Our little elf...

You'd never guess it, but Ivy cried pretty much the entire time we were trying to get these pictures taken. Such a stinkuh! :-) She will never be a model, that's for sure!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! AND LOVE TO ALL!

momma's girl

she is her momma's world...

THANKS sooooo much Uncle Josh for taking these pictures for us! Ivy sends hugs to you and Aunt Randi!

Words don't describe...

Our baby girl....total sweetness!

More typical Nay-Nayness

Though not evidenced by these pictures, Ivy does wear clothes!...Most the time anyway. The last picture above, is of her completely bare in her crib, and looking like a captive I must say. She has found that a 'good' way to get out of taking her naps, is to undress, diaper and all, and yell for us. Once we've redressed her, plopped her back in her crib, and left the room...she starts stripping all over again. Sigh. :-)

Gone are the days...

Once again!

Gone are the days of feeling real tiny.
I'll feel like a whale real soon.
Cause as much as we'd hoped
and prayed it'd happen.
Ivy's sibling should be here by June! (we think....if we are calculating right)

We tested on Sunday and it still wasn't clear
so we tested again today.
And this time the little blue lines popped right up
and said that a baby is near!

Sooooo, as Mom's tummy gets bigger,
and rounder and queazier,
prepare to give her some space.
She won't fit through the doors or into her clothes
and will soon have another to chase!

Surprise Grandma and Grandpa! Love from the new little one!

Over the river and through the woods...

We LOVE going to Grandma and Grandpa's house in Boca, and got to do so last weekend! Ivy's great grandparents Honey, Duke, and Gen, and Uncle Brad and Aunt Amanda all came over to see us while we were there. Needless to say, Ivy got totally spoiled with nonstop attention the entire time!

Aunt Manda thought it would be cool if Ivy were to walk around randomly saying "'Bless you dude" so she and Uncle Brad worked on teaching her this and waddaya know! Ivy now walks around saying "shoo shoo dude!" It is sooo funny! and if you say "shoo shoo dude" to her, she will fake a sneeze! It has kept us laughing, thats for sure!

Grandma and Grandpa live right off a beautiful golf course that has some awesome hills. The video I'm posting doesn't do those hills justice! Ivy loved running up and down them with Grandma! I'm also posting a pic of the awesome Ficus tree in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard. I think it is so beautiful.

On Saturday, RT and I got to go out on a date for the first time in a long time, while Grandma kept Ivy. We had a lot of fun! We first went to the Panther's Training Camp for a few hours and hung out with a bunch of our other hockey-crazy friends. Look how good he looks in full gear!Then we got to go to a really fun Mexican restaurant and actually ate our food while it was hot and at the same time! This doesn't happen when you have an almost 2 year old with you! Thanks Grandma!

Beautimous!

The Laws of Ivy

#1. Never turn off the light when leaving a room...that's her job.

#2. If she goes to bed, then so does her Pooh bear. He is her hostage.

#3. If you are going to spend time in front of a computer, then she gets to sit in your lap and control the mouse, which in TuRrn tends to
deterrrr you fRoM spending time on yUr computer and mOre time witH her. It took us 3 days to
write this.

#4. When given a phone, never expect her to say more than "Hi". This is all the phone time her hectic schedule allows for and she will immediately give the phone back.

#5. The tv belongs to her...which is why Mom and Dad know the theme songs to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, Lilo and Stitch, My friends Tigger and Pooh, etc. etc. etc.

#6. Books aren't meant to be read from front to back. Random is so much more interesting.

#7. If she puts her forehead to your lips, that means kiss it...even if you now have a busted lip.

bitty baby bows and a naughty little model

I've enjoyed a little extra time on my hands, while waiting for my final exam results and have taken up bowmaking! After making one for a friend's first birthday gift, I recieved orders to make more! I tried to get Ivy to sit still long enough for me to take pictures of them in her hair, but noooooooo way was she going to do that! She thinks it's funny to make me run after her and try to shoot while midair, which is why most pics of her are blurry. I have to literally sit down indian-style, wrap my legs around her waist and hold her down to get a somewhat decent picture! I guess we've ruled out that she will ever be a model. :-)

more of our waterbug

Home away from home...Sea World

It's pretty cool living within 10 minutes of all the parks in Orlando! And it's been fun having unlimited access to Sea World whenever we want. Ivy LOVES Shamu and especially Uncle Tommy's ski show! She is mesmerized by all the action, music, kites, and fireworks that are happening nonstop! We went yesterday with RT's uncle Tommy (who heads up the ski shows at our Sea World and San Antonio's Sea World), Aunt Karen, and all the cousins, and cousin's kids and had a blast! Sadly, yesterday was the last showing of the ski show for the summer and we will have to wait till next year to see it again. But we had a lot of fun hanging with everyone and especially Cooper and Cole who looked absolutely adorable as always!

Whitney, thanks sooo much for spending another weekend with us! Ivy was so sad to come home without you! and, just as I thought we would, we've got our hands full trying to keep her as entertained as you do! :-) You are such an awesome help!

and Whitney...CONGRATS on passing your big test! So proud of you!

Like a fish...almost.

We are soooo proud of her and her progress in the pool! She is as calm as can be under water and most times comes up smiling! These are shots from her first session of swimming, which was 8 classes, 1/2 hour each. She graduated to tadpole and begins her next session Sept. 3rd. She and I also spend a lot of time in our local pool practicing, which she loves even more. (she is only timid of her instructor because she knows she has to try new things and she'd rather be in mom's arms!)

About time...

Well, we've gone and done it! Finally started a family blog! Not that we haven't already started many a tribute to our cute little chica, but this is one that ALL our friends can view, since some of you don't have access to myspace, or facebook, or yahoo. (you know who you are!)

And Ivy can't be left behind when it comes to blogging! Since cousin Griff has such an awesome possie of bloggers at his disposal, she has become quite jealous! and has made demands that we 'get with the program already!'.

Soooo, to briefly catch you up on our angel: She is now 19 precious months old, says 'juice, puppy, hi, momma, dadda, one-twoooo-phree', and loves puppies! She is frequently called 'hurricane Ivy' because of her amazing speed at destroying the home front and she delights in baths, animals, books, and being chased. She is currently taking swimming classes, can hold her breath under water, and loves to float on her back!

We recently went through a big scare with our baby girl, when her doctor decided that the swelling on her chest (which has been present for about 4 months) had definitely grown and should finally be tested. It had never been a cause for concern before, with him, so naturally we were freaking! THANKFULLY, after a number of sonograms were done, we were told that it was simply a lipoma, which after researching, we learned is a benign tumor consisting of mostly fatty tissue. It will never be at risk for being cancerous, which was our number 1 concern. Her doctor has been very reassuring, though he will continue to watch it. We learned that it can be heridetary and recently found out that another family member also has one. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for her!

Well, we have lots more picture to post and will work on this over the next few days. And thank you to all who have an interest enough to read our little blog!