Zoo

Get ready for picture overload! We took a trip to the Dallas Zoo on Monday and had a GREAT time! I've been bugging Bryan about "making memories" while the girls are still young, and this trip is one that we will remember for a long time!

This first picture is my favorite one of the whole day.There was a fountain right at the entrance of a bunch of baby elephants playing.

Remember, I did warn you about picture overload. Ok, here we go...

Michelle was petting the baby gorilla. So sweet!

I'm not sure what this silly monkey was doing. I think he was trying to make a nest out of some hay. But he kept scooting around on his butt and dragging this bunch of hay with him.

"Run, Zebra, Ruuun!"

Tina had a blast on the monorail!

Just FYI, there's no food or drink on the mono rail... unless you're a hungry two year old named Michelle and you have a Mommy that lets you break the rules! (I know, "not being a very good example mommy!")

Michelle got to feed the Giraffes! It was so cool!

After a great morning we stopped for some yummy lunch.

This was our view from our lunch table. In case you can't tell, those are Lions!

Tina was a trooper the whole time! She did great being traded from Bryan to me to her car seat all day!

Our last stop was to the Children's Zoo section. It's basically a farm where you can touch/feed/ride/whatever!

No worries, this little lamb was SUPER strong! lol, j/k it's a statue!

There was also a little playground in the middle of the Children's Zoo area.

As a special "last thing" Michelle got to ride on the carousel. She had. a. blast!

"HI DADDY!!"

The girls didn't last long once we got into the car.

It really was such a great day! Memories made!

Valentines Day Party

This year for Valentines Day we got the cousins together and had a mini Valentines Party! Clayton and Michelle decorated sugar cookies and made Valentines for their Daddy's!

They did such a good job decorating their cookies!

They used frosting....

LOTS of frosting!

And they used sprinkles...

LOTS of sprinkles!

They used stamps, crayons, and glitter to make their valentines. They did a wonderful job with those too! But, glitter was involved, so I didn't get to snap any pictures... if you're a mom you understand why! lol!

Here are Clayton's Valentine Masterpieces,

and here are Michelle's... plus Daddy's gifts.

Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hope yours was as fun as ours!

Michelle's World

My last post was all about Tina and what a cutie she is becoming so I thought it only fair to dedicate this post to Miss Michelle.

Michelle is a GREAT helper! She loves to help with Tina, in any way she can. She also insists on helping in the Kitchen. She loves to help cook and bake, and actually does a really good job with both!

Making Trail Mix to send to Daniel.

Remember how I said that Tina hated to be in her car seat? Well, just in case you were wondering, Michelle isn't excited about Tina's car seat issues either.

Since Michelle was a little girl (littler then she is now) she has LOVED to read. She usually likes for Bryan or I to read to her, but on occasion we'll walk into the room to see her "reading" to herself.

I can't believe she is almost 3! She's such a sweet little girl. I dread the day that I have to send her off to Kindergarten. It's all down hill from there- sleepovers, dating boys, going to college, getting married... *sigh* No matter how old she gets, she'll always be my baby girl!

Falling in Love

Tina is getting so big so fast! She's starting to do so many fun things! And, while this may sound totally cliche, I am finding that I love her more and more every day. Now, let me explain why that isn't nearly as cheesy as it sounds. When Michelle was born I immediately fell in love with her. There was a HUGE emotional connection the instant I saw her. With Tina... I didn't get that. Don't get me wrong, I loved (and still do) my daughter! But it wasn't the same as it was with Michelle. I had a hard time with Tina at first, but now... I really am falling in love with little miss Tina more and more each day! Her personality is really starting to come out, and I am so excited about it!

She's such a booger! She hates to be in her car seat and has no problem letting you know it! (While the picture is comical, she really does hate her car seat... it's not as comical in real life.)

Tina is starting to grow out of the new born phase and into the baby phase. She's lifting her head, playing with toys, and "talking" to anyone who will listen.
Her smile completely lights up her face! And when she gives a little giggle... oh man, I could just die!
I can't believe she's already 3 months old! I just love this little girl!

Stolen Pictures

So my sister just posted on her blog and I pretty much fell in love with a bunch of pictures she posted. ...So I stole them!

We went to the park on Friday with Clayton and Cam and had a great time!

One year on Thanksgiving my dad snapped a picture of us girls goofing around, and the picture atually came out really good. From that Thanksgiving on it's been kind of a tradition to get a picture together. ...Jess and Katie forget to include me in their "let's wear matching outfits" plan...

Daniel is in Arizona serving on his mission right now. Unfortunately that means that we won't get to see or even talk to him for two years. The only exception to that rule is on Christmas and Mothers day when he gets to make a phone call home. This year was pretty cool because he was able to call us through Skype!

This is probably the first family picture where someone isn't picking their nose, looking in the wrong direction, crying, or making some sort of funny face! And look- Daniel's there too!!

I saved the best for last. I LOVE this picture. And I think I'll end this post with it, just to make sure you leave my blog with that "oh...that's cool..." feeling.

A Name and A Blessing

We finally blessed Tina! On December 18th (I know this post is SUPER late) Bryan, Ben and my dad blessed Tina in the Melissa ward. Tina was too cute in her blessing dress. Speaking of her blessing dress, I have to say thank you to Jessica for cheering me on and helping me figgure out how to make it. I was so nervous and honestly had major doubt about making Tina's dress, but Jessica kept telling me I could do it, and after a few days and a lot of mistakes- it came out pretty cute. And my favorite part? It only cost me $10!! The whole dress, lining, satin, sash, all of it- ten bucks! I wish I would have gotten a better picture of it on her, but... well, I'm sure you know how busy blessing days can be.

Tina cried through the whole thing so we didn't get to hear the actual blessing very well. Ben was a good Uncle and blew in her face to make her stop crying for a little bit. But, by the time Bryan finished her blessing she was exhausted.

Michelle was there too! lol! She pretty much steals the show anytime we're with the grand parents. To be fair though, she is pretty cute.

After the blessing we all came back to the house, had lunch, and spent the afternoon visiting. It was a good day.