Summer Catch-Up

   I know I've been a bad blogger this summer... bad, bad, bad. My deepest apologies. In the next week or 2, I am going to try to buckle down and bring the people what they want!
  I know you're all dying to know what we have been up to. I will eventually get to Paisley's 1 year post and her birthday party post, I promise.
  Instead of doing a few little posts about our summer, I bring you this: a super-sized, giant, humongous,  larger than life, could there BE any more pictures? summer update.

We....
 tried to stay cool in our backyard "pool"...

did a little gymnastics...

 celebrated D's 30th birthday...

took a few pictures of Miss P (photo credit to the always fabulous April Murray)...

celebrated the 4th of July at the parade in Edmond (and I got my wisdom teeth out, which explains my chipmunk cheeks)...

 

relaxed at the lake with the Boyles family... 

showed off our super gymnastics skills at Schafer's birthday party...

went to Vegas, where we.... 
had 5 fabulous baby-free days (although we did miss her like crazy!)...

hung out in a bar that was 23 degrees...

played some slots...

played some roulette...

won big on the penny slots...

watched the fountains at the bellagio...

enjoyed the pool at the flamingo...

enjoyed some of the best food we've ever had...

listened to some music from Gordy...

enjoyed some drinks...

 enjoyed "cappuccino"...

found some cute boys...

had a great time going out...

got silly...

And finally, we...

turned ONE!!!

starting walking!...

enjoyed some birthday cake...

And now we're ready for warm days and cool nights, hoodies and warm socks, boots and sweaters, hot chocolate and snuggley blankets, orange fridays and early gamedays, pumpkin spice lattes and the smell of fall...

Arts and Crafts

Paisley's birthday party is tomorrow, and my house has been turned into arts and crafts central. I thought I would give you guys a peek into what we have been up to (and be we, I mean me)...

(just trying my hand at cupcake decorating... we won't be eating these!)

I know I owe you guys a few posts. I'll be back after the party!

Picture Day, Father's Day Edition

Just a few (and we all know that I mean way more than a few) of my favorite pictures of Paisley with her daddy... 

I put these 3 pictures in a big frame as Nate's Father's Day gift...

We love you. You're an amazing husband and father. Paisley is the luckiest little girl in the whole world. Thank you for taking such good care of us. Thank you for indulging me with her outfits and her bows. Thank you for rocking her every night. Thank you for working as hard as you do so she can have everything. Thank you for making our baby girl the center of your world. 

Getting too close to 1 year!

I have 2 other blogs on  my  homepage that I see everyday. They haven't been updating their blogs, so I've figured it was okay for me to neglect mine, too. Well, when I opened Google a couple of days ago I got a nice surprise: one had been updated (dang it Staci, you're makin me look bad) (and thanks April, for sticking with me in the no updates club!). Anyway - I know I'm a tad late on the 10 month update, but she is the same as she was 2 weeks ago. Probably not true, but its my blog and I can tell you guys what to believe.

What has Paisley been up to, you ask?

• She loves to wave. Its cute. She waves at Lucy, Puma and Nate just fine, but usually waits until people are gone to actually start waving at them. So long, suckers.
• She loves to shake her head, like she is saying "no." It might be the cutest thing she has done yet. Its super funny when we say something like "Paisley, you need to eat your green beans (cliche much?)!" and just by coincidence, she starts shaking her head. I don't think she knows, but she might. Its cute, trust me.
• She has really gotten into eating solid foods. She usually eats whatever we're having - chicken and biscuits, grilled cheese, toast, waffles/pancakes, grilled chicken, fruits, veggies, whatever.
• She usually takes 2 naps a day.
• She started going to Gymboree music class and gymnastics. Yes, that's right. My 10 month old goes to gymnastics. She's awesome. But seriously, she loves it. She does front rolls and back flips, hangs from the uneven bars, walks on the balance beam, chases bubbles, climbs over mats, jumps off mats and throws balls. I haven't gotten brave enough to be a true cheer mom, with my camera and such. Maybe next week. 
• She went swimming for the first time with some friends (Hi Ellis, Schafer and Andy!) and enjoyed it. I did not, however. Well, lets just say that I would have enjoyed it much more if I could have laid out and swam at my leisure, preferably with a margarita next to me... I kid, I kid. We had a great time.
• She loves Mickey Mouse and his clubhouse. When we turn it on she just starts smiling and waving at him. She gets to sit in her jumper and watch an episode every morning while I drink my coffee and wake up. (Best half hour of the day? Maybe.)
• I'm in the middle of planning her birthday party, and it might just send me to crazytown. 
• She is tons of fun - each month I keep saying "I just love her at this age. This is the most fun she's been." Hopefully it stays like that! (At least until Harper gets here and I want a tiny little baby to snuggle with)

I don't have my camera near, and I don't actually ever upload pictures to my computer, so I don't have any very recent pictures. I will be back after the weekend with some, I promise. 

Sorry for the boring-ness of this post. I guess pictures would make it more fun? I'm sorry. Here's a joke to make up for it:

Why does P Diddy carry an umbrella?

Fo Drizzle!!! 

(Thank you, Tom Bowman, for that gem.)

9 months in, 9 months out

  How does this keep happening? I feel like all I ever do is tell you guys about how quickly Paisley is growing! (maybe I should try blogging about stuff in between her birthday posts? you know, more than once a month?) 

  The top picture is Paisley and me when I was 9 months pregnant (38 weeks, to be exact. 2 days before I had her) and the bottom picture was taken 2 days before she hit 9 months. As easy as my pregnancy was, I am in absolutely NO hurry to be back there again. I know I was one of the lucky "small" ones, but looking at those pictures, I feel like I was a big fat giant hot mess. 

  Annnnd, on to the updates.

• She weighs 17 pounds, 11 oz (up from 15, 10 at 6 months) and is in the 21st percentile (down from 40th percentile) for her weight. She grew a whopping half an inch since her 6 month appointment -she is 25 1/2 inches ("up" from 25) and is in the 3rd (yes, 3rd. 1, 2, 3, 3rd.) percentile (way down from the 30th percentile 3 months ago). Dr. S isn't "too concerned yet" about her (lack of?) growth. Maybe she's just a little peanut. 
• She is allll over the place. She can't sit still - there is just way too much to do. 
• She is waving and giving kisses. And clapping. Which is really just waving with both hands, and its the cutest thing in the entire world.
• She loves to imitate (mock?) us. She and Nate play a super cute game where Nate says "heh" and she'll smile and do it back to him. It can go on for hours (minutes). 
• She loves to blow raspberries. She puts herself to sleep in the car by blowing raspberries. Another super cute game.
• Her closet is out. of. control. Seriously. I can't help myself.
• She has 3 teeth that are all the way out and her 4th tooth has just busted through. Those suckers are sharp!
• She is spending more time in her crib. Last night, she was there all night and SLEPT UNTIL 9 AM!!! Hopefully it wasn't just a fluke. 

I don't know what else to say. She's cute. She's perfect. She's fun and silly and absolutely exhausting. 

Since I didn't have any pictures at my 8 month update (gasp!) I've doubled up this time. Sorry.

Just a quick Mother's Day shoutout to the best mom in the whole entire world. Thank you for all you do, have done, and will do for us. Thank you for reading to me, singing to me, listening to me, taking care of me, supporting me and loving Nathan. Thank you for being close when I needed you and staying away when I thought I didn't, and coming back again when I realized that I did need you. Thank you for loving and taking care of Paisley. Thank you for (usually) loving Lucy. I'm sorry she bit your finger on Easter. She didn't mean it. I wouldn't be me without you, and I owe you so much. Thank you for showing me how to be a mom. Thank you for being my rock and know that I am forever grateful that I have you.