Who wants to win some FREE jewelry??

My friend, Hillary, over at The Other Mama is having a weeks worth of giveaways this week! Please go over there and check out her blog. It's GREAT reading and you could win something!
The jewelry is Lisa Leonard designs and it's really, really pretty necklaces & bracelets! Go check it out..NOW!

Pool Time Fun

These are some pics from earlier (or "ur-yee-ur", if you're Ava) this summer. The kids and their cousins in the pool. They swam and played for hours!

"Whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?"
Ava isn't usually very tolerant of her cousin. They are 9 days apart. He adores her. She's never really felt the same about him, however.

My bee-you-tee-ful niece..I swear, I could just eat her up!

Maybe this is wrong of me, as a mother..but I just love the cheeks!! Couldn't help myself!

Fancy Face

I rarely allow the girls to play in the makeup because I know the mess it will make and I know they'll have to go straight to the bathtub once they're done. But I conceded one day (a few weeks ago) and let them dig in...literally. They had a great time..especially Ava, who'd never had this opportunity. She loved it!


Dont you just love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles tattoo on E's belly..courtesy of Daddy.

First Day of School!

Well, it's official. My baby isn't so much a baby anymore! I was very nostalgic and a little sad the days leading up to this day. When did she grow up? I want my baby back! (it's okay to sing the Chili's jingle..you know you want to)

As the pictures depict, she was quite excited for her first day. And she did very well...



















Now, however, the novelty of it has worn off, and it's a battle every morning. She seems to be very unhappy at school. I've even gone to the principal already to see about moving her to a different class, which has more of her preschool friends. But my request was declined. Her teacher is already out on maternity leave. We met her new teacher last week at Open House. And she tells us that Elizabeth sits on the bench most days at recess without playing. THIS really makes me sad! When I asked her why she does this, her reply was "I just sit and think about you and how much I miss you." Can somebody please pass the tissues?? My heart hurts for her. Please pray that this situation makes a turn for the better and that she can be happy at school.

New funnies...

Today Elizabeth told me, "My favorite days of the week are Fridays and Tuesdays (pronounced 'toos-days'). Fridays because we get to spend time together (family night) and 'Toos-days' because it sounds like there are TWO days until dark instead of one!"

At dinner earlier this week, I dropped a little food on my shirt..so typical. Mike says, "Ava, is Mommy sloppy?"
Ava: "No. She's the BEST!"...gotta love that!

And last night she was chanting, "I da bomb! I da bomb!" She says, "Thi-thy (this is sissy with a lisp), me and mommy are da bomb!" hahaha!

And a picture..just for fun and because I've been such a blog-slacker lately:

Mmm...ain't nuttin' like a N'awlins snowball!

Pool Time

My future cheerleader??

Today, Ava told me that Sissy was "avvabating" her! love it!!

Sweet Summertime

Yesterday we went to Blue Harvest Farms to pick blueberries. The girls loved it..even in the 98 degree HEAT. And the fruit is sooo sweet.
The owners of the farm are Chris and Rachel Pinto. And Rachel also owns and teaches at the pottery studio where I take classes. Rachel had been telling us how good the blueberries are and what an overwhelming attendance they've had this year at the farm. She assured us that if we wanted any blueberries, we'd better get over there! It took us about 30 minutes to collectively pick a gallon.. plenty enough to have some to snack on and cook with.I've dried them, bagged them and gotten them in the freezer. Thinking of making either a pie or a poundcake (my favorite).. don't think I can go wrong either way!

lemme, lemme upgrade ya!

In case any of you readers are confused by the title of this post, it's from a BEYONCE' song, and it's in reference to my brank spankin' new camera!!!! Oh my goodness, can I just tell you how AMAZING this camera is??? I have been pining (and when i say "pining", I mean PINING) over this cadillac of a camera for a long, long time. I really didn't expect to get it anytime soon, but my sweet honey of a husband brought it for me for our anniversary..isn't he the best??
So anyway, it arrived yesterday and I just couldn't break it out of the box fast enough. And then.. I still had to charge the battery. I just stood over the charger very impatiently. It was like waiting for a pot of water to boil. FINALLY, it was charged and ready. I insert the battery, put my lens on, then go to put the memory card in, only to learn that it takes a DIFFERENT card than my "old" camera. I just wanted to cry. So my sweet little hubby ran right out to find the right card. So to cut the story a little shorter, this camera. Oh MAMA. What a camera. i. am. in. love.. simply in love. I cannot wait to get out and take some nice picturs of the girls..I'll post some soon!

Real cowgirls...

...................................eat grits and wear pink leopard print pajamas.

Ava and her big girl bed

I've been wanting to move Ava upstairs with Elizabeth for a while now. But didn't to do that while she was still in a crib. So we decided to convert her crib to a toddler bed. She loves it and is so proud to be in a big girl bed! She doesn't even try to get out. In the mornings when she wakes up, she just sits there and calls me in to come get her...just like always. I can't believe my baby's ready for a bed already... sniff, sniff.

Sissy reading Bible stories to Ava

First night in the toddler bed

"Sweet Dreams, my love"

Look what I brought home today.....

Isnt he adorable?? He was in the road this morning when I was taking the girls to school. Of course I had to stop to try and get him out of the road before someone ran over him. He was so scared.. and from the looks of it, he hasn't eaten in a while. AND it looks like he may have been in a fight. I tried to put him in someone's yard, but he just kept following me! I mean look at him.. could YOU tell him "No.. you can't go with me?" I couldn't. Call me a sucker. Not sure what I'm gonna do with him now. I mean, we dont need another dog.. 2 dogs and a cat is enough for one household, right?? but he's so darn cute....!

Ava's 1st Haircut

We took Ava today to get a little trim. She didn't need much.. just enough to even out around the bottom. She was such an angel the entire time! I promised her a treat if she was good. When it was over, I said, "wanna go get some ice cream?" Her reply? "No..want fwies." So of course we took a swing by Sonic to get some fries. Enjoy the pics!

My Funny Valentine

Elizabeth's at it again with her funnies. I have a few recent ones that I thought I'd share:

1. One night as I'm putting her to bed, she said, "Is Daddy your husband?" My reply, "yes, he's my husband." Elizabeth: "Husband. Hmmmm...I like that word. Husband." OH LORD...isnt it a little early for this??

2. While I'm on the phone with Mike, he puts me on hold..for a LONG time. She wanted to talk to him.
E: "Mom, I'm waiting."
Me: "Me, too. Your daddy's got me on hold again.:
E (with hands up and shrugged shoulders) "He's a difficult man, but we still love him."

3. Elizabth sits Ava down facing her. "Come sit, Ava. Let's talk. Are you feeling like yourself? I'm not really feeling myself."

and the one I heard last night..love this one:
4. E: "Mommy, I like your painted toenails. One day, can you take me to get my toenails painted? I want to go to Heaven to get my toenails painted. 'Cause if I got my toenails painted in Heaven, then Jesus could paint my toenails!"..oh I can just see it now!! talk about a divine pedicure! haha!

And i KNOW that i'm way behind on my pictures (for all you paw paws, nana's aunts & uncles). i promise i'll catch up soon! here are a few pics of elizabeth i'll go ahead and post for ya!