30 Days Shy Of A Birthday....

i can't believe it, today your eleven months old! one month from now we'll be hosting your first birthday party in the backyard and you will be experiencing the joy that is cake for the first time. You have been a handful this past month, testing your boundries more than ever. You touch EVERYthing, even after we say "NO!" You look at me as if to make sure i mean it, and then you do it anyway, you just can't help yourself. Your latest trick is dumping over broccoli's water bowl and flooding the kitchen. Even when we put it up on the table, you pull yourself up and try your darndest to slide it off the edge. You definately love the water, though we have yet to get you in a pool. i look forward to taking you swimming this summer, you only have three bathing suits waiting to be modeled!


In the last month you have developed a love for pointing, it cracks me up! You point at everything with this dainty little index finger and your wrist bent. Sometimes you point with both hands at two different things, your favorite items of interest being lamps and cieling fans. You continue to jabber all the time, but still no real words other than "hi" though you seemed to have lost interest in that. You said it non-stop for two weeks, and then it was gone as as fast as it came! In place of actual talking you enjoy clicking your tongue and smacking your lips, very chic! You just figured out how to feed yourself finger foods. You've been able to pick food up for a couple months, but you just figured out how to get it out of your tight little fist. :) You finally popped your first tooth, bottom right...i say finally because you have been teething here and there since you turned five months, thank the Lord for teething tablets.

You climbing in the fridge trying to reach your bottle!

You're still tougher than nails, you rarely cry because something hurts, in fact both your daddy and i were beginning to wonder if you felt pain at all. Though you cried when you popped your shoulder out, it wasn't more than a minute or so, and when the chiropractor popped it back in, all you did was wince. Though your high pain tolerance (which you got from your dad by the way...he once had his jaw out of the socket for a month before he decided it might be a good idea to see a doctor...sorry, sidenote!)is good, in that your not a wimpy kid and your not afraid to try things on your own, it does make discipline a bit of a challenge. When we tap your hand you look at us as if we just shook hands, only to continue trying to do whatever it is that earned the little "love tap" in the first place. And although you aren't afraid of us, you have developed to very interesting fears...yup, you're looking at em', the vacuum and your big red ball, the vacuum i can understand, but i almost think your fear of the ball is worse! You are one funny girl!

Home Again, Home Again...

This past weekend was quite a busy one. On Saturday Daniel & I attended our eleven, yes, I said eleven year high school reunion. It was small and uneventful, but a nice afternoon brunch spent on "The Wild Goose", a yacht formerly owned by The Duke himself, John Wayne. It was on the way home that the real excitement came about. As we were driving down PCH, out of the blue I asked Daniel if we could stop by this cute little shoppe Cottage White . As we got out of the car I jokingly said "Let's go spend some money!" Well, I couldn't have been more on the money, pun intended!

I have been scavenging the flea market for some time for a dining room table and chairs, for over a year in fact; and I had recently given up & resigned myself to buying a table from Pottery Barn for which I had been saving and scrimping. Now don't get me wrong, I love PB, but there's just something about owning furniture with a little more history, and on the whole I feel that older things are made with far better quality and craftsmanship. So, when I walked into the store and discovered this precious little table and chairs & a china cabinet to boot, all for less than the price of the dining room table I was about to order from the afore mentioned Pottery Barn, I was elated! It's funny the things that bring you joy as you get older, I was like a kid in a candy shop, over furniture. We ran home and got the cash to pay for everything (making our bargain an even better bargain) & returned to the store in a matter of minutes. My only lack of content came from the fact I would have to wait till Monday to have my treasures delivered! If you know me at all, you know that I HATE waiting, I like to do things NOW and take care of business! I put some of that energy into rearranging and getting rid of furniture to make room for my new purchase.

On Sunday my mom, Ruby and I drove out to San Marcos for my Cousin-in-law-to-be, Katie's Bridal Shower. This helped to distract my mind from the anticipation of my new furniture being delivered, and it was nice to visit with family. Monday came and so did my new dining room set, even earlier than I was quoted. The title of this post, is Home Again, Home Again... and that was chosen for a reason. I know it sounds funny, but even though we have lived in this house for over a year, it has never really felt like home. Now don't get me wrong, I was NOT a big fan of apartment dwelling; CRAZY neighbors, thin walls, no washer/dryer hookups...the list goes on and on, but, I LOVED our apartment itself. The style suited me perfectly, more old fashioned, huge sunny windows, a big tree that gave us privacy and all my stuff just fit perfectly! I am so grateful to be in a house, with a garage and a big back yard, washer & dryer, TWO bedrooms, etc, etc. BUT, our house just never felt as "homey" as our apartment did...until we got our dining room set.

Other than Ruby's room (we had her furniture custom made), nothing in our house is matching in the formal sense. Everything has been collected and refinished (mostly by my dad) over a period of time and I wouldn't have it any other way; but I wanted smething a little more put together for the dining room and some how, it just pulled the look of our whole home together. No more meals in front of the television, we actually have a place to sit down and enjoy a meal together as a family. I have yet to complete filling up the china cabinet, and I intend to find some pretty fabric to reupholster the seats and make matching curtains, but other than that, I am in love with our dining room, I was even inspired to hang up a few more old pictures . In short, I am in love, and I finally feel settled!



Two of my favorite family pics: my dad on his first holy communion and the cutest picture ever of my grandma's sister and cousins!

I've got it filled with random odds n' ends for now, but I've got my eyes on a set of antique China that I just might have to buy!