the 38th annual Rabbit Fest in our little town. We took Connor last year and he had so much fun, so we knew we had to take him again this year. Last year we went on opening day {Thursday} and it was not very busy, so we decided to go again on opening day to beat the crowds. e

    Admission was only $5 per car and an armband for unlimited rides was $25. We got one for Connor and he was happy to ride as many rides as his height allowed. There were a few he wanted to get on that he was too short, but he got over it quickly. Olivia really liked all the lights and noises from the rides.

Happy Soul

   Yesterday while Connor was at school, Olivia and I came home like most days, but we didn't have anything to do. I ate lunch while she was sleeping and when she woke up I gave her a bath and then we played. I took out my camera and got some cute shots of her in my favorite onesie.

Mother's Day

    It's Mother's Day and I couldn't be a happier than to be these precious babes mama. They are my whole world and I love them {and their daddy} more than anything!

Olivia's Visit to the Ophthalmologist

    On Wednesday Olivia finally had her appointment with the pediatric ophthalmologist. We had been waiting for this appointment for over a month, so I couldn't wait to see what they had to say about her lazy eye and our most recent finding that her left pupil was larger than her right.

Our Weekend in DFW

   Last weekend we took a trip to DFW because Aaron had some much needed time off. He has been working so hard and we had hardly seen him, so it was really nice spending a week with him where he didn't have to worry about work.

May 3, 2018 {Thursday}: 

     On Aaron's first day off, Connor went to school and we did a few things around the house that needed to be done. Olivia had been teething really bad and fighting her sleep, but she eventually went down for a nap and woke up super happy.

Watching Caterpillars Turn Into Butterflies

     Connor's best friend Holden got him a "grow your own butterfly kit" for his birthday. It arrived in the mail on April 11 with five tiny caterpillars, and we have been enjoying them turn into butterflies since then! It has been fascinating seeing the life cycle from a caterpillar to a butterfly over the last three weeks.

Day 1: Connor's five little caterpillars arrived in the mail.

BLW: Waffles, Spaghetti, Blueberry Muffins, and Watermelon

    Olivia has finally started to eat more and shown an increased interest in food lately. I love watching her eat, so I often take pictures and videos of her when she tries something new. She has had all kinds of stuff, but here are just a few meals that I have caught on camera.

April 11: Waffles

   She has tasted waffles before, but was really enjoying them on this day. It was probably because I put a whole lotta' love into them and made them from scratch. It was totally worth the sink full of dishes I made for myself. 

April In Review

     You probably know by now that I take pictures of Connor and Olivia daily, but I almost never do anything with them except share them on Instagram and Facebook. One day I am going to print out these blogs for them so they can have a keepsake of their life. Starting this month, I am going to start doing a month in review so I can post my favorite pictures that I didn't post in blogs during the month. 

April 5: Livie enjoying the sunshine and Connor's first Ninja Zone class.