Setting the tone

I'm a big advocate for invites setting the tone for a party/wedding/event. The invites hint at the theme, colors, and tone of the festivity to come.


With that said, you can imagine the pressure I felt after the holidays were over when I realized that I had 2 weeks to find invites and mail them for Aubriella's party! I didn't even have a concrete theme! I found invites I looooved but they were about $1.25 a piece and needing 45 of them didn't go over to well. Believe it or not I "settled" for some 44 cent ones from Walmart. At the time I didn't think they were the right style, but after the party came together I realized they were perfect.

Ok, hard part done, card picked...now we just need a picture. Wow! I forgot how hard it is to stage a picture of a very active girl. I've been singing since then my made up song "How do you take a picture of Aubriella?" (to the Sound of Music tune How do You Solve a Problem like Maria). It is like trying to catch a wave upon the sand, holding a moonbeam in your hand, catching a cloud and pinning it down...



Thought you might want to laugh with me some of the outtakes. I'm sure Aubriella will love these someday. Keep in mind these were taken over the course of a couple of days.

Clearly outside was too distracting. All she wanted to do was run around! We tried her chair outside and that didn't last.

So we moved inside.


I actually got this cute one inside, but her diaper was a little distracting. I tried to fix her skirt, but she took off....and hid inside her tent!

Not happy to come out of her tent!

Very not happy!


Ok lets call it a day!
Day 2

I had to chase her down after every shot! Looks like she is dancing, but just trying to run away I think.




Trying to get her to smile. I was singing to her and she's doing the "mark it with a B"

She's off again!

Not her fault in this one, camera setting too dark.

Can you see how messy her hair is getting from all the chasing and wrangling her back in the chair?



Believe it or not, this is the winner!

Not posed, taken as a joke over the stair banister, distracting tile and carpet... but that is 100% my little girl!

I just had the best year of my life!

Happy birthday Aubriella Joy! You have brought us so much joy. I love everything about you (except can we please try working on that food throwing thing? thanks), and I thank God everyday for allowing us to be entrusted with your little life. I can't wait to see the big things you were created for, and look forward to 17 more years of helping mold you and guide you closer to Christ.

Baby girl Mama and Dada love you so much!

Jose

Jose celebrated his 29th birthday this month! I may be a bit... ok a lot...behind in blogging but he deserves his post nonetheless!

Where do I even start to praise Jose? Aubri and I are SO lucky to have Jose in our lives. As he likes to point out, he is different then most guys. He loves everything about being a husband and dad. He helps out around the house, changes diapers, puts his clothes in the hamper, always puts the toilet seat down, and wipes up his splashes around the sink! WHOA! On top of that, he is handsome, sweet, writes me silly poems, reads his Bible every morning, and does a devotion or lesson with me at night! He works hard for his kids at work, comes home, and before even getting a chance to sit down gets ready for whatever committment we seem to have every.single.night. He watches most football games in fast forward (thanks DVR!) and gave up fantasy football to spend more time with us.

Jose you are the greatest husband and father there is! We love you so much and are so thankful for all that you do for us!

1st picture

Sorry friends for the lack of updates! Just wanted to share with you the first picture of the new year.

Taken New Years Day morning:

I think it is going to be a great year!

Happy 11 Months Aubriella!

I can't believe Aubri is 11 months today! It is going by so fast, yet I can't remember what our lives were like without her. We love our sweet girl so much and we are so thankful for the little fiesty person she is.

Everyone thinks they have the smartest baby in the whole world, but I'm sure I really do! ;-) Aubriella learns something new everyday and her vocabulary is over 20 words (though only the trained ear can distinguish between puppy and baby sometimes). She knows animal sounds and hums certain tunes. She mimics any sound we make from coughing to whistling, and loves to fake blow her nose. She pretend chews when she tells me she is hungry and pretends to swallow and say "ahhh" when she is thirsty. She can point to her nose, mouth, eyes, and hair, and understands instructions like getting a certain object or picking up a toy. I know I'm very very biased, but even when she is around other kids her age she stands out and other parents tell us they can't believe her age. Her social skills and verbal skills are impressive, but her motor skills excel too! At 11 months of age she has been walking for over 2 months, and now tries to run away from us when she doesn't want to be caught! She keeps us on our toes and chasing her around has helped me manage to not gain any weight this holiday season.

Aubriella used to be very shy and only want her mama, but now is the friendliest little thing. She knows no stranger and will wave at everyone she passes. She demonstrates a strong will and can be downright stubborn. She knows what she likes and there is no convincing her otherwise. She makes me laugh- and at times pull out my hair- when she gets an idea and won't get over it. She believes Mama's dish towel belongs on the floor (not the oven door), the measuring cups belong with her toys, the real remote is hers (not the old one we took the batteries out of), nap time is negotiable, and Mommy's milk should be available when she wants it and where she wants it.

Aubri is a little dare devil who will dive off of couches, loves to be thrown in the air, hang upside down, and climb anything she can. Sometimes I think she is a little tom boy hidden in tutus (but I relax knowing she loves shoes, brushes and bows). She laughs when she burps and farts (and says "Papa!" when she hears a fart much to my dad's embarrassment!). No one makes her laugh like daddy, and she loves to rough house with him.



She LOVES to give slobbery kisses and I've given up touching up the make-up she smears off of me. She gives hugs, but doesn't like to cuddle long. Don't try to hold Ms. Independent's hand when she is walking, but feel free to pick her up to take outside.

Even when I start to get mad that she throws all her food on the floor, I can't help but get over it when she mischievously says "uh oh" or tries to say "bom" (for bombs away- thanks Daddy!). With those big, dark eyes she'll turn you into putty, and the two-toothy grin will melt your heart.

Aubriella you've completely captured our hearts and we love you more than we thought possible. You are beautiful inside and out and we love everything about you!

Pictures from her 9 month photo shoot byMoments Caputred

There'll be parties for hosting (marshmallows for roasting!)

Two years ago when we were house hunting, Jose and I prayed for a house that we would be able to use for entertaining, fellowshipping, and welcoming people in. We were teaching 4th-6th grade Sunday School and every month the kids would pray for us and ask if they could come over when we moved. We finally found the perfect house (almost two years ago- WOW!) and were true to our word by hosting sleepovers for the kids. Since then we have taken advantage of our home and love having parties and get togethers here.


This past December was no different! The Saturday before Christmas I invited the young girls from church to come have a bake day. The perfect amount of girls came and we had a blast! I was wiped out afterwards though (it's tough work keeping young girls entertained and on baking task for 5 hours!) and I'll admit I found sprinkles and frosting all over the place for days afterward. Our baking paid off, because the next day we had a bake sale at church and raised over $500 for the Children's ministry!!

The Thursday before Christmas we had over 30 of Jose's family over for the weekly Thursday night dinner and Andrew's Birthday Party! Everyone I've told about having this large of a group over has seemed shocked, but the way our family pitches in is awesome! I barely had to do any work!

Christmas Evening we had our immediate family over to celebrate Christmas and my (earthly;-) Dad's 50th birthday! Poor guy has always been jipped having his birthday and Christmas on the same day, so I tried to make it seem birthday party-ish and not just Christmas-y. After a day full of festivities this was the perfect ending and I was proud to host Christmas Dinner.

(Jasen attempted to make an anatomically correct Gingerbread man, but I did not approve hence the smear. )

Monday evening, I had the smallest gathering yet- the 12 ladies of my Bunco group! As always, it was a fun night hanging out even though I didn't win a prize. I had planned on announcing that I would be dropping out of the group for the following year (trying to cut down my commitments) but I have so much fun with the girls that they wore me down and I committed for another year!

After hosting parties every other day, I'm taking a much deserved break. 4 whole days without a party! You thought I'd pass up an opportunity to host a New Years Eve party? Wouldn't dream of it!

Christmas 2010

Christmas morning is so exciting again having a baby! As much as I love Christmas, my adult years haven't included the extreme excitement for waking early and opening presents. This year though I couldn't wait to see how Aubri would react!

Jose and I were awake before Aubriella was and got showered and ready. The little stinker choose Christmas morning to sleep in! We ended up opening our present to each other before she got up. With Jose's new Lecrae rap CD as background music we ran up the stairs with video camera in hand. Aubriella usually goes from sleepy to active in 30 seconds, but Christmas morning she was happy and mellow (go figure!). After being told to not touch the presents, I think she was confused why we were trying to get her to rip them open!



She was so patient ripping one tiny piece of paper off at a time- and walking each little piece to us! And when one present was finally open she sat contentedly opening and closing the box lid for a few minutes! Daddy taught her how to rip paper and throw it in the air and that got her finally moving faster.





Aubriella is one loved little girl! We didn't even bother buying her a single gift to open because she had a million from her Grammy and favorite cousins! (We did pitch in to buy the wooden playset that Grammy and Tia Emma bought her! Papa and Daddy are going to build it once the rain stops!)


LOVE her new little chair that matches our couches!

Aubri tripped and fell backward into the pile of paper! It was so funny and I am glad we had the camera in hand! Classic!

Even with all her new toys, the most excitement came from playing in the box! And later her favorite thing to play with was a small jewelry box!

After Christmas morning at our house, we went to Nana and Papa's for breakfast and more presents! Aubri got to help Papa open his big gift and got lots of help from her 2 of her favorite uncles.

Every wrestler needs a wrestling mask!

The fun (and busyness ;-) never stops when we are fortunate to have all our family near by. After changing out of our PJs we went straight to Nino and Nina's house (Jose's grandparents). The commotion that can be a little overwhelming other times is so fun on Christmas! Presents are being passed, paper is being thrown, and everyone competes for the few open seats. The littlest great-grandkids are growing so fast.

Nino loved his new Uppercase Living sign!

I wonder if it will ever get easier to take pictures of the littlest great-grandkids?? This picture cracks me up!!

From Nino and Nina's house it was back home to prepare for the Christmas Dinner/Dad's Birthday Party and more celebrating!