i was taking a picture of lily in pigtails today (because they are so stinkin cute) and i took one and showed it to lily, who then seeing herself realized there was no bow in her hair. this is what followed....

bow?


bow! bow!!


BOWWWW!!!!


whew... crisis averted. (and i clearly bore her)

signs the hospital may have switched lily with my real child at birth:
-she immediately twirls around the room when you put a dress on her
-if she catches sight of herself in a mirror without a hair bow, she politely demands one
-she has toddler a.d.d. and must be doing something at all times
-she has no fear

signs she is most certainly my child:
-she eats food off the floor of unknown origin
-she is content to sit outside for hours
-she has a mind of her own and isn't always super interested in your opinion
-you have to tell her things at least 5 times before she remembers
-she doesn't like meat
-she is completely comfortable dancing in public, even when no one else is dancing

all in all, i'm pretty sure she's mine, but that blonde hair/blue eyed thing sure does make you wonder... :)

well pregnancy hormones are in full effect. things that have made me cry this week include:

1. a you tube video about using carseats properly
2. a christmas-wish letter read on the radio
3. lipstick jungle
4. brothers and sisters


sheesh.

lily came home from school with this fine specimen yesterday. it might be the saddest piece of 'art' ever to arrive at my doorstep. not only is there just one half-hearted swipe of a purple crayon on the ENTIRE page, but they spelled her name wrong (as they do on every single thing they send home).

i'm guessing its ok to toss this one in the trash... :)

do you ever have those moments where you feel like you're looking at yourself thinking 'who IS that woman?! surely that's not me!'...

now i'll admit i've never exactly been the most pulled together or polished gal, but i've been able to keep up a certain level of style and taste. at least, i used to.

lily and i were driving past a cute maternity store this afternoon and i pulled in to see if they had any cute casual pants. i still haven't started gaining weight but my thickening waistline is threatening the bounds of my current wardrobe and i think at the most i have a few more weeks of regular clothes freedom.

as i stood in the dressing room admiring the super comfy and adorable maternity pants (and pondering why all pants can't be that comfortable) i looked down and saw the price tag. $112. one HUNDRED ad TWELVE dollars??! for pants i'll wear for a maximum of 5 months?!? sheesh.

then i felt something wet on my shirt and looked down and saw a few suspicious wet brownish spots, and upon closer inspection was greeted by the all too familiar stench of lily poo. the child has had diahrhea for 2 days and had poo juice running out the side of her diaper, through her pants, and onto my shirt.

i am that woman in the fancy store with my hair in a ponytail wearing workout clothes trying on pants i can't afford that smells of poo. when did this happen?! :)

is it bad that i took comfort as i walked out thinking 'at least i am carrying the expensive purse i bought when i still had a full time job'?

without ruining the fun for those of you on my christmas card list, i have to share this one pic i took of lily yesterday. i was letting her play with a giant red and white lollipop and when i took it away this was her expression:

just when you thought i was done with the costume pics, one of the kappas emailed me this picture today and it cracks me up. she was SO excited and proud of herself :)

now that's a girl who knows how to have a good time!

my birthday was awesome! kevin met lily and i for lunch and his costume assembly process. i had an hour and a half massage in the afternoon while he stayed with lily. i came home to gorgeous flowers and my new google phone!!! woohooo!!

the party was a blast, despite the fact that i left too early for my birthday cake apparently. haha :) day-after-birthday cake sounds pretty tasty though! :)

the following is evidence from last night and is not for the faint of heart. its some serious ugly people....

tom cruise (a la risky business) and john mcenroe (a la 1978)

happy birthday to me! i woke up to kevin singing me the birthday song being extra sweet and even bringing the dogs in to wish me a happy day. my mom called with her yearly ritual of playing the beatles' over the phone 'dun na na na na na na na... they say its your birthday! its my birthday too yeah!'

then sweet lily woke up in the best mood in her adorable halloween pajamas :)

we went and got starbucks and a doughnut to share to celebrate. its a pretty good day so far!

... so you can stop sending me political forwards or posting your opinion on facebook because i for one already made my decision! and for you doubters out there (*cough*mom*cough*) no, i did not vote straight party- any party!

erin and i took lily to the kappa house at UT yesterday for their halloween party. the kids got to eat lots of goodies and trick-or-treat door to door at the girls' rooms. she had a blast and was such a hit! the house mother took these pics and sent them this morning. :)



note- i had to sew her coconuts onto her top and sadly sewed them a little more where MY coconuts are hangin these days. poor girl really is perkier than i gave her credit for ;)

we went to the pumpkin patch (i know, i know, enough of the pumpkins) today with aidric and kyla. they had a great time and got to show off their halloween costumes :)

and this one cracks me up- who needs a field of pumpkins when there are stairs to play on??

my friend janessa is famous!!!!! ok, maybe not famous famous, but she looks pretty darn good in this good morning texas segment :)

click here to watch

her story, strength, and humor are truly remarkable and its so fun to see her on tv!

on the road again...

we were in dallas this weekend for what felt like a whirlwind trip! from leaving friday afternoon to coming home sunday i don't think we had a moment to spare. friday night we attended katy & jay's housewarming party and got to see their beautiful new place. saturday morning we headed to lucy's 3rd birthday costume extravaganza! lily was the cutest hula girl there (even without her coconut bra that broke about 5 minutes into the party!)

saturday afternoon/evening i had the priviledge of shooting a gorgeous wedding - a few pics on the photography blog already. and sunday we had a unsucessful attempt at a birthday brunch for kevin's mom who was called away to deliver a baby before the party even started.

all in all, it was fun and i am TIRED! :)

oh the difference a year makes... this morning lily and i took breakfast tacos and coffee (and milk.. hah) to the pumpkin patch we went to last year. check out how much she has changed!!

2007


2008


2007


2008


and a few more cuties from today...

a few pictures from our trip to the pumpkin patch this weekend :)

check out erin's handiwork! she found an old wooden play kitchen at a yard sale last week for $10, painted it, bought a new bowl for the sink, installed a real tile backsplash and voila!!

our (almost) 3 year-old niece is coming to visit this weekend, so we'll let you know what her verdict is, but i think it looks pretty darn fun!

before:

after:

pics courtesy of her handy dandy iphone

no blankie = deal breaker

lily and i were in a rush to get out the door to get to school on time today. i fell asleep after waking up early to put lily's picture-day clothes in the dryer and didn't wake her up until 8:15. we have to be at the church at 9:00!

now, you might ask why i was getting her clothes ready for pictures the morning OF picture day. well someone *might* have thought picture day was last week and *might* have sent lily to school all dolled up for her photo a week early... you might also be wondering why a photographer cares about her daughter's school pictures which will inevitably suck...

anyway, back to the story. in our rush, blankie was left behind to wonder where his best friend went without him. (kevin is very against the fact that i refer to blankie with male pronouns, but i can't help it. its who he is. ;)

i realized my error when we arrived at school but hoped for the best.

i received a call 3 hours later that lily was wandering around the room with a pacifier in each hand moaning in everyone's general direction and could not be consoled. i hopped in the car with blankie at my side and was there in 15 minutes where i witnessed their very emotional reunion.

they are upstairs sleeping together now. i think its been a rough day for both of them. :)

is this not the perfect halloween moon/cloud arrangement? too bad its a few weeks early...

reason #4927 not go to the grocery store pregnant and hungry:

i just had a reeses klondike bar and orange juice for breakfast

...then i made artichoke dip. but, hey! at least my appetite is coming back! :)

yet again, matt carter has helped me to see something in a completely new way.

as i'm sure most of us feel most of the time- i am worn out and a little overwhelmed! the last thing i feel like i have right now is an abundance of myself, my time, and my energy to offer to others in need. i think of any free time as 'me time'.

so where does that leave me? living a pretty selfish life...

we discussed isaiah 58 10-12 this morning and i realized that maybe i'm approaching this all wrong.

If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

you'll notice it doesn't say ONCE you feel fulfilled and happy and strong, THEN give of yourself... it says GIVE of yourself and THEN you will be strong, satisfied, and refreshed!

now let's see if i can figure out how to really make that happen :)

lily and i were playing in the backyard this morning while breakfast was cooking. there is such a chill in the air and we could hear the high school band practicing! its officially starting to feel like fall :)

lily will now 'hug' anything you ask her to... just in time for fall :)

a few more from our fun yesterday afternoon...

what a FUN weekend! we drove up to the lakehouse with our neighbors and had a fabulous time. we are lucky to have such fun peeps living on either side of us and we had a great time hanging out away from home just relaxing.

its so nice to be away with no work, no chores, no errands! lily was on her best behavior as our only baby guest (not counting the lime baby i'm growing. and by the way- how is it already the size of a lime?! when did that happen?? hah). lily did all of her tricks and really enjoyed being the center of attention and showing off!

we rode the new waverunners and cruised around on the boat. i missed out on the tubing adventure staying at the house during one of lily's naps but everyone really had a great time. we are so grateful to have a fun place to hang out and get some r&r.

on the road again...

we are headed to the lakehouse this weekend for some r&r and i'm so excited. a whole weekend of no work and all play! i can't wait!