The Pounders

Bathtime pics

2011-11-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

She isn't a huge fan of the bath at this point....

But, she sure looks cute in her tub! :)

Maris - 1 month old

2011-11-03T11:52:00.000-07:00

On your 1 month birthday, you already weigh 10 pounds! You are a great eater and sleeper. You will sleep 6-7 hours at night, but you want to eat all day to make up for it! haha! You hardly ever cry, and people comment on how good you are all the time. Your cheeks were made for kissing, and we love how chubby they are! We love you Maris Camille!

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T11:10:00.000-07:00

Finley was a princess (who would not wear her pretty pink crown!). She did have fun getting some candy though!

Tatumn was a bride (who demanded but did not get a bouquet of pink roses), and I already have a feeling her real life wedding is going to cost us a fortune! She loves to dress up, so this holiday is right up her alley!

Maris wore Tatumn's cowgirl costume from Tatumn's first Halloween! I must say that Maris rocked the cowgirl costume and looked sooo cute! However, she was a little young to partake in the candy. Poor baby!

I had my friend Amber's mom make the girls matching trick or treat bags, and they turned out super duper cute! You can check out her things at Evonne's Embroidery and Monogramming.

Pinkalicious and her sister

2011-10-28T10:45:00.000-07:00

During Red Ribbon Week at Tatumn's school, they had a day to dress up like their favorite character from their favorite book. Tatumn had a hard time deciding because she has so many favorite books, but we finally decided on Pinkalicious. She had the best time and was so excited to show her teacher and friends. I think she really looks like Pinkalicious too!

Of course, Finley thought she needed her pic made before school too. She is still in her pj's, and she has no idea that she isn't as big as her big sister! haha!

Triplet Time

2011-10-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Since Tatumn found out that Maris was going to be a girl, she has been saying that it would be "triplet time" as soon as Maris was born! Well, Maris is here, so I had to oblige. I bought the girls matching dresses, and Aunt Nat put their initials on the dresses. I think it will make the perfect fall dress for all the girls, and Tatumn loves dressing alike!

Curly hair

2011-10-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

While Granna was here helping with baby Maris, she and Tatumn got out the sponge rollers and played beauty shop. It was absolutely adorable, and Tatumn cannot stop talking about it. I barely got her to let me wash her hair because she did not want the curls to come out! haha!

Big sister love

2011-10-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

Tatumn loves holding Maris! Isn't she the sweetest? Love my girls!

Finley Claire

2011-10-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

Finley has started asking to have her pic made when I get my camera out! I am so excited because her previous habit was to run from the camera. She can finally get in on the picture taking! haha! Now if we can just get that pacifier out of her mouth, everyone can see her pretty face again! :)

Bottle time

2011-10-20T06:11:00.000-07:00

Tatumn loves to help with Maris, so we decided to make a bottle of milk for Tatumn to feed the baby. She was so excited and proud to help feed Maris. So sweet!

Sweet baby Maris

2011-10-11T05:36:00.000-07:00

She really is the best baby! She sleeps good and eats good! She hardly ever cries, and her noisy sisters don't seem to phase her. We all love her so much!

Maris Camille

2011-10-03T04:58:00.000-07:00

Born: October 3, 2011
Weighing 8 pounds 8 ounces
Measuring 19 inches long

Her big sisters are so proud!

We love her so much already and can't wait to watch her grow!

Pizza casserole

2011-09-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

I have not posted a recipe on our blog in a while, but this was a new one that I found on Pinterest. Everyone loved it! You can find the basic recipe here. I did a few additional things:
1. Browned the hamburger meat with about 1/2 onion, diced or grated and 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced.
2. Added extra spaghetti sauce because we like sauce. :)
3. After baking, I placed dish under broiler for 5-10 minutes to get the pepperonis crispy.

This is such an easy dish, and the kids loved it! It is a great one to let kids help with too. Hope you enjoy!

Cooking school

2011-09-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Tatumn got to go to cooking class this week with her home school group. It was at Young Chef's Academy, and she LOVED it! She has talked about it non-stop and can't wait to go back! She got to make pizza and apple pie. They ate their dessert first, which she thought was fantastic. She told me that is how her Papaw says it should be! haha!

Finley and I did a little grocery shopping during the class and then went back to get Tatumn. Poor Finley was a little jealous that she didn't get to participate. :(

What a fun event! She got to bring a copy of the recipes home and intends to make her dishes again with Granna when she visits for the birth of Maris! She is pumped!

Moving on up...

2011-09-18T14:04:00.000-07:00

Finley Claire got a big girl bed!! We moved the crib to the nursery for Maris, and Uncle Scott and Aunt Nat brought over Macey's old twin bed with trundle. We figured that when we have guests, Tatumn can sleep on the trundle in Finley's room. So far, Finley has done great! We have had a few more episodes of getting out of bed than we did with Tatumn, but overall, she seems to be doing great! We just can't believe she is big enough! Time is going too fast! :)

Swamp Tour

2011-09-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting to my last post from my mom and papaw's visit! Our final adventure was a swamp tour with Cajun Encounters. It was so scenic, and our guide gave us a great lesson in the history of the area as well as a bit of botany! The first few pics are of shrimping boats located in the area we were touring, which was the Honey Island Swamp.

The trees and moss were so beautiful!

We saw plenty of critters including several raccoons, who also apparently like marshmallows! haha!

We saw several bird species too.

The pic above shows a turtle on a log.

And, of course, we saw a few alligators! The guide fed them marshmallows and hot dogs. We had a great time and can't wait to take all of you who visit us on a swamp tour! :)

Go Hogs!!

2011-09-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

Since we are living in a foreign land, we had to keep the Hog spirit alive in our house this year! These are the girls game day shirts for this year. We even have one for baby Maris when she gets here! Go Hogs!!

Who knew....

2011-09-01T05:48:00.000-07:00

ALLIGATORS EAT MARSHMALLOWS! haha! There is a bridge over some backwaters of the Tchefuncte River in the town we live in that never fails to produce a few alligators. So, while my mom and papaw were visiting, we decided to show off these local celebrities. The spot did not disappoint, and we saw about 6 alligators! It was so exciting! Another couple drove up as we were looking at the gators, and they brought alligator food in the form of marshmallows. They told us that on this is what they feed the gators on all of the tours in the area (which we later found out was really true), so they gave Tatumn a few to throw in.

We had a fun and exciting time seeing our local alligators!

Pinterest Potluck

2011-08-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

One of my friends had this great idea to have Pinterest Potluck, and what a fabulous idea it turned out to be! If you have not joined Pinterest, do it NOW! It is so much fun! We decided on a theme of appetizers, and everyone brought appetizers and desserts they had been wanting to try. Even the kiddos loved it! Here are links to some of the yummy things we got to sample (just click on the food, and it will link you to the recipe):

Stuffed mushrooms
Raspberry brie phyllo cups
Cheddar biscuits - just like Red Lobster!
Ham and cheese pretzel bites
Homemade samoas - Oh my sweet goodness, these were seriously fabulous!
Cheese straws
Cake balls - we had red velvet/cream cheese, German chocolate, and yellow/chocolate, and the German chocolate were my favorites!
Oreo balls

Check out my friend Amber's blog for more pics and info.

I am sure I am leaving something out, but you get the idea. It was so fun! We have already decided to do gourmet pizzas for our next potluck! I can't wait! Will try to eat less and take more pics at that one. :)

Audubon Insectarium

2011-08-31T08:43:00.000-07:00

My mom and my papaw Henderson came last weekend for a visit. We had a great time and got to do a few things that have been on our list to try. The first was the Audubon Insectarium. They have a wonderful butterfly exhibit, and we really enjoyed the tour. We will definitely go back again!

Best picture of the entire visit is the one above! Papaw was testing out the body armor that was modeled after that of an insect. LOVE it! haha!

Don't worry friends! The alligator above is not really in spite of its very life like appearance. Jesse tried to talk me into posting it and pretending we let the girls get this close to a real alligator, but I could not do it! :)

Tatumn got to "pet" lots of different insects including several different types of beetles! She loved it, and it was a great teaching opportunity!

One of her favorite parts was the test kitchen though! That is correct, we let our daughter eat bugs! It was so awesome! She ate a chocolate covered cricket and some dips that had worms in them. It was gross, and I refused to try it, but she was so proud of herself!

First day of Kindergarten

2011-08-30T08:20:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the day has finally arrived that we have a daughter in Kindergarten! Where has time gone? When did she grow up? I just can't believe she isn't a baby anymore. While I am happy for her to have new adventures and experience all life has to offer, I just can't get a grasp on how fast it all goes by.

Now for the funny stuff... As most of you know, we made the decision to home school Tatumn for this year. I still wanted her to have a first day of school photo. She ran into her room to put on her backpack (even though we were not going anywhere) and her pink scarf. She said that she needed to wear the pink scarf so she could look "fancy" for her school pics! haha! It was so funny! She is doing great with her work so far, and I am enjoying flexibility. She is very easy to school because she is so eager to learn and so smart (if I do say so!).

Tatumn and her AR friends

2011-08-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

Tatumn and our neighbor Ann

Tatumn and Julia

Tatumn and Logan

Tatumn has done so well with all of the changes in our lives lately. However, she has been missing her friends some! I feel so bad for her and wish I could zap all of them down here for a little party. However, it does help her to be able to look at all these pictures and talk about their fun adventures. She is such a sweet girl and has such a tender heart. She is doing a great job of making new friends, but they just don't replace those she loves so much in Arkansas...

Summer beach trip 2011

2011-08-21T19:27:00.000-07:00

OK - so, I know you are going to think I am crazy. My preggo friend, Katy, her 2 boys, me and my preggo self and my 2 girls all took off for Pensacola in June. Katy had promised her boys a little vacation, and we weren't doing our normal summer trip stuff due to the move. It seemed like a perfect fit! We made it down and back and somehow managed to survive the cloud of chaos that comes with traveling with 4 kids and 2 pregnant ladies. We ate too much, got sand on everything, and managed to have a great time!

We even found a few sea shells!
I will never make a habit of traveling without Jesse, but all in all the girls and I made some great memories with our friends! What an adventure! :)

Such a fun visit!

2011-08-18T17:31:00.000-07:00

Right before we moved, Leah (one of my cousins and also one of my bestest friends) made a trip to Arkansas. We met up at Papaw's house for a quick visit, and we had so much fun. Our kiddos played, and we actually got a chance to shop one afternoon! I love these pics of Papaw with Kendall, Tatumn, and Finley. Baby Arden was there, but she did not manage to get in on the picture action.

I love our visits and hope our girls grow up to be as close as we are today!! :)

The actual #5 bday party

2011-08-17T12:22:00.000-07:00

Tatumn had a fantastic 5th birthday party surrounded by all of her friends! She had a hula theme, and it was so much fun! When guests arrived, we had hula skirts and leis for everyone. Our first game was a scavenger hunt. We split the kids up in the several teams. They had to stay in the yard and stay with their adult. They had a piece of paper with about 20 pictures on it, and we competed to see who could find the most things. They all seemed to love this activity!

The 2nd game was to see who could roll a coconut the furthest. We gave all the kids several tries, and they loved seeing how far they could make the coconut go. It was really fun!

What kind of hula party would it be without the limbo!!! This was hilarious! As you can see from the pic above, the kids found all kinds of creative ways to get under the pole. It was really funny!

The last game did not go over so well. The above pic is of the daddies demonstrating, and the below pic is of Team Tatumn and Tessa. The kids were supposed to stand back to back and keep a balloon safely between their backs while walking the length of the yard. The object was to see who could go the farthest without dropping. Who knew that "stand back to back" was a set of instructions that would be completely lost on 5 y/o's? They did enjoy hitting and popping all the balloons though. :)

We had all kinds of treats including: cupcakes, iced cookies, homemade lemonade, and a candy buffet. The cupcake and cookie icing was pink, of course! The candy consisted of tropical themed items and was a lot of fun!

We borrowed this idea from some Little Rock friends. We let Tatumn sit in a special chair and each guest got to bring their present up and present it to Tatumn. We then took a picture of each guest with Tatumn. The kids LOVED it, and I love all of the pics. I only included a few, but I think it will be neat to have for Tatumn. I wish I had done this for each birthday and then we would always have a pic of each guest with her!

Finley definitely wanted to get in on the action!

We also had a pinata. Tatumn picked it out, and I thought it looked a little creepy. However, all the kids got at least one swing at it. They had so much fun trying to hit it!

It was stuffed with candy and temporary tattoos. Of course, as you can see in the below pic, they all wanted a tattoo put on immediately. These were also tropical themed, so they went well with the hula skirts and leis. Everyone looked so cute!

We put all the hula skirts and leis in a pink bucket and had it set up for easy access as the guests came into the yard. I also found those cute paper umbrellas on sale and had them out in the yard. However, it was sooooo windy that day that they kept blowing away! :(

I also made some tissue paper flowers to hang around the patio and with the luau sign on the gate. They were so easy and turned out really cute!

It was such a fun party! I am glad that Tatumn had a fun time with her friends to celebrate turning 5 years old. It really came at a perfect time for her to get to see some of her friends one last time before we moved too. She has talked about the party non-stop and is already planning her #6 birthday party! haha!

Birthday game - May 2011

2011-08-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

One of Tatumn's bestest buddies, Logan, was going to be unable to attend her birthday party this year. So, we decided to get the kids together during the week of her birthday for a AR Traverlers' game! There was lots of good food and good fun!

Logan

Finley was so excited that she was drinking out of a bottle like the big kids!

The birthday girl!

The best part of the night was sharing cotton candy! Oh, and did I mention it was the messiest part of the night?!?

These two are so sweet together!

5.9.11

2011-08-15T07:53:00.001-07:00

Tatumn's party was not until the weekend, and her birthday was during the week this year. I could not let the day pass without making it special for my big girl, since 5 years old is such a monumental one! I let T pick our lunch location, and I took the girls for a birthday lunch. Guess what gourmet establishment she chose..... Oh yeah! You guessed it! McDonald's!

Finley was not quite as excited as her sister, but I am sure that one day she will be!

The birthday Happy Meal!

We also had a special dinner with daddy once he got home. Tatumn got to invite her neighbors, Josh and Ann over for a pizza dinner. I also took her by Fresh Market to pick out a dessert for after pizza.

She chose petit fours. All of those in attendance agreed that the "little bitty tiny cakes" were fabulous!

Tatumn was so happy that she had some friends to share her birthday dinner with!

She also had a few other birthday surprises....

Nini and Papaw sent her flowers. She could not believe that she got flowers delivered to her house! She was so happy!

Jesse got Tatumn some balloons too (per her request! haha!)

She got a Flynn Rider doll to go with her Rapunzel as well as some Tag Reader books from me, Jesse, and Finley.

It was a great day celebrating as a family! We can't believe our girl is already 5 years old! Where has time gone? I don't really know, but I do know we have loved every minute!

New Dresses

2011-08-15T06:07:00.000-07:00

During our visit to Stuttgart before the move, my cousin Leah took us to the cutest boutique called Too Cute. It really is too cute! Anyway, I got these adorable dresses for them and had them monogrammed. The girls love dressing alike, and we go so many compliments on theses dresses.

Um, I think I lost something

2011-08-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

Finley came in the living room today with her diaper in hand! We thought it was too funny! Guess it is time to start vising the issue of potty training!

Surprise #2

2011-04-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

We are moving to.....

New Orleans!!!!

Surprise

2011-04-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

I have been a bad blogger! It is because I have been feeling terrible, but it is not without a purpose. We are expecting baby #3 in Oct! I am 14 weeks and finally feeling a little better. I am still very tired, but the sickness seems to be passing! We are so excited!! :)

T-ball starting up

2011-04-12T05:57:00.000-07:00

Tatumn had her first t-ball game last weekend. It.was.AWESOME! I don't know who had more fun the parents of the kids!

The girls looked like someone threw up pink on them! Pink visors, pink shirts, pink socks, pink shoes, pink bats, pink helments! Of note, someone brought a blue batting helmet, and even though T has it on here, they all pretty much refused to wear it for most of the game! haha! I guess it didn't match their outfits!

The girls got to go out for ice cream afterward, which was probably the highlight of their day. We can't wait for more games!!

1st park date of the year!

2011-03-23T18:52:00.000-07:00

We had our first day of fun at the park for the year! Tatumn so badly wants Finley to pose for pics with her, but poor Finley is not into it at this moment!! haha!

Finley got to swing for the first time, and we were all so excited! She also wend down the kiddie slide and climbed anything she could throw a leg across!! haha! We are enjoying some beautiful weather!

Baby shower for Arden

2011-03-06T18:28:00.000-08:00

My sweet cousin Leah is preggo with her 2nd girl. While she and her big girl were in town, we had a little baby shower. Her seasons for girls did not really match up, so she got tons of cute girly clothes! We had a great time visiting too!

Mom's latest 29th birthday

2011-03-01T18:10:00.000-08:00

Isn't she lovely! Isn't she wonderful!

Tatumn and Daddy at Garvan Gardens in Hot Springs. We spent the day wandering around there and letting the kids run like crazy!

Sweet Finley!

The girls and I cheesing it up. :)

Managed to get one of all the grandkids - Tatumn, Gwen, Gunner, and Finley.

Lance and mom - who else thinks they look alike here?

The 3 big kids smiling so sweet!

Aunt Vivi and baby Finley

Love this funny girl. Gwen always keeps us in stitches!

Happy birthday, mom! You are the best!

Finley turned 1

2011-02-19T19:07:00.000-08:00

For Finley's first birthday, we spent the weekend in Memphis enjoying great weather, great friends, and great food! Finley got in the party mood with her special birthday cupcake pj's!

On her birthday, we headed to Memphis Pizza Cafe for lunch and cake with Robin, Jeremy, Shawn, Julie, Hannah, Caleb, and Tessa.

Finley and Tessa sat beside each other an played so well! They had the best time!

The pizza was F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!! Everyone enjoyed it!

Finley had her own smash cake that turned out incredible! She had the best time digging into her cake once she got the hang of it. She was a little timid at first, but by the end, she was double fisting it!
This was the big cake! We were so excited about eating it, that I didn't manage to get a pic before we started cutting in! haha! We shared our extra cake with other pizza patrons who gladly accepted. It was red velvet with cream cheese icing and sooooo yummy!

We followed the pizza with a trip to the Memphis Zoo. Everyone had a fabulous time! Hannah, Tatumn, and Caleb at the zoo.
The birthday girl was worn out! Thanks to all of our friends for making Finley's first birthday party so much fun!

Valentine's Day 2010

2011-02-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Poor Jesse - He has so much to take care of on this holiday each year! With 3 girls now in the house, it is getting tougher! :) This year, Tatumn had some very specific demands. She was really wanting someone to give her a red rose (I stopped asking where she comes up with this stuff a long time ago!). When the girls and I woke up on Valentine's morning, we each had a card and a single rose. T got a red one, Finley got a purple one, and I got a pink one. The girls had cards that sang songs, and they loved them. They also each got a plush doll (T got Tiana and FC got Snow White). Surprisingly, FC was the most excited about this. She carried her doll around all day and gave it hugs and kisses! Too cute!

The girls also got some special treats from friends and grandparents that they enjoyed. Last year, Tatumn got a snow globe from Jesse that had Minnie and Mickey inside. Granna accidentally dropped it and broke a piece off. Tatumn has never let Granna forget this faux pas, so Jesse took this opportunity to replace it with a Cinderella snow globe. T was happy for the new pretty for her dresser, and Granna is happy to have T off her back! haha! Hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

2 new books

2011-01-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

I got a B&N gift card for a birthday present, and I thought I would share what I got.....

1. Poor Girl Gourmet - so far, I am loving this one.

2. How to Cook Without a Book - I have only looked over the recipes and have not really started reading this yet. However, I love the layout and arrangement, and this will be super helpful to me since I am currently not capable of cooking without a recipe! :)

Yay for new books!

Look @ my Sketchers

2011-01-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

These are Tatumn's new shoes. Go ahead and look again. Take in all of their glory. They-are-so-fabulous (according to Tatumn anyway)! While the kids were in Louisiana and Jesse and I were taking a much needed day to ourselves, Nini's niece Lauraleigh showed Tatumn these shoes. Tatumn asked Nini if she could have a pair, and we all know the answer to that. The first night she had them, Tatumn asked me if she could sleep in them! haha! She LOVES these shoes! They are a little flashy for Daddy's taste, but our big girl likes her stuff with extra bling! Did I mention that the crystals on the toe light up when she walks? Oh, yeah! It doesn't get more fabulous... for our 4 y/o anyway.

Santa found us...

2011-01-01T13:03:00.000-08:00

We went to Louisiana to for Christmas. We enjoyed great food, great weather, and great time with family!

My little chef helping out with Christmas dinner!

Tatumn asked Santa for Scooby Doo dolls and a Rapunzel doll, and Santa was happy to oblige her!

Papaw and Nini scored big time points with Finley! She got a piano for Christmas, and she and Tatumn have not stopped banging out tunes! Love it!

Tatumn got Fancy Nancy dress up clothes from Papaw and Nini! Too cute! She absolutely LOVES Fancy Nancy!

Before Christmas, Tatumn developed a deep concern for Santa's health. She got so excited when we visited Santa, that she forgot to tell him that "God wants us to be healthy!" She planned to let Santa know that she felt it was best if he cut back on the cookies and increased his salad intake. Anyway, she forgot. I felt sure that she was only going to leave vegetables for Santa, but she decided to let him have cookies and milk in the end! haha! She also dictated a little note to Santa. What a sweetie!

We had a wonderful time with our Louisiana family!

Our little family Christmas

2010-12-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

We had Christmas with just us and the kids before Christmas Day. We always like to try to take a minute for just us and our little family during the holiday season, and it is always the moment I enjoy the MOST!

Jesse and I decided to try to find or make each other a gift for around $20 this year. We always have several discussions about trying to teach the kids the true meaning of Christmas and not letting the girls get too caught up in all of the gift-giving. So, we decided to try to apply this to ourselves this year as a challenge. Plus some of our favorite gifts in the past have been homemade or very inexpensive. These include a small scrapbook of pics from when we were dating that I gave to Jesse. One Valentine's Day, Jesse got me a very small bakery cake that I did not have to share because he knows how much I LOVE white cake with butter cream frosting. He also got me a Precious Moments figurine one year that said "World's Sweetest Girl" on it. These seem to be the some of the things we cherish the

most because we know that the other person had to really put some thought into the gift. So, this year, I got a fancy camera strap and Jesse got a stove top popcorn popper! We both were so surprised and excited about our gifts!

Tatumn got dress up clothes (tip: I got these for 50% off after Halloween and paid only a few dollars each for most of them) and a Tag reader.

Finley got worn out by all the excitement! haha!

She got the cute sock/shoe things and a new cell phone to distract her from our real ones!

Buzz Light Year was a bit hit with Tatumn too!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year!

My birthday cake

2010-12-29T08:28:00.000-08:00

Jesse had the most awesome birthday cake made for me this year! It was an exact replica of my camera!! It was truly incredible, and I could not belive how real it looked!

Papaw's 50th birthday

2010-12-28T06:39:00.000-08:00

While they were here before Christmas, Sheila planned a 50th birthday party for Jesse's dad. We all met for dinner at Olive Garden and had a really nice dinner together!

Uncle Gil and Aunt Charlotte

Christopher spent his time soliciting laughs from Tatumn. This one worked pretty well! haha!

Jessica and Tatumn spent their time laughing at Christopher!

Mr. Clint is Paul's friend from elementary school. It was so nice of him and his wife to come up to the party, and I think Paul was surprised and happy to see them!

The birthday boy!

Finley spent her time trying to swipe food off of mine and Papaw's plates!

Happy Birthday!!

Christmas Card 2010

2010-12-27T17:20:00.000-08:00

We went out to Pinnacle Mountain to take our family Christmas pics in the hopes of getting one good enough for a Christmas card. It was a "rather blustery day" to quote Winnie the Pooh, and the temps could have been better. However, I think we managed a few cute ones!

Finley Claire does not give out the smiles for just anything. It has to be something really good, and today, she wasn't amused! :)

I love this pic of Jesse and Tater!

Oh, here is a 1/2 smile!

My favorite one of Tater!

This girl is so sassy!

Happy Holidays to all of our family and friends!

Ode to Jesse

2010-12-14T18:12:00.000-08:00

Today, we have been married 9 years. I cannot imagine my life with anyone but him. He works so hard for our family. I could not ask for a better father for our girls. He is so involved with them and always chips in even when he has worked all day. What a great man God blessed me with. I do not deserve him, but I am so happy to have him!

I am thankful for so many wonderful times and memories. I am thankful for our happy family. I am thankful for a future of more memories together!

Cookie exchange party

2010-12-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had a cookie exchange party for a few moms and kiddos. I think it turned out really fun, and we got some fantastic treats!

For the kids, I planned a few activities. I bought plain treat bags and let them decorate those with Christmas stickers. We then made these "magic wands" with almond bark, pretzel sticks, and decorative sprinkles. The kids loved this!!

I bought these cute boxes at the Container Store for us to put our cookies and treats in.
Allison made these cookies and brought her own adorable little boxes. Here is the recipe for her cookies. Katy made one of my favorites! Love these no bake chocolate oatmeal cookies. Find a recipe for these here.

Anna made Big Soft Ginger Cookies. When she told me that she was bringing these, I wasn't sure about them. I wasn't sure what they would taste like, but let me tell you that these are fabulous! You have to make these! You can find a recipe for these here.

Sherri got crazy and made a few different kinds of cookies. I don't have her recipes, but I will try to add them later. The small one has chocolate chips, and I am loving those!

Sherry also made 2 kinds of toffee (one with and one without a pistachio topping), and I LOVED these! Jesse liked these too!

I made a sugar cookie like the one my Meme always makes for Christmas. I love these cookies because they are so light and crispy. They are also really easy to make! Here is a recipe.

Anna also brought markers for the kids to color pictures with. Julia made my favorite of the morning. This is her picture of Tatumn! The red dots on her face are her makeup, and the circle around her head is her necklace! I love seeing how kids put things on paper and their interpretation of things! So adorable!

We had such a fun and wonderful morning with our friends! It was such a fun time of playing and visiting. This might become a tradition!

Yes, I am a pharmacist

2010-12-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

And, I should know better......

Crazy kid

2010-12-05T10:54:00.000-08:00

So, on our way home from church today, we are engaging Tatumn in a discussion about the true meaning of Christmas. We have really tried hard not to let her get too caught up in the whole Santa thing. We were telling Tatumn that Jesus was God's gift to all of us and that we celebrate Jesus' birthday at Christmas. I was really starting to think all of this was sinking in with her when she said the following,

"Did you know that when it is cold outside, there are no nuts for the squirrels? When it is warm, they have plenty of nuts to eat but not when it is cold. And, when it rains, they just have to eat wet nuts."

Well, Merry Christmas to all the squirrels.....

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-04T06:04:00.000-08:00

We had a house full on Thanksgiving day this year! It was so much fun! My Meme and Papaw were here along with U Scott, A Nat, and Macey, A Karen, Jessica, and Casey. My mom was here, and Lance, Vivi, Gunner, and Gwen came in too! Jesse's mom also came for lunch (she somehow managed to evade my camera though). It was such a nice time, and we all enjoyed eating and visiting for the day! It was one of the best Thanksgivings I have experienced in a long time!

This has been a tough year for my Meme, as she has had some health problems including a stroke. I desperately wanted her to have a wonderful holiday, and I think we all succeeded!

The kids had a good time, but I think they all did get a little stir crazy. The only bad thing about the day was that it rained all day long, so the kids were forced to play inside all day. :(
Baby Finley enjoyed all the attention she got though! (And all the spoons of cool whip! haha!)

Gwen just cracks me up!! She managed to find my hiding place for Christmas presents. I went upstairs to find her and the other kids dragging out one of Tatumn's Christmas presents and trying to open it! haha!

Here is something I find hilarious! All of the big kids have the Nintendo DS, but they all wanted to play on Tatumn's Leapster! I caught all of them playing it or fighting over it during the day! haha!

The face says it all! haha!

Love my Aunt Nat!

Mom brought her Stella and Dot jewelry, and all of the grown up girls played dress up! So fun!

There was also a lot of napping going on. Papaw got the recliner.

Poor Jesse. He just isn't much of a napper! haha!

Lance had no problem, but he did look a little awkward on the love seat! haha!

The day ended with a surprise visit from my A Debra. Her daughter, my cousin, Christy passed away following a car on Thanksgiving weekend 20 years ago. She brought gifts for Meme that belonged to Christy. She also brought me some porcelain dolls and notes from Christy. There wasn't a dry eye in the room as we all shared fun memories and stories of our beloved cousin, daughter, granddaughter, and niece.

It was such a wonderful time!

Work peeps

2010-11-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

I took Christmas pics for some of my friends from work. Here is a sampling of the many, many cute ones I got. They all have such adorable kids!!

I had such a blast doing this! I shot all 3 families at the Old Mill in one afternoon. It was so much fun!

Tatumn's first Hog game!

2010-11-28T07:53:00.000-08:00

AR vs LSU in War Memorial 2010. Final score: 31 to 23. HOGS WIN!!!

Tatumn did so awesome! She lasted until about 5 min left in the game, which I could not believe! Every time she saw an LSU fan, she would show them the hog on her shirt and say "stinky tigers!" It kept everyone laughing. She even had some of the fans around us yelling, "Stinky tigers!" and "Go piggies!" Too funny! She got Dr. Pepper, pink cotton candy, and popcorn, and I am not sure if she was more excited about the game or the cotton candy! We had a fabulous time, and Jesse is so pumped that his big girl is an official Hog fan!

Logan and Kelly

2010-11-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

Logan and Kelly are friends from church. I did some pics at the Old Mill last week, and the colors were fabulous. The boys did awesome too!

Kelly's cute faces crack me up! I have some hilarious ones of him!

Baby Braley

2010-11-23T07:50:00.001-08:00

I am behind on blogging for a very good reason. I have recently done several portrait sessions, and I have been editing and ordering like crazy! Here are a my favorites from Baby Braley's pics. This baby is so happy and so beautiful!

This is one of my favorite pics that I have ever taken. I LOVE it!

Family pics and funny story

2010-11-23T07:38:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent pics I took of all of us after getting ready to see the Razorbacks (aka the piggies) play!

As a surprise, Jesse and I planned to take Tatumn to her first Razorback game over the Thanksgiving holiday. We revealed the exciting news to her last night over dinner. She initially squealed with delight and then got a serious look on her face. We asked her if she was excited, and she replied, "I'm not really that into sports." WHAT??? We both laughed and asked her where she heard that. She then quoted and entire scene from a Scooby Doo episode where Shaggy says that he is not that into sports! haha! What a goof ball! She is really excited to see the piggies play the stinky tigers though, and she IS into sports!

A cowgirl and her kitty cat

2010-11-04T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'm not ready yet....

2010-10-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

LOOK WHAT FINLEY DID YESTERDAY!!!!!

WAHHHHHH!! I am not ready for this sweet girl to be a big girl yet! She is still supposed to be a tiny baby, right?!?

Pounders Next Top Model

2010-10-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

I don't know where she comes up with this stuff! Now, when I bust out the camera, Tatumn says she wants to "model" for me! haha! Here are some of her favorite poses.....

This one is definitely her go-to pose!

For those who know Jesse, you can understand why I blame him for all this nonsense! haha! Just kidding! This girl cracks me up!!

It's not what you think!

2010-10-25T06:23:00.000-07:00

Her papaw started this! I just wanted to make sure that everyone knows I didn't instill in my 4 y/o a love of coffee drinks!! haha! Papaw started doing for her what he did for his other kids, which is a lot of milk and a little coffee (about a tsp) in a coffee cup. That way Tatumn could have her morning coffee with everyone else. She loves it, and she always wants to drink my coffee. Well, Saturday, we were out of coffee, and Jesse had made me stay up watching Lost episodes way past my bedtime on Friday night. I NEEDED coffee, so Jesse made a Starbucks run. He came back with a decaf white chocolate mocha for Tatumn, and she thought she had achieved the pinnacle of adulthood! haha!

Let the Christmas crafts begin!

2010-10-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

I made a wreath last year for myself using some Sinamay mesh ribbon that I bought in Baton Rouge at the most awesome store. Anyway, several family members have requested a wreath of their own, and it has taken me FOREVER to find a place to order the ribbon. Anyway, I recently scored some and have completed the first of the wreaths that I am giving as Christmas gifts. What do you think???

Fall leaves art project

2010-10-15T08:58:00.000-07:00

I found this project online, and I decided to do a version of it with Tatumn, as we have been talking lately about how the leaves change colors and fall to the ground during Fall. We pretty much followed the directions except that I drew her tree trunk in with a Sharpie instead of blowing paint with a straw. This is only because the acrylic paint is too thick to blow, and that is all I had. She really enjoyed it, and I think it turned out very pretty!

Curly hair

2010-10-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Tatumn has a friend with curly hair. She keeps asking me how her friends hair got so curly. I told her that God made her that way but that we can also roll our hair with rollers. Keep in mind that Granna rolls her hair with curlers, so Tatumn is very familiar with this process. She has been dying for some of her own. Well, I saw Leah's blog yesterday, and it prompted me to get to the store. So this morning, after our shower, Tatumn got curly hair!!

She is so pumped!!

Jesse's response to all of this was, "You mean she already wants to roll her hair!!" We have a little fashionista on our hands! haha!

Frisbee

2010-10-13T20:10:00.000-07:00

Jesse got a Frisbee in his gift bag for the BDB 100 bike race. Since the weather has been so nice, we have been having lots of fun with this thing outside. Tatumn cracks me up playing Frisbee! She loves to throw it but refuses to try to catch it, which has resulted in her being nailed in the face by her loving mother on multiple occasions! I might be a bad person! haha!

We are still working on a proper Frisbee throw!

My beautiful, sweet thing
And my other beauty, who loves watching sister. Tatumn can get Finley to laugh over nothing, and that cracks me up!

Again, not the best technique, but loads of fun!

Love playing Frisbee with this girl!

7 months old

2010-10-12T08:48:00.000-07:00

Here is Finley's 7 month pic. We just can't believe how fast she is growing and changing. Love this girl!

1st pumpkin patch of the fall

2010-10-03T13:27:00.000-07:00

The girls and I went with Anna and Julia to the pumpkin patch. We had so much fun, and it was an adorable pumpkin patch. We had the best time!!

Tatumn and Julia and two nutty girls!

Tatumn and Finley wore their matching pumpkin shirts!
The girls were excited to get a pumpkin, so they kissed them after they picked them out.

We got to go on a hay ride!

Tatumn, Anna, and Julia

They had a hay bale pyramid, and the girls were practicing their model poses! haha!

What a fun day!!

This was not my idea.....

2010-09-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

Tatumn decided she wanted to get her ears pierced today. As much as I tried to talk her out of it, this girl got a stubborn streak from someone! :) So, here is the big girl in all of her ear pierced glory!

Another maternity shoot

2010-09-23T09:09:00.000-07:00

I did another maternity shoot last weekend with Jill. She is due to deliver baby Olive the end of Oct or first of Nov. Here are a few of my favorites.....

We lucked out with some great weather and did the shoot around Pinnacle Mountain. Thanks for being such a good sport, Jill and letting me practice on you!

House of Pigs

2010-09-22T09:09:00.000-07:00

I ordered the girls some new shirts. Tatumn always wants Finley to dress like her, but it is difficult to get outfits in a 4T and 9 mo. So, when I was able to order the girls shirts that had the same little piggy and their names, Tatumn almost peed! These could not have turned out cuter. Our friend Stacy made these, and she is so super talented. Check out her things at Sew Darlin'. You will definitely be seeing the girls in these shirts a ton this fall!

Go Hogs!!

Reunited

2010-09-21T15:14:00.000-07:00

When Tatumn was in day school, one of her best friends was Logan. Since she has been staying home, she has really missed Logan, and she pretends to play with him on a regular basis! From what I understand, Logan has missed Tatumn just as much! We got an invite to Logan's birthday party this summer but didn't get to go because Tatumn got strep throat. She could not have been more disappointed. Well, we have been trying to get these 2 together since then, and it finally happened this past weekend!

There were frequent hug breaks! haha! It was a regular love fest with these two! They screamed "I love you" to each other while swinging side by side! It was so sweet and made me feel terrible for not getting them together earlier!

Tatumn and Logan had the best afternoon playing, and we had to drag them away from each other. It was such a sweet time with friends!

6 months

2010-09-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

Seriously, the cutest thing ever.....

It's a conspiracy

2010-09-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

My girls are plotting against me; I am convinced of it! Tatumn was not and is not a good eater. She is super picky, and it makes me nuts! I am not a picky eater, so I have a difficult time dealing with her refusal of anything adventuresome. I frequently blame Jesse for all of this headache because he is also a picky eater. He marked Tatumn big time with this picky palate and quirky personality! haha! Anyway, I was determined to bring Finley over to my side of just eating whatever is on the plate (no questions asked)! I set out to make all of my own baby food and just be a super hippie mom in general when it comes to food for her. I got all cocky when she took to the rice cereal right away (unlike Tatumn, who wouldn't even eat that). You have already seen the failure that was green peas. I decided to move on from that fiasco and go with butternut squash. As, I am sure you are waiting on the the edge of your seat, here is the response.....

Let me just tell you that there was a lot of gagging involved. I started to get discouraged but decided to move onto green beans. To ensure my success with the green beans, I even added a bit of butter to the puree. I know that is cheating, but don't judge me. I NEED a good eater in this house! Well, I didn't even take pics of that because I couldn't post of her gagging until she PUKED!!! At that point I cried and then gave her pear puree. Tatumn loved it (then and now) and Finley loved it too. SIGH... another girl with a sweet tooth. What to do?!?

Swimming on vacation

2010-09-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Even though we went to the beach for vacation, we spent most of our time at the pool. Tatumn has not been in love with the sand in the past few years (although, she really liked it this year). It was also nice to have some shade for Finney at the pool. Our condo had an awesome pool, and we all really enjoyed it! Bye the way, my mom spent as much time at the pool as we did, but I promised not to post any pics of her in a swimsuit on the Internet (even though she looked fab in her new suit!). So, I am keeping up my end of the deal!

Tatumn doesn't realize that she is too big for this kiddie slide! haha!

Doing what I do best.... sitting in the sun while Jesse chases Tatumn! haha!
Me and my big girl! We were going down the big slides in the background.

Daddy and Tater in the fountain! haha!

Finley spent her time in the shade napping and people watching. I think she likes it!

The two water bugs!

Well, this is my last vacation post. We had such a wonderful time being away as a family. I am ready for next year already! haha!

Vacation adventure

2010-09-04T19:21:00.000-07:00

When I look at these pictures, I am reminded of a girl I once knew. The one who would stand at the bottom of the slide and yell, "Careful kids!" to all of her friends. The girl who refused carnival rides or anything remotely risky. A girl who preferred to observe. I don't know what happened to her because now she is 4, and she wants to do everything!! Tatumn got in some serious adventures on vacation, and I thought I would share a few pics as proof positive that she actually did all this stuff!

Go-carts with daddy! She did not want to get off and wanted daddy to go faster!

Dolphin cruise! She stood by the back of the boat and had the best spot for seeing the dolphins. This girl could not have been more excited!

There is a giant Ferris wheel at the resort we stayed at. She cried when we had to get off!

We are loving that Tatumn is getting brave and wanting to experience everything!

This conversation really happened

2010-08-31T14:07:00.000-07:00

Dentist: My, Tatumn, you are getting so big!!

Tatumn: Yes, I am 4 now.

Dentist: Oh, really?

Tatumn: Yes, because my panties don't fit me anymore, and I am going to have to get new ones. My momma put it on her list.

Dentist: Ok then, I better get back to work....

Orange Beach 2010

2010-08-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

I have meant to post these earlier. Here are some of the pics we took on the beach during our vacation. It was so nice to relax and get away for a week! Mom went with us, so Jesse and I even got to go out for dinner and a movie one night! It was fabulous. Tatumn is at such a great age, and she had so much fun! It was such an enjoyable trip!

Until next time......

First taste of....

2010-08-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

PEAS!!!!

Do any babies like this stuff? I tried it on Tatumn, and she wouldn't have it. Then I decided to make my own baby food with Finley thinking that I couldn't lose this time! What is it with my babies and their peas? Oh well, next week will start on the good stuff, but at least I gave the peas the old college try, right?

Swimmy class

2010-08-21T20:00:00.000-07:00

Tatumn has done so awesome with her swim lessons this summer. She made it all the way through the "Water Babies" curriculum, and she was so proud of all she learned to do. She always says we are going to "swimmy class" and she has to wear her "swimmy suit!" It cracks me up! At her last lesson, I got a few shots of Tatumn and Coach Talia (who, incidentally, is the BEST!).

5 months

2010-08-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

I am always late getting these up, but here they are. Finley turned 5 months on 7/19. She is growing so fast and seems to have turned a corner on her digestive issues (thank you LORD!). She smiles all of the time. She got a little cold and spent a little over a week and a half waking up every few hours to have her nose suctioned out, which was not fun for anyone involved. But, like everything, that passed and we are back to sleeping through the night. We started the rice cereal but while she had the cold, she was having trouble eating it. So we started back after her cold was over. She did great with the rice cereal, and we have even moved onto oatmeal. Tatumn is still so in love with being a big sister, and I think it is so cute!

It helps to have a gorgeous model....

2010-08-12T05:52:00.000-07:00

I had been wanting to practice shooting on someone other than a toddler or baby and was thinking on who I could get to volunteer. Then it hit me... Faith. She is my cousin Leah's cousin (did you get all that?). She isn't quite a senior, but I figured it would be the same effect. Boy, do I know how to pick them!! She could not have been more perfect! She is not only absolutely stunning, but she was so natural and easy to shoot. She was up for anything, and I really enjoyed shooting her. I even got a few of the whole family!

I now want a dimple so bad that I don't know what to do with myself! haha! Love it!

Faith with her mom and dad. No way were we going to get her older bro to get in on the "fun".
Love this family shot! Their yard is fabulous, and we got all the pics there!

Seriously, isn't she so pretty?

Thank you so much, Faith!! You guys were all so much fun! Hope you like the pics

The daddies

2010-08-02T17:38:00.001-07:00

OK, like I said before, the Piker's invited us over for dinner and then challenged us to a water gun fight. Of course, the daddies took it a little too seriously.

If you can't tell, Jesse's face was super red from all the running around. I had to throw this one in though because of the super cute baby!

Ganster Jerrod
and Ganster Jesse

Who had more fun.... the daddies or the kiddies? I can't tell!

Dinner and guns

2010-08-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

The Piker's invited us over for dinner and then challenged us to a water gun fight! I got a reprieve to protect my infant child and document it all with the camera! haha! We had so much fun!

Tatumn and her buddy Julia. This was after the water guns and the sprinkler and right before the very necessary bath! haha!

Finley had fun listening to all of the squeals and giggles!
Tatumn was attacking everyone!

But, Julia was a maniac! She didn't even take mercy on me! haha!

What a fun night with friends!

Family swim party

2010-08-02T16:54:00.000-07:00

It is now tradition for my Aunt Karen to have a summer swim party at her house. She has a fabulous home and pool, and we always have the best time there. This summer was no exception! We ate ourselves silly and got more than our share of sun! My pictures are limited this year, as there are now 2 kiddos for me to chase! Right now, one can be outside and one needs to be inside, so I felt like I was running most of the day! haha!

Macey in the pool! She is getting so big and is such a sweet girl. I am so proud of her!

Gunner getting his goggles ready! He was a little fish all day!
Tatumn might have had more fun than anyone. She jumped off the diving board for the first time! It was so awesome, and she was so proud of herself! She did it over and over and over and over once she realized that it was not big deal! We were so proud of her!

There were goggles for everyone, and the little girls could not wait to get them on. Tatumn cannot quite get the hang of the goggles. She wants to wear them, but she refuses to open her eyes under water with them on. She doesn't quite trust the goggles! haha!

What a fun day with family! Nothing better!!!

Visiting with friends

2010-07-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our very best friends from Memphis were definitely the Troxel's. We met in the newlywed Sunday School class at Kirby Woods Baptist Church. We have so many funny stories from that class as we all learned to maneuver being married! I cannot re-tell those stories on here (even if I could they probably wouldn't be funny to anyone else). What a fun time! Well, everyone grew and moved on, but we have remained in touch with the Troxel's, and they got to stop by on Sunday! I could not have been more excited!

Their youngest is Tessa. This girl is so pretty! She has the biggest eyes and the sweetest personality!

Caleb is the middle child, and he is such a handsome boy! He has the cutest dimples, but he refused to smile for my camera! haha! Poor Caleb was so disappointed to find a house full of princess stuff and no boy toys!
Hannah is growing up so fast. Did I mention that these people make some pretty kids? Shawn and Julie were the first of our close friends to have a baby, and it was Hannah. We were all waiting anxiously at the hospital for her to be born, and she was the cutest thing I had ever seen! She still is and is also such a sweet girl.

Tatumn was so excited to play with friends and is already begging us to take her to Memphis for a visit!

Tatumn's new dress

2010-07-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Nini and Papaw our girls are never at a loss for girly dresses or new clothes. As all who know her are aware, Tatumn loves dresses and jewelry, and her grandparents enjoy obliging the obsession! haha! Here is the latest dress to add to Tatumn's box of beauty.....

The pink bow and flowers are the reason this dress is her new favorite! How did I manage to have such a girly girl?!? I have no idea, but I love her and all her girly antics!

First bite of cereal

2010-07-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

Tatumn got to feed Finley her first bites of rice cereal. I am not sure which girl was more excited! We thought it was so sweet! I think Finley was excited about getting to use a spoon too. She certainly took this better that Tatumn did. Tatumn was born with her own ideas about what tastes good, and rice cereal was not on her list! I am hoping Finley will be a better eater.

Our TV is possessed by the devil....

2010-07-11T11:01:00.001-07:00

OK - not really possessed, but close. The reason why I suspect this is because there is a commercial that is chasing me. No matter what the channel, this set of commercials will come on! It makes me nuts! What commercial, you ask... the Proactive acne solution commercials. You know the ones. That little known company that basically got every known celebrity to endorse their product. How they can afford all those endorsements plus paying for advertising on all available channels boggles my mind, but that is a different subject.

Well, I don't know if you guys have this problem, but my 4 year old repeats everything she hears. She doesn't always know what she is saying, but she works it into the conversation. For example, last night we ate at Macaroni Grill and Jesse and I were discussing what he should order. Tatumn was coloring on the paper tablecloth, and she did not appear to be listening. One of the food options was Penne Rustica (fabulous, by the way). Out of nowhere today, everything is Rustica this and Rustica that!

Anyway, this same principle applies for TV. You don't think she is watching, but she is listening to everything pretty much rendering it impossible to watch anything but cartoons in her presence (and even some of those are questionable). Anyway, I am issuing a public thank-you to Proactive for teaching my child the following phrase:

"Smooth skin, sexy skin."

Oh, and in case you are wondering, she does use this phrase when applying lotion to her skin because that is the closest thing she has to acne solution. AWESOME!

Fireworks part 2

2010-07-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday night we spent our 3rd year at Pops on the River. The AR Symphony Orchestra started playing 1 hour before the fireworks. As usual, the fireworks display was phenomenal! We met the Ramsey's, Lance, Vivi, and kids, and the Thomas'. The kids could not have been more geared up, and I am sure the sugar surge from the shaved ice did not help! haha!

Sherry holding Tatumn and Presley - poor Sherry had to hold both girls during the fireworks because they had to sit together!

Nanny holding Finley - baby Finley got lots of loving!

Robin cuddling with Finley

JemJem with Taterbug

The kids loved showing off their tongue and teeth after the shaved ice. Gwen had purple!

Tatumn had strawberry, and loved it!

Gunner was also super proud of his missing teeth! haha!

Fireworks part 1

2010-07-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Sat night when we got home from from Mountain View, the Pikers' came over for grilling and fireworks. The girls had an awesome time!

Julia with her first sparkler!

Here is Tatumn with her sparkler. She was loving it! Jesse showed her how to write letters in the sky with her sparkler!
We had a whole bag of stuff to blow up! haha! The girls liked the sparklers, but Julia was not fond of anything that made noises. She and Finley ended up inside, but Tatumn wanted to be in on the action!

Finley got to see a few, but she also did not appreciate the loudness and let us know it!

Bestest buddies!

Daddy and his big girl!

We had such a fun night celebrating with friends! Great food and great fun!

Mountain View

2010-07-05T10:20:00.000-07:00

Over this weekend, we went to spend 1 night in Mountain View, AR with Jesse's dad and Sheila as well as some of Sheila's family. We had such a wonderful time! We are definitly going back. The temp was a few degress cooler, so that was awesome! The place we stayed was within walking distance of lots of the restaurants and shops, so we got to walk around and enjoy the sites!

There was a children's parade, and Tatumn was pumped about seeing "Old MacDonald" there! haha!

There were several antique cars, but all of the girls were most excited about this fabulous pink/purple one! T and Zoe had to have a pic!
Sheila's brother, Will aka WiWi, came too. He is Tatumn's favorite!

This is Finley being held by Papaw. I don't think her hiney touched the ground for the entire time we were there! She got lots of snuggles!

Tatumn and Daddy worked in a little swim time!

This girl cracks me up! What a face! haha!

Swim party

2010-07-04T11:54:00.000-07:00

My high school friend, Nikki, invited the girls and me to swim at her house last week. We had a fantastic time! The weather was fabulous too! Nikki has 2 boys, Ethan and Asher, and they were super entertaining! What a fun day!

Finley in her glamorous bathing suit and matching hat!

Asher could not be without his pacifier even in the pool! So cute!
Ethan showed us all his tricks in the pool!

Tatumn was trying out her new goggles that daddy got her. They were pink, of course! She doesn't really understand the concept of the goggles though. She would put her head under the water but refused to open her eyes! haha!

4 months old

2010-07-04T11:37:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little Finley.

Gwen is turning 3

2010-06-26T14:09:00.000-07:00

Gwen is about to turn 3, so Vivi and I took her out to get a few pics. Thank the Lord she is a beautiful child because she did not take it easy on me! haha! This girl is a mess, but we love her!

Nervous

2010-06-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

Tatumn is trying out a new word these days....nervous. It is cracking me up. Tatumn was with my mom the other day and said, "Granna, I don't have to mind my momma." Granna promptly reminded Tatumn that she did have to mind her mother and that it would not make momma very happy to hear that. Tatumn thought about it for a minute and said she was sorry. She then told Granna, "Let's don't tell mom what I said because it will make her real nervous." WHAT!?! Everyone knows how Tatumn feels about her beloved Zoe doll. Well, one night we before bed we could not find Zoe, and Tatumn was getting worried. She said, "If we don't find Zoe soon, I am going to be so nervous!" SERIOUSLY! haha!!! Don't ask me where this stuff comes from! Actually, ask me, and I will tell you that she gets it from her daddy!

Here are a few more of her 4 yr portraits for your viewing pleasure.

Tiny baby

2010-06-24T12:51:00.000-07:00

Finley had her 4 month check up and shots today. She weighed 11 lb 16 oz (between 15-20 percentile) and was 24 inches long (50th percentile). Her head circumference was in the 25th percentile too. Based on that alone, I would question whether she was mine if I didn't have the scar to prove it! haha! I have been so worried about her growth because, compared to Tatumn, Finley is such a tiny baby. However, the doc didn't seem worried at all and felt that she was proportionate and gaining at an appropriate pace. That was a sigh of relief! She is meeting all of her developmental milestones including rolling front to back and back to front, cooing, laughing, following objects with her eyes, and grabbing at toys. She is such a joy, and we love seeing her personality develop right before our eyes!

Maternity shoot

2010-06-21T19:25:00.000-07:00

I did my first maternity shoot this weekend. My friend Dana is one of the prettiest pregnant ladies ever!! We had a great time even though I had her out posing in this heat. She was such a trooper!

Thank you, Dana! You were so awesome! You are beautiful, and your little girl is going to be one lucky lady!

Daddy's Day 2010

2010-06-20T18:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to Jesse! What a wonderful father for our little girls! Tatumn loves playing with Jesse, and honestly, they could not be more alike. They have the same sense of humor and inquisitive personality. Finley is already attached to daddy. She recognizes his voice and gives him the biggest smile when he talks to her. He is such a family man, and it makes me smile that he enjoys being with me and the girls in his extra time! The girls and I appreciate how hard Jesse works for our family! We are a lucky and blessed group of girls! Happy Father's Day!

All about babies

2010-06-15T12:48:00.000-07:00

This week at iheartfaces they are all about the babies. Since I happen to have a new little cutie pie of my very own, I thought I would enter one of her pics. This is the pic that I used for her birth announcement, but it was in b&w for that. I just got some new actions for photoshop, and I have been trying to learn to use them! haha! So, I re-edited this photo. This is by far my favorite of Finley so far! Loving taking her pictures!

Tour de Rock 2010

2010-06-12T14:36:00.000-07:00

Jesse rode in the Tour de Rock today. He finished his 50 miles to fans screaming at the finish line. OK, so maybe it was just one little girl, but she was screaming for her daddy! Everyone got a big kick out of her screaming, "Good job, Daddy" and "Daddy, I love you!" as he crossed the finish line! It was hot, but we all had a great time and are so proud of Jesse!

Finley's 3 month pics

2010-06-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

I am only about a month late getting these on the blog!! I can't believe how fast she is growing! She is really almost 4 months old now!

4 year old photos

2010-05-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

I did not get around to doing Tatumn's birthday pics before her birthday, so one of my goals this weekend was to get in a little photo shoot with her. We managed that tonight after dinner. Here are a few in the first outfit.

Jesse and I LOVE this little side ways grin!

That sassy, hands-on-the-hips, 'bout-to-get-in-trouble look she gives makes us roll! It is hard to be a parent sometimes! I can't help but laugh!
We still can't seem to believe that she is 4! It really does seem like just yesterday!

We are so proud of Tatumn! She really is a sweet and loving child with just the right amount of mischievousness!

Sometimes, I still can't believe she is ours!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend! We sure are!

Singing in the Rain

2010-05-23T13:03:00.000-07:00

Last week did not have the weather we were hoping for, so we really did not get to play outside enough. Finally, by the end of the week, I just decided to let Tatumn play outside in the rain.... in her nightgown.... with the dog. Don't judge me! She had so much fun getting wet and splashing in the puddles. It was great!

Once the fun outside was over, I threw her in the shower. She insisted on wearing a shower cap even though she was already rain soaked! haha! This girl is crazy!

Photoshoot with the Hamm family

2010-05-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

This is my friend Ashley and her husband Larry. They have CUTE kids! I was so pumped to get to take pics of their family today. Here are a few of my favorites.