Long overdue birthday pictures...lots of 'em too!

Wow...these are way overdue. That is the main reason I decided today just to not worry about editing all of them. I just picked some of the ones I really liked. There were way too many of them for me to finish before I put them up. So...here for your viewing pleasure...pictures from Tutti-Frutti's birthday. These are from his actual birthday. I have not started on any from the party yet. I promise I will get that done this week!


We gave him one present to open that morning.

I think he had a good time opening it!

He was particular about the way he opened it too.

Ah, and here comes the cake.

It started off rather neatly. This was the first time he had ever had cake, much less a cake just thrown down in front of him. I was worried. My other kids were each different in the way they dove in/did not dive in to their's on the big day. Both of the older boys were completely opposite so I was not sure what would happen. Sour Apple dove into his, hands, feet, head and all. Boog...not so much. He wanted nothing to do with it.

At this point, we were still very unsure what was going to happen.

Still being very neat about the whole thing. One finger, maybe 2 at a time.

He was starting to get the hang of it and decided that it was really tasty.

He was loving the cake.

Boog had all he could stand. He had to get in there and help his brother out!

Ah yea, here we go...now that's what I'm talkin' about!

Get your hands and feet in it. Oh yea. This is great stuff!

Put some in your pocket for later.

Pick it off of your feet. Do not waste a drop!

Oh yea, and the forehead is in it now!

Work those feet in good. By the way, have you ever tried to clean cake icing off of a baby with only baby wipes? Well, word of advice...it is not an easy job! Slimy, sticky and sweet goodness for the rest of the day!

After we finished the cake (and cleaning) we headed downtown to the Houston Children's Museum. We had a great time!

He carried the yellow ball around the entire time we were there. He held it in his hand everywhere he went.

He loved the sun catchers on the window.

He even got a birthday smooch from a baby girl! *and even a lick on the forehead, maybe she smelled the cake!

Trying to figure out how to get into the car.

Toys, I see more toys. Humm, now if only I could stretch a little more.

After the museum, we had Sour Apple's first jr high soccer game, went to dinner at Carino's then headed home for, you guessed it...more cake. Daddy made this cute monkey cake for our little monkey!

Happy Birthday to you!

Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday Dear Tutti-Frutti. Happy Birthday to you!

NO! We do not touch fire!

Wheew...glad someone blew out the candle. Who's great idea was it to actually light the thing...oh yea, that was me.

One more present for the birthday boy.

Woo hoo! This thing plays music. Look at me dance! We had a great day and I hope Tutti-Frutti had a wonderful 1st birthday.

Weekly Wednesday, I am 1 now!

Well, we survived it. Our baby is one. Yesterday we went in for his (and Boog's) well check. At one year old, our mighty munchkin is a whopping 18 pounds 8 ounces and 29 inches tall. He's a big one!

I am one now...look at me. I can drive!

Hoping the ladies like my new ride.

You know, they say that the number one cause of vehicle accidents is due to the driver texting...I beg to differ, I think it has something to do with hanging out the window getting your ball back while you are driving.

He would rather stand in the seat than sit, or...well, there is hanging out the window too!
Or just plain standing and driving.

Had to throw one in of this sweetie too, yogart covered face and all. We had his meet the teacher day today. I think he liked them, of course he would never admit to it! As for his well check, at 4 years and 4 months, he is 41 pounds (only 2 pounds different in over 2 years) and 40 inches tall.

Still alive. Barely.

Wow. What a long few days it has been. Last Thursday, as you know, was Tutti-Frutti's very 1st birthday. To celebrate, we baked a cake just for him. We took him to a lake side park and turned him loose with it. I had my camera ready and we got some fantastic shots (part of why I have been MIA) of him (and Boog) destroying the cake.

After he finished, (read: after we took it away from him) we cleaned him up nicely with all of the fresh clean running water baby wipes we had on hand. Not promising he was not sweet smelling and sticky for the rest of the day! We loaded up in the car and headed downtown to the (newly renovated) Houston Children's Museum and played for a few hours.

We then headed out to Sour Apple's very first Jr High Soccer game, in Baytown! Yikes, is this what school sports is going to be like?! Wow, I need to prepare myself. After the game, we headed over to Carino's for some fantastic Italian food to celebrate Tutti-Frutti's birthday. It was delicious. Once we got home...well, more cake, of course.

We spent Friday getting some last minute preparations done before the party on Saturday and spent the evening hanging out and visiting with family.

Saturday...oh my...Saturday! What a whirlwind of a day! We got up early, tried to dress the children, feed the children and leave the house in a hurry to pick up the cake. Did you hear me say hurry? With 4 kids. Hurry is not a word. Anyway, we get out the door and realize that we did not feed the birthday baby. Great, of all of the kids to not have given breakfast to, I pick the smallest, and on his special day no less. Actually, I should say here that we made him breakfast, just left it at home. That at least sounds a little bit better. We get the cake picked up, oh how cute was the cake! By this time, I had heard from Pap about 4 times, wanting to know when we would be arriving (the party was going to be at their house and a tree had fallen the night before so there were a lot of limbs and debris to pick up) to help with some back yard clean up. My initial plan was to get up, gather our stuff, load everything I needed for the party, pick up the neighbor kids that were going with us, go get the cake, stop and get balloons and then head over to help with clean up then shower and get ready and prepare the food and decorations for the party. You read MY plan, right? Well, we all know that things never go as planned, especially when we need them to.

We get to the cake place, pick up the huge monkey face cake and a small #1 cake for Tutti-Frutti to have his way with. On the road we go, back to the house. I had not had time in the rush of the morning madness to pack up the car or our stuff. We get home, gather what we need, answer a few more calls from Pap, load the car, grab the gifts, grab the babies, grab the cakes and head out. I handed the #1 cake to Lemon Drop to carry, she was also carrying Tutti-Frutti. We get to the car, she asks where to put the cake, I say hold it for a minute so I can get situated. I hear Sour Apple griping at her about not putting the cake there, something might happen to it, I get a strange feeling, ask for the cake and my worst fears are confirmed...we are late AND now we have to find another smash cake! Are you kidding me? It is almost noon, I have to find another cake or bake another cake, stop and get balloons and then drive 20 or so minutes to get to the house to clean the yard, shower, decorate, bathe kids, dress kids and fix the food. Good greif! We stop at Kroger, the lady there was a real doll, she whipped up a small pre-iced cake to match our colors and slapped a number 1 on it and out the door I went, now...party store for balloons. Oh my great googly moogly! There is no longer a party store! Are you kidding me?!

I call my mom (again) in a panic (again) and flip out about the cake (again) and the fact that there is no longer a party store and I have to get to their house, like hours ago! She assures me she will stop and get balloons on the way home from work, yes, work...she had to work. This is the only Saturday of the month that she has to work and that is when we decide to have a party. Great. We head on in to their house, pick up limbs like our rear was on fire. Man. We. Were. Fast. Thank goodness though.

We finish the limbs, start our showers...meanwhile, I have called an aunt and friend and begged them to come early to help me. My aunt arrives just as I get out of the shower, thankfully she man-handles Tutti-Frutti so I can prepare myself and do Lemon Drop's hair. She makes the cheese dip and helps me get the table all set up. Wheew. I get the fruit tray done and we get the other food ready to go. I cannot believe we are actually going to be ready on time after the day I have had!

Mom gets home as planned, with helium tank in tow (did I mention that I had the mylar party balloons with me? That is why I was freaking, they were sooo cute, could not not use those!) and balloons as well. My friend and her husband had arrived by this time and got the balloons all blown up and tied. By this time, we could start to relax. It was a miracle.

The party started right on time, right down to the mini bounce house and pony.

We rode the pony, jumped in the bouncy, ate hotdogs, had mixed fruit smashed all over our faces and clothes by the birthday boy. He wrestled with his friend "The Fro" over a sippy cup. Smashed the smash cake, rubbed it all over his body, ate some, wore lots. We had cake, he cat napped, we visited with our family and friends, we opened presents and we stayed way late. All in all it was a fantastic day, bloopers and all.

The point to my story is...I am still alive. But barely. I will have pictures to post soon but in the course of all of this partying, I took over 750 pictures! That is what I have been doing...sorting through and editing pictures. Oh...and did I mention that I am also working on a photography blog to show you all some of my work? Yea, there is that too. I am trying to hurry. I know you are all waiting with baited breath for birthday pictures (ok, by the time I got to this point in the post, I begain to feel guilty for not sharing any pictures at all so I went back and found a cute one of him opening a present at the park and added it for your viewing pleasure) and I am proofing as fast as my little eyes will let me! But I do have to sleep you know!

Happy Birthday Precious Little One...

Happy Birthday to the newest member of our family. Our sweet baby boy turns 1 year old today! I hope you are able to take the time to watch the video I put together in celebration of such a special first year.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Happy 1st Birthday

Wow...that is about all I can say right now. Where does the time go? This time last year, we were getting ready to welcome a precious bundle of joy. About to head to bed, not sure if we would even be able to sleep. Going over all of the details in our head. Are the bags packed, is the car seat in the car, do we have enough people scheduled to help with the other kids, how would Boog handle mommy and daddy both being gone overnight for several nights, how would he handle the transition from baby of the house to big brother...so many things were running through our minds. None of which could have prepared us for what we faced at 7:30am on Wednesday, August 27.

We knew that he was potentially up to 2 1/2ish weeks early, that part was planned. What we did not know is that he was actually a little more than 3 1/2 weeks early. That should not have been a big deal. At 7:30, on Wednesday, August 27th, our lives were forever changed again. This time we were put to the test. How would we handle this situation? I was scheduled to arrive a few hours early and we were to go into surgery for the planned c-section at 7am, my doctor along with a pediatrician and the neonatology team were present. All was going as planned, my biggest worry is that the doctor would forget that we had agreed he would drop the curtain so I could attempt to see what was going on, another doctor had agreed to video the birth for me, we were all set. After listening to the doctors chit chat, being blinded by the lights and nervous for the whole thing to be over, I began to feel what can only be described as someone mashing and jerking and pulling and maneuvering my abdomen...I mean seriously, am I supposed to be able to feel all of that? Finally, I hear them say he is out, I wait but do not immediately hear a cry. I do hear the doctor say it is a boy, I see my husband get up and move to the side table, I wonder why they did not let me take a look at him. I hear people talking, I see people rushing, I finally hear a cry after what seemed like forever. I started to feel a little bit relieved, I hoped that I could see him soon. The longer they worked on me, the more sure I was that something was not right, there was too much commotion on his side of the room. I finally got someone to tell me what was going on. It seems that being just the 3 1/2 weeks early was a big deal for him. Later I was told that there was fluid on his lungs. They scooped him up and ran away to the NICU, my husband in hot pursuit. I was now left alone, on the table, wondering how my sweet, precious new baby boy was holding up. I do not even remember getting to see him at all, maybe I did.

I was taken across the hall to recovery and a nurse and my husband began telling me what was going on. According to them, the baby had fluid on his lungs, he would get some oxygen and be back with us later that night, at the latest the next morning. I would be able to go see him and hold him once I was able to move a bit. A few hours after he was born, they wheeled my bed into the NICU so I could take a peek. He was so tiny, tubes all over him, stuff covering his face. I felt horrible for my precious angel. Later that day, I learned that he would be staying longer than they had originally thought, and that I would not be able to hold him. That broke my heart. I was also told that I could not even touch him. It could make him worse. No mother wants to hear that touching their baby could possibly make them worse. He was tiny and helpless and there was nothing I could do. He was over 2 days old before I could touch him, over 3 days old the first time I briefly held him and 4 days before I was able to nurse him. On day 5, he was well enough to spend the night with us in a parent care room and day 6 he was able to come home! Praise God! I have never had such a week and hope and pray that I never will again.

My baby is a fighter. He may be small, but he is a tough little guy. He had a hard start but I think that made us stronger as a family. We cannot imagine our lives without this little guy. It seems like only yesterday he was born but then again, it is hard for me to remember a day without him.
He is funny. A real trouble maker. He is fast. He loves both brothers and his sister. He is one lucky kid. They love him too! His face lights up when he sees them. I think Boog is his favorite.


We think he is beautiful. He makes our life complete. He knows what he wants. He loves his mommy and his daddy.
He can say quite a few words, if he wants to. He says Mamma, Da-Da, Dog (Dat, I think) but then pants like a dog after, he says bye, hi and a few more. He knows a few words in sign language too. He does drink, all done and play. He refuses to sign more or eat. Not really sure why, but he does know what they both mean.
He loves to play. He loves to make funny faces. He is a great baby. He likes to ride. He is laid back and easy going, most of the time. He has recently discovered his screaming voice and we are not excited about that! He knows what he wants, and most of the time he knows exactly how to get it.
Yes, our baby boy turns one today. We are happy and we are sad. So many things have happened this year in his short little life. He went to Disney World, he saw the beach, he ate sand, he goes to Kindermusik and he eats everything he can get his hands on and get to his mouth.

Our baby is growing up too fast. We are not ready, or at least I am not ready.

I know it will not be long before he is walking.

He is so curious. He has a love for all things. He has not met a food he does not like. He has stranger anxiety. Mommy is his favorite, most of the time. He thinks his siblings are the funniest thing ever. He loves our dog. He sometimes uses him as a pillow. I think the dog might have even decided to love him back, maybe.


He is our beautiful baby boy. He may not technically be a baby after today, but he will always be my baby. We are so happy that he is a part of our family.

We are so proud of our little one. I just wish we could make time stand still. We love you sweet little man.

I also put together a video slide show of his first year. It is scheduled to post at 7:30am. I hope you enjoy seeing a little part of our life. Thank you all for being a part of our lives and helping us to celebrate our little man's very first birthday!

Weekly Wednesday

Wow! The final Weekly Wednesday of his first year! Where has the time gone? My precious little man will have his very 1st birthday tomorrow. This time last year, I was filled with anticipation, knowing that I would meet my precious little angel in less than 24 hours. This year, I am filled with anxiety and all sorts of emotions, knowing that my little man will no longer be "a baby." He will always be "my baby" though.

Make sure to stop back by tomorrow for his one year video and some one year pics.

The big birthday bash is this coming weekend so I will have pictures of that soon as well!

Not My Child! Monday

This week, we are doing a little something different again, remember Not my child! Monday? Did you almost die of embarrassment when your child yelled from across a friend's pool, "Can I just pee in the pool?" Want to pull your hair out when you found gum in your dog's hair? Well don't! Mothers aren't perfect and neither are children. Let's 'fess up today because it's Not my child! Monday!

A few weeks ago, it was not my child that declared, "That scared the crap out of me!" Nope, not my child, we do not use words like that!

It was not the same child that asked what was for lunch one day, I answered, "rice." To which he asked, "Pople (Chipotle) rice?" When I said no, it was rice from home, he declared, "You gotta be kiddin' me!"

It was also not my child (yep, the same one) that told me, "Mommy, I'm still not Sour Apple's brother!" I say, "Why not?" To which I hear, "Cuz he still beez mean da me!" Well, alrighty then!

A few months back when we discovered a cracked toilet lid, it was not my precious child that automatically began blaming daddy for the broken lid, wanting to know why daddy broke the toilet, and if daddy broke it with his butt and then said, "Dang, Daddy has a strong butt!" (sidenote...it was not then me who laughed hysterically!)

It was not that same child that said (out loud, I might add) that he wished daddy could have a baby in his tummy!

And finally, it is not all of my children who are tucked soundly in their beds AND sleeping tonight BEFORE 8:30pm! Nope, not my kids! I am not that lucky and they are certainly not that tired!

Hope you enjoyed the twist on the Monday confessions, if you did, head on over to MckMama's and see what everyone else's kids have not been doing! I am sure you will be glad you did!