bi monthly

we did have a birthday. it was a long time ago, but it did happen as documented in the following photos:

not entirely sure why it turned sideways, but what can you do. this was the cake combo. cuter than cute if you ask me. and to top it off the actual cake is funfetti. my favorite. and i plan on imposing my values on my child. next stop, the birthday girl.

she is strutting her stuff getting ready for the big day.

and since im a terrible mother i took very few pictures of the party. here she is not caring a thing about her cake and taking a break to give mason a kiss. isnt she sweet. and there you have it. i was a 1 year old and she has lots of toys and swim suits and clothes and books. she loved all her presents. she a little too good at opening them. and on to present day.

nothing excitng to report really. we threw in an anniversary on sunday. the big 4 years. we celebrated with a quiet lunch out. and by quiet i mean jove went to the babysitters. it was delicious. and ended the day by decorating the guest bedroom, my big anniversary present. pretty exciting. that pretty much brings us up to speed. its currently my favorite time of year: so you think you can dance season. my favorite show ever. im a little sad this year though because i work on wednesdays and dont get home until 8 so i miss the first half. last year i enjoyed maternity leave for the whole season, i need to work that out again for next time. you really need that time off to count.

and here we are at present day:

i love mama's head band.

and here we are rocking, reading a book, in good ol fashion arkansas baby attire.

favorite past time. kissing any and every dog.

and finally my little beach babe! and by beach i of course mean lake.

enjoy.

the return

turns out im not very good at this. or timely i guess you could say. so this post will be dedicated to our st louis weekend getaway. we abandoned poor jove at the grandparents house and off we went. so sad. we had a good time though. little ball game. little zoo. little museum. little mall. the usual. so fun. especially since michael and melanie went with us.

thats anthony. or at least thats what we named him. i think it fits.

and of course a pic of the jove. how could i resist. she is almost 1. thats a whole year old. feels impossible. she is doing all kinds of fun things these days. and at least one new thing per day. always an adventure. she is walking and climbing. she says what the puppy dog says. but since our puppy dog doesnt bark she thinks they just pant. so that is how she communicates with dogs. she will talk on the telephone. dance to any and all music. even if its just me singing a narrative about what im doing ex: "mixing up yummy squash a doo wop" she claps and waves. she plays peek a boo and keep away with the dog. she loves swinging. she gives kisses. thats probably my favorite thing she does. ive been giving kisses for almost a whole year, its about time i got a little return on the deal.

so maybe this is a jovie post and not a vacation post. it happens.

anyway her bday party is saturday though i have not sent a single invitation. im pretty excited. maybe that can be my next post.

to be continued...

here goes nothin...

so from the top:

we are the harrells established june 28, 2005. wed in a courthouse in union missouri on chris's lunch break with two strangers as witnesses. my dream wedding you might say as i like to avoid big crowds and attention. shortly after came the love of our lives...

this is buttons, the best dog on earth.

anyway so that lasted a good while, nothing to report. christmases, vacations, and ballgames etc.

then may 5 2008 this close to 10 lb bundle of joy came along.

we have since learned to crawl forward as well, though not as entertaining, it does seem to be more practical transportation.

so there you have it 3 and a half years in a nutshell. to be continued... one more for good measure because she is so darn cute.

ta da

here we are.