How a baby changes in 1 year



January ~ Still crawling.



February ~ Took her first steps.

 March ~ now she's really into everything!

April  ~ sticks her tongue out for every picture. {and turned 1}

May ~ Finds her love of chairs, ANY chair :)

 June ~ First swimming lessons.

July ~ Her first trip to visit family in Michigan. Loved all her cousins!

August ~ Finally talked Daddy into piercing her ears.

 September ~ First bounce house, had a blast!

 October~ First time trick or treating.

 November ~ Wants to be just like Mommy.

 December ~ Randomly falls asleep on the couch.

Can't wait to see the big changes for 2011, Happy New Year to all my friends!

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A {12 dollar} makeover and some exciting news!

No, I am not pregnant.  Why does everyone always assume that when a women has news?? {Although it's not from lack of hinting on my parents part!} First, the makeover!  Ok so when I painted and stenciled my dining room I hated how my table looked and a new one is not in my budget right now.  So what's a girl to do? Buy 12 bucks worth of fabric from Hob Lob!

{Before}

{After}

I really debated about painting it, but it's used so much I know it would chip and that would drive me crazy!  The fabric matches my wall perfectly, so happy!  Now I'm obsessing over a rug, my husband is not feeling buying a new one since we spent so much on the one we have.  THAT is why I hate to buy expensive stuff, you feel like your stuck with it forever {or at least HE does}  Hopefully if I keep a eye out, I will find the perfect one on sale :)

And can I just say, THANK YOU, to my Mom for Miss M's new table.  The NASTY, DIRTY, YUCKY highchair is gone!! Blech, I hated that thing!!

Ok now for the big news! I signed up to run a HALF MARATHON on Feb. 19th! I thought, what the heck, it's right before my 30th bday in March, so what better way to feel good about turning the big 3-0 than to do something you never EVER thought you could! Wish me luck, hopefully I'm not the last person to finish, THAT would be bad :)

Christmas turkey and a bench

Whew, can I say I'm glad it's over?  I had a sugar hangover all day yesterday and required a 2 hour nap to recover! Now I just need to talk my husband into taking down the tree while he's off for the next 2 days :)  His birthday is tomorrow, so I probably should just let him sit around and watch his Clint Eastwood movies. 

I cooked my first turkey, I guess I'm a big girl now :)  I was really worried about it being nasty, but I used this fool proof recipe called The Brown Bag Turkey and it was DELISH!

I hate touching raw meat!



Yummy!

Miss M got a new table and chairs for Christmas and LOVED it!  She sat at it and opened her gifts, she would tear into a gift, throw it to the floor and say 'more please'.   Argh, the way she's says 'pwease' is so darn cute!!

 A friend of my Dad's sent this awesome box of candy from the 60's, they don't make it like that anymore!

My sister having fun with the mustache.

Candy cigs

With all of her new toys I had to rearrange her room, which is impossible with her around.  She took everything out I put away and them climbed into the closet to sit in her old baby swing.

Now you know I had to fit in a little project, can't waste any time!  I had this old bench for like YEARS, in fact it sat in the box for 2 years before I even put it together.  I decided it didn't match any thing so I bought some cute fabric and recovered it.

{Before}

{After}

I added this cute pillow my Mom got me for Christmas.

Christmas Pics are IN!

Get ready for some cuteness overload thanks to Kendra Pryor Photography!  I met Kendra through blogging {see her awesome blog here} and I'm so in love with her photos!! My {sweet} baby girl is getting so big.

Of course she had a few meltdowns :)

{lovely} hutch

Finally, I'm DONE! I'm sooooo tired of painting and I'm certainly going to need a good massage this week from all the work I put into this thing :) Totally worth it!

{Before}

{After}

{ps it's kinda hard to see in the picture, but the back is the same blue as used on the bottom doors}

{pss I'm just too tired to take any more pics!}

{How we kept Miss M entertained}



Now I just need to figure out what I want to put in it.  Oliver suggested we showcase his collection of shot glasses.  Not in this lifetime!  He also suggested we leave it 'as is' because, and I quote, "I like the 70's look".  This would be WHY he really has very little input on decorating around the house.  I will be taking a day of rest before starting on the next project, only 29 days left until I head back to school!

A goal met {and a sneak peek}

I have always HATED running, like A LOT.  I played soccer when I was young and the worst part of it was the runnnnnnning.  I was never very good at sticking to a workout routine, mostly because I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing.  I was one of those girls walking around the gym trying to figure out how to use the machines.  So not fun or motivating!  Before I got married I joined a new gym and got a trainer, who was great {I lost almost 50 pounds!} but after getting pregnant and not working anymore {good bye trainer!} I was B.O.R.E.D sitting home everyday.  So I ate, I was after all eating for 2! {unfortunately Madison didn't eat her half of the food}  Blah, blah, blah y'all know the story.

So anyways back to my running story.  After I was given the OK to workout {6 weeks after birth} I went to the gym.  I did a little walking and a few classes {I do love a good step class!} but I was not really into it.  One day at the park a new mom came and she told me about this bootcamp that was going on out by me.  She invited me to come and I said I would, but I was scared.  I didn't know ANY of these women and I was in the worst shape of my life.   Bootcamp just SOUNDS scary so I wasn't sure if I would actually follow through with it.  So the next night I just decided to do it, I mean what's the worst that can happen?? {possibly peeing in my pants, ha! I did just give birth!} So I went and it was rough, like I wanted to die or cry or just fall on the ground panting, but I made it.  Everyone was in better shape than me and I was very self conscience doing some of the moves {the dreaded jumping jacks!}  Plus I was the slowest runner, but I always finished and never quit {I actually think it's more embarrassing to quit}

When I went home that night I felt AWESOME! I felt like if I made it through that then what couldn't I do?  So I went night after night, never missing a class.  Then the stronger I got, I would add in the gym on the other days.  One night the instructor {Shout out to Heidi if she's reading this!} had us run a big lap around the school, I think it was like a little over a mile.  I was the last to finish, but I had made it and it felt so good!  After that I would get there early and run that lap by myself,  slowly I added length to my runs.  Could it be that I was running for fun?

2 weeks ago I decided to push myself and ran a total of 6 miles.  I couldn't believe it!  The next week I did 7.  I wanted to die, but felt great!  I had set a goal for myself of running the entire way around White Rock Lake, but I was scared {mostly of pooping out and being stuck on the other side of the lake!} Just so happened that it was 74 degrees in Dallas today, probably the last warm day for a long time, so I said what the heck, LETS DO IT!

AND I DID!!! 9.3 miles!  It took me close to 2 hours, which is like a 12 minute mile, but I don't care.  I did it and I wasn't face planted on the ground :)  I guess you could say I'm a runner now!

{sneak peek time}

Are you guys dying to see my hutch? I'm so IN FREAKING LOVE with this thing :) I only have the bottom {mostly} finished, moved it inside to make room in the garage to tackle the top.

these beautiful pulls were on sale at Anthropologie {good thing otherwise I would have passed!}

I'm loving the blue, it's going somewhere on the top too!



So big! In Daddy's shoes!

Ok back to painting for me! Happy Wednesday y'all! Ohhh, my Christmas pics should be here tomorrow, so excited to see share them with everyone :)

Daddy's Day Out

Or Mommy's Day Off, whichever sounds better :)  School's out for the holidays, which means I'm only here on Earth to cater to Miss M's every wish.  That pretty much gets old after a day, so when I heard Santa was serving pancakes at the firehouse, I made sure Daddy was up BRIGHT AND EARLY to take {little} Miss for some 'bonding' time!  I dressed her up in her red and green and this is how she acts when I try to take her picture....

sticks her face to the floor while saying 'NO NO NO'

runs away

atleast I got her face

Oliver totally tried to give me a 'honey do list' before he left, I  just smile and nodded while having NO intention of doing any of it :)  They had a wonderful time and stopped at Bass Pro on the way home, where he said she had fun, but judging from the bear picture I'm not so sure...

 



I can just hear her saying 'not know' {{for I don't know}}



So what have I been doing with all my free time???



Doesn't everyone paint while sipping Starbucks?  I primed for hours today and while I was alone in my garage, sipping my Starbuck, listening to my ipod, I thought, wow today is a great day.  Another sucessful semester under my belt, I ran a record 20 miles this week, a great family and just hanging out doing something I love, I just feel so blessed today. 

{{ hmmmmm after re-reading this I kinda sound, annoying?? Like I have a perfect life, which I DON'T.  Hello! I'm almost 30 and still in college :)  I just had a really good day, that all.  Just so people don't get the wrong idea about me....}}