Beach Trip 2011

Be still my heart.

Galveston has such fun memories for me as a kid. We had a beach house in this same neighborhood and came down almost every weekend. It was so fun to bring Avery down for the first time and show James our old stopping grounds. I can't wait for more beach trips in the future!

Homegirl wasn't so sure about the sand in her toes! This was about 2 hours before the "plague" hit her, so I'm going to reserve any comments about being little miss priss.

This will also be known as the famous Royal Wedding Weekend....and unfortunately it will also be known as the weekend of the "plague". I have never in my life seen a stomach bug pass around a household so quickly. It was truly amazing. I NEVER get sick..and if I do, it's some sort of sinus infection or cedar fever. I guess when you throw babies in the mix, it's a whole new ball game.


From that weekend on...I vowed to never roll my eyes or scoff when one of my friends has to bail on me because her baby is sick or she is sick. Never again. I get it now.

Anyways.....I will truly never forget watching the wedding with my best friends and waking up at 3:30 to put on my pearls and tiara. Even Miss Avery (who doesn't sleep well away from home) joined the party with us a 4:00am.

We did hit up the beach once while everyone was still healthy and hydrated. It was a beautiful/windy day. Avery spent most of the time in the wagon playing with her toys to avoid the sand. It was so windy that it was hard to get too many good pics. These two are my favs. Aunt Lynch took some with her fancy camera and posted some from the weekend too! We did shop along the strand on Saturday, but mostly just lounged and watched coverage of the Royal Wedding all weekend...I wouldn't have done it any other way! I only wish I had taken pictures of some of the fun details of the weekend....like the precious tiara cupcakes that Aunt Trog brought...or the image of James and Aunt Trog trying to fit everything into Elin (the Traverse).
The only thing missing was the rest of the DOF crew! Next time!!

Avery's first steps!

She REALLY wanted those puffs!! I'm so proud of her!

My First Mother's Day

Avery Bear and I on Easter Sunday

I'm going to start this post by pretending that I've been posting rather frequently and everyone is caught up with the Lee Family....which I know is a big fat lie. :) The thought of trying to recap the craziness of the past few months of our life makes me want to curl up in a ball and take a nap.

I had every intention to post yesterday. That was the ONE THING I was going to do for myself on Mothers Day...buuuut of course...we got a little distracted when SOMEONE decided to reach another milestone and take her first steps!! It was the best Mother's Day present I could have ever asked for! :) We got it on video and as soon as I figure out how to post it...I will! I don't want to get tooo ahead of myself on my first post back.

Yesterday, we had a fun family day around the house. James attempted breakfast in bed, but forgot to thaw out half the ingredients the night before...so we headed to Shipley's donuts. I haven't had Shipley's in YEARS and I didn't realize there was one so close to our house. DANGEROUS! It was so good. When we got back, we busted out the water table and sprinklers in the backyard. Mommy and Daddy sat in the lounge chairs while Avery played splashed around. We ate lunch outside and listened to music and it was so relaxing.

After lunch....it became the typical Sunday...Avery takes a nap, Daddy falls asleep watching golf. I decided to take a little time to myself and go shopping. The new calypso line at Target...I die. I got a few cotton dresses and some tshirts for the summer. Because I wore suits every day at work....my casual clothes usually ended up being some sort of a suit piece.....button down..sweater set..something. I've been needing some good "mommy clothes" for a while.

After little miss thing went to sleep, Daddy and I cooked a nice dinner, relaxed and reminisced about how fast Avery is growing up. Without further ado...some pictures from the weekend!

Making fun of Daddy!

Daddy's arms were sore all night after these pictures!

Really Mommy...another picture??

I'm hoping this post is one of many in the near future. There is a lot more to catch up on!!! Please don't judge the lake of creativity, humor, or sentimental poems about being a mother. I realize this is quick and dirty.....it's all I got right now! :)

Free Christmas Cards? Wha??

Have you guys heard about the shutterfly giveaway to bloggers? I've read a few blogs about it and decided to give it a go! I just LOVE some of their designs this year. I've gotten my cards from shutterfly the past few years and they always have great promotions running. They always turn them around SUPER quick and I'm always running wayyy behind on ordering cards and invitations. This is one of my favorite cards. I love how so many of the designs are so simple and traditional...like you went to an expensive stationary stores and had them designed months ago! haha. I'm also a big fan of their personal desktop calendars. I don't want to go into too many details, but I'm pretty sure everyone in my family will be getting one in their stockings! They aren't too over the top...perfect for your desk at work!

I hope everyone jumps on the bandwagon! How could you pass up this good of a deal?

As soon as I drop my cards in the mail..I'll post a picture of our christmas card! I have to say.....Lady Liberty likes to ham it up for the camera and this photoshoot did not disappoint! I just want to squeeze her little cheeks every time I look at her picture!! haha.

The Nursery

Here is a picture of the nursery.  I wanted something really simple and classy.  The picture above the crib and changing table are pictures that my Aunt painted.  She passed away a two years ago and her art was distributed among the family.  When I received these pictures, I knew that I would design a nursery around them if I had a girl.  I can’t wait to tell Avery all about her.  These pictures make me smile every time I walk in her room.

Because it’s a pretty small room, I had to take the doors off the closet so the crib would fit.  I really wanted the crib to be on the far wall.  James helped me make the cornice above the closet.  I picked out fabric and my grandmother sewed the curtains.  I wanted simple white bedding too!  I couldn’t find anything in my price range, so I emailed a vendor on etsy and she made exactly what I wanted for a fraction of the price! :)

I will say that the glider is probably the most comfortable chair I’ve ever sat in.  It was so hard to find a chair that wasn’t too deep, too narrow, arms too high or back too low.  When I sat in this chair, I immediately relaxed.  I knew it was perfect!  Some people thought I was crazy to get a white chair, but it’s so easy to spot treat with bleach!  The crib and the glider were the two things we “splurged” on for the room. 

I got the chandelier, rocking chair, sconces and oak dresser at Round Top Antique festival for a STEAL!  I knew I wanted a chandelier and an antique dresser as a changing table.  If that’s your style and you haven’t been to Round Top…you MUST go!!!  I drool over all the French Antiques and love bargaining with vendors!  :) 

The hardest part for me was probably choosing the paint color.  I MAY or MAY NOT have had the painter re-do the color!  It’s sooo hard to find an off-white that wasn’t too yellow or brown etc.  This shade was called “Tea Light”..and it was the first one I picked out..of course.  

I made this bow hanger while I was in my “nesting” phase.  I painted a little piece of wood from hobby lobby and modge podged some pretty scrapbook paper on top…and then staple gunned some ribbon to hang the bows!  It was a fun project!

I also made the picture board above the night stand with left over fabric from my curtains.  I got a frame that matched the “feel” of the room on sale at Hobby Lobby too!  I’ve put some fun pictures up since this picture was taken.  They are fun to look during those middle of the night feedings! 

Happy Birthday, Chops!!!

So Chops turned the big 3-0 last week...and Lady Liberty made him a little homemade birthday card...

...besides the birthday card...she gave him the best present ever.

SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!!!!

Avery now sleeps for an 8 hour stretch! I've been putting her down between 10-11PM and she wakes up between 6-7AM. :) She litterally started this on his birthday. Fingers crossed that 8 hours turns into 10 hours soon!!! Or Pearls needs to learn how to go to bed when she goes to bed...instead of trying to get stuff done around the house.

PS. Does anyone have any tips for uploading pictures? I feel like it takes me FOREVER for them to upload...and then FOREVER to format. I swear I would blog more if this wouldn't freaking take so long.

So...we tried the bumpo chair this week.

It clearly didn't go over that well.

This is the picture that James sends me when I'm off "mommy duty" for a few hours with a little note that says..."Your daughter misses you". Then I started leaking milk. Awesome.

To get him back...I'm sending him a picture of her next blowout diaper.

Now...I need to get back at my list of questions for our two month appointment tomorrow. I've been writing them down in my blackberry "memo" section and the list is pretty long. He's going to think I'm crazy. At the last appointment, he didn't tell me the "percentages" of her height and weight. I'm going to ask him tomorrow..and I have this strong feeling in the back of my mind that she might be in the 100th percentile in weight.