Another Pumpkin Cutie...

Yesterday, a friend of mine asked me to shoot some pumpkin pictures for her two year old grandson! I was super excited to have a "new" subject to take pictures of! Amelia is getting tired of seeing the camera in her face! This little man was too cute for words! He was great practice for me! I wanted to share a few of the final edits! Who knows....I could be stepping in to a new vocation! But for now, I am having fun learning and capturing those precious moments!

FYI: For all my friends who know this little boy...keep it on the DL about these pictures! They are a surprise for his mommy!

Happy Fall Yall'

The leaves are falling, the temperature is dropping...Ahhh! Fall is in the air!! After a long, hot, humid summer, I gladly welcome this beautiful fall weather! I know it's been forever since I've posted! I must admit, I'm a spontaneous blogger. I love to do it, but I never seem to keep up with it! I will try to do better!

Yesterday we took Amelia to the pumpkin patch! There is no better way to kick off the fall season than wondering around a pumpkin patch. It was so beautiful out there and our little Amelia had a blast looking, sitting on, and touching all the "punkins", as she would say. For those who aren't aware, Matt and I purchased a new camera for our birthday present in August. I'm venturing out and exploring the world of photography. I have always wanted to be able to take better pictures so I got a new camera and I'm taking a photography class to teach me a thing or two! Yesterday's pumpkin patch trip was really my first time getting out and practicing with it! I had a blast taking pictures of Amelia in action! Matt was on the sidelines singing songs and dancing, trying anything to get that priceless smile out of her!

I think she was the cutest pumpkin in the patch! Happy Fall!!

A Few Reasons I Love Summertime...

Need I say more!

Happy Birthday Amelia Grace!!

Amelia turned 2 today!! Our big girl is really growing up and Matt and I couldn't be more proud to be her parents! The time has flown by. It feels like it was yesterday that I was holding her in my arms for the very first time! I love to look back and see how she has grown in the past year! This past year she has learned to walk rather than "scoot". She has discovered that crayons are more fun to color with than to chew on. She's learned that M&M's and potato chips are on the top of her food pyramid! She's learned to count to 10 and say her ABC's....All this leaves me to wonder....Where did my little baby go!? Good thing that age will never stop her from always being my little girl! I look forward to things God has in store for Amelia. I often wonder what her hopes and dreams will be and what kind of gifts she will possess. Whatever they may be, I pray that they are rooted in the Lord and everything she does will bring glory to His name!

We are celebrating Amelia's birthday on saturday with a few of our family and friends! More pictures coming soon!

There is no Greater Joy...

...Than being Amelia's mommy! I am so blessed this Mother's Day, to have a wonderful husband and daughter who love me more and more each day! It is their love that strengthens me, humbles me, and makes me a better person! On this Mother's Day, not only am I thankful to be a mom but I am eternally grateful to the one who taught me how to be a mom!

Dear Mom: You are such an inspiration to me. I am so thankful that God chose you to be my mom, my teacher, my very best friend! Your zeal and passion for the Lord is something I have always admired in you. You always taught me, through the way you lived your life, how to be a mighty woman of God! For that, I am thankful! Everything I am today is because of the firm foundation you laid for me yesterday! I love you Mom!

Happy Mother's Day!!

Crawfish Time!!!

If you love Louisiana, there is no doubt that you love crawfish!!! This picture should make any crawdad lover salivate! This past saturday, we had our annual family crawfish boil and ate our weight in crawfish and all the fixin's! Let me just say.... SOO GOOD!!! Ok, I will stop bragging about how yummie the crawfish were so that all my out of town family will not get upset! = )

We had a great time with family and friends. Lots of laughs, memories, and good times! I can't wait to do it again next year!

Paul, my sister Gayla, & Me

I could not convince Amelia to try a crawfish tail but she was curious about these strange looking creatures and told every crawfish she saw "Hi"! At least she was friendly! Amelia got to meet new aunts and cousins she didn't even know she had! It really was a big day for this little one! She loved playing with her cousins Tori and Gracie. They kept her entertained and smothered her with love!

Amelia decided that she would just stick with her staple food for the day... FRENCH FRIES!

Amelia sharing a McDonald's picnic with her cousin Tori

Amelia and her cousin Gracie playing with sidewalk chalk!

Words cannot describe...

You will just have to watch these videos to see for yourself! The first video is one I captured yesterday of her watching a Baby Einstien video on my iphone! Apparently it tickeled her little funny bone! The second video is from this morning. Amelia wanted to wear her red tights and dance in front of the TV while watching Dora! This child is all the entertainment anyone needs! She is so funny!

Amelia's First Trip to the Zoo

I am a little behind on posting these pictures but I still thought they were worth sharing! We brought Amelia to the Zoo this past saturday and what an experience that was! Along with the rest of the entire population of Louisiana... we thought it was an ideal day for the zoo! Saturday + nothing but sunshine + Mid 60's + first gorgeous day we've had in a long time= CRAZINESS AT THE ZOO!!! There were so many people there, even I began to feel swallowed up by the crowds! Nonetheless, we endured and attempted to pry our way through the crowds so that our little Amelia could see all the animals!

She loved the monkeys and stared in amazement at the giant elephants! She would point to all the animals and say "Cow" because in her little 21 month old mind, every animal is a cow! =)

As the day went on, Amelia stopped caring about all the "cows"! All she really cared about doing was running away from us to find herself in the midst of the crowd! That makes for one very nervous momma who later turned in to one very angry momma with more spankings to give than any little girl would care to have! She just couldn't understand why she couldn't get down and walk around like everybody else! After that episode we went to Wal-Mart to purchase a child harness A.K.A kid leash! Hopefully that will make outings a little more enjoyable! In between her little tantrums, I managed to capture of few pictures of our day! Matt had the camera in hand most of the day and took pictures of every animal he saw! But don't worry, I have spared you the agony of looking at EVERY animal picture...I will only post the good ones! haha! I think he had more fun than Amelia! ; )

Amelia having one of her tantrums!

Isabella Grace is on her way!

Isabella's Mommy and Daddy!

Me, Danielle, and Isabella...in the womb :)

Showered with blessings!

Just remember Isabella...She was my friend before she was your Mommy!

I got to spend this past weekend helping my sweet friend Danielle get ready for the arrival of Miss Isabella Grace, who is expected to make her grand entrance any day now!! Our church family in Gulf Shores threw a shower for her this weekend and Amelia and I just couldn't stand to miss out on the fun! I'm so excited for Brandon and Danielle! I know they will be wonderful parents and I can't wait to love on their new baby girl!
Those past couple of days were the ulitmate definition of a "girl's weekend", considering we talked more about nursing and nursing bras than any one man would care to know about! We had more fun organizing all the little girly things ( and trust me...their was A LOT to organize!) In a lot of ways, Danielle and I are so much alike. However, we totally differ in the way we prepared for Labor. I had my hospital bags packed and ready to go 2 months before my due date! I cleaned and vaccumed the house continually! Danielle, on the other hand didn't even know she needed one and rather than "nesting" she would prefer to be "resting" HAHA! Needless to say...between me, her momma, and grandmamas, we managed to get her butt in baby gear!! It was such a fun weekend!

Danielle's Mom and Grandmothers! We all had so much fun getting baby things done!

Danielle testing out Isabella's stroller

Don't think for two seconds that Amelia went without say in this whole eventful weekend. She wasn't so sure about this Isabella girl. She didn't quite understand why there were so many new and fun things to play with that she couldn't take home with her. Or, why all those presents weren't for her!

Hmmm... I'm not so sure about this girl!

The piggy bank she is holding was of course for baby Isabella but Amelia never wanted to put it down! At least she didn't break it! At Danielle's shower she fell in love with the cutest stuffed Giraffe and when we told her she couldn't keep it because it was for Bella she cried and wasn't too happy about it! Looks like mommy is going to be on the hunt for this little Giraffe!

Balloons make me happy!

It really was a great weekend! Now, we are just waiting on Isabella to arrive! Hurry up little one! We can't wait to meet you!