Crave Giveaway!

I love me a GOOD giveaway and this giveaway BEATS them all! Holy Moly would I LOVE to win ANYTHING from this giveaway! Who wouldn't want to win an all expense paid trip to be mentored by Crave Photography? Um, yes please! I am constantly wanting to improve my skills and I know this would totally help me do that! 

http://cravemyphotography.com/blog/world-wide-giveaway-2012/

Check it out and enter! :)

rock the shot!

 

www.rocktheshotforum.com

 

So, I am entering a photo in a photo contest for the very first time. I follow "rock the shot" on facebook and they host a monthly photo contest and this months theme is "wild flowers". Since I recently took pictures of Bristol in the black eyed susans, I figured I'd enter the contest, why the heck not?

Here's a little background info for this photo....

I had been "eyeing" these flowers for weeks which were located on my church's property. I love black eyed susans and KNEW I wanted to take Bristol there to snap a few pictures. We went to dinner that day and after dinner we made a pit stop at church. It was right around 7:15pm ( which is one of my FAVORITE times to shoot pictures). I knew the evening sun would go down FAST so I had to hurry and get Bristol set up and start snapping away. I wanted the sun haze in the picture so I squated down really low, I'm pretty sure I was laying on my stomach getting eaten alive by skeeters, but it sure was worth every single skeeter bite I got, haha. I love every single thing about this picture. The pop of colors, the sun haze, the wild flowers in the background.... everything! I took this photo with my canon 7d using my 50mm 1.8 lens.

wish me luck! :)

grandaddy love

 Bristol Elaine sure does love her Grandaddy! The minute she sees him her face lights up with a huge smile! Of course, Bristol has Grandaddy wrapped around her sweet little fingers ( all of them, haha!) He would do anything for "his girl" and he makes that known. It's so precious to see him with her especially since I'm his "baby girl". I can't wait to watch this relationship grow and flourish over the next several years. I know that when Bristol is aware of her surroundings, she will immediately know that her Grandaddy loves her to the moon and back. He spoils her rotten already and I know as she gets older it will only get worse ( in a good way of course!) My dad gave Bristol a nickname "Boo-Boo". Growing up, I was nicknamed "Bo-Bo" and so when he came up with "boo-boo" it was only fitting for Bristol. 

 Grandaddy and his girl posing outside on their porch. He says how much she changes every time he sees her. It's almost a given that he will say " well she looks different today than the last time I saw her. He constantly comments on her "pug nose" and "piercing blue eyes". He always talks about the future with her and how he can't wait to see her running around like a little rugrat. There are so many things grandaddy wants to do with her, take her places, show her things... it's precious to hear him talk like that. 

 Bristol resembles grandaddy's baby pictures, it's cute! Bristol loves to grab his hat and try to rip it off. She loves to play peek-a-boo with him at my parents house using the hallway mirror. He loves to take Bristol shopping and buy her an outfit or a toy - it's so sweet and generous that he wants to do things like that. Grandaddy is over the moon with his "brittle girl" and can't wait to take her on her first "real trip" at the end of May. It's Grandaddy and "his girls" :) He talks non-stop about Bristol playing softball. We joke that she will be hitting home runs over the fence in tee-ball. Between her grandaddy and momma, Bristol will be ready to the the field at an early age! 

 Bristol is his pride and joy. He requests for a picture everyday to be sent to him via cell phone or email. He often tells me how much Bristol looks like me when I was a baby. I know that it brings back many memories for him. Grandaddy is always willing to feed her, change her diaper, carry her around and entertain her anywhere we go. It's the sweetest thing ever. 

 Bristol Elaine is named after grandaddy's mom ( my nannie). Her name is Elaine and I know that his heart smiles the biggest smile knowing that his first granddaughter is named after his sweet and precious mom. 

 If Grandaddy hasn't received an email, text or phone call during the day, he will send me a text saying " need a picture of my baby" or give me a call to just "check in" and see how we are doing. It's the sweetest thing ever.

 I couldn't imagine my life without my dad and I know my dad couldn't imagine his life without Bristol. She is the luckiest little girl to have a man in her life like her grandaddy. He truly is the best grandfather any little girl could have. I love watching him get excited to see Bristol, it really is the cutest thing ever. My dad is the perfect example of a self-less father and grandfather. He puts God first and his family second, exactly how it should be.

 Grandaddy had a procedure done a couple days ago so Bristol and I went to visit with him all day. We played, napped, ate, played and napped again. We ended the day with dinner and shopping. It was so sweet to see him lay on the floor with her. He wanted to make sure she didn't roll off the blankets.

Dad/Grandaddy, You truly are the best dad and grandaddy anyone could ask for. You are the perfect example of what a father and grandfather should be. I look up to you and always have and I know that Bristol will do the same when she is old enough. We love you and Thank God for you EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. 

Love, 

"your girls"

i could not ask for more

my sweet pea is the most amazing thing in my life. i am so blessed to be her mommy.

play time!

 play time outside! we packed up a bunch of toys and had fun enjoying the nice weather!

 Bristol working hard on her minnie mouse laptop. She loves to open and close it, it's the cutest thing.

 She finally graduated to her rubber ducky tub! She absolutely loves it! Although, I have had a hard time washing her hair since she sits up. The water always drips into her eyes and she is not a fan of that. I have to lay her flat in the tub ( NO WATER IS IN THERE, I DRAIN IT) and rinse her hair that way. She isn't a big fan of that either but she tolerates it.

 loves to chew on her bath tub books. it's so cute to watch her pick them up as they float in the tub. she even loves to grab for the duckys head too.

 peek-a-boo!

 baby girl playing with her toys at omi and grandaddy's house. she is at such a fun age, she can sit and play with her toys for so long. it's nice that she can entertain herself, especially if i need to fold laundry or do dishes. she is very content as long as she has her toys in front of her.

bristol is always on a mission to find the perfect toy to play with. it's funny to watch her pick her toys up and play with them. when she doesn't want it anymore, she throws it to the side and starts sifting through her other toys to get the one she wants! 

she is has learned how to wave hi, clap her hands and say dada. she is growing up everyday and i swear, this is the best age! she brings so much joy to my life, i couldn't imagine my life without her! 

PS - she slept through the night 2 nights in a row! she broke that cycle last night, but i was sooo happy that she had least did it for 2 nights. here's to hoping she does it again!

300 and 8 months

Today is my 300th post, whoa! I believe I started my blog in 2007 and now 300 posts later, it's still kickin'. My blog has been a place for me to be transparent, real and honest ( pretty much, all those words mean the same thing but listing them makes it look better, ha!). I'm sure there have been times when I have said things that people haven't agreed with, liked or I might have offended someone. But it's my blog and I feel that I can say what I want and when I want, so there. But most of all, I truly have enjoyed documenting my life via blog form and also adding pictures along the way. I think it will be neat to look back at this in 20 years and see where I was and how far I have come.

More importantly that my 300th post, my baby turned 8 months old on April 15. My oh my, how time is flying by. Bristol is the light of my life and I couldn't imagine my life without her. Just over the last couple weeks she has gotten a little personality full of giggles. She loves to play peek-a-boo, grab her puppies, go outside, roll over and watch mickey mouse. Her face lights up when daddy walks in the door from work. Lately, when we go on walks, she falls right sleep in her stroller, which by the way, she barely fits in. Bristol is still very tiny. People often think she is only 5-6 months old. I love that she is tiny, it makes it easy on me, especially with her clothes, she has been getting to wear a lot of them and the same with diapers.

My sweet girl is still a great eater. So far, out of all the food she has tried, she has loved everything except avocado. She still eats about 2 meals a day with bottles in between. She still cries when she is finished eating but will stop quickly once she gets her paci. Once she is finished drinking her bottle, we have to take away very fast and hide it, because if she sees it, she will want it and then throws a fit. She has some good eyes! And ears! Both of those body parts work amazingly!

She still wears a bow or flower on her head when we are in public. In fact, one time, I didn't put a bow on her head before we left the house. Brandon noticed and looked at me and said " Babe, she isn't wearing a bow.... are you ok?" HAHA! He knows that she HAS to have a bow on her head or flower. She has beautifully long eyelashes, JUST LIKE HER DADDY. Before she was born, actually, before children were even in the picture, I always told Brandon that I hope our baby would have long eyelashes like him. :) God heard my request.

Loving this weather lately so we've been going on some walks. She was tuckered out from a hard day of rolling around. She has mastered the art of rolling and it makes me so happy. Therapy has been a saving grace and I am so thankful she goes. She loves her therapists and has adapted so well. The other day I was changing her diaper on the floor in her bedroom, I took the diaper off and turned to the right to get the new diaper, before my eyes, she had rolled over and her tooshie was sticking up in the air! I laughed soo hard. She kept rolling back and forth and then I realized that she might pee so I got the new diaper on FAST.

We are teaching her to wave hi and it's precious when she does it. Of course, she will only do it when she wants but that's ok. In the picture above she is waving :) This was with her daddy at his school ,they had their school carnival, daddy was in the dunk tank. This was in his classroom before we ventured out to the carnival. We wanted to eat in peace and quiet :) She still has to wear a bib 24/7, except when she is sleeping. She has been spitting up more lately because of teething. I think it has caused her some discomfort because she hasn't been acting herself lately.

Her feet FINALLY touch the ground in her bouncer. This has been a LONG TIME coming. Now that they can touch the floor, she has realized that she can bounce. It makes her so happy that she can move and groove in the bouncer. She loves to spin things, it's so cute. She has several toys that you can spin and she goes to town on those. Bristol still takes 2 naps a day and her sleeping has gotten better. KNOCK ON WOOD! She loves to read books, pat them and smile when she is being read to. Loves mickey mouse and minnie mouse so much! She has a minnie mouse doll and when she sees it she goes crazy! It's so cute! Bristol loves to be in the baby bjorn when we are in public.

My little girl is growing up so fast. It's hard to believe that August will be here before I know it! I can't wait to see what the up and coming months have in store for Bristol Elaine!

leaving on a jet plane

Bristol, my dad and I will be taking a trip to Oklahoma at the end of May. We are going to the Women's College Softball World Series! This has been a dream of mine ever since I was a little girl. I grew up playing softball. I started when I was 7 years old and played through college, well only 2 years at ACU. We are going from May 30 - June 3. In fact, a couple of girls my dad and I used to coach might be going to WCWS this year.

This will be the first time that Bristol will be traveling a far distance, let alone on a plane. The real reason for this post is to ask ANY of your moms who have traveled via plane ride with your baby.

I need suggestions for what to bring on the actual flight and what to pack for the trip. I mean, I know the basics but Bristol isn't known for being the easiest baby to just sit on your lap and be content. So this plane ride is making me nervous.

So please , let me know some items that you packed for the plane ride to keep your baby happy and content. Right now, the only thing I can think of is food and mickey mouse. ha!