134/365

May 14, 2009

Same day, different photo... These two girls LOVE being together. They get along so well. They are partners in crime. They are imaginative and silly and just plain adorable. They were putting on a performance during our outing to the park and had us cracking up. They sang and danced like "real" rock stars! We decided that we'll have to continue getting these two together this summer. I'm sure there are lots more laughs in store...

133/365

May 13, 2009

We went to the park this afternoon with Isabella's best friend. My own girls didn't want much to do with the camera, so I zoomed in to their buddy. She is such a cute kid, and a ham! Every time I would call her name, she would stop and pose!

132/365

May 12, 2009

This is one of my favorite spots to get photos of the girls together. When they are sitting on the front porch, they are always happy and getting along. This morning we were running late for school, so I gave the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to eat while I picked up and packed the car. They were so cute and being so sweet to each other that I had to snap a photo. I love that Ione still has that fresh from bed look in her eyes.

131/365

May 11, 2009

Since we were in Houston anyway, I shot some more photos of my baby brother for his senior portrait collection. I absolutely love oak trees, so this is one of my favorites.

130/365

May 10, 2009

Mother's Day! I spent the day with my mom today. I was so happy to have her here with us for Mother's Day. We took her shopping and while she walked through stores, I snapped some shots of my little brother. He will be finishing school this year, so it was a perfect opportunity to get some senior portraits. I grabbed this shot just as we were heading home. Such a sweet kid, and a sweet Mama too!

129/365

May 9, 2009

Mother's Day Tea was actually Thursday, but I just didn't get around to these pictures until today. Isabella's class made beautiful flower pots with flower pens in them. We had a wonderful lunch together sitting at beautifully decorated tables and ate delicious ham wraps and salads. To top it off we had brownie ice cream sundaes for dessert. Isabella drew a portrait of me and wrote why I am special..."because she and Daddy take turns reading stories to her at bedtime." So cute! It was a wonderful gift and I am so glad that I am able to share those sweet special moments with my baby girl.

128/365

May 8, 2009

Today, the girls finally received their recital costumes in dance class. There we SO excited to try them on and rehearse in these beautiful, frilly pink numbers for their tap number. The ballet costumes are equally as adorable, but in royal blue. I can't wait to see them all on stage in June!

127/365

May 7, 2009

I took some family photos for our dear friends this afternoon. They are such a beautiful family and are expecting a baby this fall. I can't wait to meet their new addition! :)

126/365

May 6, 2009

Another one of Mom's flowers. Nothing terribly special, just pretty and pink. :)

125/365

May 5, 2009

I took the girls out for a bike ride this afternoon. We packed up frilly skirts and boas, and the camera, of course! The weather was beautiful, so I got a few shots to send the grandmothers for Mother's Day. Here's a sneak peek...

124/365

May 4, 2009

This is our family photo from yesterday...

123/365

May 3, 2009

Today is Ione's 2nd birthday! She certainly knew it was her big day! She woke up to a big pancake and egg breakfast and all of her gifts wrapped and waiting in the living room. After breakfast, she opened gifts and played for a while. We were even able to get one family picture before church. Then later, after nap, Juan, Pamela and Emily came over for burgers and hot dogs. I made her petits fours and a pound cake with petits fours icing. All pink, of course! She had a wonderful day and I think she felt very special.

122/365

May 2, 2009

Here's another photo from last week. It cracks me up that kids will try to fit in anything. Ione wanted in this stroller even though it was already piled high with baby dolls.

121/365

May 1, 2009

Isabella and I had a slumber party! It was really a lot of fun. We started the evening by going to see the Hannah Montana movie (which was surprisingly great!) and ate lots of popcorn. Then we came home and painted fingernails, played with baby dolls, paraded around the house and went to bed late. It was exhausting, but lots of fun!

120/365

April 30, 2009

This photo is actually from a week or so ago. Isabella was enjoying her evening back massage at Nonni's house. :)

119/365

April 29, 2009

This is from yesterday. After Ione woke up from her nap, she wanted to participate in the art happening at the big table. She mostly just painted the paper plate that the paint was in though!

118/365

April 28, 2009

Isabella is a crafty little girl. She loves to make cards and paint pictures for extended family. She had a fabulous idea of making her daddy a comic book. So, here she is creating her very own version of Spiderman Daddy."

117/365

April 27, 2009

Just a lovely agapanthus flower from Mom's back yard.

116/365

April 26, 2009

After a long weekend of festival-going, we had a nice quiet dinner at my sister's house. Her fiance', Jake plays guitar. He's a collector as well, so I snapped a few shots of his acoustic and his newest addition...it has bark left on the wood to make the texture look like alligator skin. Very cool indeed.

115/365

April 25, 2009

We went "home" to Lafayette for Festival International this weekend. It was so exciting that our friends came with us. They got a little taste of Louisiana! :) We spent Saturday at the festival, eating crawfish, walking, listening to music, shopping, getting faces painted... It was a beautiful day and the company was fabulous. Here Isabella, Ione and their cousin, Alysse, had their faces painted. Even though it was a long wait, I think the end results were worth it.

114/365

April 24, 2009

Our best friends/neighbor, Emily was showing off her skills on the Fropper this afternoon. She was so cute with her huge helmet and her little bubble outfit!

113/365

April 23, 2009

This is another example of Little Peanut wanting to be just like her big sis. She tries so hard to ride, but she can't reach the pedals very well, the helmet is too big... But man is she proud that she can stand up on a big girl bicycle...just like her sister!

112/365

April 22, 2009

This afternoon the girls were sitting on the front porch eating bananas while I was watering the flowers. I think it is so funny how incredibly bored they look. The funny thing is, about 5 seconds after this photo was taken, they heard the ice cream truck. So, naturally, they chucked the fruit and ran for ice cream money!

111/365

April 21, 2009

Little girls love to emulate their big sisters. Ione really wants to be a big girl like Isabella. She sits on the potty and smiles and sings and practices wiping (her back, not her behind!) and lots and lots of flushing. But...she hasn't *done* anything in the potty yet. I know the big day will be here soon enough, and I can only imagine how proud she wil be!

110/365

April 20, 2009

Ione LOVES baby dolls. Lately she carries around as many as she can hold in her arms. Since she has this handy-dandy doll stroller, she can carry 6 or 7 around everywhere she goes. There have been occasions where we pack the babies, still in the stroller, in the back of the SUV and head out to run errands.

109/365

April 19, 2009

Our flight home was much less eventful than our trip to Alabama. This was most certainly a good thing! On the way out of the plane, Kevin stopped the Captain and asked if Isabella could meet him. He invited her into the cockpit and even let her press a few buttons on the instrument panel. She pulled a lever that made a beeping noise (I think that scared her a little!!) I know she felt really special and I have a feeling she'll remember her whole adventure for years to come.

108/365

April 18, 2009

We spent the weekend in Alabama with grandparents. Since Kevin's brother lives in Mobile, they drove out to their parents' property to spend the day with us. The weather was perfect, the company was fantastic, the view was gorgeous and dinner was incredible (fresh fish from the pond!) Isabella and Ione don't get to see their cousins very often, but they adore each other and play together like best friends. Aside from the just running and playing, the kids enjoyed a fun jump, fishing and riding in the trailer behind Papa's 4-wheeler. Even though it was a long trip there and back, it was well worth it!

107/365

April 17, 2009

We had an incredibly long and adventurous trip to Alabama this weekend. We left the house at 4 pm Friday afternoon and arrived at our final destination at 2:30 am Saturday morning. Needless to say, we were all exhausted. Even so, Little Miss Independent wanted to walk the dark, empty airport all by herself. So there she is...notice the ever-present baby doll in hand!

106/365

April 16, 2009

Isabella's class took a field trip to the Oil Ranch today. Most of the horses here looked kind of old and thin. This one was just beautiful in this light though.

105/365

April 15, 2009

Dad got the trailer hooked up, pumped up the tires and took the girls for a ride around the lake. It was a beautiful afternoon and the girls had a blast!

104/365

April 14, 2009

She can't even eat dinner in peace!

103/365

April 13, 2009

Isabella is showing off her nest that she made at school. There are some little malted milk ball eggs in there. Ione is always so proud to hang out with her big sister. :)

102/365

April 12, 2009

New shoes from the Easter Bunny. I didn't plan on the girls wearing these with their Easter dresses, but Isabella insisted. Good thing they matched well!

101/365

April 11, 2009

I took these shots of my grandparents' dogs (Hogan and Cricket) last weekend. I wanted to surprise them with nice photos of their "babies!"

100/365

April 10, 2009

Queen Isabella

99/365

April 10, 2009

Isabella and her best friend, Lisette, at their class Easter party.

98/365

April 8, 2009

We are growing tomatoes and bell peppers. Every day we water the plants and check to see if there are any little veggies hiding under the leaves. One of our tomato plants has a ton of fruit on it! The bell peppers are a little behind...there are only two baby bells so far. We can't wait to eat fresh tomatoes and bell peppers on a salad. Isabella told me that she will teach me how to make a really good salad once they are ripe!

97/365

April 6, 2009

We were leaving to run errands so Ione grabbed a few things for the road...sunglasses, purse and Easter basket!

96/365

April 5, 2009

Isabella was a great model this afternoon while I practiced with my 50mm lens. She's been playing with her horse a lot lately, so he had to be in most of our photos today.

95/365

April 4, 2009

We spent the day at Forest Hill, picking out trees for our backyard. Ione's with her Super-Daddy, wearing Papaw's hat while we decide on which River Birch we want. It was a long and tiring day, but we came home with 8 trees! Now we'll have a real backyard with shade and everything!

94/365

April 3, 2009

Isabella loves dance class. Today they rehearsed for their spring recital and parents were allowed to come in and video the performance. The choreography is really cute and all the girls seem to follow pretty well. I can't wait to see the whole ensemble in costume in June!

93/365

April 2, 2009

This photos is from yesterday, but I liked it better than anything I took today. Ione loves to mimic her big sister, so she put on her own fairy dress and wings for the first time. In front of her she is carrying her ever-present baby doll and a purse. Evidently these are fairy necessities!

92/365

April 1, 2009

Just enjoying that afternoon sunlight again! Isabella was actually not posing here. She was loving the warmth of the sun since it had been a bit chilly earlier in the day. I really like how the light is filtered through her wings. She is such a little angel, so soft and delicate. I hope she enjoys dressing up and her world of make-believe for a long time.

91/365

March 31, 2009

I know there doesn't seem to be anything fantastic about this photo...but my girls are actually standing close to each other while looking at the camera and no one is screaming or shoving the other out of the way! I love this! LOL

90/365

March 30, 2009

Isabella let me take some photos of her in her bedroom this afternoon. My friend, Julie suggested I take some photos in there because the lighting is just right at that time of the day. It's funny how you don't notice things like that sometimes until someone else points them out to you.

89/365

March 29, 2009

I brought the girls to visit my grandparents' grave before leaving Lafayette. It was the first time they had been there and they were really quiet and sweet. I think they felt like they were doing something very important and grown up. We stopped at Michael's beforehand so they could each choose a silk bouquet. I really wanted to bring them while Isabella still remembered them. We talked about Meme and Papaw and I told her stories that I remembered about them. She had tons of questions and we talked about them for at least an hour on the drive back home. She was interested in Papaw's service in WWII, and wanted to see Meme pictures form when she was younger. I liked being able to share happy memories of them with my girls.

88/365

March 28, 2009

Today we celebrated my little nephew's birthday. I just love this shot of my Papaw. I remember photos of him from when I was younger in this same pose. The expression on his face is genuine too. He was just getting up from helping Gavin figure out his new tractor. He didn't realize I was taking photos the whole time they were playing together, so I got a nice "you stinker" smile when he got up!

87/365

March 27, 2009

It's raining again! This time the girls walk with Papaw to check the mail. They are so well-behaved when they are doing something "special!" It's so sweet to watch them together with my grandparents. I'm glad that we are able to spend so much time with family. I knew my great-grandmothers well (one is 91 years old, still living at home alone!) I hope that Isabella and Ione have an equally close and rewarding relationship with all of their grandparents. I think that surrounding children with people who love them is one of the best things we can do to help them grow into strong adults. I hope it works! :)

86/365

March 26, 2009

Ione is one little doodlebug that adores her daddy. Most mornings she wakes up asking if he is home and squeals with delight when he comes home at night. This evening, she needed a few extra minutes with him before bed, so she helped him work on the computer. I'm glad she has such a loving and wonderful daddy. Just like her big sis, she thinks her daddy is the biggest and strongest man alive! I love that!

85/365

March 25, 2009

I know this one is kind of random, but I always admire these bookends on Isabella's dresser. Kevin and I bought them on our trip to Disney World a couple of years after we got married. His mom kept his entire collection of Dr. Seuss books to give his children one day. (I had a few to add, but most of them are his!) The entire set isn't pictured; many are on the bookshelf in Isabella's closet. Most nights though, she grabs a book from this spot for bedtime.