It's all about Libby!

Pictures!

2011-05-02T12:38:00.005-04:00

Finally, Finally, Finally! I am doing something for myself! I have wanted to get involved with photography since high school but have always put it off. Well now it's all about me! I took a giant leap and bought an awesome camera and signed up for a photography class. I love it! It is so exciting learning all these things you never think about that go into making a great picture. Of course, Libby is my favorite subject! Here are some pictures I've taken over the past few weeks. I'm just getting started, but I think these are pretty good! Enjoy!

Bowling Night

2011-03-12T17:10:00.004-05:00

Libby and I haven't been bowling in a long time so I thought it would be a good Saturday night activity for us to do. We brought Nathan along too...the more the merrier! I decided we should grab some dinner first. Libby picked "the place with the peanuts" of course, which is fine by me! Yum! I figured to beat the crowds we should go at 4pm. I guess there was nothing else to do that day because there was already a wait at the restaurant. Not too long luckily. We finished our dinner and headed to the bowling alley. It was 530pm. The lanes were packed!! They said they wouldn't have any open lanes until 7pm. Um...no thanks. We went back out to my truck and I called the other bowling alley in Kokomo thinking surely both places wouldn't be busy. Think again! They didn't have any open lanes until 8pm! Really?! Craziness! One more try...I'll call Suburban Lanes in Tipton. I asked if they had any open lanes, with my fingers crossed and two eager children sitting in the back seat...Jackpot! They were only using one lane! Hahaha! Off to Tipton we go to bowl! I did have to learn how to keep score though because it's old school like that...no computers!

Here is Libby practicing her photography skills. Nathan wasn't impressed!

Here I am courtesy of Libby. We bowled with the bumpers up of course. It's still hard to get much over 100! I think 114 was my high!

This is Libby's "give me a strike" dance! It doesn't work 100%, but she did get a few strikes and some spares. The spare has it's own dance as well, don't worry!

She will love these pics when she becomes a pro bowler some day!

We had fun and can't wait to go back again!

First Grade Program

2011-03-12T16:59:00.003-05:00

Now that Libby is in first grade they get to participate in a school program. When my nephew, Nathan, was in kindergarten he had a program and it involved the whole elementary school. It was a little overwhelming for the kids. Fortunately now, they have the grades divided up and they dropped kindergarten all together! I could hardly wait for the first grader's spring program this year! Libby was keeping details about the program very hush-hush! She would only tell me what the program was called, "The Principal and the Pea" and a few songs they would be singing. Every time I would ask her to sing me a song she would just say, "No! You have to wait...It's a surprise!" Little booger! But the day finally came!

Here is my little superstar before her performance! I love it when I get to dress her up all fancy! She likes it too, I promise! She was just extra happy because I told her I wouldn't get the flat iron out to straighten her hair!

She really likes to pose now for her pictures. Sometimes I have to say, "OK, that's enough!" Secretly though I could take her picture and watch her pose all day long! It's quite amusing some of the stuff she comes up with!

I was trying to give her some direction for a pose and she obviously thought she didn't need any assistance being fabulous! That's the look I get!

Here she is making her entrance into the gym for the big performance! She's silly! But on another note, look how my child is dresses compared to hmmm...the girl in front of her! May I just say it was early March, cold and windy out that day! Cold!!! Not sundress and sandal weather. And that was not the only girl dressed that way.

Let the show begin! I wish I would have had my new camera so I could have gotten better pictures! Anyway...Here's the story line:

The principal of the elementary school is retiring and they have to find a replacement. The children want to make sure they find the perfect principal. So they hide a pea in a bowl of soup. The principal who discovers the pea is the right fit for their school.

Plot twist:

They find the perfect principal but...he loves brussel sprouts and decides they will be served everyday for lunch! It was pretty funny! The kids did a great job with the singing and dancing. And yes, I had my camcorder and taped the whole thing! So I really wasn't too upset my pictures didn't turn out that great. Libby wanted to watch the show when we got home. After I quick drive thru DQ for some celebratory ice cream that is exactly what we did!

Mini 4H

2011-03-12T16:52:00.003-05:00

Libby brought home some papers from school for Mini 4H. She was so excited and said she wanted to sign up. There is a choice of about 10 categories you can choose from. You get to pick two. Libby picked sewing and photography (after I told her photography meant taking pictures). We went to the 4H building and signed up and picked up her packets. She read through them on the way home.

One of the packets had the 4H pledge. She read it several times in the car on the way home. Then when we got home she wanted to show me how good she had gotten at saying the 4H pledge. I like how she even put her hand over her heart.

Here she is taking a bow for her great performance.
She's so dramatic! I'm glad my child is so entertaining. I would still love her if she was boring...but I love her even more because she makes me laugh.

She started right away on the photography. She thought she should take a picture of herself.

She also thought she should take a picture of me doing laundry. Maybe our first lesson should be subject matter.

Another self-portrait.

Feeling Nostalgic

2011-03-10T20:12:00.006-05:00

OK...it may only be March, but my baby is turning 7 in July! It's so hard to believe! I've always heard other parents say how time goes by so fast and I never believed them. To me, other people's children stay kids forever it seems! I also used to think my mom was crazy when she would say how quickly you forget what your children were like when they were young. I told myself, "I'm not like that! I would never forget! I'll remember everything!" But now...Oh how my perspective has changed! I'm so glad I've taken so many pictures over the years, because believe me...sometimes you need a little reminder to get those memories started! But how sweet they are once I do remember something I'd forgotten...something I swore I wouldn't forget! So please take a few minutes and take a random trip down memory lane with me:

I wish I had more pictures of me pregnant. I have this one, when I'm 28 weeks. My other picture is before I left for the hospital to deliver!

Elizabeth Grace Hoover...

My little Libby.

The was her first night at home. She's two days old and as orange as a sweet potato! She had to come home on a bili blanket. Even though I'm a NICU nurse, there are things you don't think about when you become a mom. If this was a baby at work, I would tell you in an instant this is one jaundiced baby! But since it was my baby, I just thought she had gotten her daddy's coloring...tan! Hahaha! I still laugh about that! Just look at that color!! But she's beautiful...and tan!

I love this picture. This was taken when she was three. We were outside playing in the leaves. I would rake them into a big pile and she would run and jump in the leaves over and over again. Sometimes she would just lie there and look at the leaves and the sky, like in this picture. I could kiss that face all day long!

You may think I had a baby, but really she's 50% puppy, 50% baby. This is when she was going through her puppy phase. We had just finished decorating a cake and she wanted some icing...on the floor, in a dish...so she could lick it up like a dog! I love that face! Look how happy my little puppy is! Look at her little diaper butt! My heart is aching!

Call me crazy, but I love the face she makes when she cries! Whenever she cries, to this day, she gets these two little creases on her forehead between her eyebrows. And when I look at her like that I can always see her as she was when she was my newborn baby. She's two in this picture and wearing the John Deere jumper I made her. The head scarf is the best! Cutie Patootie!

It gets very muddy around our house in the spring. I bought these rain boots for Libby so she could still play on her playground. They went up to her knees. They were a little big. She loved them. She had been outside playing all day. She was taking a short rest in her "clubhouse."

More crying! Again...I love that face!

I took Libby to the park after I had gotten her one year old pictures taken so I could take some of her outside with nature. They turned out to be some of my favorites. Look how she is studying that little petal. And her little ponytail with the tiny pink bow. So sweet. My Beautiful Baby.

I love her hair in this picture! It really kills me! She had just gone swimming in her new baby pool and I brought her inside, got her dressed and popped this headband on. That face, that hair, her little fat feet with the curled up toes!

I took Libby outside to get some pictures of her when she was 10 months old since I didn't take her anywhere to get 9 month pictures...bad mommy! She found those helicopters that fall from the trees. She thought they looked tasty, but quickly changed her mind! But I got a great picture out of it!

I find this picture amusing. She had just woke up from a nap and her daddy thought it was time she tried her first girl scout cookie. It was one of those peanut butter sandwich cookies. She got it nice and gooey!

The palm tree ponytail on top of the head never gets old! Barely two and already a movie star! Libby has always had an impressive sunglasses collection! Look at her tiny little lips!

This is probably one of my all time favorite pictures. It's the hat. It reminds me of a "Little House on the Prairie" sleeping cap. It cracks me up. I love her chubby little cheeks, her cheesy little smile, her pretty blue eyes and I could go on all day...

I could look at pictures of Libby all day long, over and over. It never gets old.

My baby...forever and ever...no matter how old she is!

Is it Christmas?

2011-02-18T11:04:00.007-05:00

You would have thought that if you were at our house this past weekend. Since Valentine's Day was on Monday, Libby and I celebrated over the weekend...the whole weekend. I picked Libby up from school on Friday and we went shopping for treat bag stuff for her school Valentine's party on Monday. Then we went out for dinner at Cracker Barrel and requested a table by the fire. It was so nice! I was warm and toasty all through dinner. Libby got hot and had to move to a chair across the table, away from the fire.

I told Libby Saturday was going to be our fun day and asked her what she wanted to do. I was going to take her somewhere and do something. Sometimes I think I really do have the sweetest little girl in the world. She was so excited about Fun Day. She said we could play games all day, read books and drink hot chocolate! I love her to pieces! So that is what we did on Saturday.

On Sunday we went out to eat at a little local place called Mike's Pizza. We had a nice little table by the fire. I stayed warm and toasty all through dinner. Libby got hot and had to move to a seat across the table, away from the fire. Deja vu?

Oh...How could I forget Libby's Valentine's surprise:

Before I let Libby open her prize, I wanted to check the lighting to make sure there wasn't going to be a glare. This is the pose Libby gave me.

Ok. Let the fun begin!

A box of Tinkerbell chocolate! It just doesn't get better than that!

Or does it?

Valentine's Slipper socks.

Lots of Valentine socks! Libby loves funny socks.

She also loves stickers...

...pens and notebooks!

Since spring is just around the corner, according to Mr. Groundhog, it's time for a new umbrella!

Libby was pretty excited about this umbrella because she said it was just like Mary Poppins' umbrella in the Jolly Holiday song. I love this little girl.

I love that she gets excited about anything and everything makes her happy...

Like these Valentine's tights!

We are getting to the big presents now. See I told you...Christmas all over again! I have no self control! Just look how happy she is, so it's all worth it.

Two new Tinkerbell dolls: Fawn and Iridessa. Libby opened Iridessa first. When she noticed she had two boxes shaped the same she said she hoped the next box was Fawn. It was! You would have thought she just won the lottery! Of course I didn't think this through very well. After Libby opened all her presents, she ditched me and went upstairs to play...leaving me all alone...to crochet.

Speaking of which, here is one of my latest projects. I made an iPod case/pouch for Libby. Isn't it cute?! She loved it.

Perfect fit!

Here is another one of my projects I just finished. I made a baby blanket for one of my friend's little boy, Colten. He was born in October, but I didn't know how to crochet then! My friend just got the blanket today and loved it. She's supposed to be sending me a pic with the baby in the blanket! I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

And that pretty much sums up the week for my little love bug and me! I hope all of you found something to warm your hearts and bring you joy this week. My week was overflowing with love and joy!

Photo shoot with Nana

2011-02-18T10:54:00.003-05:00

Libby and I wanted to take some pictures of Nana for Michelle and Trevor's birthday card. (Nana used to be Michelle's dog.) Not just a picture...we wanted Nana to wear a party hat and a lei. It sounded easy enough. Libby and I went over to Mike's house with our party attire and camera to see Nana. She was very excited to see us, so we had to play with her for a while until she calmed down. Then we put a lei and a party hat on her and were ready for pictures. Except...

Nana wouldn't sit still. She kept following us. Then she was trying to chew her lei.

Then she wouldn't look at us.

Her party hat fell off. Well, she shook it off.

That's just not a pretty face. And her hat at the back of her neck.

OK. It's time for Libby to take control of the situation. Nana is excited Libby is going to be in the picture with her.

Finally! There's the shot! Who wouldn't want to be at this party!!

I'm so glad I am a baby nurse and not a pet photographer! The babies are way more cooperative when I try to take their picture!

Happy Birthday Michelle and Trevor!

2011-02-11T20:35:00.004-05:00

We have two birthdays to celebrate this month. Libby's "Big Sister" Michelle, and her little boy, who Libby calls, "Mean Trevor." They are both in Florida right now so we can't spend their special day with them, so we thought we would throw them a party and pretend they were here with us! First, we had to make a cake! Since it's close to Valentine's Day, we chose a heart shaped chocolate brownie cake! Yum! Actually, we tried a new recipe: Beanie Brownies! Healthy and delicious! I'll add the recipe at the end of the post for those of you brave enough to try something new!

My favorite little assistant baker!

Her job is to add ingredients, sample, and lick the bowl! She does it very well!

Who wants some chocolate kisses?

Yum! Look at all that chocolate deliciousness!

Libby is the birthday boy by proxy! She's pretending she's Trevor! It's his 2nd birthday! We haven't seen him since he was 2 months old! That's when Libby gave him his nickname "Mean Trevor." Libby said he kept hitting her! Uh-huh...

Here is Libby making a wish for Trevor and blowing out his candles!

I think his wish came true!

Especially if he wished for one super cool Aunt!

Libby loves a good party!

What's a party without the Happy Birthday song?!

Happy Birthday Mean Trevor and Big Sister! Hope you have a great day and get everything you wish for! Wish we were there with you! Lots of Love!

Recipe for Beanie Brownies:

1 box low fat brownies; 1 can black beans; Puree can of black beans in blender. Do not drain beans before you puree. Combine brownie mix and beans in bowl. Mix well. If batter is a little too thick add a little water. Pour into greased pan. Follow baking directions on box. For icing: Put a tub of sugar free chocolate icing in microwave for 10-15 seconds until melty. With pastry brush, glaze brownies. Let cool. Enjoy! Don't worry...you can't even taste the beans! Low fat brownies loaded with fiber!

Things to do on a Snowy Day!

2011-02-05T20:36:00.006-05:00

Libby and I usually go to Walmart on Friday nights. This Friday we went to see Beauty and the Beast which was playing at the Tipton High School. My brother Jack and his three girls went along with us. I love watching Libby react to what she sees. She is at the age that she still thinks things are real...like the actors on stage. She was literally sitting on the edge of her seat while she was watching the musical. It was a very good performance, and for $5/ticket...you can't beat that kind of entertainment!

Since we missed our Walmart trip Friday, I was planning on going Saturday after breakfast. That's when I looked outside...Snow. Not just flurries, it was coming down fast and steady. Crap. I thought about still going before it got worse. Then I remembered Walmart doesn't have a parking garage. I get kind of spoiled parking in a garage at home and at work. I don't really ever have to clean snow off my truck. I didn't want to start today. Cancel the trip to Walmart. Libby, she's a little smarter than me...when I told her we couldn't go, she said, "I already knew that because I saw the snow." There you go. I'm not smarter than a first grader!

Now to think of things to fill the day. We already watched several episodes of iCarly, read 7 books, made each other Valentine's cards with paper, markers and stickers, played go fish...it was time to dig deeper into my bag of tricks. I suggested cooking something. Libby was all for it! She loves to bake. She wanted to make something out of her Paula Dean "My First Cookbook." The only thing I had all the ingredients for were vanilla cupcakes. Perfect.

Here is Libby reading the directions. At first she is really reading, then she starts making up her own story.

Then she decides she won't cooperate with pictures today. She likes to have her picture taken, more than most children I think! But sometimes she thinks it's funnier when she hides from the camera! Little booger!

See that look on her face. She knows she is being difficult!

Notice where she is sitting. She likes to sit up on the counter when we bake so she can be right in the middle of all the action.

Don't forget the chef's hat! She's hoping she will be able to use her pig whisk that grandma got her, along with her own measuring cups and spoons.

But before we really get started Libby thinks we should have a sweet tart and make "sweet tart faces." Here's mine...

...and here is Libby's!

A snow day isn't a snow day unless you stay in your jammies all day!

Libby is surprised by how yummy butter and sugar is whipped together. This is from a girl who likes to eat butter out of the tub...and peanut butter and jelly, too.

This is the real reason Libby likes to bake. The beaters. It doesn't matter what is on them, she wants to lick them. What makes it even better is there is a mirror over our sink (I have no idea why! It came with the house!). Libby likes to watch herself in the mirror to see how messy her face gets while she's licking the beaters. I love this child of mine!

The next best thing after the beaters is the sprinkles! It is not truly done until it is covered in sprinkles. And there is no such thing as too much!

Let's talk about the cupcakes for a minute. YUM! I used almond extract instead of vanilla in the cake and icing. SOOO GOOD! I wish you all could taste these cupcakes! If you feel like braving the snow, come on over...we will share our cupcakes with you! But you better hurry...they are going fast!

Let's check on the weather...

Five inches in a matter of hours! Perfect for packing snowballs, snowmen or sledding. Forget about the three inches of ice below it!

This used to be my playground...well Libby's anyway. It won't be seeing any action for a while!

I was tempted to get the Christmas decorations back out and decorate this tree outside. Wouldn't some lights and ornaments perk it right up?? I agree!

How about a little entertainment?

Mike came by looking for some part for his snow plow. He got stuck in my driveway when he was trying to leave. Libby and I had a few laughs about that. He was in that spot about 20 minutes.

Finally free! No wait...stuck again! Seven more minutes in this spot. A few more giggles from the crowd inside. He got free only to advance a few more feet and get stuck again, only a few minutes this time before he made it to the "shallow" part of the driveway and finally out to the road. Cheers! Libby called him when he made it to the road to tell him she saw that he got stuck. I love it when kids point out the obvious. As long as the pointing isn't at me, of course.

I hope all of you had your own snow day adventures today! And remember...the groundhog didn't see his shadow, so spring is just around the corner!

Goals for 2011

2011-01-30T09:44:00.002-05:00

Many people make New Year's Resolutions...but those are often broken before January is finished. I've decided to set some goals for myself for the year. I've read that an important step in obtaining these goals is to share them with others so you will hold yourself accountable. If people are aware of your goals, you won't dismiss them so easily! They are also supposed to be reasonable and attainable. If your goals are unrealistic, you are only setting yourself up for failure. So here are my goals for the year...feel free to ask me occasionally how I am doing!

1. Pay off my credit cards and keep them paid off! It may take all year, but it will happen! I would like to do something fun with my tax check, but it will go to my credit cards...that will make a nice start to reaching my goal!
2. Build up my savings account. My goal is to have $1000 by the end of the year. It doesn't sound like much...but I've been broke for a long time, so $1000 sounds great! Pay off credit cards and save money at the same time...tricky!
3. Take Libby to Disney! I think October is going to be the best time to go! I can't wait to surprise her with this one! Pay off credit cards, save money, take big expensive trip...it keeps getting trickier!
4. Lose my last 30 lbs! I've been working hard this past year, but there is still more to do. I know I can do it! It's just going to take a little more time. I will feel fabulous when I reach my goal...hopefully by summer! I may even get a tan, too! I know...wild and crazy! I'll be smokin' hot!
5. Exercise twice a week. This is my minimum goal. I would like to fit in more time than that, but I need to be reasonable! It's hard to get moving with my crazy mixed up work schedule and still spend quality time with Libby. But I'm already working on making it a habit. It will be so much easier when winter is over!
6. Go on ONE date this year! Really? Wow! I'm torn on this one! I would like to start dating and getting out more, but I don't want to leave Libby to do it. Besides the obvious obstacle of actually meeting someone to go out with, how does one just choose to spend time with some guy that you may not even end up liking over spending time with their child? The guilt is overwhelming! I don't ever want Libby to feel like she is my second choice.
7. Make ONE improvement to my house. Ugh! There is so much to do to "this old house!" This was supposed to be my "fixer-up" dream house. But that fizzled. It's so expensive to remodel! So I've decided maybe I just need to deal with the fact that I may spend my whole life fixing this place up and just start with baby steps...so, ONE improvement, of any kind this year and I will be happy!
8. Develop/nurture a hobby! There are things I could be doing...scrapbooking, sewing...but I never take the time to do it. So my goal is to take time to do something I enjoy! Maybe even make myself a "craft room" so it is easier for me to get started on my hobbies. I am doing well with this goal so far! I've learned to crochet! I tried to learn when I was pregnant with Libby and I just couldn't grasp it. I tried it again and it stuck this time! I was so excited! I've made four scarves and I'm working on my first baby blanket right now. It's fun!

And my final goal is a lifetime goal which I never plan to fail...Show Libby each and every day how much I love her, make her smile and hear her laugh everyday, give her the best childhood possible and be the best mom I can be! Because really, all my other goals don't matter as long as I can do this one! Libby's happiness is my happiness!

Weekend Get-away

2011-01-26T10:37:00.002-05:00

One of my best friends from college lives in Greensburg, IN. She has a little boy who just turned four. Libby and I were invited to his birthday party...a swim party, I should say. Libby was so excited! She hasn't been swimming since summer and she couldn't wait to jump in a pool again. We dug out her swim suit, bought some new goggles, packed our bags and headed to Greensburg. Since Libby and I never get away, I thought it would be fun to get a hotel (with a pool, of course) and turn our little adventure into a mini-vacation! Libby has never stayed in a hotel before. The few times we have actually gone somewhere, we've stayed at some one's house. I wish I had my video camera....Through Libby's eyes the hotel room was a palace! She was so cute! She said the room was just what she had dreamed of the night before! Moments like that are priceless. It's a small price to pay for that kind of happiness!

After swimming at the birthday party, Libby and I went back to my friend's house for pizza. Libby got to spend time playing and I got to visit with my friend! I don't get to see my friends often, but no matter how much time passes, it's still so effortless to hang out in the kitchen, enjoy some pizza and good conversation as we watch our children play together. Who would have thought that 19 years ago when we met in the dorm on the first day of college that we would be doing this?

Here is my little fish swimming at the birthday party.

Libby wanted me to get a picture of her swim suit. She says it's her most favorite suit ever because it's like a rainbow!

I'm not sure where Libby got her gansta pose...She wanted to unpack our bags at the hotel and put everything away. She was "organizing!"

Here is Libby relaxing on one of the comfy hotel beds watching TV. The next morning when we woke up, Libby wanted to make her bed (which she never does at home). Then she said she would make my bed, too. I had added an extra blanket to my bed under the comforter before I went to sleep. She even took the blanket back off and made the bed like it was before. Then she was careful to put all the pillows back just the way they were when we got there. I didn't have the heart to tell her housekeeping would be coming through to clean the room. She was so proud of herself. Sometimes I think I have the sweetest little girl in the world!

Back at home...back to school...

So I thought I would try braiding Libby's hair before school. I had fifteen minutes to get it done before Libby had to get dressed and catch the bus. I would like to say I knocked it out..but it took me 20 minutes, so I had to take Libby to school! Fail! But look how cute she looked with her braids, plaid skirt, and rock star boots! My heart really will break when Libby decides she's old enough to dress herself!

She also wanted to be sure I got a picture of her finger nails. They don't match her outfit at all...but I'm trying to just let that go! She thinks its so cool when I paint her nails in different colors. She's so easy to please...I hope she never changes!

Lounging at Home

2011-01-24T12:27:00.003-05:00

Winter is long and it seems most of our time is spent at home these days. Once in a while we get some visitors...like my nieces! I took advantage of having all these girls around and practiced my newly acquired braiding skills. I still need more practice. I'm a little slow. Hopefully soon I will be swift enough to braid Libby's hair before school!

Libby and I were at the grocery store and she saw these mini bananas. I thought they would taste different, maybe a little sweeter, but they tasted the exact same. She had fun eating them anyway. I'm not really sure why you need a mini banana though.

Libby is lounging on the couch in her snuggie. It's a good thing she is always warm and toasty. I'm not sure that snuggie would be enough to warm me up when I'm cold!

Here is Cassie modeling her hair-do.

Not too bad!

Libby and Julianna got matching braids...because they like to copy off each other!

Kenzie didn't get her braids until later because she was busy playing Barbies.

Tea Party, Curly Hair and School Delays, oh my!

2011-01-12T09:38:00.004-05:00

Such excitement all in one week! A day with Libby is never boring and I am thankful for that. Sometimes I wonder if all kids are this entertaining, or is it just mine? Or, am I just easily entertained?

Always one to pose for a picture, Libby models her monkey hat and coat she got for Christmas. She really is such a monkey! A few months ago, she asked me why I started her in gymnastics (she's been going since she was three). I told her she always used to jump on the bed and do somersaults, so I figured she must be part monkey, so I took her to gymnastics. She was very amused at my answer.

Here is one of the outfits Libby got for Christmas. It looks so stinking cute on her! She let me take a picture, but she wanted her Tootsie roll in the picture, too. Notice her hands...

I think I may have done some permanent damage to Libby by always straightening her hair. It is curly underneath, but straight on top, so I have to blow it out straight. The girl is fascinated with curly hair now! She gets so excited when her hair is curly. She likes to have her hair braided so when she takes the braids out, her hair is curly.

Curly hair...like a dream come true!

Libby and I were having a little tea party with the set she got for Xmas. Some of her friends stopped by to join us...Santa, Rudolph, Penguin, and Snoopy. It was most delightful.

I had to instruct Libby on lifting her pinkie up while she sipped her tea. And yes, that really is tea in the cups! Because what is the point of having a tea party without tea? Not any party I would want to attend!

Libby's school was cancelled today. When I told her, she clapped, cheered and jumped for joy! She said, "Yay! No homework!" The next sentence out of her mouth was, "Mommy can I work in my homework book?" That is what she calls her little workbook we have at home for leisure time! I hope she stays this excited about learning, studying and homework her entire life! My little genius!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-08T16:49:00.006-05:00

I love Christmas! I love the decorating, the lights, the ornaments and shopping for my baby! I don't understand my strong desire to give my child everything imaginable for Christmas. She gets plenty through the year, so it's not that I feel I'm depriving her. She doesn't ever ask for anything except "surprises!" I think the real reason I can't contain myself is because I am still a child at heart and I love toys! I love when Libby is opening a present and seeing the expression on her face when she figures out what is inside the package. It's what really fuels my fire! I guess it is a good thing Libby is an only child, because this is what our tree looked like Christmas morning...and yes, all the presents are for Libby:

Libby always starts with her stocking. It is a ridiculously large stocking. I made it for her when she was 1 1/2. My mom made our stockings when we were little and we always thought they were huge. Again, I went over the top and super-sized the stocking. She does love it though. She was happy to find a Webkinz inside! It's a little lamb she named Shaun the Sheep.

Modeling her purple peace sign bracelet.

OK, maybe Libby is a little deprived. Here you see she is holding a purple ball, but it's not just any ball. It is a water and glitter-filled bouncing ball than can be found in the dollar bins at Walmart. Every time we are in the toy isle, Libby picks up one of these balls and plays with it. She never asks for it, she just gives me that look like she is dying for such an awesome ball, waits to read my expression, then puts the ball back in the bin. You can imagine her surprise when she found the ball in her stocking for Christmas! She gasped, squealed, and giggled in delight and then said, "Oh I've always wanted this ball! I knew Santa would give it to me!" There you go! That's the stuff that keeps me going!

Libby's latest obsession is Selena Gomez. Every time we are in the truck, Libby wants her Selena Gomez CD on. She will walk around singing her songs. She even has a Barbie she named Selena Gomez. Now she has another Selena Gomez CD. It just doesn't get any better!

Santa usually leaves Libby some snacks in her stocking. But this year he ran out of room, so he left her an entire bag full of snacks. Libby thought this was hilarious. It is kind of funny when you think about it. How many kids get a bag of groceries under the tree for Xmas? And, how many kids would love it? Mine!

Binoculars! A little off the wall, but she loved them!

Every year Mike gets Libby some type of jewelry for Xmas. This year she got a silver heart necklace with a blue topaz in the center. It's pretty cute. She wears it almost everyday.

Barbie is high maintenance...she has her own Vacation Glam Jet, and now, so does Libby!

I must have gotten these pictures out of order...Here is Libby opening her necklace from her daddy...

...and here she is modeling the necklace. It's hard to see past her loud Xmas jammies, but look closely and you will see it!

Libby was especially excited to find a Peyton Manning Colts jersey under the tree. She doesn't really watch football, but her Daddy does and he doesn't like the Colts. So ever since Libby was a baby I've been training her to say, "Go Colts!" to her daddy when there is a game on. Also, the Colts came to Libby's school, along with Blue and the cheerleaders. She said Peyton Manning was there, too. Since then, she's been a Peyton fan.

Just after Thanksgiving, Libby saw a commercial for a snuggie and she said she wanted one. Then she kind of forgot about them. When she tore off the wrapping paper and saw she got a snuggie for Xmas she said, "A snuggie! I've always wanted one!" That Santa, he sure is a smart, jolly old fella!

Dr. Barbie - the neonatologist...well, she's probably just a pediatrician, those babies look pretty healthy.

Yes, I'm that kind of mommy! Libby and I are wearing matching Xmas jammies! Libby thought it was so cool! Let's see what she thinks of this picture when she's 17!

Libby got lots of new games for Christmas, but one of her favorites was Shrek Operation. We played one game, then she decided she better practice a little more before we played again!

Christmas always goes by so fast! We always leave the tree up a little long because we like looking at it. One year, I had taken it down just before February! But I'm almost positive Libby and I will be taking the tree down next weekend. I'm sad for a few days, but then I start planning for Libby's birthday, in July, and it's like Christmas all over again!!

Highlights since September

2011-01-07T11:11:00.009-05:00

Great news (for me anyway)...I'm back from my blogging sabbatical! OK, so it wasn't a planned time off, apparently I thought I was too busy, or didn't have much to say, or...? But I am motivated to start again! And since my last entry is from September, I thought I would do a quick catch up! It was hard to pick out the highlights, but I think I have it narrowed down to these...from most recent to most ancient! Enjoy and thanks for remembering my site still exists!

My friend Vosko and I thought it sounded like a great idea to take the kids to the children's museum on Xmas Eve-Eve. I think every other parent in the metro area had the same idea! It was a nightmare! Luckily, the kids don't notice over-crowding like the adults. We spent the whole day there, but strangely enough only visited a few exhibits. The mamas were exhausted when we finally reached the car, the children were unfazed! Anyway...this is a picture of Josie and Libby playing with Toto on the Wizard of Oz stage while we were waiting to go into the planetarium (which I decided was a great place to take a little doze).

Josie and Libby outside the Barbie exhibit. Notice Libby is holding Barbie's hand. She thought she was being clever. Last time, she put her face in front of Barbie's sunglasses so it looked like she was wearing them.

This was our Xmas get-together at Summer's house. Now that our kids are older and in school it's harder to get the kids together. It's easier if you just tell all the kids to make funny faces...that way you don't have the one child not smiling (mine)!

This picture would make more sense if the next picture came first...Libby got a letter from Santa this year! She was really excited. She especially liked the Rudolph sticker on the back of the envelope.

If Libby new anything about post marks on mail, she would have appreciated this letter was mailed from Anchorage, Alaska!

Libby and I made Christmas cookies this year. It was lots of fun. We haven't made cut-out cookies for a few years! Libby loves the sprinkles! Everything we make always gets sprinkles.

We went to Josie's Birthday party! She is 3 years old now! I love seeing Libby and Josie play together. Libby acts like such a big sister and Josie refers to Libby as, "My Libby." It's so sweet.

Lucky for me, Libby loves to have her picture taken. And she especially loves to have her picture taken for our annual Christmas card. Some poses are normal...

...and sometimes I get this! Or even...

...this! She's my little superstar!

Of course at the first sign of snow, Libby was ready to go outside and play in the snow, build snowmen, go sledding, etc...no matter that there really wasn't enough snow to do any of this! Here is Libby "sledding" down the little miniature hill in our yard.

Notice the grass peeking through as Libby makes her snow angel.

Libby loves when her cousins come over to play. Libby loves it when anyone comes over to play, actually! Here are the girls snuggled up on the couch together watching a Barbie movie.

Earlier the same day, we went to Breakfast with Santa. Here is Libby singing with the high school "glee club" aka, the young originals. Libby didn't look at me once while she was singing and I was trying desperately to take her picture!

Here are the girls acting silly at Breakfast with Santa. Julianna was unable to come because she was sick. The girls kept wanting to get an extra activity to take home to her.

This is the first time in all of Libby's six years that she actually made eye contact with Santa and talked to him! I'm sure it was because her cousins were already up there talking Santa's ear off! Libby asked for surprises, a DSi, and an iPod. She only asked for the iPod because the other girls did. She didn't even know what it was! Well, until she opened one on Christmas!

Now that Libby is getting older, we can start doing really fun stuff...like going to the Moscow Ballet Russian Nutcracker! We had gone to Mary Poppins in September and Libby loved it. I wasn't sure if she would like the ballet since the performers don't talk. She was entranced through the whole performance and was dancing like a ballerina the next day. She even said The Nutcracker was her favorite! (This is Libby all dressed up for the ballet).

As I said earlier, Libby loves it when anyone comes over to play with her. So she was ecstatic when she had a friend from school come spend the night! It was the first time a school friend had come over! Usually it's just my nieces that spend the night. I had never heard Libby laugh so much. Those girls were nonstop gigglers!

Again, these pictures would make more sense if the next pictures came first. One very cold and windy morning Libby ran at her first cross country meet. Well first running of any kind! My brother, Jack, is the athlete in the family. He likes taking his girls to races and what not. One night they were at our house and invited Libby to participate in a run they were doing the next morning. Libby was so excited about the race.

Unfortunately, the race was a mile long and she had no idea what to expect! Here is my little jogger not long after the race started already looking like she's had enough. But she kept going and going and going! She finished the race last, but I was so proud of her for doing it at all! She got a ribbon, too, which she thought was super cool! She later confessed that she did have to walk for a few minutes because her breath was gone and it hurt! I love that kid!

Here are three of the girls getting lined up for the start of the race getting last minute advice/direction from my brother. Did I mention it was only hmm...25 degrees this day, well maybe 32?!

And here we are at Halloween. This is Libby dressed up as Supergirl for school.

And this is Libby dressed up as a bush for trick or treating. She wanted to be a bush because Nathan was a bush last year and she thought that was hilarious. And she LOVES Nathan and pretty much wants to do everything he does.

Here is Libby picking out the perfect pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. I kept offering to help her carry it, but she's a big girl now and wanted to do it by herself! Sometimes she will flex her arm, squeeze her bicep and tell me, "Feel my big guns!"

This is just a random picture, but I just love it because Libby looks so darn cute and smart! Look at her...She has Harvard written all over her!

Here is Libby anxiously awaiting the start of "Mary Poppins, the Musical." It was her first experience with the theater. She loves Mary Poppins, the movie, but I was afraid she wouldn't like the differences between the movie and the musical. The only thing she said was at the start of the musical was, "Look Mommy, that is the real Mary Poppins, but it isn't the real Jane and Michael Banks!" She really makes me laugh sometimes.

Libby has lost a few teeth and had a few come in. That is one beautiful smile. I always thought kids look goofy when they start losing there teeth. But no, not my kid...I thought she was adorable! I'm not biased...it's just fact! Look at that face!

Well this brings up to the end of our show! I hope you stop back by soon! I will be adding Christmas pictures in a few days!

Pork Fest 2010

2010-09-12T20:27:00.002-04:00

Libby, Kenzie, Julianna, Cassie

It's that time of year again...Pork Festival!

Libby doesn't even care about the festival food...pork chops, elephant ears, funnel cakes, various fried foods, and my favorite, pork kabobs. She's all about the parade, the candy from the parade, and the rides! Libby went to the festival Thursday night for the kick off parade and then rode some rides. We went back Friday night for more rides. We ran into my nieces, and even though it was time to go, Libby didn't want to leave. After a few tears were shed, I reassured her she would see the girls tomorrow for a sleepover. Libby and the girls were spending the night at my brother's house for Cassie's birthday. It was a busy but fun-filled weekend for the little ones!

It was a beautiful day!

2010-09-05T20:40:00.003-04:00

Today was the perfect day! It was the right temperature, right amount of sunshine, and a gentle breeze! Only if the leaves were turning colors could it have been a more beautiful day! After sleeping my four hours today, I got up and finished a good book while I waited for my little munchkin to return home from her daddy's house. I sure do miss her when she's gone! Sometimes things happen in life that remind you to take time and enjoy the little things. So today, I sat outside and watched Libby play and just enjoyed!

She's my little acrobat!

She's practicing her fireman skills.

I love that she is so silly sometimes!

Going down the slide upside down.

Libby came home from her dad's the dirtiest I have ever seen her.

I thought she still looked beautiful.

I love this kiddo to pieces!

I like this picture. It looks like she's floating!

This girl spends 50% of her day in a handstand.

No Joke!

A Birthday Adventure

2010-08-28T20:27:00.002-04:00

Today Libby went to a birthday party for one of her friends from preschool. The party was at one of those "paint your own" pottery places. I've gone myself before and had lots of fun, so I was excited for Libby to try it out, too! And of course, it was a party, so what could be more fun!?

Sydney and Libby.

The girls don't go to the same school anymore, but we still enjoy getting together with Sydney and her mom! They are usually up for anything we are! It's good to have friends like that!

So Serious! Libby is really concentrating on painting.

That's what I'm telling you, but really she was being a butt and not looking at me or smiling on purpose! Once in a while she thinks its funny to do that! She is making a star-person. I think she will really be surprised how much different it will look after it's been fired.

Well at least this time she was looking at me, sort of! But she would only give me that face!

Libby had fun at the party, but of course she wanted to stay longer. I had to explain that since the party was at a store we couldn't just stay and hang out all day! She was bummed!

Meet the Teacher, Book Fair and a Lost Tooth!

2010-08-28T19:59:00.002-04:00

All this in one day! Thursday was "Meet the Teacher" and "Book Fair" night at school for Libby. But before that even happened, Libby lost a tooth (her 4th!) at school that day! She was the first one in her class to loose a tooth this year! They have a graph in the classroom to track all the missing teeth and she was first on the chart! What a Celebrity! Meet the teacher was really just a formality since Libby has the same teacher this year as she did last year for Kindergarten...they both graduated!

Libby and Miss Henderson.

The kids were busy all week working on projects for the parents to see when we came to visit. Libby is really getting creative with her work this year. It really amuses me some of the things she thinks up!

Here is the new gap. I used to think other kids looked goofy when they started losing their teeth. Now that I have a child of my own with a toothless grin, I think she looks cute!

Here is my little scholar taking one of her new books with her on the bus so she can read it on the way to school. She has about a 35-40 minute ride!

Back to School!

2010-08-21T14:05:00.003-04:00

Monday was Libby's first day at school. She was excited to go back because her kindergarten teacher got moved up to first grade and Libby is in her class again! She was also a little nervous because she was afraid she wouldn't know anyone in her class. I kept reassuring her that at least a few of her friends from kindergarten would be in her first grade class. As we found out on the first day of school, Mama was wrong! There was not one person in her class that was in her class last year! Hopefully she will make some new friends soon! All the first grade classes have lunch and recess together, so she still does get to see her old friends! I was also pleased to learn that there are only 15 students in her class this year! I thought the class size might increase, but it stayed the same, so that is great! Since it was the first day of school, I was there with my camera to capture every moment!! I'm going to be very sad the day Libby decides she's too cool for her mama and the camera!

Here's my big girl waiting patiently until it is time to leave.

She got ready a little early and the clock was moving way too slow for her!

Finally, it's time to go...after a few pictures, of course!

This is her new lunch box.

Isn't she just the cutest?
She's growing up so fast! First grade this year, next year college!

Here she is modeling her new back pack. Notice Clifford sticking out of the pocket. He gets to go to school, too. It's little things like this that let me know she's still my baby!

We made it to school! We looked all around the classroom to see what was new and different from last year. One big change is this year she gets a desk! Last year they had tables! She was pretty excited about the desk! There are four desks together to make a square.

This is her class schedule. I was amused to see first recess is at 9:30 and second recess is at 11:20! That's pretty early to have all your running around time done!

Finally...it's time for Libby to come home! I told Libby the night before school that I didn't know what I would do with myself with her gone all day. She told me I could do what I always did before...sleep all day!

There's my little bug-a-boo! She missed me, I can tell!

She had a good first day!

Now it's time to see what's in her backpack!

As Libby gets her papers out of her folder for me to look at, she begins to get annoyed with my picture taking! So I promised to put the camera away and pay attention to her! She's so demanding sometimes! Geesh!

Todd gets Married!

2010-08-17T18:58:00.004-04:00

My older brother, Todd, finally tied the knot and married his girlfriend, Tarah! The ceremony and reception was outside, but despite the heat and humidity, everyone managed to have a good time!

Here is my little princess before the wedding.

Here are the flower girls! They were very excited about being in the wedding!

What a bunch of cuties!

Having a little fun while posing for pictures.

Nathan, Kenzie, Cassie, Libby, Julianna.

We sure do make some cute kids!!

These kids love being goofy!

The blushing bride and her flower girls.

The new Hoover's...

Todd, Tarah, Nathan

I don't know the last time my brothers and I and all of our kids were actually in a picture together!!

The best part of the evening was watching all the kids movin' and groovin' on the dance floor. They were having so much fun! I don't think they even realized it was hot!

The DJ even played Miley Cyrus for them!

Dancin' Dancin' Dancin' Machine!

There IS more than corn in Indiana!

2010-08-17T16:02:00.001-04:00

For our second back to school adventure I took Libby and Nathan to Indiana Beach in Monticello. It was a short drive from our house, just over an hour! We had never been before and since Libby had never been to an amusement park I thought it was a good place to start! The weather had been nice the few days prior to our visit, but had started warming up again the day we went and the humidity had come back with a vengeance. We had been at the park literally for five minutes when Nathan saw one of his friends from school! We started off riding some rides. I hadn't been to an amusement park since high school. Let me tell you it is a whole different sensation when you are an adult! I was dizzy and nauseous the whole day which eventually led to a horrific headache! But I endured it because the sound of Libby laughing and screeching on the rides made it all worth it! I had never heard Libby laugh or scream like that before! It made me laugh so hard I cried! After lunch we went to the water park. They had a lazy river, a beach, a sprinkler park, and a water slide. Libby was too little for the water slide, but Nathan was able to go down. It was a long day and the kids were exhausted by the time we were done, but they both had a good time!

Libby and Nathan at the beginning of the day before everybody got all hot and sweaty!

Yummy...nothing better than a bowl of dippin' dots on a hot summer day!

Here is Libby riding some rides in the kiddie playland. I didn't plan this out very well. I took Libby on the big rides first and then let her ride the kiddie rides. They aren't as exciting after you've just ridden a roller coaster!

Just look how excited she is! I think she just learned the definition of lame! Libby's favorite ride was the swings on the long chains that spin around and around.

2nd trip to Ft. Wayne

2010-08-15T21:05:00.002-04:00

Summer really got away from me this year! I had lots of things planned for Libby and I to do...in my head anyway! Before I knew it we had 2 weeks until school started again. So I tried to cram all of our summer fun into one week! I wanted to take Libby to the Ft. Wayne Zoo again because it is such a fun place! Libby wants it to be our new zoo!

This is Libby's favorite thing...the sky ride!

We rode it 5 or 6 times before the day was over.

She even spotted a groundhog and a baby bunny down on the ground from way up in the air. This is how I know she did not inherit my eyes!

I think these are supposed to be dinosaur eggs.

Libby thinks its hilarious to pretend she's hatching!

She hatched twice!

She loves the pony rides too!
This little pony is named Cookie.

And this big fella is Smokey.

She is not scared at all to get up on that big horse.

I was scared to death of horses when I was little!

Taking a spin on the carousel.

The last time we were at the Ft. Wayne Zoo, we didn't get a chance to ride the log ride. She thought it was cool because we went through two tunnels with misters and got wet!

She likes the goats too.

Libby likes all animals actually.

Before we left the zoo we stopped in the gift shop and she picked out a baby tiger stuffed animal and named it Hannah Montana,

of course.

It was a good day... just me and my baby!

Libby's Sleepover

2010-08-02T10:59:00.002-04:00

This is Libby's excited face!

She is so excited because her friend Kaitlyn came over to spend the night! This was Libby's first non-relative friend to stay with her. I work with Kaitlyn's mom, Jennie, so it is only natural that Kaitlyn and Libby should be friends, too! Libby and I went to Jennie's house on Tuesday for a party. Jennie had asked Libby if she would like to stay and spend the night with Kaitlyn. Of course! Jennie told me the next morning, Kaitlyn informed her the girls were so excited to have the sleepover that they stayed up all night and played! We had a hard time believing this. We came to the conclusion they fell asleep and didn't realize it. But...both girls fell asleep in the car on the way home. Jennie said Kaitlyn slept until 4:30 that afternoon. Libby woke up when we got home and stayed up until almost 5:00 then crashed on the couch. At 10:00 I woke her up and moved her to bed. That poor little girl slept until 7:00 the next morning! She was exhausted! Maybe they did stay up all night!

Anyway, we invited Kaitlyn to spend the night at our house on Saturday night. The girls played very well together. The girls wanted to take pictures of each other getting ready for bed.

This is Kaitlyn doing her silly pose.

Here is Libby doing her silly pose.

The girls said I could take one normal picture of them.

Then it was back to silly poses!

The girls decided they wanted to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor instead of a nice comfy bed! Kids! There is no way I could sleep on the floor!

This is a picture of the girls pretending to be asleep! Watch out Hollywood, we have some serious actresses on our hands!

It was 11:30 by the time the girls were ready to be tucked in! So much for getting them to bed early! I stayed up reading in bed for a while to make sure the girls actually fell asleep. They chatted and giggled for about a half an hour and then they were off to lala land!

Here are the girls the next morning eating their second breakfast of the day. They had donuts when they woke up and decided a few hours later they wanted cereal too! They had already done their morning makeovers by this point!

This is one of those times when Libby wouldn't let me take her picture!

She really would not give up!

The girls had a good time. Kaitlyn did not want to go home and Libby would have been happy for her to stay another night or even all week!

That evening Libby fell asleep on the couch again. This time she made it to 5:30 and woke up at 9:30. She ate a piece of cheese and some cheese puffs, drank a little milk, and was ready to go back to bed! I never thought she'd make it till morning, but she slept until 7:00! Libby is just not used to such a fast pace lifestyle!!

Libby's Surgery

2010-07-16T07:43:00.003-04:00

After numerous strep throat infections, it was finally time for Libby to get her tonsils and adenoids out! No more missing school! No more throat cultures! No more snoring! I really can't explain how excited Libby was to be rid of them! To celebrate this special occasion I let Libby pick out some new jammies to wear to the hospital. She pick Hannah Montana of course! She was a little disappointed when they made her change into hospital scrubs!

Here is my brave little girl

all dressed up for the

special occasion!

Look at her...

Minutes before they wheel her off and

she's all smiles!

She thinks she looks like a doctor!

One last look at those tonsils!

Bye-Bye tonsils!

Here is Libby in recovery. They don't waste a minute getting those popsicles!

The nurse said Libby didn't even cry when she woke up.

Such a sweet little girl.

Here she is taking a nap after getting settled into her room.

She even got to watch Hannah Montana, when she was awake!

Here she is all recovered! She's been to the bathroom, walked around, and even ate some applesauce! She's ready to go home!

This is Libby at home. I think we were home five minutes before she started asking for her push-ups! I thought once we got home she would start feeling worse, but she did really well. She ate ice cream and drank apple juice and water without me having to remind her!

Notice the choice of three beverages on her table! She also got a new pillow from Tara, which was waiting for her when Libby got home, along with some new pet shop toys and balloons! Libby says the pillow is perfect for her on the couch!

Notice the expression on her face...

She all the sudden became sensitive to the flash on my camera!

Libby's daddy brought one of the puppies over to see her. This one is Nana Two. Libby thought I wanted a picture of her throat, thus the half opened mouth!

She really was smiling and having fun playing with the puppy until I busted out the camera!

Now we are on the second day post surgery. I thought she might wake up in pain sometime through the night, but she didn't. She's been doing well enough that I switched her over to regular Tylenol and ditched the Tylenol with codeine. Which according to Libby tastes bad, but the one at the hospital didn't!

Libby has had enough of the relaxing and watching movies. She was getting stir crazy today, so I told her we would go somewhere. She wanted to go shopping to spend her birthday money. She picked out three barbies and a new outfit. She's a good little shopper! She gets it from her mama!

Finally, after a busy day, she is asleep on the couch! My little Sleeping Beauty!

Libby's Birthday Luau

2010-07-15T16:28:00.007-04:00

Here are some pics from the party. I spent a little more time in the kitchen than I usually do finishing up some cooking, so I missed a lot of the kids playing outside. However, I also missed the mosquito bites too! The mosquitoes were horrible! Poor Libby had seven bites on her face and more on her body. Despite the bugs, everyone seemed to have a good time!

In case you missed it on a previous post,

here is Libby's Barbie Mermaid cake!

A little jumping around time.

The kids are ready for a party!

It's pinata time!

Candy! Candy! Candy!

Time for cake!

Make a wish!

Groceries for the kitchen!

Squirt guns!

Make-up!

Dress-up clothes!

Charlotte from "The Princess and the Frog."

Princess Tiana

An easel

Happy Birthday to Libby!

2010-07-15T14:57:00.006-04:00

Libby's birthday is usually a two-parter. In the morning, before her party, she gets to open her presents from mommy, and then at her party she gets to open the gifts from everyone else. This works for two reasons: First, the presents keep her occupied while I get things ready for the party; Second, I tend to go overboard, so if she opens my presents first, she doesn't spend all that extra time opening presents during her party. And I have to admit, I'm usually pretty excited for her to open my presents! I really am still a kid myself!

Libby had gymnastics on the day of her birthday,

so I bought her a new outfit.

I have incredible restraint!

This sleeping bag was on clearance at Joann Fabrics.

It was originally $50, on sale for $16, so we HAD to buy it!

Look at the smile on her face! How can you say no!?

Finally, the day of the party!

Time to open presents!

A new back pack for school!

It fits perfectly!

Just what she wanted...

A Hannah Montana guitar.

This one plugs into the TV and resembles guitar hero,

Hannah Montana style!

"Most Likely to be Famous"

Definitely!

Libby got plenty of back to school clothes for her birthday.

She will be stylin'!

The new Miley Cyrus CD.

The weeks leading up to Libby's birthday she kept wanting to listen to her Christmas CD in the truck. I was very tempted to give her the new Miley CD early!

A new lunchbox for school.

It's tinkerbell.

Don't mind the slightly deranged look on my daughter's face in this picture.

I swear she's sane! I just caught her at the wrong moment!

Pinkalicious - School Rules

Libby has been dying for this Barbie.

In the Barbie movie, "A Mermaid Tale,"

the main character Merliah has two friends.

Libby already had the Merliah Barbie and one of the friends.

She just needed the last friend. Luckily she got it!

This is also the movie her cake is based on,

per Libby's request!

And here is the one present I've been waiting on since December! It was back ordered until April, and then apparently my order got shipped to some lucky family in Washington, IN. I did not discover this until June. I had so much trouble with the company that sold me the vanity. Never buy from cymax! Horrible customer service! Anyway, I finally got a refund and reordered this vanity from another company and had it sitting in my garage in two days! It took all my will power not to open the box and put the vanity together!

It was worth the wait! Just look how excited Libby is! This is such a cute vanity!

It's nice and sturdy and matches her room perfectly!

I had her play jewelry already in the compartments and her make-up case sitting on top. I bought her a brush to keep in one of the drawers and some new barrettes and rubberbands. The bench has a compartment too. I put her tiaras in there!

Here she is fixing her hair. She's so cute!

Ta-Da!

Picture Day Preview

2010-07-15T14:37:00.005-04:00

Every year for Libby's birthday I get her picture taken. I thought once she started school and had school pictures taken, I would stop getting them at the photographer. But so far I haven't. Pictures are my one weakness, especially when they are of my little princess! It really is one of the highlights of the year for me! I start shopping for THE perfect outfit for her around the beginning of the year. The outfit is usually in the closet waiting by April! I'm slightly neurotic, I know! I snapped a few shots of Libby before going to the photographer. I love our photographer, Scott. He has been taking Libby's pictures since she was two. He does such a great job with her!

Looking sassy, as always!

Practicing her twirl.

Working on her pose and smile.

Libby's always so serious!

Libby's Birthday Cake

2010-07-11T13:39:00.005-04:00

Here are some pictures of the cake I made for Libby's 6th birthday. It turned out pretty well, only a few not-so-perfect areas, but Libby loved it! She thought it was great that you could eat the rocks and shells! The cake was also very very tasty. It was one layer of chocolate cake, one layer of vanilla cake and a white chocolate mousse in between the two layers. Yum! I will post pictures from the party in another post!

My birthday girl!

The place with the peanuts.

2010-07-08T15:59:00.006-04:00

For Libby's birthday dinner she wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse, or as she calls it, "The Place with the Peanuts." She likes the rolls and peanuts. She always get macaroni and cheese, so I'm not sure she even knows how good their real food is! She wanted a balloon and she wanted to sit on the birthday saddle.

Here is the birthday girl! I had to explain to her that even though we were telling the server it was her birthday, she still wouldn't be six until Thursday!

Mommy and Libby.

When it came time to sit on the saddle, my shy little girl crumbled and didn't go through with it! Even though just minutes before she was bugging me about when were they bringing the saddle out! However, she did get a dollar from the waitress who tried to bribe Libby to get on the saddle!

Nathan was with us too. He ordered a steak like the growing boy that he is. He doesn't even pretend to look at the children's menu anymore!

Here is Libby not wanting her picture taken. She thinks if she makes funny faces I won't take her picture! Now when she gets older she'll wonder why she looks goofy in all her pictures! It might come in handy one day!

We made it through dinner and Libby got her balloon and a new pair of shades! Over all it was a great day! Make next year she'll sit on the saddle! I don't think so though!

Aren't they the two cutest kids ever?!

Play Date

2010-07-08T15:44:00.004-04:00

Monday Libby and I went to Summer's new house so the girls could play together, and Becky and I could check out Summer's new house. Her house was so nice! She really did a good job of pulling it all together! The girls had a good time playing together, and the boys had fun, too. Of course, we also had some good food!

Jenna, Libby and Regan

They've been playing together since they were very young!

It's nice for Becky, Summer and I to have kids the same age! The boys are also the same age so they can play together too!

Here is the same picture of the girls, but Libby had a fuzzy weed in front of her face, so I had to try again. Jenna and Regan look good though!

Libby and Regan playing on the teeter-totter. Libby didn't want to leave. She wanted to go over to Regan's house and play next! She's silly!

4th of July

2010-07-08T15:27:00.003-04:00

We had a pretty low key 4th of July. Libby and I just relaxed around the house all day, took naps, and just waited for night so we could go see the fireworks. Libby stayed at her dad's house Friday and Saturday and they lit off fireworks there. She couldn't wait to see the BIG fireworks!

Here is Libby as we are leaving the house. She had some left over sparklers that she wanted to take with her. She also decided she better wear her floppy sun hat too! Sometimes I just don't know about that child!

This is at the Tipton fairgrounds. Libby is playing with her sparklers while we wait for the show to begin. Ironically, it didn't occur to me to take any pictures of the fireworks. They are over and done so quickly!

Here is my little sleeping beauty passed out in the truck on the car ride home. Don't worry, I didn't take this picture while I was driving! I waited until we got home! Poor baby, this was the second night in a row that she stayed up until almost midnight! Her bedtime is 8pm in the summer!

Libby and the puppies

2010-07-08T15:09:00.004-04:00

The puppies are here! The puppies are here!

Libby's dad has inherited Big Sister Michelle's dog, Reianna. She arrived at Mike's house pregnant. The puppies were born July 3rd. Libby was so excited that she was over at her dad's house for their arrival. She called me at work to tell me all about it! I was impressed that she didn't get sick or pass out watching the puppies being born. So here are the pups...they are for sale if anyone wants one. They are pure bred pitbulls.

Here is Libby with the puppy she calls Nanna One. She was the first puppy born and she looks like her mama.

Here is another one of the puppies. I can't tell them apart but Libby can. She had me take pictures of her holding all of them, but they all look the same to me. I'll refrain from posting all the pics as it would look like I'm posting the same picture over and over again!

This is Nanna, the mama and her eight puppies.
However two died the other day. They were the runts.
Six puppies still remain.

Fun at the Ball Diamond!

2010-06-22T15:09:00.013-04:00

Libby and I have been able to make it to a few of Nathan's baseball games this summer. It has been hot and Libby gets a little bored after she's already been to the concession stand enough and I have to tell her no! Luckily, the ball diamond is at the school, so sometimes Libby likes to venture over to the playground!

Here is Nathan up to bat. He actually missed that pitch, but at least it gave me a chance to get a picture of him looking in my general direction!

The main reason Libby wanted to take me to her playground was so she could show me how good she's getting on the monkey bars.
She can make it all the way across now.
She is 89% monkey anyway!

My nieces also happen to be at the ball diamond that day, which contributed to the urgency of playing on the playground. In the background are Kenzie and Julianna. I don't know how Cassie managed to escape all pictures.

We have a whole family of monkeys!

Just hanging around.

Julianna taking it easy.

Kenzie and Libby on the tire swing.

Zooming down the slide.

We eventually made it back to Nathan's game!

I was watching him with my magic eyes the whole time!

Ft. Wayne Children's Zoo!

2010-06-18T08:57:00.019-04:00

OK, I know I posted a few pics from the Ft. Wayne zoo in an earlier post, but now I have more time for an in-depth look! It was such a cool place! I'm ready for another trip!

This was our first encounter upon entering the zoo. It's a drinking fountain! It looks like the lion is eating your child when they get a drink. How cool is that! Libby thought it was hilarious!

Luckily, she got out alive!

Here is Libby with a tortoise statue. The real turtles are way back behind her, but they were really the size of that statue she's standing next to...maybe even bigger! She thought they were rocks when we first saw them.

Here are Nathan and Libby feeding the ducks. I really think this was one of their favorite parts. That and sitting next to a big peacock, but seeing the recent news I'm glad the peacock didn't attack us!

Time for a train ride! At this point, I think Nathan had had enough of my excessive camera use! He's getting to the age were he isn't all about the pix...unlike my movie star daughter who never shys away from the camera!

This was a little mist park where you could cool off for awhile. They also had little misters throughout the whole zoo. It was refreshing!

Here is Nathan relaxing in the hammock after a long day exploring the jungle!

Indiana Nathan! Haha...it was a safari exhibit.

Libby has never been in a hammock before. She thought it was pretty cool. She was trying to swing in it, but it was too close to the ground and had also been stretched out from all the kids playing on it.

Here is Libby riding a manatee on the carousel.

I think Nathan has actually outgrown the carousel, but Libby made him go on it with her. What a good "big brother" he is to her!

Nathan finally gave in and let me take another picture of him, but he wasn't going for a full blown smile! I can't have it all!

Libby pretending to take a ride on a Kimono Dragon!

Libby riding around the corral on "Jenny the Pony."

Libby and Flash...

...strollin' along.

I think these were supposed to be dinosaur eggs.

I think this was really Libby's favorite part...

The sky ride. (It's like a ski lift.) It kind of made me feel a little nervous! They even have little binoculars for the kids so they can look around! Just look at that face!

Libby is sitting on a cot inside a mosquito tent!

We were at a camp in the African plains. Libby had to pose on each stool inside the tent. She's a funny little girl!

Libby's Life ...in cakes!

2010-06-17T21:23:00.007-04:00

As we approach July, I begin the preparations for Libby's 6th Birthday! The hardest part is deciding on her birthday theme and picking a cake. Not just picking a cake, but picking out a cake I can make! My mom always made our birthday cakes when we were little...it was just a chocolate sheet cake but we loved it. So I decided to take this cake-making one step further when Libby celebrated her 1st birthday. I tried to get creative! Now I've turned it into a tradition! I usually just pick something out FOR Libby, depending on her interests and so far she's loved them all. This year she requested a Barbie Mermaid Tale cake. So I have been researching, shopping, and looking at lots of pictures of cakes and my friends at work are starting to think I'm crazy! Which brings me to this blog post...Libby's previous birthday cakes! I'd like to think I'm making progress, especially considering I only do one cake a year!

What other theme would I have picked for Libby's first birthday?

Yes, a castle cake for my little Princess!

I was a little naive, as I went for taste instead of function.

I choose cool whip icing which I love on cake, but unfortunately its not very sturdy for decorating! I was still proud of the cake anyway!

I keep thinking Libby will request this cake again so I can make it better!

It did fool my mom...she thought I paid big bucks for a professional made cake! Haha!

Since Libby's birthday is so close to 4th of July, I chose

"Red, White and Two!"

for her 2nd birthday. I thought it was quite clever!

Barbie was an obvious choice!

Meet, "Independence Day Barbie!"

Haha I crack myself up!

Libby was fascinated with animals, so I made a "Zoo Cake" for her 3rd Birthday.

I thought this cake turned out really well...probably because I really only iced the cake, the other decorations were ready-made!

"Libby's Butterfly Birthday" was the theme of her 4th birthday.
I got the idea from a Fancy Nancy book, which Libby just
loves, loves, loves!

Right about now you're probably thinking I suddenly developed mad cake skills from the previous year. I wish I could take credit for this cake, but I ordered it from the bakery. However I did put the Tinkerbell fairies on the cake, so I can take a little credit. During the time of Libby's 5th birthday I was having back trouble and could hardly walk. I think I shed a few tears when I ordered this cake. It could have been due to back pain, but most likely it was due to the fact that I couldn't make it myself!

Now we are about 3 weeks away from Libby's 6th birthday and I'm ready! I've got all the props for the cake, a sketch of the cake (hopefully the cake turns out better than my sketch because it kind of resembles a stick figure cake!) and I'M FEELING GOOD! I think this might be the best cake yet! Stay tuned for pictures!

Fast Forward to Summer!

2010-06-15T21:47:00.011-04:00

It's been a very long time but....I have Internet now at home so I'm back to blogging! So here are a few snippets of what has been going on so far this summer:

This is Princess Libby!

She's growing so fast!

She will be starting 1st grade in August!

In case you were wondering, Libby was hatched!

Over memorial weekend, my mom took us to the Ft Wayne Children's Zoo.
I highly recommend it. It was so much better than Indy Zoo.
They had pony rides. Libby went twice she liked it so much.
This is the second pony she rode...it's name was Flash.

This was the first pony she rode. She picked it out herself.
The pony's name was Jenny!
I swear we didn't know that when she picked it out.
Libby thought it was hilarious she was riding a pony named Jenny!

Here are Nathan and Libby in a tree house.
I think Nathan was pretending to be a baboon.

Nathan and Libby at the petting zoo or really
it was just a goat farm.

Nathan and Libby when we first arrived at the Ft. Wayne Zoo.

Libby's new summer toy...

Cannonball Splash!

It came with its own body board which was a big highlight for Libby.

It was actually the deciding factor when trying to choose between this and a slip and slide with a shark mouth that you slide through.

She's a funny little girl.

Libby also got a new sprinkler this year because I wasn't sure her one from last year still worked. This on has balls that pop out with the water. The water doesn't spin though. It's a good thing we got the "pool" too. Libby really doesn't care what the toy is as long as she can get wet!

Here's my supermodel showing off her new pool.

She's such a sassy little thing.

So maybe shopping at walmart on payday isn't a good idea.

Mama just can't say no!

Libby had to have this new little princess picnic table set. It comes with an umbrella! I know she's spoiled!

First Snow of the Season

2009-12-21T04:35:00.005-05:00

My poor poor Libby! She was so excited about the snow, she couldn't quite grasp the concept that there really wasn't that much snow! She had to bundle up and go outside anyway!

She headed straight for her swing set.

It was feeling neglected...it hadn't been played on since fall!

Here is my precious little one tossing up snowballs into the air and trying to catch flakes in her mouth as it came down!

There is nothing more fun than playing on a trampoline covered in snow (and leaves). Libby tried making a snow angel on the ground but it didn't work out.
Here she is giving it a try on her trampoline..it worked better!

Libby even had to try her sled. I tried to explain to her if you can still see grass, there is not enough snow to sled.

She didn't really care. She was having fun sledding down what she thinks is a hill.

Actually, it's more like a bump in the yard!

A Birthday Party

2009-12-21T04:29:00.003-05:00

My BFF Vosko's baby boy turns 1! Libby and I went to his birthday party one early Sunday afternoon (after I worked Friday and Saturday night)! Libby had a good time playing with the other kids at the party and even made off with over half of the party favors!

Here is Jack. He is very excited to turn 1!

This is the only pic I got where Libby actually was looking at me!

Not a single cooperative kid in the bunch!

One picture...is that too much to ask!?

Field Trip

2009-12-21T04:19:00.008-05:00

Libby had her first Kindergarten field trip to the Children's Museum. I was lucky enough to be one of the parent chaperones. Although five minutes into the hour long bus ride to Indy I thought I must have been crazy to have volunteered! The kids finally calmed down after 15 minutes! It was nice to be able to spend some time with Libby and learn who the kids in her class are! I think all the kids had a good time!

Libby on the carousel...one of her favorite things!

Zoom, Zoom, Zoom!
Yes, she is getting good at pics with her eyes closed!

Here are the kids "skating" on the "ice!"

Oooh...wipe-out!

Here's Libby playing on the castle inside the winter wonderland!

This part was really cool.

They had a huge kitchen set up with a big oven, plenty of food, dishes and what-not!

Libby getting her baked goods out of the oven!

Look! She even put her oven mitts on first!

Thanksgiving!

2009-12-21T04:12:00.003-05:00

Another Thanksgiving at the Hoover House...

Libby picked out her ensemble all by herself.

She was very insistent on her dress.

I tried to persuade her in an entirely different direction,

but she wasn't having it.

I think she looks like a go-go dancer.

She's still beautiful!

Here are 3/4ths of the girls,

acting crazy as usual!

It has been a long time since I've actually gotten all the kids together in a picture!
I guess they are all old enough now to sit still for 5 seconds!
Nathan 10, Kenzie 8, Cassie 7, Libby 5, Jules 4

I'm positive everyone had a great time...
There weren't any leftovers to speak of
and the play room was a mess!

The Tooth Fairy

2009-11-10T05:09:00.004-05:00

Nineteen days ago, Libby had her first loose tooth. Today, it finally fell out! I was away from the house for 1 1/2 hours and on my way back home when Libby called to tell me she pulled her tooth out, that it didn't hurt or bleed! She was so excited! I can't believe I missed it! I tried to get her to pull it out the night before because I could tell it was just sitting in there and she would have nothing to do with it. I'm not sure what her daddy said to her, but she yanked her tooth out the next morning when he was with her!

Here is Libby showing off her gap.

No, it's not much of a gap since her new tooth has already broken

through her gums, but she's proud of it!

The tooth she lost was the tiniest little tooth I've ever seen!

I never thought I'd be one of those parents to keep their child's teeth,

but I talked to the tooth fairy, and she said I could keep just this one!

Just for the record...I DID NOT keep her umbilical stump!

Here is Libby getting ready to go to bed.

She is modeling her tooth fairy pillow I made for her.

It's hard to tell, but there is a pocket in the middle to keep

your tooth nice and safe until the tooth fairy comes and exchanges it for a dollar.

I had to explain to Libby that the tooth fairy is not stealing...

it's an exchange program!

Sometimes she just cracks me up!

Before Libby went to bed that night,

she asked me if the tooth fairy was real.

In the morning when she found her dollar in her pillow,

she said ecstatically, "The tooth fairy IS real!"

That all took place on Saturday. After working Monday night, I did not see Libby until she got off the bus Tuesday afternoon. Do you know what she told me?! She has here 2nd loose tooth already! At this rate she will be toothless by the time Xmas cards come out! She will be the most beautiful toothless wonder I've ever seen!

Gymnastics

2009-11-10T05:00:00.005-05:00

It has been a while since I've taken pictures of Libby at gymnastics. I just happen to have had my camera with me the other day so I that I would snap away! Although the pics never turn out well because the parents are all on the other side of a glass wall! Well, they are still good enough for me to enjoy! Hopefully it's enough to satisfy your curiousity as well!

Libby is on the bar on the right with the purple leotard on.

She just got that outfit that day. Libby picked

it out...it has doggy bones on it!

Libby is doing really well on the bars. I think it was just this

summer when she was still scared to flip around them!

Here she is working on her bridge.

(Back in my day they were called back bends!)

Anyway, she's supposed to fall back into a bridge from

a standing position. She is still having trouble with this.

She does well up to this point. She's just leaning into

position right now.

It's when she starts to fall back that she messes up.

Look at her legs!

That's ok! We just keep practicing!

Libby is on the far right.

They are doing spider handstands over to a forward roll.

Just in case you were wondering!

Trick or Treat!

2009-11-10T04:43:00.006-05:00

After much anticipation, Halloween finally arrived! Libby was so eager to go trick or treating that she even agreed to take a nap that afternoon! Of course with this new daylight saving time, it didn't even get dark until after we got home...so it was pointless to have gotten Libby a costume that had a lighted skirt! It also made it more difficult to tell which houses were welcoming trick or treaters because it was hard to see if the porch lights were on or not. All of these are things I'm sure Gov. Daniels did not consider when he changed DST! Of course, Libby noticed none of these things and was perfectly content going door to door in the daylight begging for candy with all her cousins! I was happy to see chocolate made a comeback this year after a very disappointing bucket full of hard candy last year! Let's here it for chocolate! OK...enough of my rants...on to the pics!

Here is my princess....literally!

This is actually a witch costume, but at the last minute

she decided she was just going to be a Halloween Princess,

so we ditched the witch hat!

Here is Libby with two of her cousins, Abi and Emily.

Here is Libby being held at knife point by Nathan.
He's her most favorite person (besides me of course!) in the whole
wide world, so she didn't mind him threatening her life!

The porch of this house was "haunted" and the
people who lived there were dressed up as well.
The kids thought it was cool!

This pot belly pig greeted trick or treaters at one house.
Ironically, Libby did not want to interact with this pig.
Libby apparently only likes farm pigs!
This pig was even dressed for the occasion!
It has wings and a tutu if you can't tell!

This was our last stop of the evening...Toni's house.
Libby decided she would put on her monster mask so she could
give Toni a big scare!
Kids this age are so funny because they actually believe
they scare us!
Well, sometimes Libby does scare me, but it has nothing to do with the mask!

Halloween Morning!

2009-11-10T04:27:00.010-05:00

To Libby's surprise, the Great Pumpkin had come to visit her while she was sleeping Halloween Eve. When she awoke in the morning and came downstairs she noticed a bag with a card sitting next to her pumpkins. She became very excited as she ran over to the table to find her name on the card and quickly read it to see who it was from:

Happy Halloween

from The Great Pumpkin!

Although Libby did think it was HER pumpkins that brought her the bag of goodies and not "The Great Pumpkin" from the Charlie Brown movie!

Oh well...if she wants to believe her pumpkins did it, what does it matter?!

Her she is unwrapping her first present...

Nothing says Happy Halloween like

Halloween Barbie!

Somehow the Great Pumpkin knew Libby loves homework.

He brought her two new math workbooks!

She was ecstatic!

She also got some new notebooks and stickers.

The girl loves to doodle and "write" notes, bills, etc!

Here she is with her new Fancy Nancy book.

Even though it's a level one, they are still a little tricky for her to read because of all the big fancy words Nancy uses!

Alas, Halloween Barbie is out of her box, and shortly after this picture she was out of her clothes!

Apparently, Hannah Montana wanted to borrow her dress...

and Barbie wanted to be a rock star!

Halloween Activities

2009-11-06T01:35:00.018-05:00

For Halloween we decided to go to the Children's Museum Haunted House and Boo at the Zoo. We didn't get a chance to make it to the zoo this summer so Libby was really excited to go for Halloween. We invited Libby's friend, Sydney from preschool, and her mom and brother to go along with us. Now Libby was so excited to go because she had a friend to go with her. Luckily the weather cooperated and it was a very nice day to be outside! Everyone had fun but it was a very long day. Although I think the mommies were more tired than the kids!

First stop, Children's Museum.

The kids were amused by the statues!

This is probably my favorite picture!

The statue kids are playing tug-o-war, so the real kids

decided to join in too!

They thought that was hilarious!

Here is Tyler and Libby posing with a giant dinosaur leg.

Next stop...Boo at the Zoo!
Sydney is a vampiress and Libby is a witch...
zombie witch or monster witch. She's funny!

Lightning McQueen, Vampiress, and the Good Witch!

The kids posing against their will. They wanted to get right in to see the sharks!

Libby petting a shark. Her arms are finally long enough to reach down to pet them!

Libby was in a picture taking mood...

Lucky for me!

Here is another of my favorite pictures.

It almost looks real, which makes it that much more funny!

Libby and Sydney going for a ride on the haunted train.

Trick or Treat time.

Libby and Fred Flintstone.

Some sort of fairy, maybe?

The kids take a spin on the carousel.

They soon found out it was spinning backwards!

They thought that was so funny!

Libby wanted me take her picture with this ghost.

She actually wanted to climb up the hill and stand next to it,

but mean mama said no!

Some more posing with the props.

This was at the very end of the zoo and the kids were

still willing to pose for pictures!

It was a wonderful day!

One last picture...

Libby the firefighter!

She made me take her picture twice because she thinks

it's funny!

Libby and her Great Pumpkin

2009-10-18T11:43:00.007-04:00

Libby was so excited Saturday when I told her we were going pumpkin shopping! Of course she also thought it would be time to trick or treat! After we looked at the calendar and counted the days until Halloween, she was able to once again get excited about getting her pumpkin, and not trick or treating for 13 more days! In the past I have taken Libby to fancy pumpkin patches and spent $40 or more on pumpkins. This year I decided to skip the pumpkin patch and go to a local produce stand down the road. Libby wanted to get four pumpkins...one each for mommy, daddy, Libby, and of course Ginger. Now given my history with expensive pumpkins, I told her pumpkins were very expensive and she could get one big pumpkin and 3 little pumpkins. I had $50 cash in my pocket, ready to shop! We found a BIG pumpkin, and three little baby pumpkins that fit in the palm of my hand! We went to the cashier, I held my breath as I waited for the grand total...The lady said, "That will be $2.50." Huh? The big pumpkin was $1.00! I was so excited I almost went and picked out 3 more big pumpkins for my baby! But I didn't really want to carve them all, so we just said, "Thank you" and left! WooHoo! I'm sorry fancy pumpkin patch in the city...I don't think you will be seeing us again!

Here is Libby with her $1.00 pumpkin and a giant spoon getting ready to clean out the pumpkin. She did think it looked a little gross inside!

She's going for it....

Eeew! Pumpkin guts!
She was loving every minute of it!

Here is the finished product!

Notice the three little pumpkins!

We just decorated those with a sharpie marker!

Ooooo...scary!

Well, not so much!

You can't tell, but the candle is actually lit in this picture.

Libby wanted me to get a picture with her sitting behind the pumpkins.

Ok!

Mommy's First Haircut...

2009-10-18T11:35:00.005-04:00

Well, let me clarify...Mommy's first time cutting Libby's hair! I know, Daring! I've always been one to chop on my own hair. It started way back in middle school when I wanted a spike! I figured I could just do it myself! It was special looking, even for a spike! But I've tried to contain my hair cutting urges with Libby. For one reason, I didn't want her to think it was ok to start chopping her own hair off. Secondly, it's one thing to give yourself a bad haircut, but to do that to your own daughter?! What if the scissors slipped and she ended up with a spiked mullet or something?!

Now that Libby is in school all day, it's harder to get her to the beauty salon for a hair cut. I figured I could handle a simple trim, and she's old enough now to understand that she can't cut her own hair...so I went for it! Libby was actually very excited to learn I was going to cut her hair right in the middle of the kitchen! Mommy was a little slow, but Libby was very patient and sat fairly still the whole time!

Here is Libby after her haircut before I dried it.

Not bad!

The back of her hair was a little tricky. Many of you may not know that Libby actually has very curly hair...underneath! The very top layer of her hair is straight, so I straighten her hair when I dry it. Anyway...it was a little tricky to cut the back because every time I would comb her hair out to cut it, it would boing right back up! As you can see in this picture its a little frizzy in the back. I was afraid it wouldn't lay right when I fixed her hair.

Ta-Dah! Here is the finished product!

It all turned out, even the back! She looks so cute with her short hair!

Overall, the haircut was a success!

(Although now without all the weight of her hair, she does wake up with a fierce bed head! I guess you can't have it all!)

Playdate with Josie

2009-10-18T11:20:00.008-04:00

A few weekends ago, my friend Vosko invited Libby and me over for a play date. Aaah...so this is what people who don't work all weekend do! Josie had just gotten a new tinkerbell outfit and Libby was instructed to bring her dress up clothes as well! Libby also brought Josie some puzzles that she had outgrown and wanted to give to Josie. Vosko accused us of making a mess! Hmmph!

Libby and Josie working on a puzzle together.

Let the dress-up begin!

Libby also brought over all her play jewelery.

These were a couple of fancy looking girls!

Jewelery can be used for accessorizing...

or just something to snack on!

Libby thinks she's still little enough to play

on Josie's ride-along pony!

Mess? What Mess? Vosko is crazy!

Here is Jack participating in all the fun!

Do they get any prettier than this?!?

I know how much Vosko likes having her picture posted on the internet...

so this one's for you, Vosko!!

Who loves you now?!

School Picture Day

2009-09-18T08:52:00.007-04:00

It's that time of year again! Picture Day! Even though I just had Libby's pictures taken in July, I am having her picture taken at school! How can you pass up school pictures? They are always just so ?unique?! Is that the word I'm looking for? Although, in my opinion, Libby has not taken a bad school picture yet. We will see in 20 years from now if Libby thinks otherwise!

Here is my baby! I should have put her in a onesie or a romper or something so she would quit looking so grown! That would give her something to be embarrassed about when she gets older!

I know she's mine so I'm terribly biased, but she is so freakin' cute! I truly believe if she were ugly I would say so!

She's funny too! She will be the total package when she turns 30 and is old enough to date!

When I took her picture she would scoot a little closer to me and tell me took take her picture again...

closer...

EXTREME CLOSE-UP!

I actually like this picture though! She isn't exhibiting her fake smile/squinty eyes combo! And for some reason she looks a little tan!

I love my Libby!

There are 12 months in a Macarena!

2009-09-07T06:12:00.002-04:00

Libby has really been enjoying Kindergarten so far this year and has been learning lots of new things. She learned a song in preschool about the twelve months in a year, so when she said she learned a new song about the twelve months in a year I just figured it was the same song. I was surprised when I found out that yes, it was the same song, but this version comes with choreography! Then when I realized it was the "macarena" dance, it just made me laugh! Can you imagine a room full of Kindergartners doing the macarena while reciting the months of the year? Lucky for you I have a video! Now just multiple this by 17 and you get Libby's Kindergarten class!

A Good Day for a Laugh!

2009-08-29T22:23:00.009-04:00

Everyone deserves a good laugh everyday. I'm sharing these pics with you just in case you don't encounter anything on your own that really gets you going! Hope you enjoy! (BTW these photos ARE NOT from my personal collection!)

Not only is this photo hilarious, but if you stop and think for just a minute...

This guy is in a photo studio! This picture was on purpose!

That in itself is makes it that much more amusing! And what is up with his arm pose?

More naked comedy! Why would anyone want a naked picture of themselves with their pets?

It keeps getting better! Why not have the whole family pose in their underwear!
I know this is what our family get- togethers look like! I like that even grandma and gramps join in!

This poor child will be traumatized for life!

One of these is not like the other, one of these just doesn't belong!

Girls, before you go to prom, go grab your chickens so we can get a picture!

Unless the chickens are their dates! Hmmm...

Well, that's all I have for now! If you are not rolling on the floor laughing your ass off than you really don't have a sense of humor! Maybe you can get one at Walmart!

Libby's First Day of School

2009-08-13T09:40:00.010-04:00

Today was Libby's first day of school! She will be going to all day kindergarten! What a big change that will be from Pre-K which was 2 hours a day, three times a week! Libby will also be riding the bus to and from school! So many changes! Libby is very excited to start kindergarten, and even though she can be very shy, I know she will make lots of new friends and learn so many new things this year! My baby!

Here she is all dressed and ready to go!

Here is Libby at the end of the driveway waiting for the bus.

Grandma and Aunt Ruthanne even came down this morning

to see Libby get on the bus for her first day of school!

Here is Mommy and Daddy with Libby!

I wanted Libby to ride the bus to school, but I didn't want to miss out on taking her to class the first day...

So Mike and I drove to school and waited for her bus to arrive.

If you look closely, you can see Libby poking her little head up behind the bus driver!

Here is Libby getting of the bus at school!

Ironically, when I was little, I rode school bus #4 to school too!

Here is Libby in her classroom getting ready to sit at her table.

There are 4 kids per table. 2 boys, 2 girls. While I was with Libby, the girl at her table hadn't arrived yet! I hope she made it to school! Libby doesn't like boys and probably won't be happy if she is the only girl at her table!

The teacher has instructed the kids to start opening their school supplies!

Libby has been waiting patiently to do this for 2 weeks now!

I figured this would be a good time for mommy to leave!

I'm so proud of my little girl for being so brave, riding the bus and starting a new school with all new friends!

I will be anxiously awaiting her arrival at the end of the driveway this afternoon when the bus drops her off after her first day at kindergarten!

Back to School Camp-out

2009-08-13T09:33:00.005-04:00

Last week there was a back to school camp out at Nathan's house. All the cousins and some friends were there. Tarah was brave enough to host the whole event! All the kids camped out in tents..there was a girls tent and a boys tent...they also had a camp fire and roasted marshmallows. Libby also said they made ice cream sandwiches in the fire, but I think maybe she got confused! I'm pretty sure they were smores!

Here is Nathan, my favorite nephew!

I can't believe he is going to be in 5th grade!

It wasn't that long ago when Libby was just a tiny baby and we would pick Nathan up from Kindergarten!

Damn kids...grow too fast!

Here is my big girl at her first camp out!

She was so excited to be spending the night in a tent with her cousins

and her Hannah Montana sleeping bag!

Abi and Libby in the tent...

not cooperating with me so I can take their pictures!

Here are the kids that like to have their pics taken:
Cassie, Julianna and Kenzie!

I just couldn't get all the kids together at the same time!
Here is Cassie, Lexi and Julianna.

County Fair Time

2009-07-27T04:21:00.005-04:00

Nathan had three pigs this year to show at the fair. The first one he showed in the morning. We missed it due to Libby's dentist appointment. (Still no cavities!) But we were able to make it to the afternoon showing of his other pigs. He got reserve champion on the pig from the morning. Way to go Nathan!

Here he is coming out of the gate.

Taking a stroll around the arena.

This little piggy went to market...

This little piggy stayed home...

This little piggy had roast beef...

That's all I really know about pigs!

I was purely there for moral support!

In the Garden?!

2009-07-27T04:14:00.010-04:00

I love end of season clearance sales! I picked up these garden tools for Libby at Meijer. They were so cute and "dirt" cheap! hahaha!

Here's Libby working in her "garden!"

When she started she was going to clear the weeds out of the whole bed.

After she dug about two of them out, she decided maybe she just wanted to go play in the dirt!

Hard at work on weed #1

You can see why she quickly changed her mind!
Just look at that mess!
Where is that landscaper I hired?!?!

Quitting time!

Now on to the dirt!

She looks like she's getting ready to dig for dinosaur bones!

It's hard to tell in this picture, but she has a magnifying glass up to her eye and her head stuck in the bucket looking for "treasures."

My little inspector gadget!

After all the gardening and digging, it was time to play!

She's getting really good at hanging upside down!

Birthday...part 2

2009-07-27T03:57:00.017-04:00

Here are pics from Saturday...party day! It was a little drizzly in the morning, but Libby's party wasn't until 4pm, so it had time to dry out and actually turned out to be a nice afternoon!

Here is Libby dressed in her birthday outfit before the party with her balloons.

This was the first time I bought helium balloons for her birthday and you would have thought I bought her a new corvette! One day it will take more than $10 to impress her!

Here she is with her bouquet of balloons right after I got back from the store! I think she was waiting for them to lift her up into the air so she could fly! (It worked in the movie, "Up," why wouldn't it work for her??

Libby wanted me to fix her hair like the picture of Tinkerbell on her shirt. This was my best attempt. Of course she was trying to see it in the mirror and couldn't, so I took a picture of it for her so could see. Yes, I told you before, I am the coolest mom in the world!

Here she is posing! Sassy little thing isn't she??

Here are some of the kids jumping around on the trampoline.

So much action its hard to get everyone in focus!

Here is Libby with her friend from school, Sydney. This is the closest I could get to having their picture taken together. They were too busy playing to stop for a second! At least Sydney stopped and looked in my direction!

Here's Vosko, Jr., I mean, Josie, playing on the swings. "Wee!"

It's like a clown trying to fit in a clown car! Nathan is in denial about being 10 years old!

Here is Libby's cake! I was in sooooooo much pain from my back that I had to break down and order a cake! That was a first! I've always made special cakes for her birthday. I felt bad, but she didn't even notice!

She is considering her wishes very carefully!

And she's going for it!

I like this picture....

It looks like she is totally bored with opening presents!

See this face? She's just learned to whistle and now does it all the time, whenever the feeling moves her! She's crazy like that!

Libby can't read yet, but luckily she has a cousin who does!

She had so much fun all day! She didn't want anyone to leave!

Thank you to everyone for making my baby's 5th birthday special!

Birthday...part 1

2009-07-27T03:49:00.008-04:00

This year Libby's birthday turned into "The week of Libby!" Since her birthday was on Wednesday, but her party wasn't until Saturday we did a little celebrating both days! She also got to go to Chuck E. Cheese on Wednesday and Thursday to play! Sometimes I just can't help myself!

You may think that my little princess only dresses up like this on special occasions, but you would be wrong! This was just an ordinary day! I love her for this! We did go out to eat to Texas Roadhouse that night and she was turning heads! She's so cute! I love her to pieces!

Here is Libby on Wednesday, her birthday, opening presents from Mommy.
In case you couldn't tell from the hand gesture, she's five!

She got a new book, "Godilicious." It is a sequel to the "Pinkilicious" and
"Purplicious" books. They are really cute books. I recommend them to all little girls!

Libby loves to sing, especially songs from Grease. But she really only knows 1 1/2 lines from the song "Sandra Dee." I bought her the Grease soundtrack to remedy this problem! She was soo soo excited! But I did have to alter some lyrics for her. For instance, I don't really want her singing about virginity, so I told her instead of, "Look at me I'm Sandra Dee, lousy with virginity..." that it says, "lousy with affinity!" Then it just makes me laugh (on the inside, of course)!

Since she was have a Tinkerbell themed party, I had to get her a Tinkerbell outfit! It looked really cute the first day she wore it, until she spilled tea on it on ruined it! Oops!

Nothing could make my baby more happy than a new pair of Hannah Montana jammies! It's what every girl dreams of!

A pair of froggy jammies are cool too!

I think this was her favorite gift of all...

It's her new bug house! She had been using one of my sports bottles to collect her bugs in...but they don't last long! The first night she had her bug house we collected lightening bugs..probably 10-15 of them! Then we took her little bug house full of lightening bugs and sat it on her night stand for a night light! I am the coolest mom in the world, just in case you were wondering!

Summer Fun

2009-07-27T03:33:00.005-04:00

Yes I know summer began a long time ago! In fact, I can't believe it's almost over! Where did the time go? This was the fastest summer ever! All the things I had planned for Libby and me this summer...none of it got done! Not one trip to the zoo, not one little get-away, not a play date, and definitely none of those sleep overs I promised her! But she did at least have some fun playing in the water! You know, way back at the beginning of summer when it was warm?!?! Here are Libby's adventures with her slip-n-slide:

You may not be aware of the 101 uses for a slip-n-slide...

Use # 72: May be used as a drinking fountain!

Use # 35: may be used as a pool for relaxing

Use #1: Slipping and sliding, of course!

Use #88: May be used to take a leisurely stroll.

Use #49: May be used for running!

Atleast She's Entertaining!

2009-06-21T03:56:00.002-04:00

I never know what to expect with Libby. Sometimes she is just crazy with the ideas she gets. For example, the other day she spilled something on her so she took her outfit off. It was hot and she decided she would just run around in her panies. Then she changed her mind and put this on (I think her daddy was partially responsible!):

Ta-Dah! Amazing how she can pull of any outfit!?!

(I think I used to wear that same outfit clubbin'! Hahaha! Just kidding!

I would at least put some pants on!)

Maybe she's a blind bandit or something!