Life in photos {via iphone}

I'd be lost without my iPhone.  It is how I capture life.

Here is my life lately...

Me and the hubs showing some love on our anniversary weekend...

We had a lovely weekend at the Zaza Hotel in Houston and spent it mainly relaxing by the pool {a luxury to me these days}.

My little man is very good at giving out tickets.

Pretty purple roses from the husband that made my day.

A budding artist at work.

Just because.

My life these days.

Baby girl realized what's it like to have older brothers.  Notice the smile...

Enjoying some pool action with the kiddos.

I spotted this adorable ottoman at MARSHALL'S!  I almost snatched it up.  Would be so cute in a boy's room.

This beautiful weather has us outside a lot lately.

Brothers with staches.

My cheesy self portrait.  Everybody has to have at least one, right?

Gray doing his "mastics."

On the red carpet at the Mimosa Fashion show.  Fun night!

Just pure silliness.

Loving the new mirrors in my boudoir.

And lastly, I love this man.  Joey, Jamie's uncle, is one of my favorite people in the world.

I'm feeling pretty blessed today, my friends.

"Life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." -Ferris Bueller

14 months

Let's pretend today is April 16th...my girl is 14 months old today!  

Happy 14 months!

I love this little girl!  She is so many things, and sassy is one of them.  She is also the biggest girly girl I know!

Right now she is loving...
rides in the stroller
playing with her brothers' legos
her mommy {she's a total mommy's girl}
playing with Brees
her blankets
pushing around toys anything
crackers and yogurt
purses, shoes, hats, and any accessory she can get her hands on
putting everything in her mouth

This little thing is full of love and laughter and I can't thank God enough for giving her to us.  Seems like yesterday we found out we were expecting another little one...

We were beyond thrilled when we found out we were having a girl.

Maternity pictures.

The big day!

Hello world!

Grayson's first peek at his sister...special moment!

My precious little bundle grew up in a flash and then turned 1...

The birthday girl on her first birthday {I promise I will post pics soon!} 

Ok, enough reminiscing...enjoy your day!

Happy Hump Day:)

Flashback Friday

My mom gave me a box of pictures and memorabilia from my childhood a while back, and this was one of the many pictures I found.  This was taken on my 6th birthday.  Do you remember these sweet little things called Precious Moments?  I used to love them and still do!

Well, now I know where I got my love for planning parties...from my mother!  Look at all the details!  She even had my shirt hand painted to match the theme.  Oh, and those candles.  Jamie looked at this picture and said, "Oh my goodness...y'all are exactly the same.  Look, she even had pink candles!"

{circa 1992}

That made my heart smile because my mother would go all out on our birthdays to make us feel special.  This was definitely one that I remembered and hold special to my heart.

As the saying goes, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!"

Thanks for the special memories, mom!  I truly understand now :)

Easter wrap up

We had a fun-filled Easter weekend this year!  As always, we start off with the annual Augustine crawfish boil at Jamie's uncle's house.  It takes place every Good Friday, and is nothing short of fun!  You already know the Augustines love cajun music, so this year we hired a small, but amazing cajun group called T Monde.

Crawfish, music, family, and beautiful weather equals a great Good Friday.  Even all the kids had a blast in the jumpy house.  They spent the whole day bouncing away!

Of course, Jamie got in on the action.

Jamie and his brothers.

Grayson saw all the adults filling their trays with crawfish, so he ran over and scooped out 2 of them!  He didn't quite know what to do with them, but it was sure cracking us up.

Miss Sloaney looking precious in her straw hat.

Yesterday was Jamie's actual birthday, but I decided to surprise him with this cake so we could celebrate with his family.  He was actually surprised!  Let me tell you, that was some good cake and turned out so darling!

Alex and Elizabeth got their Easter gifts early because they were headed to Mississippi for the weekend.

I just had to post this pic.  Such a southern little girl!

We headed to my parents' for the rest of the weekend.  We usually do an annual egg hunt on the Saturday before Easter, but we took the year off this time around.  Although the egg hunt is so fun and the kids love it, we actually got to relax and enjoy some quality time with the family this year.

Easter morning, we laid out a path of eggs that led to Grayson's basket, as if the Easter bunny had come.  This was the first time Gray actually understood the Easter bunny, so it was sweet to watch him get excited.  All weekend he kept saying, "Mom, the Easter bunny is going to bring me a basket with cookies, and goodies, and toys!"  We he got the goodies and toys part right;)

We managed to squeeze in a family picture.  Notice the purple theme?

We dressed in purple to coordinate with the little princess...and notice the purse that she insists on carrying around?  Little Miss Priss!

My little man looking handsome...

We had a bit of a shoe issue that morning.  I had Grayson a pretty pair of Sperry's to wear to church, but he insisted on wearing his Vans.  Oh well!

These were the kids' Easter baskets this year.  I just loved them!  You can't tell by the picture, but they are each hand painted!  The boys each chose the colors they wanted and I had Sloan's done in pink and yellow.  The oh-so-talented Preppy and Pink made these, and I couldn't love them more.  The best part is now the kids can use them for storage.

And last but not least, here is little Sloan digging into her first Easter basket.  This little girl is a candy thief! You really have to watch her:)  She also loves eggs.

What a busy month it's been so far!  We have celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, Easter, and Jamie's birthday already!

I have some other exciting news that I can't wait to share, so stay tuned.

Happy Spring, my friends!

The threes

The terrible twos for Grayson started when he was about 14 months old.  You know how it begins...resisting the high chair, throwing their bottles in public, squealing at the top of their lungs, wanting to roam anywhere and everywhere, the rebellious tantrums.  Yep, it's a tough time for sure.

The terrible twos didn't end for Grayson until about 6 months ago.  About when he turned three.

Rewind a few years.

I can remember that feeling of nervousness as I drove to the store to pick up a few groceries, or when I would have a lunch date with a friend, and Grayson was right there, in the midst of his terrible-twoness.  I would get embarrassed and frustrated.  I would feel like a failure as a mother.  I would get down right discouraged.  Grayson was a tough child, but what child doesn't have his moments at that age?

The crazy thing is, everyone kept saying that the threes were even worse.  I thought to myself, "worse?"

How could it get any worse than this?  

As it turns out, they were wrong.  The threes have been awesome to us.  He's done a complete 180.  Grayson has matured in ways that never cease to amaze us each and every day.  He has such good manners, he shows compassion, and is a very helpful big brother.  Not to mention his personality.  He is funny, caring, quirky, silly, thoughtful, creative, kind, and still stubborn at times.  But there are no more throw-himself-down-on-the-floor-in-the-middle-of-the-grocery-store tantrums.

This realization occurred to me Friday night when Jamie and I took Grayson to see The Lorax.  We've tried to take Grayson to a few movies when he was a bit younger, but would always end up leaving early.

  

But that night, I couldn't help but soak up this little man he has become.  I kept staring at him in his little hat and orange glasses, and smiled so hard because he would actually laugh out loud at the funny parts.  I would lean over and he would lay the biggest kiss on my lips.  He had his little cup of popcorn, Skittles, and Sprite {one of the few times I'll allow it}, and he was the happiest kid in the world.  I was the happiest mommy.

So, don't get discouraged during the stage of the terrible twos.  It will end.  No matter how early it begins.

I took him with me to Lowe's this weekend all by myself and he was a perfect little gentleman...even if we do have to sit on every tractor in the store first:)

We took little Sloan to her 1-year check-up the other day.  She checked out perfectly, and was in the 85th percentile in both height and weight.  Her appointment was right during nap time, so she was a little cranky, and a lot wiggly.  As the doctor was trying to hold her down to check her ears and throat, he looked up at us and said,"Whew...she's going to be a terrible two."

And so it begins again!

Mardi Gras 2012

 Mardi Gras this year was so special.

We loaded the family up and took off to Mamou and Eunice, where Mardi Gras originated.  

Mamou is a teeny tiny town about an hour and a half from us.  There is so much culture and tradition there.

It is known as "The Cajun Music Capital in the World."  

My husband's family is from here and he is very proud of his heritage.  I love how he has shared that with our family.

This little guy was particularly excited about the parade and all the festivities.

Jamie's Uncle Joey was there.  He is very special to us.

Pasta-laya.

{one happy kid}

{making memories}

This makes me smile.

Even baby girl got her share of beads.  

This is what Sloaney's feet looked like after her first Mardi Gras experience. 

Good food, good music.  What a fun day.

I'm pretty sure Grayson will remember this day for the rest of his life.

I can't wait to do it again next year.

Did you celebrate Fat Tuesday?