Allie's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Allie's birthday today with her birthday party which we also incorporated into a goodbye party for our friends here in Corpus.  I had actually booked Allie's party the day before we had an offer on the house.  We decided to keep the date of the party the same since we seem to love chaos - party and moving to a new town the next day, fun!

I should mention that Grammy, Grumpa and I took the kids to the Aquarium Friday morning and Grammy and I took the kids to Disney on Ice - Dare to Dream Friday night to begin the birthday party celebration.  Of course Connor wore a crown during the show and really enjoyed it.  Allie was entertained too, but I think Grammy enjoyed it most of all.

Allie's party was held at Brewster Street which as a FUN dance hall/restaurant that is family friendly.  We reserved the outside deck by the giant playground and had a face painter for all the kids.  We had 16 kids attend!  The day was beautiful minus the wind.  Wow was it bad, 30-40 mph.  It was so bad that I couldn't put about half the decorations up.  I made 10 vases of tissue pom flowers in tons of colors, bunting and garland for the dessert table that all wasn't used - oh well.

We had an amazing time celebrating Allie and spending time with our families and all of our friends and their children.  All the kids had a blast chasing each other on the playground, getting their faces painted and overdosing on sugar.

Allie's cake - I LOVED it and so did Allie.

 I did manage to make strawberry cupcakes, marshmallow pops and candy popcorn.

 The AMAZING cookies that my friend Erin made.  What's even more amazing is that Erin made these as a gift for Allie.  Erin actually lives in Houston and they were a "welcome to Houston" present.  Erin is such a talent, if you need cookies she is your girl.  Check her out on Facebook under Whip It Good Cookies or check out her blog which is on my favorites list.

 Candy and marshmallow pops.

 Candy popcorn.

 Allie's invitation.

 Party favors.

 The beautiful birthday girl!

 Allie and my neighbor and friend Elizabeth - hope I get a new neighbor as awesome as Elizabeth.

 Sydney, Elizabeth's little girl.  She and Connor did a lot of playing together.

 Connor transforming into Spiderman. 

 Spiderman!

 Allie and one of her three boyfriends, Hank (this is the best picture we could get of them).

 My friend and coworker Elisa and her husband Drew.

 One of my best friends Jen and her son Makai.

 Kenedy who had the prettiest face painting, she had rhinestones and glitter!

 Allie with Nana, Mamaw and Papaw.

 Lola, Lucy and Hank Nuse swinging.

 Proud parents.

 Nothing in the world is cuter than this.

 I love my Missy P.

 She was a fan of the cake.

 Lola the puppy dog.

 Allie and Nana.

 Brian and William (Sam's dad and brother).

 I couldn't believe that Allie sat still to get her face painted.

 Pretty flowers on a pretty girl.

 Connor and Sam having the time of their lives on the playground.  Connor kept telling me they were superheroes.

 Best friends playing video games.

 G.G. and Allie.

 And Allie ended her party with passing out in G.G.'s arms.

We had such a wonderful and special day - thanks to all who celebrated and said goodbye with us.

Goodbye Little Roos

Today was Allie and Connor's last day at Little Roos.  Connor has attended Little Roos since he was seven months old and Allie since she was just seven weeks.  It has certainly been a big part of our lives and it has been so much fun watching Connor make friends, meeting parents, bringing home art projects and getting to know the kids teachers.  

Both Connor and Allie had really amazing teachers this year, we were very lucky.  Every morning when Allie saw her classroom and her teacher Miss Terri waiting for her she would kick her legs and wiggle with excitement.  Connor is absolutely smitten with Mrs. Dayna, for almost the last two weeks Connor has said that he is thankful for Mrs. Dayna every night in his prayers.  This is quite a compliment since Connor thinks he can only say one thing to be thankful for every night.  And of course we are saying goodbye to our beloved Sam.  Connor and Sam have been best buddies for nearly two years.  Sam is also Allie's first true admirer, everyday Sam ask to see Allie and to kiss her!  We've also really enjoyed getting to know Sam's parents and younger brother William.  We are hoping to stay in touch and keep these boys friends forever.

Both Allie and Connor's teachers sent them away with amazing and thoughtful gifts that we will forever cherish.  Allie's teachers made her a beautiful frame with all of her classmates pictures and names.  They also gave her some fun toys and headbands (they know how she loves her headbands).  But my favorite part of the day was the sign they had outside of her classroom saying "Goodbye Missy P (Allie) we will  miss you.  They call her by her nickname.

And Mrs. Dayna made Connor a great goodbye book with a painting and special note from each one of his classmates.

We will be hanging onto these forever and enjoying the memories!

One Year Stats

Allie went into day for her one year check up.  Allie is doing great, Dr. Leshin was very proud of her.  Allie weighed in at 18.4 pounds which puts her in the 10th percentile for weight.  She is 29 inches tall putting her in the 50th percentile for height.  Looks like Missy P has a good metabolism because she certainly loves to eat, lucky girl!

Lunch & Dinner

My friend Sarah spoiled me and the kids rotten today.  She put together a lunch for me that also included our friends Heather and Amanda.  It was of course great to have girl time and catch up before the big move.  Then Sarah outdid her self again and had the kids and I over for dinner and fun.  It's so important for us both to have the kids together as much as possible.  They've all grown up together and without a doubt are all best friends.  Of course Sarah and I are best friends too so we enjoy the time together as well.  And I should mention as if it wasn't obvious that Michael and Adam are also best friends (although both the boys were gone tonight working).

Not being down the street from the Nuse's is going to be the hardest adjustment for us all in this move.  We cherish their friendship, love and support that they have given us over the past eight years in Corpus.

Okay, Nuse Family when is your first trip to The Woodlands!

Soaking It All In

We really tried to make the most of our last full weekend in Corpus.  I can't believe we are less than a week away from moving, my how time flies.  I've been feeling good about the move, not too sad and that all changed this weekend.  Now I'm starting to get sad again at the idea of leaving so many wonderful friends and memories behind.

Friday night was a special night for Connor, we met his best friend from school, Sam at the Hooks baseball game.  Luckily we really like Sam's parents, we've actually hung out with them a few times before and hate that we are moving just as we are really getting to know them.  Connor was absolutely ecstatic to hang out with Sam at the ballpark, the two of them were boys in every way the entire night.  We also got to hang out with the Nuse's and our friends Mackenzie and Aaron and their three boys.  We were lucky enough to watch the game in the owner's suite which makes everything easier and more enjoyable especially with 10 young kids in the mix.  The poor suite was trashed; we had popcorn, goldfish and smushed cookies covering the entire floor.  It was a great night and of course it ended perfectly with amazing fireworks.

Saturday my oldest friend Lori (our mom's walked together when they were pregnant with us so we've been friends since the womb) came to town for a quick visit.  Lori is expecting her first baby this summer, a little girl named Olivia Rae!  I'm so very excited for her, it's really neat that my best friend is having a little girl who will only be a year younger than Allie.  I'm hoping that they become good buddies.  Little miss Olivia is the lucky recipient of Allie's wardrobe.  Lori picked up her clothes as well as some other baby items that we no longer need so that we wouldn't have to move them to the new house.  We had a nice lunch with Lori and her dad, it was so great to see them both and remember fun stories from our past.

Then Saturday night our favorite girls (and guy), Lucy, Lola and Hank Nuse came by to enjoy a fancy pizza dinner and play.  I should also mention that we started our Saturday off with attending Lucy's kickball game - AMAZING entertainment!  It was really sad when the Nuse's left for the night, knowing that it was the last time that the kids would ever play together at this house.  And that's the moment when the sadness really set it.

Sunday was of course Missy P's birthday!  We began the day with church.  Then we had a nice birthday lunch for Allie and after that we were off to the ballpark for another Hooks game.  Again we were in the owner's suite with all the other Hooks kids.  Connor had an absolute blast running around with Keane, Kenedy, Lucy, Lola, Abby and Parker.  It's been so fun working at an office with so many kids all the same age.  The funniest part is that when we all started no one had any kids, now they are overtaking the ballpark.

It was a really great weekend and I don't think it could have been any better.  I just hope these memories last forever.

One Year

Wow!  She's one, I can't believe it.  Their is not a doubt in my mind that the world is sweeter with Allie in it.  This girl has so much spunk and love that it's hard not to fall in love with her when you meet her.  She has still remained a calm, mellow and happy girl.  Allie is still tiny and very skinny (lucky girl).  She is also a great eater.  She is now really on a butternut squash and strawberry kick.  She is very close  to walking, I think it should be any day now.  She is saying mama, dada, bubba and more.  She even has several tricks for us; she claps (her favorite), blows kisses, gives big kisses, high fives and when you tell Allie to go to sleep she lays down and curls up on the floor.  She has a great laugh and thinks her brother hung the moon, he makes her laugh quite a bit.  Allie loves to dance, she always responds to music by either clapping or shaking her booty.  Allie is daddy's girl, he is completely wrapped around her finger - I'm sure that is never going to change.  And she is my little buddy.  She is so patient with "modeling" new outfits for me and trying on shoes - I think she might be a born shopper (fingers crossed).  Allie, our lives are complete with you here, you make everyday better and you were absolutely the perfect addition to this family.  We love you more than anything and can't wait to see the little girl and lady that you become.  Thanks for letting us love you endlessly and doing the same for us.

 

We are having Allie's birthday party next weekend but of course we had to give her a little celebration on her birthday.  Allie wasn't such a fan of her cupcake.  She ate a bite or two of frosting and then she knocked in on her lap - well that was the end of her enjoying the cupcake.  Hopefully she will like her cake a little more at her party.

Happy Birthday Allie!