Another Action-Packed Weekend!

We started off the weekend with a fun-filled Friday. Kenny got to attend Chesapeake's Grand Opening ceremonies for their new Shreveport office. He was very excited to meet not only Aubrey McLendon (CEO of CHK), but also Governor Bobby Jindal. (I couldn't have even told you who the governor was!)

After all the CNG festivities, Kenny took the rest of the day off and joined us at Gymboree. Afterwards, the three of us went to Gators and Friends!

The Gators...

A new baby zebra!!! He ran and jumped, frollicking all over the place!

He came over to check us out, but wasn't interested in our cups of food. I suppose he gets a lot from all the visitors being so adorable and all! He did let us pet him; he was so very soft!

What a pretty llama. And she (IDK, just looks like a girl) didn't even try to spit on me!!

Sleepy?! What a big yawn!

Mira liked the mini goats.

It was SO hot outside, so we took a break inside where Mira got to try a little taste of my black cherry sno-cone! She definitely liked it!!!

Big girl Mira - using the 'snack tray' on her stroller! She LOVES graham crackers!!

Our favorite part - holding the baby alligator! Mira was very gentle while petting it (unlike how she pets Jeter & Shatzie)!


Until she noticed the head...then she sort of lunged at the poor thing! It only squirmed a little bit - must be a pro. Mira was very interested!

Mira and her new stuffed alligator on the way home. She smiled at it, talked to it, and loved on it all the way home!

Saturday morning, we went to a birthday pool party for Ben! Mira had fun wading in the kiddie pool with Daddy and getting splashed by Mason! She didn't scream or cry about the splashing this time - phew!

Mmmmmm....Capri Sun! (sorry Mira, not for baby girls!) She enjoyed slurping on the cold packaging anyhow!

After the pool party, Mira and I went and hung out with Casey and Mason at their house. It was great to have a chance to chat while the kids played so nicely together! Mason only tried to hit Mira in the head with his play hammer once, and she only tried to bite him once - pretty good for these two!!

Meanwhile, Kenny was playing golf with the guys. He doesn't really play golf, so mostly he was in charge of driving the cart and drinking beer...sounds better than actually playing!

Mira got to sit on the tractor with Jeff - she really seemed to enjoy this!

She liked it even better when she noticed the steering wheel and realized she could "drive"!!

We finished up the farm party with a hayride over to the pond where everyone was going to fish. It was well past Mira's (and our) bedtime, so we didn't stay at the pond too long. Mira did get to play with some lures (brand new, I was assured) and see a live fish (unfortuantely, it was on a hook...) before we left.

We spent Sunday doing some stuff around the house and running a few errands. Also, Sunday is when Mira decided to really start crawling!! I'll do a seperate post for the video of that! =)

Wow! What a weekend!!

Show Us Your Life

It's Show Us Your Wedding Dress on Kelly's Korner!

Kenny and I are about to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary next week, so this is very timely!

I absolutely loved (still love) my wedding dress!

Ironically though, I didn't have that moment in which I put it on and gasped, "This is the one!" like you're supposed to. I had my heart set on this halter-top style dress which I had tried on one day when I went shopping by myself.

But, then the day came when we had the official wedding dress shopping with all my gal pals, nieces, sisters-in-law, and mom. I just knew everyone was going to love this dress that I had my heart set on - I had saved it for last to show them! But, to my surprise (and irritation), they all had that "ah ha!" moment when I put this one on. I ignored their excitement thinking to myself, "Just wait until you see the one!"

I was pretty upset when no one really cared for the dress I had fallen in love with and my pig-headedness made it impossible for me to consider this "new" dress! Nicole, my sis-in-law, in usual fashion, was the most straightforward and insistent that this was the one and not the other. This, of course, ticked me off at the time... (love you Coco!)

I decided to sleep on it and ended up going back the very next day to get this dress - the one they all loved... It wasn't peer pressure - I just decided to stop being so stubborn and take a look at the snapshots of myself that we had taken in each dress. It was so obvious that the one I thought I was in love with just didn't do it for me, and this one was beautiful!

I'm so glad they were there to tell me the cold, hard truth!!! I felt beautiful on my wedding day, and I still adore this dress today!

My dress was a champagne-colored, strapless number with a beaded bodice and side-swept waist (very flattering for the fuller-figured ladies!).

This is right after we said our I Do's and were about to head back up the aisle! We were so happy and excited! This is the best shot of the actual dress that I could come up with.

Here is a close-up, so you can see the details on the dress and a little bit of the veil. The veil was short and simple with a beaded headband to compliment the dress.

Well, this is fun sharing! I love seeing how very different everyone's dresses were!!

More Cruisin' Fun!!!

Mira loves to make laps around and around her music table. I finally caught her on video! It's about 6 minutes long, but that's with her stopping to jam on the drums, sing the alphabet, etc. as she made her way around. =)

I think it's hilarious how she starts and finishes the lap with what I like to call her "cowgirl salute" - she looks like she is riding a bucking bronco or something!

It's too big/long to add here, but you can watch it on youtube.

Enjoy!!!

Craft Time!!

I've been itching to do a project for a while, and I guess having the girls here and doing some crafty stuff with them really got me hankerin' for it!!!

So, here's what I came up with - a growth chart for Mira!

And a close-up...

I totally ripped off the design idea from one I found online, but I handpainted it all myself.

Of course, I know she can't use it just yet (not until she's at least 30 inches tall), but it won't be long (she's 26 1/4 now)!!!!

I'm already thinking of my next project!!! I usually get crafty in spurts - making a few things back-to-back, then not doing anything for a while. This was a lot of fun to make, and I think it will be cute in her room with all the other animals!

Tooth #2!

They've both already grown so much since I took this photo!!! She's really learning how to work those pearly whites, too!! She scrapes them on everything, bites with them (ouch!), and is experimenting with lots of new sounds!

We've heard b, d, h, j, l, m, & w!! "Mumma" is getting clearer, and she sometimes seems to say it when she wants to be picked up or held or needs help...so, maybe I should count it?? I just want to be sure!

Her new favorite snacks are graham crackers - not that she really uses her teeth for this, but I just thought of it, so figured I would share... =) We're going to get some Cheerios at the store today and try those next!

I tried to get some canned, diced carrots, but they all have salt added - even the Gerber Graduates!!! Glad I read the label! So, I'll make some myself and see how she likes those!

Mira's Cruisin'!!!

Here is a very short clip of Mira taking a couple of steps along the coffee table - she was going slow and getting very distracted by the camera, toys, and all the cheering, but you can sort of see that she has the hang of the whole "step, step-together, step" pattern.

Since this video was taken, she has gotten a little faster and has had moments of intense focus where she has gone nearly a full lap around the coffee table all by herself without falling down!!!

Now, rather than wanting to go around the table, she prefers experimenting with letting go of the coffee table and moving to the sofa or someone who is nearby. She's been very successful with this manuever, sometimes turning a full 180 degrees to go from one object/person to another! Other times, her feet stay planted while her torso and arms twist; she ends up looking like a mini pretzel! =)

Trying to get more impressive video, but our little diva is always so distracted by the camera!!! =)

6 Months of Gymboree!

Here's a little Gymboree montage - it's a great way to see how much Mira has grown and all the new things she has learned!

First Day!

Learning to sit!

Graduating from Level 1!

First Day in Level 2!

Learning to stand!

Dance Party is our FAVORITE!!

Look how BIG I am!

A week with the girls...

My nieces, Olivia & Avi, came and stayed a week with us, and we had tons of fun! They were a big help with Mirabelle - changing diapers, feeding her, and entertaining her!

Avi and Mira playing in her room

We tried to go places and see things on most days, but in our "down time," the girls worked diligently on a week-long project. They each designed a boardgame complete with little clay playing pieces! Avi's was "Crazy Jungle" with lots of palm trees, monkeys, and elephants. Olivia's was a Fairy Tale theme - the playing pieces included a princess, prince, princess warrior, and a fairy. The object was to collect all the potions (I made 16 tiny potion bottles out of clay!) and get to the castle first. At the end of the week, we had a couple of Game Nights and played their homemade games along with a couple that we bought (Twilight & ISpy). Ironically, Kenny won Twilight the game although he was the one with absolutely no knowledge of the book or game!!! This thoroughly peeved me and Olivia; we're both big Twilight fans and felt sure one of us would win!!!

My very own sweat shop! Olivia & Avi working long and hard on their game pieces (they liked it!)

At the begining of the week, Kenny's sister Kara was in town for a day or so and joined in all the fun. We went to the mall just to get out of the house before Mira drove me crazy. Her second tooth finally came through Thursday, so the week before was killer!

Wednesday, after watching Mulan, the three girls and I went to check out the R.W. Norton Art Gallery down in Shreveport. We took a stroll (okay, it was more like a hike!) around the grounds, and, after working up a good sweat, we went inside to study the artwork. I was very impressed with the collection. I honestly didn't have very high expectations at all, but was pleasantly surprised. Olivia, especially, enjoyed looking at the works - recognizing many of the artists from her UIL Art studies. I think Avi's favorite part was seeing the new honey bees set up outside a big window in "Fairyland" (the more kid-friendly portion of the gallery).

My girls!

Mira & Mommy

My beautiful Mira

Avi pushes Mira in the stroller while Olivia acts as our tour guide

Trying my hand at the artistic photography

Thursday, after watching Mulan for the second time, we loaded up and went to Sci-Port. Sci-Port was nationally ranked by Parents magazine, so I have been itching to go!! It was great!! We were there for about 4 hours and could have stayed longer! There was so much to see and do - Olivia & Avi both really enjoyed it. Mira even enjoyed some of the displays - her favorite was the demonstration of Bernoulli's Principle in which a beach ball floats up and down in a column of low pressure air. Okay, I don't think she cared about the principle - just the crazy floating ball - but, one day... =)

Olivia and Avi really enjoyed all the opportunities to learn about everything from identifying fingerprint patterns, to planets, creating circuits, using pulley systems, to making their very own batch of slime!! As soon as we were headed for the exit, Avi was asking if we could come back the next day! So, I guess that means it was a success! =)

Olivia & Avi play on the big floor piano - Mira was pretty amused

Avi goes to town on this wheel trying to create horsepower - by the look of her "mane" I'd say she did a fine job! ha ha ha!

Making slime (or "Dragon Snot" as the instructor called it)

Friday morning the girls painted tons of beautiful pictures since their games were finished by this point. Later, we had lunch at Jason's Deli and then took Mira to Gymboree. Avi took part in the class, playing with Mira during the activities while Olivia took advantage of some quiet reading time. After Mira's class, the gym is open for "free play," and Avi had fun running, climbing, balancing, sliding, and jumping with a couple of other kids her age.

Avi gives the balance beam a try

Saturday, Kenny and I took all the girls to the Boardwalk. We started things off right with lunch at The Cheesecake Bistro! Afterwards, we headed to the Funny Bone for a game of bowling - where yours truly won by quite a margin (I'm "REA" on the scoreboard)!!! This was our first time to these lanes, and I was very, very impressed. It's small, comfy (three leather sofas and a coffee table at each lane) and super-clean (no smoking allowed ever)!

We had a lot of laughs as Avi used "Crazy Arms" to encourage her ball down the lane, and Olivia learned to actually throw the ball rather than roll it slowly toward the pins. Olivia eventually decided to try the "Crazy Arms" tactic since she wasn't having much luck.

Avi's crazy arms - "Go Ball, Go!"

Olivia's CRAZY arms - she adds a bounce for extra emphasis!

Anyone up for Baby Bowling? Mira loved it!!! (no worries, I didn't actually let go of the baby!)

Reasie is a superstar bowler!! (three strikes in one game is pretty awesome for me)

After bowling, we headed to the arcade where we played an air hockey tournament (Kenny got the Gold), scored some tickets on Ski Ball, and Olivia and I faced off on Dance Dance Revolution. It's been a while since I DDR'd, but I was still pretty decent! The girls cooperated nicely while cashing in their tickets for cool prizes!

Kenny looks like some slacker dad that snuck off to the arcade with his baby in tow...don't worry she's not being neglected - she's napping, and we were keeping an eye on her! ;)

We finished up the Boardwalk trip with a quick visit to Bass Pro, so Kenny could drool over the boats, and I could change Mira's diaper. We looked at the ugly fish for just a little bit before heading out and heading home. Avi was so worn out, I had to carry her back to the car! I just thought Mira was getting heavy!!

Once back at the house, Olivia managed to convince Avi to watch Singing in the Rain rather than Mulan for a third time while waiting for their parents to arrive.

I think the week was a total success! We had a lot of fun with all the girls in the house despite the increase in noise level and decrease in hot water!! =)