Houston Rodeo Parade

Yesterday, the Houston Rodeo was kicked off with a big parade down the streets of downtown Houston. There were tons of horses, floats, and bands to ring in the festivities. Something neat that I learned yesterday was that the horses weren't driven in on a trailer, they were actually RODE in from wherever they came from! Some even rode in as far as Arkansas. It gave me a whole new appreciation for the beautiful horses in the parade.

Lila and I went with our friend Kim and her little boy Brody. Kim has lived here in Houston for several years now, but this was both her and my first time seeing the Rodeo parade. She usually does the 10K Rodeo run which goes on at the same time, which I hope to do next year! We had such a great time, and I officially feel like a Texan! I can't wait to attend some of the Rodeo festivities (Tim McGraw is performing!!).

 excited for the parade to start

 Lila, Me, Kim, and Brody

 All the pretty horses

 Fast Asleep for the last bit of the parade

Back to Normal

Lila got over her illness really quickly and was ready to play again Tuesday afternoon. It was a nice break having her calmer than normal, however, I'm sad that she was sick. She is definitely back to her crazy, active self!

 watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

My Poor Baby

Lila has had a fever since 7pm last night. She, for the first time ever, laid with us on the couch last night while we watched tv. She is NEVER one to sit still, so we knew she must have felt terrible. I was worried how the night would go, but luckily she slept 11 hours still! She woke up with a fever and feeling crummy, so we laid in my bed for a while. She ended up going back to sleep for about thirty minutes and woke up feeling a little better. We watched Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I couldn't help but take some pictures...I know that's mean, but she just looked too cute!

 this might be one for the wedding slideshow ;)

Happy Birthday, Karsyn!

Yesterday afternoon we went to Lila's BFF's birthday party at their house. Karsyn was such a cute birthday girl, and I just loved her pretty dress and bow. The babies had a special place to play outside since the weather was so beautiful! They all loved playing with the birthday girl! It was a great party and we had such a fun time! Thanks for having us!

 Karsyn giving Lila hugs while they played outside

 Karsyn and Scotlyn playing together

 birthday girl having fun outside

 delicious croissants and cute picture frame of all 12-months

 birthday princess throne

 photos on display

family photo

Super Saturday

Josh has to work today, so Lila and I have spent the morning playing together so far. She is such a busy little bee, and I love to let her roam free in our front yard. She is so curious and loves to dig in the dirt (yuck!). Her good friend, Karsyn, is having her birthday party today so Lila dressed up in the outfit that Karsyn gave to her for her birthday.  We are excited about Karsyn's big day and can't wait to see the birthday girl!

 playing in the playroom

 exploring outside

sweet girl

 digging in the dirt

 smiling at me because I'm telling her not to eat that

 happy girl

 reading her little books

Lila's 12-Month Professional Portraits

On February 3rd (Lila's actual birthday), we went to a park in Atlanta for her 12 month professional photo shoot with Laura Negri. It was a freezing 35 degrees outside, but you wouldn't be able to tell by Lila's smiling face! We absolutely LOVE how the pictures came out, but we knew they would be great because Laura is such a wonderful photographer! Here is a link to her blog.

She put together a slideshow of our pictures set to music which can be viewed by clicking HERE.

Thank you for taking such great pictures of our little girl! We can't wait to have you take pictures of our girls together sometime in the future!!

18 Week Ultrasound

This morning I had my mid-term ultrasound at the doctor's office. I was a little nervous going into it because I never had any of the genetic testing done, so I just hoped that she was healthy...oh, and still a she!  It went really well, and Alli is growing very healthy and a little ahead of schedule! I knew that they had gotten my due date a couple days off from the beginning, but the ultrasound technician said that she was measuring 18 weeks and 5 days rather than my supposed 18 weeks 0 days. That puts my estimated due date at JULY 14!! I'm not sure yet if my doctor will officially change my due date for just 5 days, but I know that we're that much closer to meeting our precious baby girl!

Alli was moving and grovin the whole time during the ultrasound, and I can feel her move most of the time now! Her kicks are getting stronger everyday! The placenta is in a completely different place than Lila's was, which is why I can feel her so much earlier than I could Lila. I might even be able to see feet and hands move through my belly with Alli later on, which I could never see with Lila because the placenta was in the way. I think she is going to be just as active as Lila is, which is a good and bad thing! I will surely be tired with two crazy babies running around here!

Here are a few pictures from today:

 Still a girl :)

 sucking her thumb already!

Sweet face