The Reynolds

HOT Summer Days

2012-01-29T13:42:00.000-08:00

The summer of 2011 will be one that I definitely won't forgot. Not that there was anything monumental that happened, but the fact that it was sooooo HOT! So many days of triple digit temps was brutal! (plus the fact that I was prego through it all...ugghhh)

Anyways....when the evenings cooled down a bit we did have some fun outside. Here are some cute pics of Eli and his friend Kinley playing in the water one evening....

Kinley...isn't she a cutie!

Hot days also mean that the grass grows fast...thus Ryan and Eli have spent a lot of time outside mowing...here is my little cutie taking a break from helping daddy...

The Big Boy Bed

2012-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

The Big Boy Bed...

Being prego, and getting farther and farther along, I knew that we really needed to get things moving on Eli's new room and big boy bed. I had been looking online at cute bedding, trying to find something that was fun, very boyish, but not too "little boyish" so that it could grow with him. I knew we were going to spend some money on this stuff so I didn't want to get something that would need to be replaced in a few years. After much thought and consideration, we picked a super cute set from pottery barn kids, of plaids, and stars, in khaki, browns, and reds that makes a very cute bed! I also wanted to paint the room in a brown or khaki color....who knew there were 13 million shades of khaki out there! HA!

The bedding and paint color were actually one of the easiest parts of his room.....the furniture was the problem...I looked high and low to find exactly what I had pictured in my mind for his room. I originally wanted a bed with a trundle, but all the beds that I found I liked didn't have that option. BOO!!! Oh well, I guess his friends will just have to sleep on the floor with an air mattress. :) We decided on a cute twin bed, night stand and chest of drawers from Weirs. I love that store! Next was the "theme" of the room...Ryan had his opinions, and I tried consider what he wanted, but again trying to stay away from the toddler themed rooms. I decided on vintage baseball. Hobby Lobby is one of the best places to find decor and they had some great stuff to put in his room! I haven't gotten pics yet of the finished product, I guess we will have to save that for a later blog. Here is E the last day in his crib...

Here is Eli checking things out the day his furniture got delivered...

Getting ready for his 1st night as a big boy...daddy reading him a book

6 months prego

2012-01-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

Well how far behind am I....Ha! One of my goals for the new year of 2012 is to catch up on my blog...so here we go! This is a quick post from this past summer, when I was about 6 months prego with miss Emma. Starting out with a cute pic of Eli kissing his sister one afternoon when we were playing on the couch.

Such a sweet big brother!

Now here are the belly pics...sorry Emma I didn't do as well with you as I did documenting the belly pics with Eli...

4th of July 2001

2011-09-11T12:52:00.000-07:00

4th of July 2011

We spent the 4th out at Ryan's parents house, like we usually do.....it was as everyone knows very very hot this 4th, so much of the time was spent inside....but we still had some fun! I did take my camera, but I didn't take many pics that day. Here is Ryan and Eli taking out the jet ski, to check it out for Denise before the boys borrowed it for the summer.

That afternoon we started getting ready for the golf cart parade. We always try to make it look super cute, and this year was no different. Jenn had some great ideas this year for the the theme...."Let freedom ring". She brought over some supplies and we thought it would be cute to make hats for the kids to wear for the parade!

The boys helping decorate

Cute Hats!

Cuties!

Our little Firecracker...he was having a blast!

1/2 way point comparison

2011-08-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

I felt really bad that I hadn't taken any belly pics with Baby Girl #2...so around 20 wks I tried to get my act together and start the belly pic process...at least to have for future reference! I thought it would be fun to try and compare pics of each time I was prego to see what a difference there was. Besides the fact that I feel like a total beached whale this time around, and I am swelling up like one in this heat, at this point I don't feel like my tummy was too much bigger @ this point in the pregnancy....

A small celebration...

2011-08-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

June 12, 2011 marked our 6th anniversary! Happy 6 years Ryan! We had decided to save some money this year and go to a movie and dinner with some gift cards we already had. A couple days before our "date" Ryan had just lost his job, so we were trying to keep it cheap! Gi Gi was nice enough to go ahead and keep Eli overnight since we would be out late. I only took pics before we left for out fun evening, and Eli was sure being a ham for me! Love it! Maybe next year I will have a post from a trip we will go on for our anniversary...(hint hint Ryan) :)

Eli getting ready to head over to Gi Gi and Pa Pa's House

Happy 6 years....here's to many more together...love you!

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-29T15:34:00.000-07:00

As summer was approaching I was super excited to get Eli in the pool this year. The last few years he has been "swimming" in my parents, and the gym pool and loved being in the water, but I was ready to start some lessons and hoping that he would love those too! I feel like he is a little fish at heart and hoped that instructed lessons wouldn't change his mind, but increase his love for the water. We signed him up for lessons for 2 weeks at the beginning of June, right before it starting getting super hot this summer. I picked a recreation center close to our house, that had an indoor pool, and it was perfect! Here is my big boy on his 1st day of lessons...

I had several days off in the middle of the 2 wks, so it worked out well that I could attend most of his lessons with him! Here we are, right before we got into the pool for the first time...I think I was just as excited as he was!

Eli was very excited to get into the pool every day that we had a lesson, and I had a lot of fun too! I think that he was one of the oldest kids in his class, so he was a little more adapt to the water. He learned so much in those 2 short weeks, and he have been practicing all summer long! Yeah for swimming!!!

Here is E showing off his "swimming muscles"

Swimming with Gi Gi

Mother's Day Celebration

2011-07-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

This year for Mother's Day we celebrated all weekend, it was very low key, but a lot of fun! Last year I had to work this special weekend, so I was very glad I was off this one! Saturday was very chill...Eli was with Ryan at his parents house for most of the day, so I took my mom and dad to a movie, ate some lunch at La Madeline and did some shopping. My boys came home just in time to go to Scotty P's for dinner with the family and catch some frozen yogurt afterwards.

Sunday after church and nap times, we took Eli to walk around Firewheel Mall and play some. Ryan also took me to eat some sushi (they stuff I could eat being prego-my favorite!). They weekend was so much fun, and very relaxing...I didn't get any pics of my mother's day gifts, but Ryan and Eli did so good...I got a new camera strap that is soooo cute. It is an Abie Strap. I was very impressed that Ryan picked out such a cute one! Ryan also took me to get a new iPhone 4...my phone was on the down slopes, but I told him that it wasn't that big of a deal. He insisted that I get a new one for my special day, and I do love it! Thanks so much babe for making my day so wonderful, and I am so glad that I have my little man here to give me a reason to celebrate! I love you to the moon and back Eli!

Hoppy Easter

2011-06-27T14:50:00.000-07:00

This Easter I had to work...sooo the day before we had our "Family Easter"...our church had a little Easter celebration with bounce houses, a petting zoo, and a small egg hunt. We had a great time watching our little man enjoy all of these activities. I also invited our neighbor Amy to bring her little one, Kinley (E's girlfriend) to join in on the fun!

Eli getting his hunt on!

Bounce House FUN!!!

Hanging out at the petting zoo...

Miss Kinley, such a cutie!

Kisses...so sweet

Almost forgot to show what E got from the "Easter Bunny"...

Eli's Birthday evening with mommy and daddy

2011-06-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

So even though this fun evening happened about a month and a half ago, it was such a great time with our little man on his actual birthday...

Most of the day we just loved on our little 2 year old then we took him to eat some mexican food at Chiloso and had birthday snow cones for dessert! It all was so yummy and I think our little birthday boy had a great time!

Being silly with daddy

Sharing his snow cone with mommy along with some love and kisses too! :)

Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet little E...Mommy & Daddy love you so much and can't wait to celebrate many, many more birthdays with you!!!

(Thought I would share some pics through the past couple of years, it's so crazy how much my little baby is turning into a little man!)

4/22/09

4/22/10

4/22/11

Eli's 2nd Birthday

2011-05-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Eli's 2nd Birthday.... I truly cannot believe it has come and gone so quickly! It seems like just yesterday my little 6#7oz baby came into this world! He has grown so fast and is learning so much...Since his bday was so close to Easter this year we had his party a week before his actual bday in hope that more people could come and play. Here is a pic on the am of his actual birthday, he was in such a great mood after waking up, so I tossed him in the bed with daddy and took a pic!

Now on to the party! This year it was very hard for me to pick out a theme for #2. I tossed around many ideas and starting going down a path of a "bug" themed party. I spent many hours trying to find just the right party favors (thanks to Target dollar spot), and finding some cute recipes for snack food that was along the lines of our theme. I was really trying hard to make everything cute, but it just didn't seem to all be coming together very easily. A couple of weeks before the actual party, we went to visit my grandparents in Louisiana, and I guess with lots of relaxation and extra time, I had a revelation!!! Well actually with my research I found a brand new idea to try for the big day! I ran it across my mom, and it was on!!! We both got very excited, and my mom's brain began to work...I do consider myself somewhat creative, but with her help it just exploded into something great!

Here is the little birthday boy in his cute shirt that my mom made for him to wear on his big day...

The final decision was made, and Eli's 2nd Birthday was themed "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".

My mom did an awesome job with the decorations, and we decided that the food would be everything that the caterpillar ate through in the book. I think that everything turned our really cute, and was so glad to share it with all of Eli's friends and our family.

This is the front table that was decorated with a pic of E and a bigger book that everyone could sign and leave E a little note, so he could look back and remember who celebrated with him.

And here is the final result...

Caterpillar sandwiches...they were a hit!

The cocoon turned out very cute...

...and finally he turned into a very beautiful butterfly...my mom made these cookies from scratch, don't they look professional!

I also decorated the mantel with a baloon caterpillar and the birthday sign that I made from his 1st bday... the colors worked out perfectly.

It was another beautiful spring day, so all the kids enjoyed playing together outside. Mommy and Daddy got E a sandbox for his birthday. We set it up before the party so everyone could play and enjoy it.

Time to open some presents. He was a lot better at opening his own gifts this year...

2 of his favorite gifts...his fishing pole and new boots

One of the best parts, cupcakes...I had central market make a caterpillar cupcake cake, it turned out cute! Eli sure did enjoy eating it...

Happy Birthday little man, I love you so much and can't wait to spend many more Birthdays with you. (Also, thank you mom for everything you did to help out with his party. We couldn't have pulled it off without you!)

Big Bro

2011-05-04T19:46:00.000-07:00

Eli is very happy to announce that he is going to be a Big Brother!!! I am really late on the blog, and word has spread very quickly by mouth and facebook, but hey....better late than never! ;)

As I sit here and write this blog, I am now 14wks! Time sure does fly the second time around...I have felt totally different with this pregnancy. I have been very tired (probably bc. I am chasing a 2 yr old around), and definitely have had a lot more nausea and heart burn this time around. I am officially due November 3rd, but I have already talked to my OB and she said we will probably induce at 39 wks, so I will be looking at a Halloween baby! I am very excited, but at the same time anxious bc. I am not sure how it will be with 2 kids, and I am hoping that Eli does well with a new baby in the house. I am not looking forward to all the sleep that I will miss out on, but looking forward to snuggling with a new baby and sooooo thankful that my parent are only 15 min away and will be by our side and willing to help us out at any time. This time around I am of coarse hoping that God will bless us with a little baby GIRL, but most of all a healthy baby. We had a sono at 12 1/2 wks and everything looked great, and the perinatologist "thinks maybe pink"....if you ask Eli, he just knows a baby is coming, but I am thinking that his vote is for the same....

(well maybe his vote was a little swayed with mommy's help, he he)

Anywhoo....we are all very excited to add another little one into the mix, and I will try to keep ya'll updated on our progress. So far I am behind, I haven't even taken any belly pics...more pics to come soon!

Visiting Granji and Grandaddy

2011-04-28T15:47:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Eli and I went with Gigi and Papa, to Louisiana, to visit Granji and Grandaddy and then rest of our extended family for a few days. We had a great time catching up with everyone and just taking some time to relax and enjoy the perfect weather we had! I did take my camera, but was very lazy taking pics this trip, simply bc being about 8 wks prego and all, I was very tired and sick this trip....so here are some of the pics that I did get...

One of the highlights of Eli's trip was Granji's golf cart. She recently got it to zip around in, and as soon as Eli got a look at it, that just what we were doing...the WHOLE trip! Here is a great pic I got of E and Grandaddy, very sweet to see them together.

We did get to go fishing out at the camp while we were out there...one of my favorite things to do! I think that Eli had a great time, even though he could not sit still. We all had to tag team him, but he did get to see and touch a couple of little fishies...

Eli fishing with papa

Eli examining Grandaddy's catch

Daddy's Birthday

2011-04-12T16:27:00.000-07:00

In March, Ryan turned 32 years old. I am always so glad when his birthday rolls around before mine, bc. I am at that point where getting older is not that much fun! Anywhooo...this year wasn't a big hoopla or anything, but Ryan requested that some of his closest friends and family come along and eat dinner with us at Babe's (love it!) for his bday dinner. Here are a few pics (sorry didn't get everyone) from the evening. It was a lot of fun and great food of coarse! Thanks to the Gill's, my parents and sister (who was it town... YEAH!) and Randy and his little one Austin for coming to help us celebrate!

Amy and Eli waiting to be seated for dinner....

Look at that sweet little face...Miss Kinley

My litte man being his silly little self for the camera

The Birthday Boy

The birthday boy having to dance to the happy birthday chicken song...so funny!

Eli enjoying daddy's cupcakes

The big boy potty!

2011-04-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

Going potty....

This is something that I hope Eli will start doing soon, and we can "hopefully" be potty trained, or at least mostly trained by the end of this summer....Several months ago I bought a big boy potty seat to put on our toilets to introduce E to the potty. I have heard that some kids are really scared of the big potty, if they are familiar with little potty chairs. So...I decided to just start out with the big potty,and go from there.....I am also NOT a fan of having to clean out those nasty little potties, so this was a good solution.....sorry but it's just a personal preference, and I think they are gross!!! Eli seems to be very receptive to this potty. We have started out just putting it on his toilet at night, and having him go potty before bath time each day. He has made it part of his ritual now, and I think he is starting to "understand" a little bit that this is where you go to the bathroom at. The other day I just happened to have my camera out, and Eli said that he needed to go "potty" so I took him in there, pulled of his diaper and shorts and set him on there, and he went! Yeah for you little man...I was so excited for him and tried to make a big deal out of it. He didn't seem to care either way, and was distracted by his book. All he wanted to do that day was carry that book around, so he insisted on reading it on the potty! It makes me laugh, typical man on the pot, right?!?!? :)

Valentines Day

2011-03-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

Valentines day this year was very relaxing. I told Ryan that this year I didn't really want to buy each other gifts and spend a bunch of money on a "holiday" that I personally think is retarted! This year was going to be all about my little bubba, and making it a special day for him! I was off on the actual day this year, so Eli and I had some great mommy/son time together. I had went by Target, (one of my favorite places to go at least 2 times a week) to rade the dollar spot about a week before, to pick up a few fun things that I thought my little man would like to play with. The dollar spot wasn't much help, but of coarse it wasn't that hard to spend some money there....Eli got a new Barney movie for the car, some sidewalk chalk, and a new "bubble machine". The weather was so nice out, that after his nap we got to go outside and play!

After daddy got home from work we took Eli to McDonalds to play some more and have his favorite meal, chicken nuggets. He had a blast...after dinner we went to have frozen yogurt to top off the day. He loves this place too, but not as much as mommy....he he.

My little chef!

2011-03-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

One night when I was trying to make dinner, Eli was sooooo clingy and all he wanted was to be held....as you know, you can't really cook like that! I thought that I would try to direct him in another way...he could just help mommy! I have always told Ryan that our children, whether girls or boys would be very well rounded.....they will all know how to fix their cars, do yard work, and of coarse do their laundry and learn how to clean and COOK! This was a great opprotunity to introduce something new to Eli, and he could help mommy too! I had him help me with the salads that evening...something that was not to messy, and I knew he was totally capable of putting together. I set out all of the ingredients with bowls, and with a little direction, he did great!

Pulling up the chair to get started...

My little chef in action!

Every chef has to test taste his work, right?!?!

Finished product...Good job little man...I can't wait until we get to cook together again!

First snow of 2011

2011-03-02T19:25:00.000-08:00

The first snow we had in 2011 was on a Sunday afternoon...so we got to enjoy playing out in it with daddy.

Eli's girlfriend, Kinley, got to come down and play too...she wasn't really sure what to think of it all!

Recent Family Pics

2011-03-02T18:50:00.000-08:00

These are just a few recent family pics that we had done around Christmas time for our Christmas cards. They were done by our sweet friend, and forever photographer, Jamie Rogers. They turned out really cute, and can't wait until we have our next shoot!

Enjoy just a few of our favorites...

Christmas Eve and Day....Santa Came!

2011-02-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

So I think that this is the last of my posts for 2010~

I am glad to finally try and enter 2011 and see what all it holds for our little family of 3!

This is a little of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day...I had so many pics, it was hard to pick just a few, but I needed to get it done!

Christmas Eve night was filled with lots of family, and everyone getting really excited for Santa to come the next morning! Here is the cookies that we made for Santa to sample that night....I picked out this cute, little, Santa plate for Eli (and our other kids to come) as part of the traditions for us to start with out little family.

I love that my grandmother puts up her Christmas village every year, and Eli got to see it for the very first time! These are some sweet pics of my little man and his Papa looking at the village.

Christmas morning arrived and we were all up bright and early to see what Santa left us...

He must have loved his cookies!

Opening our stockings...my favorite part...

Just a few more pics of everyone enjoying Christmas morning together.....

I had to throw this pic in, one of my favorite gifts this year, Kelly surprised me and got me a pair of TOM's...love them....thanks Kelly!!!

This pic has a long story about it, but meant so much to me, even though it wasn't my gift....it was Eli's from Gigi and Papa...thanks so much mom and dad!

My cutie in his new hat

Eli's loot...Santa brought him a kitchen, a T-ball set, a cool truck that makes all kinds of noises and that lights up, a Texas Longhorn hat, and a fun Paul Frank shirt! I guess that means he was a good boy!

Football and Cookies

2011-01-29T12:38:00.000-08:00

I have so many pics to post from Christmas, so I just figured that I would try and capture all of them in groups and not have 1 huge post! Here is some fun we had Christmas Eve afternoon....

We took a lot of toys for E to play with, but of coarse his favorite is his football! I got some cute pics of him playing with his football...touch down and all!

Later in the evening we all decided to make some Christmas cookies for Santa to eat! We had all kinds of icing, and sprinkles...and had a blast decorating with Gi Gi, Granji, Aunt KK, and Emily.

Catching up with Christmas

2011-01-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

Here is to catching up on all of my Christmas blogs and whatever else that comes along! I really had good intentions of trying to catch up with my blog about a month ago, but time has gotten away from me! So here ya go....This one is the first Christmas celebration that we had in 2010. We went to Ryan's parents house to "have Christmas" with his side of the family, bc I got the holiday off at work so we travelled to Louisiana the next week.

We had some great food and a lot of fun. The weather turned out great that day, so the kids got to hang out outside also! I didn't take a whole bunch of pics, but here is some of the day.

Opening presents with Landry and Nana...

Now with daddy...

Eli had a great day, getting lots of fun gifts, and playing with his cousins. I brought some flavored popcorn for the kids, and Eli was one of the first to grab some...he loves his popcorn!

We had some fun cookies to decorate and the kids had a great time....Eli really liked to lick his fingers every time he tried to put icing on them! Too cute!

Finally at the end of the day I wanted to get some family pics together....the cousins...

being silly....

Now serious...

Bill, Elizabeth and the kids...

Ryan, Denise, Billy, and Gardner

Papaw, Nana and the Grand kids...what a great looking group!

Visiting Santa...2010

2010-12-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

When it came time to go see Santa Clause this year I was very excited to see Eli's reaction. I was wondering if he was going to cry or laugh, or would he have that classic "Santa is scary" look or walk right up to him?!?!? We are blessed to have that sweet baby that has never met a stranger, so I was hoping that he would do well! Last year we took him to Bass Pro Shops in Grapevine, bc they have an awesome Santa, the lines were short, and they give you a free picture with your visit...and this year was no different! This year Eli's great grandparents were in town and got to go with us, so we asked Gi Gi and Papa to come and watch Eli with Santa also. We got to BPS around 2pm, and our time slot was 3:30, so we walked around for a while enjoying some of the things they had to offer.

First stop was the big fish tank! E loves those fish...he was making fishy lips

2nd stop the 4 wheelers...

Hanging out with Granji and Grandaddy, and Papa

Next stop...the Merry-go-round

FINALLY it was about that time to go get in line for SANTA...

Waiting in line...

SANTA TIME!!!

He did great! He walked right up to Santa with daddy and sat right down and told him what he wanted... ;)

Merry Christmas Eli

Putting up the lights

2010-12-24T18:22:00.000-08:00

This year when we put up the Christmas Lights, it happened to be unseasonably warm!!! It actually was kinda hot, but it was nice to be able to put up lights without the blowing, cold wind that would normally freeze us to death! Ryan and I tried to put the little man in the bed and get them hung, but he must have know that we were up to something, so he skipped nap time and decided to help us out! He actually did really good and is a great helper!

(ps...If the pics look blue tinted I tried to add a "winterized" feel to my editing...ha!)

Here is daddy doing the real work, and part of the finished product...

After trying to help and getting bored with the lights, Eli rode his little"4 wheeler". He played for a while and then wanted to get on the big boys toy....so after daddy was done with his work he took E for a ride!

6 Flags

2010-12-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

In November we got free 6 Flags tickets from my work. I LOVE 6 Flags, and Ryan couldn't go, but I really wanted to take Eli...so GiGi and Papa went with us, and we met my friend Amy and her son Will there. The weather was perfect, the boys had a great time, and we had free food vouchers...it turned out great!

Eli and Papa

I knew that there was not much Eli could do, but really thought that he would enjoy all the characters and people. The first thing that we rode was the carousel...the boys were so cute waiting in line together and really enjoyed the ride!

E climbing on the railing to get a better look!

After the carousel we spotted bugs bunny....we took the boys down to see him, but as you can tell, they were not fans!

Off to Looney Tunes Land!!!

We found quite a few rides the boys could enjoy here...

After lunch we headed over to drive the old cars and ride the train around the park...

Being silly!

Boys will be boys...waiting in line for the train and playing in the dirt! Also sharing a bag of popcorn for snack time...I think that they had more fun throwing it on the ground and smashing it with their feet!

So glad we got to enjoy the day with GiGi and Papa, and hanging out with Eli's buddy Will! Eli's first 6 Flags trip was a success!

Halloween

2010-12-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween!!!

This year Halloween was a lot of fun for us! Eli was a very ACTIVE 18 month old Trick or Treater! I had a hard time trying to figure out what Eli was going to be this year, but since he didn't have an opinion I finally decided on a little pirate. It worked out perfectly bc. I found his costume at Carter's, and it was 60% off!!! I only paid around $10 for it, and then found a perfect sword at the dollar store and cute bandanna for him to wear at Hobby Lobby for a dollar! SCORE!

Here is my cute little pirate!

Before we went out for some trick or treating my friend Amy from work had a Halloween party for all of the kids. It was so much fun! She had a bean bag toss, bobbing for apples, bounce house, pinata, and great food! Thanks for a great time Amy....looking forward to next year!

Here is our group...minus the daddy's (they were the photographers!)

Amy's sisters twins...aren't they cute!

Hitting the pinata

The food!

Bobbing for apples...Eli's favorite part!

Bounce House Fun!

A few of E's friends...

Will the scarecrow

Miles the dinosaur

After the party we went back home and visited a few of our neighbors for some candy!

Carving Pumpkins

2010-11-19T20:24:00.000-08:00

Every year we carve pumpkins with our neighbors, and this year was no different.... this was 3rd annual year of carving. Last year E was only 6 months old so it was a lot easier to do. This year Ryan and I had to take turns corralling Eli, and carving, but he seemed to enjoy it, and it was fun watching him! I got a few pics, but didn't really get many of the neighbors...but promise they were there!

Eli in his wagon, about to head across the street...

Carving time!

I found a pic from this time last year...WOW...what a difference a year can make! (What a difference a new camera can make too!)

Cute little Pumpkins

2010-11-18T19:22:00.000-08:00

We have really been enjoying fall this year! The pumpkin patch was fun, but one day while Amy and I were out with the kids we stopped at the shops in Allen. We had some frozen yogurt and and let our little ones play in the pumpkin house. The weather was great and they had so much fun! I love seeing Eli and Kinley play together, and love that they will grow up together and become great friends. Plus, I get to enjoy this time with my best friend and look forward to many more together! So here are some pics of our cute little pumpkins...

Friends Forever!!!

18 months old!

2010-11-18T17:54:00.000-08:00

My sweet little E is 18 Months Old!!!

Oh my, time is sure flying by! Eli has changed so much in the last few months and is starting to become a little boy instead of that little baby! At his 18 mo. check up he weighed in at a solid 27.5 lbs! He was measuring 75% in his weight and height, so maybe there is hope for him to be tall. Eli has such a personality...we always knew that he was a social being, and he has never really had any stranger anxiety, and now that he is talking some he is always waving at everyone and says Hi! It is so cute to watch him try and interact with others. Along with his friendly personality he loves music and loves to boogie! I put a video on here from the fair this year, Eli was getting down! He is learning new things everyday, and starting to talk some. He still does a lot of sign language, but some of the things he says are...bye bye, hi, plane, ball, balloon, shoes, cracker, trash, banana, up, night night, momma, da da, Gi Gi, truck, bath, hot, woof woof (for dog), stinky, and the sounds for the letters "a", "b", "c" and "l". He repeats a lot of what we say, but those are the constants. I am so excited to hear him talk and watch him learn!

Eli will sit just long enough in the evening before bed to read a book, but he is too busy to really sit still. I have tried to introduce him to some TV shows, but the only one he will watch about 1/2 of is Barney, and he dances pretty much through the whole thing! He loves to go outside whenever he gets the chance and he is getting pretty good at climbing up stairs and sliding down the slides all by himself! He has gotten better about what he eats, but is still somewhat picky. His usual diet consists of chicken nuggets, lunch meat, lots of veggies, any kind of crackers and cereal bars, and LOTS of fruit! And of coarse he has a bit of a sweet tooth like his daddy! Speaking of eating, Eli loves to eat with his fork and spoon! He has gotten pretty good at stabbing his veggies and nuggets with his fork...and he definitely eats more whenever he gets a hold of a big boy fork!

He has become somewhat of a mommas boy lately, and it makes Ryan kinda sad, but I told him that its just a phase and one day he will be the same way with me! I love it when I get home from work and he runs up to me with those beautiful blue eyes and that big smile, and he wants a big hug....he melts my heart! I hope that he never grows out of that phase, I love you sweet little E!

Here are a few pics of our 18 month old...

A little bit of Eli's dancing...

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-11T19:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago we took Eli to the pumpkin patch. Last year we found the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch, and loved it! This year we were for sure making a trip back, but wanted to include our best friends and their little pumpkin, the Gill's! We all stopped at Chick fil-a for lunch and then took the drive out to Flower Mound. It was really hot this year and very dusty...but we had a great time!

Eli and Kinley riding in the wagon

Eli loves popcorn, and in fact, its one of his new words...here is my little man chowing down on some kettle corn!

After getting a few snacks, we headed over to the pumpkins and had some fun!

This pumpkin patch thing is hard work, taking a break with daddy....

Well the pumpkin patch wasn't really hard work, but it was so HOT....so the kids did get a little cranky, but Eli kept pointing at the hayride, so before we left we took him for a ride, and he loved it!

My sweet lil' pumpkin...don't you wanna just kiss him!

State Fair

2010-11-04T19:04:00.000-07:00

Fall is here and I love this time of year for so many reasons...the weather starts to get cooler, leaves change colors, pumpkin patches open, and the State Fair

I was so excited for the fair this year, bc Eli is older and I just knew that he would love it! We went with GiGi and PaPa, on a Wednesday so that we didn't have to fight the crowds, and since Ryan doesn't really care for the fair it worked out well, going during the week.

The first stop in the fair was the petting zoo...there were a ton of kids there that day, but we managed to feed a few animals and take some pics. Eli loved petting all the animals!

My dad always likes to take a picture with E everywhere they go new together. They started the tradition last year of taking a pic with the John Deer tractors at the fair.

We ate a lot of great fair food, first which was a corny dog...yum yum! This was E's first time to taste a corn dog, he wasn't a big fan. He just doesn't know what he is missing!!!

Our day was definitely packed with lots of fun...we saw Big Tex, Eli played in the big sandbox, we looked at all the new cars, and E got to go through the Little Hands Farm. It was so cute to watch him with all the activities they had the kids do. I can't wait to take him back next year!

Check out my little Farm Boy

We were there all day, and E did so well that we decided to stay for the parade and laser light show. It was a great day at the Fair!

Just playing around

2010-11-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

Just playing around with the program that I use to edit my pics and thought I would let you see a few more cute pics of my little man! Such a cutie I must say! I love you little E!

Aunt KK's Birthday

2010-10-31T19:17:00.000-07:00

The weekend of the 27th (September) we travelled out to Tennessee for our annual birthday visit to Aunt KK. Last year E was only 5 months old so the trip was a little easier to handle. This year we had to stop several times to let him get some energy out and we took plenty of movies and toys to keep him entertained. The ride out was a little better bc we left in the evening, and after about 3 hours into the 7 hour trip he went to sleep for the night! Overall it wasn't that bad, but may think about flying next time! HA! We always have a lot of fun on our visits, eating some great food and lots of family time! Kelly's roomie Susan just bought a new house and so we got to see the new place and help her out with some small stuff that needed to be done. Ryan also got to participate in the annual Young Life clay shoot with bubba.

Here are some pics of E playing on a playground we found on one of our stops...he loved it!

Sitting out on Susan's back porch relaxing, such a cute house and a great place to chill!

Kelly is always introducing us to fun places to eat or visit during our stay. One of the new places we were introduced to was Muddy's! It a small cupcake shop that is absolutely delicious!!!! Mom, Kelly and I were out running some errands and stopped by to pick up a few for us to taste, and since we couldn't decide on a few we got 12! All different flavors, mmmmm so good! I think my favorite is the lemon and the cookies and cream!

Usually for Kelly's bday she picks a restaurant and we all go eat with Susan's Family. This year since the girls had the new place Kelly thought that it would be a lot of fun to have a bunch of their friends over for a "Texas Style Fajita Buffet"...it was so yummy! Mom, Kelly and I cooked all day long and finally pulled it off! It was so much fun to meet all of their friends, and the weather had a turn on the cooler side, so the whole night was perfect! Happy Birthday Aunt KK!!!

Eli playing with Sopie and Dave

Papa and Eli

Group HUG!

School Days

2010-10-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well I finally made it into September with my blogging....YEAH! This post is from the early in the month. Eli seemed to be getting a little bored at home, and is such a social little boy, so I thought it was time to start looking for a MDO program for him. Of coarse it wasn't until August that I started looking so my options were limited. He doesn't turn 18 months until the end of October so that didn't help me out any also. I wanted to find something that was 1/2 between my mom's house and ours so that she could benefit from having a few hours one day a week to herself to get some stuff done while E was at school. We searched and finally decided on a place in Plano, First Baptist Plano...and we loved it! He goes 2 days a week, Tuesday's and Thursdays from 9-2. His class was really small to begin with but now has grown and he has lots of new friends! After we got him signed up I was super excited to get him some new school stuff, a lunch box, backpack, and nap map! I was also very excited that I had a trip to Canton planned, and was going to look for the perfect school items there! After looking all day I finally decided on 3 matching items that are brown with orange accents, all embroidered with his name on them. (forgot to take a pic of them..oops...take my word, they are cute..ha!) Anywhoo....here are the pics from his first day, it was so much fun to see him so excited about something new!

A quick pic before daddy left for work

Trying on his backpack before heading out the door...

Watching veggie tales in the car...such a big boy!

Walking into school

Putting stuff in his cubby. He walked right into the class that day and didn't even look back! Eli absolutely loves his school, and teachers, and is always so happy to go. They are so sweet and always talk about how happy E is! Makes me glad that I decided to send him. Thank you God for such a sweet little boy!

A weekend in Whitney

2010-10-27T11:57:00.000-07:00

Back in August we went to visit Ryan's sister & brother in law and their kids. They live out in Whitney, which is about 30 min from Waco. We always have soooo much fun hanging out with them, especially since it was so hot and they had just got a pool within the last year! This was also the weekend of my 31st bday and so Denise was so sweet to make all of my favorite meals and tons of her famous cookies. I love going out and hanging with their family, so it was a great birthday! The boys had a scrimmage this weekend so went went out to support and take some pics. This was really E's first time to experience some live football action, and he loved it. It was so hot that day, but we all toughed it out and had alot of fun watching.

Here is daddy and E headed up into the stands to find a good seat...

Layton watching...poor thing, it was so HOT

After about 30 min of sitting out in the Texas heat we decided to move around a bit and find a shade spot. Lucky for us we know the person that is head of the concessions so that we could at least get a drink and some shade! Thanks Denise!

Ryan took him out on the field to get some up close action, he was so into the game....I guess we have a little football player on our hands!

Like I said earlier is was super hot so we were trying to keep the little man hydrated...he loved his Gatorade! Do you think we could sell these pics and put him on a billboard or commercial??? HA!

I love those sweet, chunky, red cheeks!

After a long morning we went back and had some lunch and took naps, then it was time for some fun in the pool...making a basket with daddy...

For my bday dinner we all went to Waco and ate a Texas Roadhouse....it was so yummy, but they tricked me and made me ride the saddle as everyone sang...don't worry guys, I will get you back!

Thanks for having us out Greg and Denise, we had a blast!

Allen Splash Park

2010-10-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

This year we discovered the Allen Splash Park....I have been wanting to take E all summer but it has been a very HOT summer and I didn't want to try this new experience by myself. One evening we went as a family, and he loved it! There were soooooo many people there, but he was not fazed at all...

SPLISH SPLASH!!!

Mommy loves this picture

We finally got him to take a break from the water and sit down to have a snack. He loves this yogurt and it is so easy for him to eat if we freeze them first.

This park also has a huge playground and lots of swings, this was also E's first time on a swing and going down a slide...I think the boy was in heaven!

Pool Time in July

2010-10-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

One Sunday back in July we had a family day out at the pool. We are members at 24 hour fitness and they have a great splash area and outdoor pool. Eli is a lover of the water... and we have gone several times to play, but this was the first time daddy got to join us and really see how much his little man really does love the H2O!

Come on daddy lets go play!

Summer time fun...smiles and laughter...

4th of July-2010

2010-10-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

I am super excited to get to do this post...not necessarily because its the 4th of July post, but because I am so far behind in my posts and ever since the Crash of my old laptop, I have missed my blog so much!!! So bear with me and all the catching up I have to do since July, but I have some great stuff to catch you up on and hope that you enjoy!

Anyways....This 4th of July we went out to Ryan's parents house and spent the weekend out on the lake and with lots of family. This was Eli's first time out on a boat and in the lake. My little water bug was super excited and had so much fun!

Boat time and swimming with the cousins

My 2 cute boys!

Uncle Gardner, Landry and Dane

Fun times with Mommy...we couldn't get him out of the water.

After a long lake day we got ready for the golf cart parade they have every year. This year all the kids, Ryan and Gardner participated. The cart turned out really cute and they had a great time!

When it got dark we headed out to watch the Fireworks....it was a lot of fun and Eli loved them. I was a little worried that he might be scared of them, but he was in awe!

After a fun 4th it was bath time for the stinky little boys....I had to include this pic into the mix, aren't they so cute!

Happy 4th of July from the Reynolds

The CRASH!!!

2010-09-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

I promise I have not stopped blogging, actually it has been a very busy summer and I haven't had the time to get back to it.....BUT....the worst part of it is that my laptop CRASHED a couple of weeks ago, so I couldn't catch up even if I had the time! I had a rough time a couple of weeks ago, bc. every picture and video of my sweet little man was saved on that laptop and of coarse I didn't back hardly any of if up!!!! I am sooooo very STUPID for not listening to people, so please back up your stuff! Anywhoo....after a lot of stress and many, many tears, Ryan found a guy at work that was able to get all my stuff off and put it on an external hard drive! YEAH! So now its my dad's job to help find us a new computer....so until we get one, the blogging will have to wait....:(

We love our yogurt

2010-08-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

Ever since we discovered the frozen yogurt craze our family had developed a slight addiction to it!!! It seems as if my little man has also inherited daddy's sweet tooth, so I can't help but take E to get frozen yogurt at least once a week lately, especially as hot as it is outside!

Yumilicious...

Mommy's favorite, a mix of cake batter and avocado with white chocolate chips and walnuts on top...

Do you think he likes it?

Woof Woof

2010-08-04T20:36:00.000-07:00

Eli has always been very interested in our dogs, but ever since he has started walking they try to stay clear from this new little walking human....He likes to follow them around the house and he is very fascinated with their kennel. One day it got very quiet and I went into the study to find this.....

Trying to figure out how to get into this thing...

(notice the dogs are NO where to be found)

We see you bubbie...

My silly little boy, just a day in our house!

Fathers Day Weekend, 2010

2010-08-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Back in June we had a great Father's day weekend celebrating with my dad and Ryan. This was Ryan's 2nd father's day so I guess it was old hat to him! Not really but it was fun celebrating. Saturday night we took my dad out to eat at Salt Grass Steakhouse and then had some frozen yogurt. It was a great steak and a great time together.

Gi Gi and Eli checking out the card...

Happy Father's Day Papa!!!

Chowing down on some yogurt, So yumilicious!!

Sunday we went to church and then went to a quick lunch at Soup or Salad...this is one of Ryan's favorite places to eat and we had to be quick since E was due for a nap...

Daddy and E enjoying lunch and opening gifts

1 Year Old Pics

2010-07-22T14:41:00.000-07:00

Eli Scott Reynolds

4/22/2010

In April Eli turned 1! I actually got the post from his Bday party up right after the big day... but since I am still so far behind and trying to catch up, now you get to see the pics we had taken of him turning 1! These were actually taken at 14 months, bc. our photographer had just had a new little one herself. She took a day off from her family and played with ours and we got some great results...
(It was sooo hard to pics a few but here is a preview)

"The love of a family is life's greatest blessing"

"Family...

all because two people

fell in love"

Jamie did such a great job! She has been with us through all of the stages of our life...engagement through the birth of our first child....and we hope to keep using her for many years to come. If anyone is looking for an awesome photographer please check her out....

Jamie Rogers

5 and counting....

2010-07-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

June 12th, 2010....5 Years!

This year marked our 5 year wedding anniversary!! We wanted to get away and do something fun, along with a lot of relaxation! We are taking a trip to Mexico at the the end of July, so we didn't want to go very far for this trip, but we are sometimes procrastinators, so of coarse we waited until the last minute to decide what to do. We looked several places, but a lot of places were already booked! UGGHHH.....last year we spent around 2 days in Ft. Worth for our anniversary, trying not to go too far since we had a 2 month old at home! This year since everything was booked, we just decided to go back to the Ft. Worth area, stay for an extended weekend and just go with the flow! It turns out that it was a GREAT idea and we had a blast.

Thursday, Ryan worked and then we dropped off little man with his parents for the weekend....Thanks SO much Nana and Paw paw for babysitting!!

This is the morning before our big weekend, just Ryan and I....we knew that we would miss E so much but were glad to have some time away, just the 2 of us...E telling us Good morning !

E was being so silly in the car so I had to get his pics, isn't he a ham!

Thursday night we went to the Rangers game...Great seats! I can't wait to go do this again! We had a great breeze and the sun was behind us, so it was actually very comfortable for a summer night!

Cotton Candy! My favorite!!

After a long day, Friday morning we slept in then decided to go to Six Flags all day on Friday. The lines were super short and we were able to walk straight up to the front of the line every time! Then Friday night we hung out in downtown Ft. Worth, went to dinner at the Reata in Sundace Square. It was a long wait, so we hung out at the rooftop bar, such a pretty view of downtown...really mad I didn't get a pic! We had a great dinner and loved relaxing together! If you are ever downtown we totally suggest you try this place out!

Saturday rolled around, and we had no plans, so we got up late, had breakfast and then hung out at the pool for a few hours. Later on that day, we went down to hang out at the Stock Yards, and had lunch at Joe T. Garcia's! MMMMM...the weather was great so we sat outside and had lunch poolside!

We snuck in a few pics before we headed out for the day...Ryan sporting his longhorn gear, I got him this new shirt and hat for our anniversary, plus Texas was playing baseball that day, so he had to support the team!

Happy Anniversary Ryan...I love you!!!

"As we grow older together, As we continue to change with age, There is one thing that will never change. . . I will always keep falling in love with you."

Saturday night we went dancing in the Stock Yards, with my new boots Ryan got me for our anniversary! Sunday we slept in one more morning and had brunch at 8.0's downtown before we went to go get out sweet little boy! It was such a great weekend and I can't wait for so many more together with the love of my life! I love you so much Ryan....you are such a great daddy and husband and I am so lucky to have you beside me to grow old with!

Happy 5 Years...and counting!!!

Our first play date

2010-07-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of June we were invited to go over to Garrett's house for a play date! Eli and I have never officially been on a "play date" so I was very excited for him to get to socialize a bit. Garrett and Eli's due dates were supposed to be a few days apart, but Garrett arrived about 3 months earlier than expected. He was so tiny when he was born, but is doing great now, and I was so excited that E and G could meet. My hope is that they become great friends in the future! He had lots of fun and I really enjoyed getting to sit and catch up with Garrett's mommy, Carla! Here are some pics of the boys playing...

G-man

Playing so well together...

A visit out to the country

2010-07-15T15:31:00.000-07:00

At the end of May we took a trip out to Trenton to visit with friends and some people that we love so dearly that I consider them family. Amy's parents and grandparents all live our there in one big house, it is quite a sight! It is so nice out there, very peaceful and beautiful. Amy's brother, Tyler's, bday was being celebrated so we were invited out to enjoy the festivities. We had some great food and fun....the kids had fun swimming in their little pool and the big kids had fun riding 4 wheelers and such. I didn't really get a whole lot of pics, but here is some of the fun we had!

Miss Kinley looking soooo cute in her bikini!

Aren't they such a cute little couple...we are have them in a prearranged marriage :)

Some of the hosts...Amy's parents with sweet baby K...(Notice Larry in the back...he is such a character, always making us laugh!)

The big kids at play....Preston telling us where to ride, so much fun!

Look how beautiful! I can't wait until we go visit again...Thanks again for having us out!

A few little steps...

2010-07-14T21:09:00.000-07:00

These video's are from back at the beginning of June, Eli was about 14 months old... he was starting to take steps by himself and cruising around on all the furniture. He would walk with your if you held his hands but was still getting the hang of this walking thing...

Around this same time, he had just started to stand up by himself and balance, getting ready to walk....of coarse, several weeks later..he is walking everywhere ....more video's to come soon, when I can finally catch up on all the old posts!

Summer Time....Pool Time!

2010-07-12T15:11:00.000-07:00

Summer, Summer, Summer!!!

I absolutely love it when summer time rolls around...getting a tan on my pasty white skin, lake time, pedi's more often so my "summer toes" look cute, seasonal fruit, and vacations.....but most of all this year I was really looking forward to Pool Time...last year Eli was only a month or two old when it was warm enough to get in the water. This year I think he was more than ready to get in and splash around. During his baths he has started splashing and dunking his face into the bath water...he usually comes up sputtering but always has the biggest smile on his face and does it over and over. This year is seems to have gotten HOT fast so by the end of May we were ready to go!!

E's first time in the pool-09

Eli 2010-Wow! What a change a year makes!

My little water bug...

Even though we really enjoy GiGi's big pool she bought Eli his own pool to toddle around in...

After a long day of fun it was SNACK TIME!!! Nothing better than graham crackers and milk. Yummy!

My FAVORITE pic of the summer so far...

A few videos of little E swimming...

My 1st Haircut

2010-07-10T11:11:00.000-07:00

I wanted to get Eli's hair cut before his 1st birthday, but we had so much going on with his party I couldn't get it done until almost a month later. E's hair was getting Very Unruly so it was finally time!! It is so thin, and there are even some parts on the side of his head that are still growing in....I love the Fo-hawk look for little boys so that was what i was going for. Ryan didn't really mind that I wanted to get it cut, it really did need "Cleaning Up".....but daddy didn't want to cut too much off the back even though mommy thought that our sweet baby boy was growing a little mullet!

Although I was very anxious to get this done, I was very nervous, and hoping that I wouldn't take him somewhere and he would freak out and someone would mess up his hair. I had asked a couple of my friends with kids E's age where they got their child's hair cut and after much thought I decided on "The Kid Salon", in Allen. I made an apt, and took my mom for support and someone to help me take pictures. I made sure the apt. was after E's nap so that he would at least be in a good mood....

Sooo..We ended up walking into this very kid friendly place that had lots of toys in the lobby area and was very bright and colorful! I got a pic with my little man before we started and then our stylist, Vanessa, called us back....

Vanessa was great with Eli, she was so friendly and took us straight over to E's seat....he got to sit in the little car and she turned on Elmo for him to watch. He was pretty excited to "drive" the little car and sat very still...

And here is my little man with his new look! I loved it, and Vanessa is now his new stylist!

Eli Rockin the Fo-Hawk....

Zoo Friends

2010-07-06T18:52:00.000-07:00

In May, Eli had his first visit to the zoo with some of his buddies. I have a great group of girls at work that all have kiddos around E's age, so we have a built in play group! Some of our friends didn't get to join us this time but hopefully we will see them soon!

Will saying hi to Eli as we enter the zoo...

Sam and Caroline

Will the Thrill...as we call him or Mr. Wiggles...

he loved climbing out of his stroller to look at the giraffe

Checking out a few more of the animals...

Eli riding the turtle

Mommy and E at the end of the day...

Tell me this little boy didn't have fun...just look at that

SMILE!

Group shots at the end of the day...they were all pretty sleepy so no one wanted to look at the camera

The beginning of many life long friendships!

Pirate Ship

2010-06-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ahoy Mate!

For E's Birthday we got him a Pirate Ship splash table. Eli loves to play in the water and splash around. It took me forever to decide which one to buy him, all of them have their own features.....in the end I thought that this one was the COOLEST of them all! The table is just the right height for my sweet little boy and will grow with him...It is in the shape of a ship (of course) and has so many cool things for him to play with. Equipped with lots of pirate men and a cool slide to push them down into the water. Also, it came with an anchor that he can lower up and down, which I am sure he will LOVE once he gets bigger and learns how to use it. I believe that his favorite part of all is the TALL sail...it filters water up to the tip top, and as it pours down to the bottom, it makes all kinds of noises and fun things to look at spinning so fast!

I love to see how happy it makes him!

BUSY, BUSY BOY!

Daddy showed him how to push the button on the canon and squirt mommy!

Even though we had lots of fun splashing around, CURIOSITY got the best of him and he wanted to go EXPLORE what all was going on in the back yard. At this time he was taking a few steps, but not completely walking without help so he started this cute army crawl to get around in the grass!

This was just a pic I took trying to get a look at his onesie he had on....it was his "sea turtle". I thought it was perfect for the occasion for my little PIRATE playing in the "sea". :)

I HATE IT! HELP!

2010-06-26T10:42:00.001-07:00

I hate my new template and background!!! I was trying to mess around with my background and started using the new templates provided by blogger and totally MESSED EVERYTHING UP!!! Now I don't know how to get back the simple 2 or 3 column template so I can make my blog cute again with a pretty background!!! AAAAHHHH..... I didn't save my old one, (stupid me) so now I am stuck! Can anyone help or suggest another website where I can add a template that I might like? Sorry to be so negative but this really upsets me!! HELP!

A Day at the Park

2010-06-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

This was a fun day with Eli. I took him to the park one morning after his nap. We were getting stir crazy in the house, which is usually a daily thing for me! HA! This was a couple of days after Eli's 1st Birthday, so NO it wasn't recently in the awful heat!! I have a ton of pics since my last post, and I am just now trying to catch up...sorry! Anyways, he had a lot of fun playing and I got some really cute pics!

Mommy can you see me?

Playing in the dirt like a TRUE boy!

What's down there?

What a sweet smile....do you think he had fun?

Birthday Party Time!

2010-05-10T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here are so pics from Eli's 1st birthday party. We had our families, neighbors, and a few friends over, keeping it small since Eli didn't even know what was going on! It was a whole lot of fun and we have great pics and long lasting memories made!

Some of the decorations....I made a banner that had a picture from every month of his first year, I think it turned out pretty cute!

The CAKE!! It turned out even better than expected! I am already thinking about next year and a theme for his 2nd bday and can't wait to see that cake. Here is the website for the place where I got the cake, she is awesome!!

http://www.wix.com/emtsutsumi/cakelove

Ryan grilling for the party, mmmm!

Some of the friends at the party...

Brayden

Miss Baylee, Brayden's little sister

Miss Kinley, a few months younger than Baylee

Some of my favorite neighbors and friends!

Miranda, Steph and Amy

The boys playing, E had so much fun playing with the "big" boys...

I know you usually hand out party favors when you have a bday party, but I made goodie buckets for all the kids that came over so that they wouldn't be too bored. Since Eli doesn't have too many "bid kid" toys to play with I wanted them to have fun too. I filled their buckets with water balloons, silly string, sidewalk chalk, crayons, and a coloring book and some cute pezz dispensers! They seemed to love it all, and I was glad they had fun!

Presents...he had a lot of fun playing with all the paper and cards.....I guess that's a 1 year old for ya! He got some really cute clothes, and fun toys....thanks everyone for all the great gifts!

E playing with his uncles

Being silly with Aunt J

Eli had a little practice with the cupcake a few days earlier, but I think he might have been a little shy since he had a whole room of people singing and starring at him when cake time rolled around. He finally got into it and ended up stuffing his face and making a big mess...FUN TIMES!!

His Bday hat!

A family pic, the only one we took all day!

Time for a scrub down! We stripped him down and stuck him in the sink! He was so cute, must have been thirsty!

Clean, and happy baby!

Pics of all the fun the daddies and kids were having outside with the water balloons...

Birthday Cupcake

2010-05-08T18:47:00.000-07:00

Here is my sweet baby turning 1! The day of his birthday I had to work, so mommy brought home some fun cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. We got a little video of us singing to him and giving him the cupcake to dig into, but I cut it off before he REALLY got into it.......but the pics show it all! He loved it so much he ate the WHOLE thing!! He definetly takes after his daddy when it comes to sweets!

Mmmmmm that was good!

Looking back through the year....

2010-04-27T14:33:00.000-07:00

On April 22nd of this year my sweet little boy turned 1!!! I can't believe how fast time has flown by, and now I totally understand why people say when you have kids "time REALLY flies"! We are so blessed to have such a sweet little baby. Eli has always been a "laid back" kid, always full of smiles and laughter. I am very blessed to have received this beautiful, loving, joyful gift of a son! There are too many words and not enough time or blog space to say all the things I want to say about my baby...plus I am sure that you don't necessarily want to hear! :)

Anywhoo....I downloaded pics of him from each month throughout the past year, so you could see how much he has changed...enjoy!

D-Day

2 weeks old

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

11-12 months...just love all these pics...

1 year old-Happy Birthday Eli!

Pots and pans

2010-04-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

Eli loves to get into mommy's cabinets and play with the pots and pans! Here are just a few cute pics of him playing the other day...

A visit to the Arboretum

2010-04-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

As spring arrives and the arboretum was in bloom, a couple of my work friends/mommies met and had lunch and play time with our kiddos. It was so much fun and it was such a wonderful day to get outside and enjoy the weather!! Here are some pics from our fun day!

E sitting and enjoying his favorite book...

Will playing ball, little handsome man!

Miss Lilly, she is the oldest one of the bunch...and has a sister on the way!

Landry

Brooke

Eli was so curious and wanted to follow the older kids everywhere! We had lunch in a large, grassy field and they all got to run and crawl around wherever they wanted!! The grass was SO soft and green and he loved crawling and finding all kinds of "treasures".

Playing with the ball

Lots of sweet hugs from Landry!

Amy rounding up will

The kids all loved the flowers, and actually started to pick them....oops! We tried to get them to stop sooner, but got in trouble from the "flower police" HA!

Anna got to go with us...she is prego and will be having a sweet baby boy to add to our little play group! Mr. Miles, we can't wait until you come out to play!

Picture time with mommy

A group shot of all the kiddos!

My sweetie!

Dyeing Eggs

2010-04-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

We started a new tradition with Eli for Easter. Growing up I always remember dyeing eggs with my parents. It was so much fun being able to make my eggs just like I wanted with different colors, stickers and words. I recently looked back at some old pictures of my family doing this together and have some great memories! I hope that Eli will enjoy this family time together too! It's funny how opening up a carton of eggs, filling cups with vinegar, and lots of fizzy dye tablets, with that oh so STRONG smell can take you back to such a happy place!

Checking out the eggs

Getting everything ready!

Let the fun begin!

A taste test

Wow it came out green! I love his face here...

Daddy's turn

He is all about pointing at everything now! So cute!

The finished products, not to bad!

My 1st Easter Egg Hunt!

2010-04-15T20:26:00.001-07:00

I was so excited for Easter to come around this year! Eli's first Easter was going to be a hit!
I was really excited bc. last year at Canton I found the cutest "Easter pail" for him and he wasn't even born yet, so of coarse I was dying to use it! I was really ready to get Eli outside and get some cute pics with all the eggs and the bunny. The only hunt I knew of was at my parents church so that is where we went! I think that he had a lot of fun, at least I did and so did Gi Gi and Papa, and we got some really fun pics!

Eli and Papa before the big hunt...

My best friend Amy came also with her daughter Kinley (E's girlfriend)

She was dressed up so cute!

Papa showing Eli what to do with the eggs...he loved all the bright colors and the candy inside. He pulled apart all the eggs and stuck everything in his mouth, wrapper and all!!

The kids, aren't they cute together... :)

Miss Kinley and her egg

Busy, busy when he figured out what was going on...

Playing peek a boo!

Picture time with the Easter bunny...all he did was sit there and stare at him. It was so funny! He never really cried until the very end, but I think was really tired from missing nap time.

Kinley's turn

Checking out his loot!

Mommies and our babies! It was such a beautiful day and so much fun to spend with a great friend!

A little video of Eli enjoying the day (sorry I can't figure out how to turn the video around)

Swinging

2010-04-15T20:06:00.000-07:00

GiGi and Pappa have a big tree in their front yard, so they got E a swing to enjoy outside in the warm weather to come. These are some pics of him trying it out, he loved it! I love his big smile, he was laughing and thought it was the best! I loved watching his hair blowing in the

wind, so precious!

Gi Gi pushing E...

Big smiles!

11 months

2010-04-09T19:37:00.000-07:00

These are the only pics I could get of Eli for 11 months. I am so far behind on our blog, and so many things are going on lately! E now has 3 teeth, and is working on his 4th. He is starting to stand up and let go of things to see if he can balance! I have yet to get a pic of him do this, he is too fast! I want so bad for him to start toddling around by himself but I know once he learns we are in for it! Better put our running shoes on, here we go.....Hopefully in a month he will take a few steps before he turns 1!

Giving kisses to the monkey...

Always busy! I love these pj's! Gymboree has the best pj's!

I am currently trying to plan for Eli's 1st Bday party. It will be small and we are going to have some close friends/neighbors and family over, but I hope to make it that he will enjoy! (also that mommy will remember and have fun with!) Pics of Eli turning 1 to come soon.....

Look at the fish!

2010-03-30T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ryan's Birthday was on the 24th, so the weekend before, we had lunch with his family for his birthday in grapevine and afterwards went over to Bass Pro for some shopping. They have a huge fish tank and Eli loves watching all the fish...here he is enjoying the day!

Eli and his cousin Landry looking at the fish....

10 months

2010-03-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Here is my big 10 month old! I still can't believe how close we are to his 1st birthday! He is a busy busy boy....so I'm kinda glad that getting these monthly pics are almost over bc. he will not sit still! Ha!

I love this smile!

Mom I don't want to sit and take a picture...

Here is that crazy monkey again...

He is not walking yet, but cruising around and has found the cable box, we are really in trouble now!

Playing!

He is also getting into all the cabinets, and I think it is about time to put on the latches! He loves playing with all of mommies things!

At a recent consignment sale I got a bunch of toys for E. One of his favorites is his little tykes car. He loves climbing up on it and really likes it when we push him around the house or outside on it.

Here is daddy pushing E...

Trying out my new wagon

2010-03-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

For Christmas GiGi and Pappa got Eli a wagon! Since the days are getting warmer we decided to put it together and see what Eli thought about it! He loves it and every time we put him in it now he gets so excited! Here are some pics of the 1st wagon ride and a video of his experience.....

Daddy what are you doing down there?

Let me make sure these straps are tight!

Ready to go!

Along the ride.....Checking things out...

Our little sweetheart!

2010-03-27T20:11:00.001-07:00

On Valentines day we were in Whitney with the Callaway family, so here are some pics we snagged of our little sweetheart on this special weekend. I got him a super cute shirt from Target that said "Mom's LIL' Romeo"...and he sure is! Eli, mommy and daddy love you so much and thank God EVERY day that he gave us YOU! I love you bubbie...Happy Valentines Day!

Playing around with mommy and daddy before bed....

wrestling with daddy, such a cute pic!

A visit to Aunt Denise's House

2010-03-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

Around the middle of February we took a mini trip to go visit Gregg, Denise and the boys for the weekend. We always LOVE getting away to their house for a little fun! The boys had some basketball games going on and we tired to make it, but couldn't get there in time. We did however play some games ourselves. They have a Wii and we all had some great laughs! We played lot of sports and then a dancing game that was hilarious to watch other do! I don't remember the name of it but I did get video of us all acting crazy! Unfortunately I didn't get many pics, but the videos make up for it all! ENJOY!

(ps. sorry Ryan I had to put your video on there too!)

This was also a big weekend for E, we found out that he was getting his first TOOTH!!

Of coarse mommy was harassing him the whole time trying to get a pic of it, but this is all we got...

Can you see it...HA!

My cutie pie...growing up!