My little fish. I'm just not ready for her to be this big and independent yet.......

Suzy is very into "dress up" right now and it's so fun to watch her change in and out of such adorable little costumes. Her Grammy bought her a trunk full of princess outfits for Christmas last year and I've just been adding all kinds of little odds and ends that I find at garage sales here and there.


Isn't she just the cutest little bug, ever? ;)
So full of life.

A ballerina fireman. Hey, why not?

Mommy's Little Helper


I used to vacuum with Suzy in the sling. Here she is with baby Emmy modeling Mommy.Here's baby Emmy getting a diaper change. I think it's funny that her two favorite dolls are named after two of my sisters (Lola and Emmy). I especially like the photos with Emmy. She has hair that just about matches my little Suzaroo. Oddly, so does Aunt Emmy. :) Suzy is really into babies right now. She is fascinated by changing them and "patting" them. I hope she makes a good little helper when Baby Andy gets here and doesn't try and smother him! She's so very excited. She kisses and hugs my belly often and pushes her back up against my belly and says, "I want Baby Andy to bump me". Oh, and if I haven't mentioned it before, "God" is in her belly and Daddy's belly is full of butterflies. So cute.

On a side, she also made that little green blankie for her dollies. She loves the sewing machine and will actually sit on my lap and help push the peddle to make various things for her dolls.
Suzy still loves to help in the kitchen and yesterday she woke up and announced that she wanted to make pudding. It was practically torture for this Mommy who LOVES pudding but is now Gestationally Diabetic. Those who know my eating habits can understand what a sacrifice that was!

Have I ever mentioned how much I just love little hand prints? This one was left on my mirror after Suzy was perched up on my sink while I combed her hair and tried to get ready one morning. Of course, she had to have some "lotion worm" on her hand as well when I did my "belly butter" and it left a nice slimy little residue on my mirror. I left it up for nearly two weeks and decided I should just take a photo and actually clean my bathroom....

As an OT mom who teaches handwriting, how can I not be totally impressed with this? Plus, she did it while I was at a dinner "date" with a bunch of fellow therapists. It's so weird. I've never even pointed out the lines to this child or shown her how to use a tripod grasp. Even weirder, in the age of computers, I'm not sure she's seen much of my writing between lines. Most of the little chicken scratches that I do are on plain, unlined paper. Granted, I'm sure this isn't the "norm" and she'll go back and forth a gazillion times before I even introduce handwriting to her. But, I just thought I'd "brag" on this little random happening from my two year old! It just amazes me that I can work on something like this for literally hours with an older child and yet she can just "do" it unprompted. It simply humbles me and reminds me that God really did give us all different abilities and strengths.

Church Bulletin


Our church emailed a request for photos representing motherhood. So, I sent in a few pictures that I had taken of some friends as well as this one that was taken by my friend, Michelle Pragmann. The lady at church said it reminded them of a magazine photo and so they were inspired to change up the normal format of the bulletin for the Mother's Day service. I've always loved the picture, but been embarrassed by my messy hair and obvious roots. :) It was a great day of photography. Michelle had just bought a new camera and we were having some fun playing with it out in the hill country. I don't think I had showered at all and was just wanting to spend some time in fellowship with her and maybe learn some photo secrets of how to capture moments with my sweet Suzy. After seeing some of her pictures, I was inspired to start my own quest with photography. With some perspective, it really is a picture of my love for Suzy and what I hold as the ideal of Motherhood. Love with a selfless regard for oneself. Suzy couldn't care less that I was "un-kept". She was just thrilled to be spending the day with her Mommy.

My New Hooter Hider!

My good friend , Gwyneth, bought me a "Hooter Hider" for baby Andy. I'm taking the approach of letting Suzy have access to everything and making it as if I'm not just having a baby, she's getting a baby brother. So, all of the gifts and such will most likely be "well loved" by the time baby Andy arrives. I just thought this was hysterical. She's seen both Gwyneth and Ashley use these while she's around and I was surprised at how accurate she was with the whole process. Thankfully, she doesn't get it completely yet and I haven't had to give any answers at all. I think she thinks the food comes out of the belly button or something. She doesn't ask, and neither do I! :) On a side note, she has decided that "God is in my (Suzy's) belly." I figure he's in her heart, so why not! I did joke early on that she must have been another immaculate conception, so hey, it may not be too far off anyhow! :)

An added bonus, it can be turned around to be a super hero cape! Uncle Andy would be so proud!

Here's a recent picture of my big belly. Normally, I wouldn't post just a pic of me, but some of my long distance friends were wondering how big I'm getting. The answer... HUGE! Technically, I still have three months to go! For me at least, it's true that I am growing straight out with a boy. Suzy was totally different. She was All Over! :) Also, I wanted to show off my Grandma Carolyn's pearls. I wore them to a nice brunch at the Country Club that Rob's Godmother, Ramona, and her daughter-in-law hosted for me.

Some fun pics from the park.


Suzy woke up from an awesome nap today and I discovered that her "new room" is like a sauna. Granted, I knew that room was warmer and hence why we are wanting to put baby Andy in her "old room". However, I didn't realize just how warm it got until she woke up this afternoon a sweaty little mess. On the upside, her curls LOVE humidity. So, I made good of the situation and after adjusting the air conditioning and adjusting the blinds, we headed off to the park to capture these splendid little curls she was sporting. :)


Here she is playing with my Gorilapod (fancy tripod). I wonder if she'll ever take an interest in photography? She's already beginning to show some signs. At the baseball game the other night, she was very content playing with the point and shoot camera and actually kinda got the hang of it! I'll try and post those sometime later this month.
Here is my little humid goldilocks.





I think she's got great locks for locks of love, if only it would grow enough to donate it! :)

In case you have ever wondered why I'm a "Parrot Head..."

My sister and I are pretty die hard fans. Rob, well, he tolerates us. :) This weekend was the big show in Dallas and so my sister from Oklahoma met up with us for some Jimmy Buffett fun!

In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, let me describe to you why I love this particular weekend of the year. First of all, I get to spend an entire day with my sister. Second, the creativity is endless and the atmosphere is pure good natured fun.In case you aren't familiar with the protocol, one must dress in appropriate attire for the Buffett concert. This usually involves something tropical or related to his songs. This year, I took advantage of my little "Andy bump" and decided to make him a beach ball popping out of my shirt. I received many approvals from a variety of fans.
Most people just go "Carribean" but I am always impressed with those that do a little further. I love the full parrot suite and accompanying flamingo of this pair. My absolute favorite, however, was a little ADORABLE boy wearing a pirate suit. He made it on the "big screen" at the show with a little sign his mom was holding that said, "Pirate looks at 4". ("Pirate looks at 40" is the name of a popular Buffett song.) I mean, this kid was so cute, he would be a good match for my little Suzaroo. It got even cuter as the concert went on and they showed him sleeping in his mommy's lap while the music roared around him.
Even pets can get in on the action.
Aside from the costumes, you must have a way to get around and view all of the variety. So, people spend MONTHS and even YEARS devising fun modes of transportation. I love this guy's creativity of the motorized bar stool. Very clever.
Most people deck out a golf cart of four wheeler in some sort of Buffett themed get-go.
The fin is a pretty standard accessory for many carts.
Gotta love this. It's a cooler on wheels! Motor in the front, beverages in the back.....
Although hard to see here, this one looks almost professionally done with a maniquin coming out of the top from a tub of margarita.
This one was my favorite this year, a bikini! Very clever!
So, then you take said transportation and see the "scenes" of the various tailgates. Here is where it can get very elaborate. Next year, we will have big scene of our own. My sister and brother and law bought an RV to deck out for just said concerts. This year, the focus was on the inside. Next year, it will be on the outside. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots for you... But, here is a crazy crowd who is even on the TOP of the motor home. Alcohol and heights.... hummmm....

It may be hard to tell with the photo, but I have no idea how these people got such a huge amount of sand next to their motor home. It is MASSIVE! The essentially re-created an entire beach scene.
Here is a large tractor trailer that was transformed to a Karaoke stage in the shape of a large ship.
This group had a huge sheet of ice and was pouring shots of various beverages down little slits where people would drink it up at the end. Score for creativity. Germs????? I guess the ice would melt, but I still consider the ick factor pretty high here.

These folks had a pool full of water to bask in.
This was amazing. It was a huge 30+ foot trailer completely converted into a sailing ship. Buffett has a song about the "Port of Indecision" which is where the boat got her name.
These must have been medical professionals. An IV with a booze dispenser. FUN!
My sister with a Jimmy Cut out.
Infaltaworld meets turkey fryers.
In case you don't realize this, Buffett is never a cheap show. It has a reputation for drunkard college students, but the reality is that it's really a lot of professional people who use it as a once a year big escape. It's crazy the amount of money people spend on this one weekend.

And finally, a random picture of a man who said, "I'm pretty. Take my picture!" as I was driving through the parking lot on our little golf cart. It kinda sums up the atmosphere. A lot of really nice, friendly people who are just out to forget their worries and responsibilities for the day and escape to a little "Margaritaville." I'm already looking forward to next year and trying to figure out who will watch a very small baby and a toddler...... Who knows, maybe that will be the year we induct Andy and Suzy into the "Parakeet club". :)