Amelia's Birthday Party

Last Sunday we celebrated my older sister's birthday. I won't reveal her age but I will say that she is an absolutely wonderful sister with an amazing love for Christ. She embodies so many qualities that I strive to have. I suppose you could say I will always look up to my big sis. (Big referring to age, not size.)

After eating Amelia's requested birthday meal (egg sandwiches on croissants, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns), we immediately dived into unwrapping presents.

 

This picture cracks me up for some reason. Apparently I scraped the wrapping paper when I got Mom's vacuum cleaner out of the closet a couple of weeks before. And this fact must have astounded Amelia and Nikki because they examined the wrapping paper carefully.
 
 

Amelia is always taking horrible pics of us, so this one is revenge.

   

Because she always takes great pictures. ALWAYS. It gets on my nerves. :)
 
 

See what I mean?
 
 

This what Jason and Hugh did during the party. Watched football and took a nap. Party poopers. Every party has a pooper, that's why we invited you. Party pooper. Party pooper. (You are totally singing that song in your head right now, aren't you?)
 
 

And, no party would be complete without the cake. Amelia's cake of choice this year was dirt cake. Crushed oreos mixed with vanilla pudding. Yum. And super sweet.
 


 

Of course, I can't leave out a photo of Ryan and Abigail playing together. Abigail loves Ryan! He is always willing to play with her.

Dad's Birthday Celebration

Sunday night we celebrated Dad's (J.R.) birthday at Adam and Amelia's house. We grilled hot dogs and hamburgers and feasted on chips, potato salad, and baked beans. Entirely too much food, but so yummy! Amelia made a lovely strawberry cake. It was a ton of fun.

Here are a few pics from the evening.

Ty

Abigail and Kinlea were playing at the table, and Ryan thought the car would want to join them.

Mandy and Hugh are checking out the lights and ceiling fan while Jason reads our Sunday School literature.

Adam and Hugh

Fixing to enjoy cake.

We also gave Mandy her Mother's Day gift.

Kinlea, Ty, and Abigail read Mandy's car.

Baby Bump Update: Weeks 6-11

Okay, so I had planned on updating the blog each week with baby news, but my first trimester troubles hit (aka morning sickness and fatigue). So I did a bad job.

I've been writing a letter each week to our sweet Poppyseed and hope to share it and a baby bump photo with you. Unfortunately no baby bump photo for these weeks. Oh well.

Here's what you've missed:

Week 6: August 14, 2010

I babysat my sweet niece, Abigail, for the last Monday in a while since I start my new job next week. I'm sad that I won't get to see her every Monday. I love hanging out with her.

We also started back our regular Wednesday night activities. I teach 5th-6th grade choir. Wow, is it a  handful.

And, we had a birthday party on Friday for my Mom and younger sister (yes, they have the same birthday!) It was a lot of fun. Amelia and I were in charge of Mexican stack up while Ryan took care of the cake. And, boy, did he deliver! An ice cream cake from Cold Stone Creamery. YUM. Baby and Momma were happy!

Week 7: August 21, 2010

This week we went shopping for bridesmaids dresses for my sister's wedding in December. I'm not posting all the pictures because I don't want to give anything away, so I'll post a few funny ones.

Lots of dresses to try on!

My older sister can be such a goofball! She ended up trying on most of the dresses because she was about the only one who could fit into the available sizes. I am too big, and Nikki's matron of honor was too small.

We had a hard time explaining to Mom that yes, cranberry does look good with redheads.

Note my sister's "crazy" eyes. Sometimes it is so hard convincing Mom of something, especially when it comes to color and redheads. Also at this point in the day we had been looking at dresses forever, I was getting nauseated because I was starving, and everybody else was pretty hungry, too.

And, the most exciting thing that happened this week was our first ultrasound! At 7 weeks, baby Poppyseed was tiny but we still saw and heard the heartbeat! So amazing!

Week 8: August 28, 2010

This week we shared the news with everybody!

We also went to the second home football game versus our rival, Oak Grove. It was a close game, but we WON! We had not beat Oak Grove in a while, and we were eager to do so in our brand new stadium. Our boys delivered! It was rainy, but we stayed through the entire game.

Mom looks like she should be pushing around a shopping cart full of bags. She was cracking me up! But we were desperate to stay dry.

Jason also tackled what I lovingly refer to as "the jungle" in our backyard. A side garden that is completely overgrown.

All of that stuff on the ground (minus the dog, of course) came out of the trees. Branches he trimmed and an enormous vine that he cut out.

Week 9: September 4, 2010

Not a ton of stuff this week as my nausea was really setting in. We did enjoy a small Labor Day celebration with my side of the family...hamburgers and swimming. My kind of day!

Week 10: September 11, 2010

This week my Mom, younger sister, and her fiance took a day trip to Foley, Alabama to visit Old Time Pottery and Lambert's Cafe. We were looking for vases to make centerpieces for her wedding. If you've never been to Old Time Pottery, you should definitely check it out! Lots of great stuff.

I thought I was going to throw up on the way over. I forgot to snack on the way, and the twists and turns near the bay weren't helping. But, we saw a beautiful site - one side of the bay was stormy, the other wasn't.

And, no trip to Foley is complete without stopping at Lambert's Cafe where they toss the rolls at you.

I had a ton of leftover food.

On the way home I saw a beautiful sunset.

Week 11: September 18, 2010

This week we celebrated my younger sister's 7th birthday. Good thing we are telling everybody that I'm expecting because this chick can't keep a secret! The first thing she did when she saw me is run up and hug me, shouting "Christy! Having a baby!" Gotta love her. She got a ton of American Girl stuff this year. That's her new obsession.

Birthday Wish List

My birthday is next week! My family and I are notorious list-makers, so here's what made it on my birthday wish list this year:

I'm totally in love with this camera tote from JoJo Totes. I am a photographer so I always have my camera on me. But sometimes I don't care to haul around my large, unattractive camera bag. It makes me feel like a tourist. This tote is perfect! I can put my camera, extra lenses, and a few other goodies such as a snack, book, and wallet in this gorgeous tote. And it looks like a regular, but large purse.

*The picture with the person holding the tote is from Danielle Thompson's blog. I first heard of this tote from her.

I love Blythe dolls but they are way over my budget right now. While looking for Blythes, I found something totally awesome...Pullip dolls! I love that these are ball-jointed dolls. This means that you can pose them. I wouldn't recommend these dolls for little kiddos because they are expensive. But for doll collectors, these are a must. I really love this one!

I'm always asking for art supplies. The latest goodies on my list are 1. Golden Crackle Paste - I can't believe I haven't bought this yet, but I would love to add some crackle in my mixed media work. 2. PanPastel Artists’ Painting Pastels Sets - I've heard these are absolutely amazing pastels. I would love to start out with at least the 10-piece set. 3. Golden Fluid Acrylics, 1 oz - specifically Turquoise and Quinacridone Red.

And a few other goodies: 1. Re-ment Dining Table - for 1:6 dolls (such as Barbie, Blythe, or Pullip). 2. Ranger Craft Spinner - to hold all my ink blending tools. 3. Re-ment Display Kitchen - another goodie for 1:6 dolls.

A couple of other things I asked for are some Copic Sketch Markers, a gift certificate to Papertrey Ink, and a gift certificate to Two Peas in a Bucket.

Of course, I don't expect everything on this list! I am realistic, after all. These are some things that have inspired me lately that I would love to play with.