trick or treat, anyone?

I looked everywhere last weekend for a Halloween costume for Stella and I was really disappointed! They assume your baby will be in arctic cold weather and that they wouldn't mind a fleece hat that resembles a helmet and straps under the chin. They are definitely cute... but we tried several cuddly costumes on Stella and she was having NONE of it. We tried a monkey, a butterfly, a bunny, a teddy bear... they were all fleece lined and furry with the feet, and the hat... she couldn't move!! So I went home, dejected, and on my doorstep was the cheerleading uniform I had ordered a month before. YAY!! And, we have a halloween costume. Thank god! Taylor was about to kill me, dragging him all over town for an outfit for one night. Like I wouldn't do that for myself!! Now all we need to do is take her around on Halloween night to show her off. And get LOTS of candy. For me. :)

surprise birthday party!

Herman's with my family on my birthday
pin-up girl cake!
Addie threw me the surprise party at Bordino's with help from Cameron, Lynne, my mom and many other sneaky friends!!

Cameron, Marcy, me, Lynne, Ilim, and Addie

I turned 25 on Wednesday and my family took me out to dinner at Herman's. We decided to go out for dinner with our friends on Saturday night, no big deal... then we showed up at Bordino's and it was a huge SURPRISE party! I was totally shocked! My parents were there, as well as my "other" parents, Judy and Wayne, and Taylor's mom and dad Kathy and Al came... and they brought Stella! She had on her giant pink pettiskirt and she looked beautiful! I will get my sister's camera to post the pictures of Stella that night. It was too cute! What a wonderful surprise it was. We had about 25 people and we were having way too much fun! Afterwards a few of us went to the new wine bar, the Wine Cellar, which was fun. It was a great night! I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends and family!!

First Beach Trip!

kickin' it
sugar baby
fun in the sun!
a happy, HOT day at the Naples Zoo
my favorite, favorite picture
Dinner on the beach at the La Playa. Who else but us would take a tiny to a fancy restaurant? Actually, they loved her and made her some gourmet mac and cheese, which we all ate!

Jammin to Bob Marley and Jack Johnson
Family Time!
The Lindsey's beach house where we stayed... it was wonderful!!
Daddy showing Stella some fly fishing techniques
Me, Stella and Lynne (with little baby Liam in her belly, five months along!!)

We had the most amazing time in Naples! The flights were perfect, and we took a little stroller through the airports so we had no trouble at all getting around. When we got to the house we were so excited because it was so wonderful! They had everything we needed, including a full size crib, and a pool too! We were very close to the beach, which was nice considering how much gear you need to relax.... towels, umbrellas, chairs, toys, cooler, fishing stuff, etc. When we first went to the ocean, Stella would not go NEAR the water. It was all churned up from Ike so it was pretty rough and really loud. She loved the sand, though, and was gathering up shells and using them to scoop the sand and bury our feet. By the end of the week she was splashing along the edge of the water and would get in the ocean if we held her. She loved it! She and Chris were loving feeding the birds. They gave them raisins and bread, and we thought we would never get rid of them. We also went to the Naples Zoo. It was pretty small, which was perfect for us with Stella's attention span and what felt like 100 degree weather. But it was exciting! Lynne and I got some good shopping in at the outlets and some cute kid and maternity boutiques. We ate at some fun restaurants... and Chris took our pictures as a family on the beach at sunset the last day. The perks of having best friends that are photographers!! The boys even went on a guided fly fishing trip into the ocean... they caught some BIG fish. That we didn't eat! I'll stick to the restaurants! All in all an amazing, wonderful, relaxing vacation. I can't wait for the next one!

watering the flowers!

Lee and Larry came up this weekend again and we had a fun time. Not too much going on... for the first weekend in awhile! We are supposed to be going to Florida on Thursday, if Ike goes west as it is supposed to. We will be praying for good weather!! It will be Stella's first time to fly on an airplane and her first time on the beach. I can't wait!! It will be so cute to see her play in the sand for the first time. If anyone has any suggestions on things to bring on the plane to keep her occupied or anything that will help us travel with a baby, let me know! It is my first time and I am a little nervous. I hope she sleeps the whole time... but I doubt it!

Shopping for back to school!!

All about Stella poster for school
fun times!
Mason's with Cameron

This outfit was so cute I took a million pictures of her in it! That day we went to the promenade to shop, and to Mason's in Fayetteville, which you mommas know was a BIG deal with a 1 1/2 year old. She really hung in there, too.... until she ran into the corner of a white table (everything is white in there, maybe she didn't notice it??) and got a little bump on her forehead. Poor baby!! Well we really didn't end up with much because we forgot the paci at Pottery Barn and all hell broke loose. Well not exactly, but you know what I mean. That was one of the few times I have gotten to see Cameron all week. She has been so busy with all of her rush stuff that we have barely gotten to talk, which is unlike us! But she got some Stella love, and I can't wait to hear how Bid Day was. Hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend! xoxo