Port Aransas Family Vacay 2013

In June we went to visit our friends Callie and Raj in Port A.  It was a lot of fun!  Port A has tons of great restaurants and you ride around the town in souped up golf carts!  Callie and Raj have a pool in their back yard so when we weren’t on the beach we were hitting the pool.  On Saturday the boys went fishing so Mommy and A had a date.  She was so excited for our date!  We went shopping and to lunch.  She ended the date with a cool 3D Fish Kite!  We went on Father’s Day weekend and Callie and Raj left on Sunday so it was just our little family on the beach and a quiet dinner on the bay.  It was the perfect vacation and start of summer! 

 

To say that Alexis LOVES the beach is an understatement.  As you know, she is fearless.  Thank God she had on her life jacket because she did not care that the waves knocked her under.  She didn’t even care that she swallowed so much water she threw up more than she ate for breakfast.  She just kept on going!  She loves the water!  Next week we are going to Great Wolf Lodge and I can’t even imagine how she is going to react on the slides! 

 

 

This is one of my favorite picture of her from the weekend.

 

 

We were able to get a babysitter for one night.  We enjoyed a fabulous dinner out with our friends and ended the night listening to some music while the sun went down.

 

 

Me and My Girl!

 

The Famous Shark Picture In Port Aransas

 

Daddy and Mr. Raj's Big Catch.  Although, I'm not too sure how much Mr. Raj actually caught!

 

 

Our wonderful hosts for the weekend!

 

My water baby!

 

 

Flying her new kite!

 

 

Playing in the water!

 

 

Crazy Girl!

Good Bye Mr. Poppas



The day I’ve been dreading for years finally came when Brian was out of town.  It was a Saturday afternoon and Alexis and I had been gone for most of the day.  We met Aunt Tracy at the house and immediately I noticed something was wrong with Ranger.  I knew in my heart that this was his time.  The only problem was I had a session and I didn’t have my customer’s phone number.  That and I had already rescheduled once, so I just couldn’t cancel.  I called my brother in law and he rushed over.  Thankfully, I have the most amazing friends and family ever.  Aunt Tracy and Uncle Jeff rushed him to the vet.  I called my Mom, who was at Memorial City Hospital with my dad; he was three days out from yet another back surgery.  (Side note:  My dad’s back is doing AMAZING since this surgery.  Praise God!)   Not to mention Aunt Jaime who watched Alexis while I went off to shoot this family.  To say that I felt like the worst mom in the world is an understatement!  I show up to the shoot and the dad has the stomach virus and the grandma has to leave about twenty minutes into it before she gets sick!  Then my mom calls to tell me I have to make a decision.  Of course, I knew what I had to do.  I just begged them to keep him alive until I got there.  Don’t ask me how I managed to get some good pictures?! 

Saying goodbye to my shadow was the worst thing I’ve ever done.  He never left my side in over five years and it is still hard to believe he is no longer with me.  Ranger, Pops, Mr. Poppas was one of the best dogs anyone could ask for!  I miss him daily!  It took Alexis about two weeks to start missing him and asking questions.  She is the sweetest.  She will look up in the sky and say hello to Ranger and Jesus.  Talk about Melting!! She still talks about him today and he has been gone for a little over two months. 

It’s hard to believe that we only have one dog now.  I haven’t been a one dog family since I was 18.  Willie, of course, is amazing and Brian can’t wait to get him in the fields come September 1^st! 

 

 

This picture was taken about six weeks before he died.  I knew it would be his last bluebonnet pics!

 

 

My sweet Boy!

 

Baby Nate



So, probably the most important thing that has happened to our family since I last updated is I BECAME AN AUNT!  Baby Nate is the cutest, chunkiest, most lovable little man E.V.E.R!  Aunt Missy did amazing during delivery and everyone was happy and healthy.  Uncle Michael and Aunt Missy are fabulous parents and absolutely head over heels in love with this little man.  Can you blame them??

 

I was given the opportunity to shoot Nate’s newborn pictures.  I was nervous as all get out, but for a first time newborn photographer, I think they turned out pretty good.  My subject was pretty darn perfect though!  I am IN LOVE!  I cannot wait for these two cousins to grow up together!  Alexis loves “her” Baby Nate so much! 

 

My favorite picture of him!

My Sweet Sis N Law

 



 

 

 

Alexis is THREE

 



Alexis is smart, sassy, sweet, stubborn, shy when she wants to be, polite and a Mommy’s girl!  She is pretty good with her manners and a bit of a tattle tale.   Having said all that, she is also in desperate need to get back on a schedule.  Summer is starting to ware on her.  But, she has learned so much this summer while I’ve been off and we’ve had lots of fun!  Her manners have improved drastically and I’m really impressed with how well she talks! 

She loves Sofia the First and Dressing up and she is 100% girl!   She is still completely attached to Lamby.  Oddly enough, Lamby has to take a trip to the freezer every night before bed?  I don’t ask questions.  To avoid a tantrum, I just place him in there for a few seconds.  What’s the harm?  Did I mention she is pretty witty too?

Bed time is still pretty bad, but getting better.  It used to be awful, so bad is definitely a step up!  I just try to ware her out.  I’m sure it will be horrible once school starts again.  There is no change in her eating habits.  She avoids vegetables at all costs and lately has started avoiding fruits she used to love.  She is living on turkey, milk, hummus, bananas, watermelon and pretzels.  That’s not to say she doesn’t eat chicken nuggets and French fries, because she does.  But, I try to keep it as healthy as possible. 

Now for the boring stuff!  At her three year old checkup, she was weighing 32 pounds, 50 percentile and her height was in the 75^th percentile.  So, we are moving up.  I spent the summer slowly adding 3T t-shirts to her wardrobe so she would have shorts to and shirts for school and now the shirts are too short!  She is just too tall, but can still wear 2T clothes.  So, at 3 years old we can wear anything from 2Ts to 4Ts!  It is very frustrating! 

As you can see, she has a super cute Minnie Mouse Birthday! 

 

 

Her first face painting!  She sat very still and did exactly what she was supposed to do!

 

I FINALLY gave in and let Gi Gi cut her hair!  It looks so cute. 

 

 

Alexis and Keely have become BFFs!  Now that we live so much closer to Jaime, they come over and play all the time.  The girls love to hang out! 

My Silly Girl

 



 

Just because I love this sweet picture of Alexis reading her bible!

 

Getting Alexis to smile is not a fun job!  I gladly pass this job off to Aunt Deanna.  Alexis does a way better job at smiling for Aunt Deanna's big camera than she does for mine!  But, these turned out super cute AND I found a new location.  I heart downtown Richmond!  It is gorgeous!

 



 

WOW!! It's Been A While!

Busy…Moving…Exhausting…Bad Mommy…That about sums it up!  I’ve thought about blogging, but just couldn’t bring myself to do it.  So, I’ll try to catch you up quickly through pictures and as little words as possible.  During Spring Break, we finally moved into our new home.  Since then, we have been organizing and being little Mr. and Mrs. Homeowners.  IT is EXHAUSTING! 

In between boxes, Mannion’s Memories has TAKEN off.  Thank you so much for all of you that have trusted me with your precious families!  I’m looking forward to the Holiday sessions.  I’m already filling up, so if you are interested, email me quickly. I am only doing one session a week from here on out and I will not be booking any sessions after November 15.  I will post MM’s pictures after I update you on the comings and goings of the Mannions.

 

Here we are having one last Hoo-Raw at the Katy house!  Don't worry!  We still see the Sorensens regularly!!  These kids love each other! 

 

We miss our house.  But we are very proud of our new one.  It's ours and very homey!  Just what we love!

 

My little on St. Patty's Day!  Daddy's Last Official Hoo-Raw with 300 Justice Road. 

 

 

Emma is our first friend in Cross Creek.  Alexis wakes up asking for her!  The girls get along great! 

 

Our beautiful home!

Our neighborhood is awesome!  People are always outside!  I can't wait to see what it is like when the weather is cooler.  This was taken at the Kite Festival.  I'm looking forward to meeting lots of people and making many memories in this community.  

Thanksgiving with the Cousins

Thanksgiving was sooo much fun!  We got up to the lake Tuesday night and met Aunt Rachel and Ne Ne.  Then Wednesday Aunt Rachel and I went shopping and baked all sorts of goodies for Thanksgiving!  We had lost of fun!  Later that night Aunt Jamie showed up with the kids and we had fun with the girls and the bonfire!  Here are my attempts to get some good pictures.  Alexis wasn't going to give me even a crooked smile!  She is becoming more stubborn with each day that passes.  But she makes me laugh a lot, so I can forgive her!  

 

 

She sat where I wanted her to, but woudn't crack a smile to save her life! 

 

 

Posing for Aunt Deidra!  Isn't she bea-U-ti-ful?!

 

 

No words can describe how cute she is!

 

 

First attempt at a cousins picture!

 

 

Still not smiling!  But Kynlee can smile on cue!

 

 

Another year and another great design from Lily Lou Designs!

 

 

I am so jealous of Laureli's dress from SIG Creations!  She looks A-DOR-ABLE in this outfit!  And, she can wear it next year. 

 

 

I can't wait to show this picture at their weddings! 

 

 

Sunny and the best we got!  All smiles and it lasted for about 5 seconds! 

 

 

Daddy is sooooo proud of Willie!  It doesn't help that he is such a sweet boy!!

First Sleep Over

Well, sort of!  Jay came in town for a visit so Darren and Jac brought the girls down for the weekend.  On the first night, we thought the girls would sleep better if we blew up the air mattress and turned on a movie!  Sounded like a good idea.  Hayden was out like a light with in minutes.  Logan wasn't far behind after we served up some milk.  As you can see in the 2nd picture, A was ready to play!  She finished the movie and when I went to check on her, she was on the couch playing on the iPad!  But, Alexis had so much fun playing with the girls!  She is getting to the age where she can actually play with friends and she gets excited when her friends are coming to visit!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Movie time with friends while Jac and I went to the hair supply shop!  A million thanks to Aunt Jac for doing my hair! 

 



 

Busted!  Their new pup, Perri, trying to get into Ranger's dog food!  He seriously is the cutest ever!!