New Toys!

So Little Girl pretty much banked on her bday. I was totally jealous of all the cool loot she got! We have some pretty awesome friends and family. One gift she got that's pretty sweet is her 50 piece maple block set (gifted by the owner of the shop I work at). Little Girl has plenty of square blocks in all different sizes. But, this set has shapes of blocks she hasn't experimented with as much, like cylinders, rectangles and triangles. It really cute to watch Daddy build mini towers for her to knock down. And, it comes with a drawstring bag to store your blocks in. We like to put em in there at the end of the night and leave them in the bag for her to use her problem solving skills and get em out. It's so amazing to watch her little determined scrunched up face as she shakes and shakes and shakes until they come spilling out in front of her. Then she gets this adorable proud look on her face. Priceless.
This is Little Girl in her teepee (gifted by grandpa & Uncle Jonathon). You can't see it, but that's what she's inside in those last few pictures. It is so hilarious to watch her crawl in and play with her toys or read a book. Sometimes we close the front and see how long it takes before she stops playing music on her drum and pokes her head through. She usually takes a quick glance to make sure we're still there and then resumes with her playing.
We're still here Little Girl, we're always be.
Even when you're 16 and you just want us to GO AWAY! <---I hope not.

The "Other" Sophie

Every baby (do I have to call her a toddler now?!?!) loves thier Sophie Giraffe, but some babes are lucky. They have TWO Sophies. Little Girl loves her "other" Sophie (our jack russell terrier/chihuahua mix) so much. She oftens feeds her some of her dinner or snacks, which might be a problem later on, but right now it's just too cute. Since L.G. has learned how to give kisses she totally offers them to Sophie. Open mouthed ones, no less! Thankfully she's getting better at kisses and her mouth has been closed more times than not lately.

Although I frequently complain about Sophie's dog hair being on EVERY THING, I do love her and she is very sweet and patient with my Little Girl, so I think we'll keep her.

Bubbles on My Birthday

I had to post these before I forget and they aren't relevant anymore. Will pictures of my two favorite people ever NOT be relevant? Well, not to me, but maybe to you all.

Just a little bubble time with Daddy on Little Girl's birthday last week.

It was a HOOT!

Saturday was Little Girl's birthday party! Mommy decided on an owl theme to "make things easier". Oh, silly Mommy! What ensued was a lot of hot glue gun action and only a little muffled cursing. But, seriously. Check out the DIY pinata that Daddy (and a little Mommy) made! Mommy got the idea from Young House Love, and her and Daddy referenced this wonderful tutorial frequently during the making of said pinata. All we added were the googly eyes and the nose.

Pull String Pinata Tutorial:http://www.younghouselove.com/2011/05/making-a-pull-string-pinata/

The wonderful Richard Gibbens (family friend and photographer) took all these beautiful pictures so we could have time to entertain and soak up every minute of the birthday girl's big day. You can check out his work and rates here: http://www.richgibbens.com/ . Big thanks to him for capturing such a special day for us.

Can't believe our baby is a TODDLER now. Crazy!

the end.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Little Girl!

Yep, she's ONE. And, I can't put into words how much we love this Little Girl of ours. I just plain can't do it. Happy Birthday, Margot. You are amazing. Love you, Mommy & Daddy.

Making Time For US

For almost an entire year we didn't spend ONE night away from Little Girl. Not intentionally, really. But, for Daddy's birthday (in June) we decided to let the grandparents keep Little Girl for the weekend. We put SO MUCH into the success of our first weekend together that it ended up being less than fun to say the least. We learned that we need to take more opportunities to spend time, just US. So, we have enlisted people we trust to keep Little Girl overnight every once in awhile.

Last night our good friends (and one of the only couples we know with a youngster as well) kept L.G. We ate a big, fat doughnut from Gourdough's, an amazing food trailer that serves the most decadent doughnuts. We got the Flying Pig. A doughnut smothered in maple icing and topped with bacon. After that we just went home, layed in bed and watched High Fidelity (we love making fun of Laura's man voice!) for the umteenth time.

It's important to remember US. Because US made THIS:

I know that's not correct English, but you know what I mean. Here she is drumming without a care in the world at our friends house early in the morning. Although I missed my little alarm clock (when my friend, Jessica sent this pic I hugged the phone), I know it's important that I get more at ease with being away from her. Because one day she will WANT to leave, and that will be okay. Just as long as she comes back...LOTS. Because I'm always gonna miss my Little Girl when she's gone. ALWAYS.

Familytime!!!!

Sunday was so much fun! Me and Little Girl met the Guncles (pretty much my role models growing up) at The Domain in Austin for lunch and shopping. Since her birthday is coming up I got to pick something out to be a present from them. I decided on a freaking ADOOOORABLE Lilly Pulitzer dress and cardigan. Also got a new birthday dress too that I cannot wait to see Little Girl in! Here they are chillin on the Anthropologie couch. Don't they all look fabulous?

Today, Mommy & Daddy HAD to get haircuts. Little Girl was so good. Well, besides trying to play with the testers of hair products. But really, who can resist?

Rediscovering Sophie! Best teether ever.

Cherry Baby!

Little Girl has been diggin' cherries lately. Daddy cuts em in half (Mommy cuts em again, cuz she's scurred like that) and she just goes to town! It's one of those messy times that I love. Not like yesterday when Mommy spinned her around a little too soon after breakfast and she projectile vomited EVERYWHERE. Couch, pillows, Mommy...we ended up both in our underwear (well, her in her cloth diaper) in the middle of the living room. It was the first time she's ever vomited and been aware that something unpleasant was happening. But, not to worry, she quickly returned to playing with her magnetic refridgerator toy and even smiled and giggled while watching me mop up the mess.

Breakfast, Lunch & A Museum

Yesterday was pretty cool if you ask me. And, if you asked Little Girl, she would probably just make this sound, "BAAAH!" But, that's her response to everything, so it COULD mean, "I did too!"

Shirtless breakfast. Wish I could still get away with that...or not.

Folded Up Tunnel Fun!

Remember that tunnel (from IKEA) she crawls through? Well, even when it's folded up she manages to utilize it. Yesterday she discovered how to crawl in and out of it, which she did, over and over and over and...you get it. She also likes to push it around like it's a shopping cart. She grabs things as she goes and tosses them in. Blocks, oh yeah! I want some of them! Little wooden car? Yep, you're coming along for the ride too! She usually pushes until she gets stuck under the credenza. The tunnel gets stuck, or SHE actually does. Either way, it cracks me up.

Austin Children's Museum

When Daddy got home we went to the Austin Children's Museum. I had never been, and the last time Daddy had was when he was ten, which was, like...a long time ago ;) Wednesdays they have community night. You donate what you can as admission (suggested $1 per person) and from 5-8pm the museum is yours! We got there around 6:30 and stayed until exactly 8! It was so much fun we didn't even look at the clock once. The best part is that there's something to do for kids 3 and under. Lots of times, kid friendly doesn't mean baby friendly, so it was nice to have an area just for the babies where we could relax. As usual, Little Girl was in love with all the kiddos. She made a few friends and had the most fun with this step stool, that of course isn't intended to be a toy, but ended up being one anyways. We've decided to make the museum a regular thing for sure. Totally worth $3!