Fashionista

She's two and she can do it herself... thank you very much!

Pete's Place

This is the silly cat's new favorite spot. Ashley thinks it's hilarious! (We do too)




He also likes this spot a lot. We think he is trying to take back some territory from a certain small person who has totally thrown off his game...

Yaya Papaya Giveaway

My friend had a link to this blog/store and they have the CUTEST tu-tu's!! They have some for Halloween that are just adorable. Right now they are having a free giveaway contest!! Check it out at http://yayapapayatutus.blogspot.com/

Ashley is TWO!!!!!

It is so hard to believe that my baby girl is now a two year old!!! Well, I say that but when she is saying her two favorite phrases "no" and "Ashley do it" I know without a doubt that she is most definitely two!! To celebrate her birthday, I tried to fill the day with all of her favorite things. Here is a recap:

We began the day with "cupcakes" (actually blueberry muffins). She loves muffins and we never have them, so thought this would be a great treat for her and it was! She loved watching them bake in the oven which she kept reminding me was "hot". Once they were out she proceeded to devour two of them!

Then we went to a splash park in Allen. We had never been to this one and it was so fun!! Lots of cool things to play with!

Marc came home at lunch and when Ashley woke up from her nap we opened presents. She got some fun toys, puzzles and books from us but her favorite thing was "special jammies". What are special jammies you may ask?? Well, since she was a newborn she has always slept in the footed PJ's that zip up. The night we got back from Mexico I realized that she didn't have any clean PJ's to sleep in except for the kind with the pants and shirt. So, I talked it up and called them special jammies hoping that she wouldn't mind the change. Well, she ate it up and wanted more!! Every night after that she asks to wear her "special jammies". So, for her birthday I got her two new pairs. Oh joy!!

The first James Avery bag... such a special moment in a girls life! :) We started her a charm bracelet for her birthday last year and this year we were able to give it to her to wear. It has a cake on it from her 1st and an A on it from her 2nd.

After presents Marc and I took her to the mall to play at the play area and have dinner at Chick Fil A (her favorite). I didn't plan it at all but the CFA cow happened to be there!!! What a great birthday surprise!! She is still talking about it!

After a delicious chicken dinner, we went for a ride on the "horsies" (carousel). As you can see, to say she enjoyed herself is an understatement!

Night, night my big girl!! (notice the blue socks... she picked them out herself. Another bonus of the special jammies!) The next morning was her party at the park!!

Her party was so fun!! It was a little chaotic with two other parties at the park and the first saturday of about 5 football practices. But all the people and noise just made it feel more like a big party!! Ashley had so much fun playing in the water, on the park and getting to see all of her friends and family. It was a great birthday. Here are a couple of the highlights:

Washing the cow. Very important. Obviously.
Grandad pushing Ashley on the swing. We had to promise surprises in her presents to get her out of there. Not even cake would move her away!
Ashley and her watermelon cake. (Being VERY good and keeping her hands in her lap as asked)
Having her cake and eating the numbers too
Presents!!!
One of her favorite presents. A "Big Elmo Chair" that spins and plays "Elmo Says" with you. She loves it soo much!! And funny enough, so does Pete. He has taken to cuddling up in the chair when Ashley is sleeping!!
Post- party lounging!! Notice her leg cocked up on the table while she is munching on lunch! Classic!!
Taking a picture of TMX Elmo sitting in the elmo chair with her play camera. THIS is what makes my girl soooo happy. I don't know what that says exactly, but it's funny!!
The birthday girl with her new outfit, Crocs, baby doll and Elmo

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!!

Oh, and for any that are wondering. She went to her well visit Monday. She is off the charts on height (surprised?) 90% in weight and head and doing very well in speech and motor skills. That's my girl!!!! :)

Mela Minute

I am now entering my third month of membership with Melaleuca and I still love it!! I continue to find great new products and I have been so happy to be able to share it with people that I care about. Here are some of the great products that I have tried out this month:

Peanut Butter Crunch Attain bar: This is the same line of weight management foods as the shakes that I tried out last month. I love these sooo much! They are very yummy and very filling and a lot easier to eat on the run than making a shake (although I still love those too!).

Peach Fiber Wise Drink mix: This fiber drink mix has a whopping 12 grams of fiber due to psyllium husk fiber. It is actually quite yummy and does not cause um, "side effects" like some other fiber drinks can. I like to mix it with my Attain shake to make a peach vanilla shake. Yum!!

Pineapple Mango Bath Bar: YUM! This smells heavenly. I have it in my guest bathroom and it makes the whole room smell yummy!!

No Work Shower spray: So far so good. I have been wanting to try this for a while after several of my friends recommended it. You spray it on the glass and walls of the shower after you are done while it is still wet. It makes the soap residue and water stains run off without sticking on. So far I can tell a difference. I am still getting used to spraying it on after I get out but I like it a lot.

Vita Bears Vitamins: I got these for Ashley since she is now two and they recommend supplementing with vitamins at that age (because we all know how many veggies a toddler will eat!) She likes them a lot. I tell her they are a vitamin treat and she gobbles it up. Yea!

Lip Balms in Vanilla, Mint and Berry- OK, I am a complete convert!! I have been using medicated or berry Chapstick since the dawning of time and I love these lip balms soooooo much more!!! They are so creamy and leave my lips so soft. They smell great, but don't have a flavor which I like. Plus they have spf 15!!

Whitening Tooth Polish: Hooray!!!!! I love this stuff!!!! Same clean feeling as the mint polish, but no funky taste. It just tastes clean and fresh with a hint of mint. Plus, papaya juices whiten teeth without harsh bleaches or abrasives. I am in love!!! I have never been able to use whitening tooth pastes because of my receding gum line but I can use this!! Plus, my dentist said that the effects were noticable and that the plaque removal was great!! Yahooooooo!! :)

Access bars in Caramel Fusion and Chocolate Krisp: MMMMMMMMmmmmmmm!!!!!! 2 thumbs up!!

Fiber Wise Strawberry bars: Yummy!!! These are like a healthy version of a nutragrain bar. They have 6 grams of fiber and taste great!! I love them for breakfast or an afterworkout snack.

Simply Fit Cookies: OK, I am going to say it. I was not a big fan of these. Marc said that he liked the chocolate chip cookies though. They just were a little too dry and "healthy" tasting to me. I mean, if you are going to eat a cookie, it's got to taste like a treat... oh well.

As you can see, a lot of this months purchases stocked my pantry more than under my sink. Melaleuca has a huge line of nutritious foods at great prices!! I am telling you, this company is changing my life one brown box at a time!! Speaking of, if you are interested in the business building side of Melaleuca, let me know and I will tell you all of the exciting news there!!
Until next month- here's to better living!!

PV 08

In July, Marc and I took Ashley on a family vacation down to Puerto Vallarta with all of Marc's family. It was so fun!! Ashley had such a great time playing with her cousins and we all enjoyed hanging out together. It was the same resort (Grand Mayan) that we went to last year, so this year we knew all the fun that was heading our way! Ashley loved all the pools, ocean and lazy river! Here are some of the highlights:

Our first morning there

This is the most random picture, I know! In the entry hall of the resort there are these HUGE 30 ft. tall Mayan warrior statues "guarding" the entrance. Ashley was not scared of them at all! In fact, she thought they were the coolest things there. Every day we had to go see "big toes" and then we would tickle the toes and see the "people" and the "hands". It was all very exciting! Even now, almost a month later, she still asks to see the "big toes" and when she is taking her babies in the stroller and you ask her where she is going she tells you she is going to see the "big toes". Weird, I know... but pretty funny!

There was a little train that went from one side of the resort to the other. Ashley was enthralled by it so one day we waited the 30 minutes to get on the train and took the whopping 8 minute ride traveling at a mind-spinning 3-4 mph. It was thrilling, really... and yes, we look hot because we ARE hot. It was about 90 with about 90% humidity. Good times... the things we do for our kids, right?? Well, the important thing is that Ashley loved it and spent the 30 min. prior bouncing from seat to seat to find just the right one. It was hard to get a "posed" picture!

Yea, train!!!

Swimming with Gran :)

There was a great little kids area that had tons of slides and sprinklers. This was by far Ashley's favorite spot to hang.

Nana gets a gold star!!

She was so wonderful looking after all the kids and cooking for everyone. I think she needed a vacation after her vacation!!

Marc and I went fishing with Marc's dad one day out in the Pacific just off the coast of PV. We had a great day and caught quite a bit of Tuna. Marc pulled in some big ones! I started to reel one in, but it was a little more than I could handle so Marc took over for me. After that I just sat back and watched the action.

Catch o' the day!