Guess Who's Back? Back Again....

Dear followers, I will not name any names, but I will say thank you to a certain D@#dy J!m for the emails reminding me that I needed to update our blog. I did need a little kick in the old caboose to get things rolling again...so without further ado.....the last two months in review (yes, this is another marathon post...happy catching up):

May:
Brandon and I enjoyed our first trip sans baby with our good friends The Underwoods. We headed to Vegas for about four days and had a blast soaking up some rays by the pool at Aria, enjoying yummy food, and had some fun at the blackjack tables! We had a really great time but were super excited to see Lauren Margaret upon our return. Lauren Margaret's Nana came to stay with her while we were gone and they had a great time. Nana documented the entire four days on her camera. She managed to make it to a playgroup, storytime at the library, lunch at the mall with friends, and much much more. She even made her special bubble brew and brought her fancy bubble wands for LM to use. They had a great time together!


First night out at The Bellagio. Next stop, dinner at Sushi Roku

Attempt at a self portrait of Allison U. and I

Cabana we rented for a few days

View of pool from cabana

The travelers


 
fun sign entering one of the casinos
 
cool ice sculptures in the hotel mall
 
I loved these mosaic steps in the hotel....so cool!
 

Sculpture outside our hotel

A playgroup that Nana and LM attended. Pictured are LM, James, and Caleb

Reading a book after storytime at the library

Having fun chasing the vacuum cleaner

Playing with Nana's special bubble wands and Nana's special bubbles (will try to post her bubble recipe when I find where I put it)

Girls night out at Chuy's with Nana and our neighbor, Ms. Judy

Grocery shopping...buying mommy some pretty pink tulips...what a nice surprise

Special Sonic lunch! Yummy!!
What a great few days for everyone! Thanks Nana for keeping out little angel and for making some special memories with her!

Fun with friends Lily, Avery, Jackson, and Will:







Memorial Day Weekend:
We started the weekend on Friday doing some fun summer things like splashing in the sprinkler and finger painting (or toe painting if you will):

On Saturday, we attended Marisa and Jerome's wedding. Marissa has been coming to play with Lauren Margaret every Tuesday since she was pretty itty bitty. We are so happy for this sweet couple and were honored to be a part of their special day!



Daddy and LM at the wedding
Sunday, we headed to the lake with The Underwoods:

Chillin' on the lake with my BFF!

Geoffrey having some fun!

Two little red, white, and blue cuties

My little baby face...love her to pieces!

worn out from another fun day at the lake!

June:
We kicked off June with a surprise baby shower for Kimberly Slade and Jackson Thomas Slade. Kimberly already has one little boy and was expecting another little boy, so we decided to have a "Shower Mommy" shower and we all gave Kimberly fun little gifts for her to use...pedicure gift card, gift cards to restaurants/ice cream places, etc. We enjoyed ice cream sundaes at the shower and the kiddos played their little hearts out. I think we really surprised her which was so neat! Here are some pics of the shower:






Next on the agenda...Grand Cayman with my parents (Gammy and Granddaddy...a.k.a Pops...name LM has started calling him) and Aunt Katie. Fun was had by all! Here are a few of my favorite pics from our trip:
























Aunt Adrian came in to GC with some friends the day we were leaving, so we got to visit with her a little bit before our flight!

Girls Week:
Each year my mother in law, my mom, and I...and now LM get together for a girls week. This year we met in Houston after our vacation and had a great time celebrating Nana's bday, shopping, eating, laughing, watching movies, and having a lot of fun. Daddy Jim even came through town to hang out with us for a night. We also had fun hanging out with Aunt Sissy, Uncle T, KK, UncB, and Will, and Grandaddy Pops.







We returned back to Dallas on our 6th year wedding anniversary, June 19th. Brandon and I enjoyed a nice dinner out and even went to a movie to celebrate (at the movie theater...a rarity these days). Brandon, I heart you! Anyone who knows Brandon knows he's always happy...wearing a smile everywhere he goes, always optimistic, and an overall great friend, dad, and husband...I've loved these things about you since the day I met you and they are still the things that make me love you more and more each and every day!


Welcome babies!!!
Three special friends were welcomed into the world over the last two months....we love our new little friends.
Welcome Lily Arden Rosenkranz, May 20th (Proud parents, Missy and Todd. Big brother, Dylan)


Welcome Jackson Thomas Slade, June 10th (Proud parents, Kimberly and Jeff. Big brother, James)


Welcome Eleanor "Elle" Sofia Sanders, June 16th (Proud parents, Jen and Jody Sanders)



We are also super excited about The Underwood's baby #2...due February 3, 2011. He or she may even share a birthday week with big sister, Avery!

Our life in photos - in "M" Mode Now and other end of April happenings

So, it's no secret I love taking pictures. Anyone who knows me knows I always have my camera with me. I think it is so fun documenting Lauren Margaret's life! I think she will love looking back on this blog as she grows up. I am horrible about actually developing pictures, so I least I get them uploaded to our blog fairly often. So, after taking thousands upon thousands of pictures over the last year, I finally decided it was time to learn more about the camera and how to take better pictures. So, along with a friend, I enrolled in a photography class on Thursday nights. We meet every Thursday evening for three hours and I am learning so much. I'm not sure if my pictures have gotten any better, but I can say that I now can take photos in M (Manual) mode which is HUGE for me as I'm an A (Auto) mode kind of photographer. I've been learning how to adjust the light and aperture in photos and am kind of starting to figure it out...well, KIND OF! If anything, I'm learning when a photo has too much light or not enough light...it's been interesting to say the least. So, here are a few of my favorite new shots...I have a LOT more to learn, but am enjoying the process so much!









Yes, we're still here...just running around chasing an energetic 16 month old! Let's see...catching up....April kind of passed by in the blink of an eye. We've been enjoying the nice spring weather here in Dallas and soaking up every last minute of it! We enjoyed a fun visit a few weekends ago with some of Brandon's fraternity brothers/wives in Oklahoma City. All the guys ran in the marathon/half marathon/relay. We enjoyed a nice dinner with the crew and got to meet Channing Pollock for the first time. She was such a little sweetie and Lauren Margaret was fascinated with her. We've also been visiting several local parks which is always fun to do with friends and enjoying lots of playdates. Here are some fun pics from our outside spring adventures...


My good friend, Jen and her mom, at the baby shower I helped host


Nothing like a pink balloon to entertain you for hours!!!

HAD to get a picture of the curls....loving this little ringlets! Seems like more pop up each day!

Easter weekend

We enjoyed a nice Easter here at home with our little family this year. We went to the Nasher Museum Saturday morning which was really neat, went to our neighborhood Easter egg hunt, then enjoyed going out to eat with some good friends The Slades and The Underwoods. The kids all had a great time at the egg hunt and hanging out at the park afterward. Then, Sunday, our neighbors invited us over for Easter lunch. We had a great time with them! Here are some pictures from Easter: