Bourgeois Bunch Comes to Town

Alexis and I were blessed with quite a few play dates last month. One of my oldest and bestest friends in the whole world was in town, not once, but TWICE! Megan’s husband is a Seal and they were previously stationed in San Diego. They have recently received orders to move back to Virginia. Her dad is battling cancer right now, so she is in town as often as possible this summer to visit with him. I hate seeing him hurting and seeing her in pain when she talks about him and her mother. Mary Kaye was my second mother growing up. I ate at her house several times during the week and she ate at mine on Sundays, the only day we had homemade dinners! There are very few memories of my youth don’t involve Megan. It breaks my heart to see her family going through this much pain and I pray every night for a cure for Cancer, not just for John but for all those suffering with this horrible disease.

I’ve waited years to get our kids together! It is hard at times because she lives so far away. It makes me sad that her kids don’t really know me. But that has changed this summer. They have all had a blast and they even beg to come to my house! That just feels my heart with joy! Here are some pictures from our play dates. We will have another one sometime this month and I can’t wait.

Her youngest, Callen, with Alexis! I would never have guessed that her youngest (out of four) would be just a few months older than my oldest! It still amazes me that she has four kids and her husband is in the navy. She is an amazing mother and when I'm having a bad day I just think about Megan! How cute are they?? The best you can get with thirteen kids ranging from 9 to 3 weeks old! Sweet Carter at four months This car is a life saver! She loves it! This princess is more precious than words and she loves her some Pirate Booty! Which I still haven't been able to find! Cole loves Ranger and Belle. He just needed a time out from all the playing and what better place than the dog bed? He also loves babies. I think they amaze him. Cole, William, Allee and Anna. Allee and William are just days apart! These four got along like they were long lost friends. They couldn't resist a sweet pose. Callen and Megan with Alexis and I. Allee and Barret. Piper, Allee and Barret. They love the water guns. Piper must wear multiple lifesaving devices. She has had to be saved four times, including one this day when she was wearing a baby float. Note to self they are not safe to leave children unattended, much less jumping off the diving board when no adult is in the pool! Piper was not happy that she couldn't hold Alexis so this was the best we could do! Alexis and Allee. Megan's first baby girl with my first baby girl. Barret and Callen. I can't believe Callen has curly hair! Their little lucky leprechaun.

One Year has Come and Gone

June was a very busy month for the Mannions. We had play dates, birthday parties and we celebrated Aunt Kenzie and Uncle Grant’s upcoming wedding. I want to blog about all of it, but first I want to share Alexis’s latest pictures. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them all! I had a hard time choosing which ones to share, so I might have gone a tad bit overboard! For her 11th month, we went to Aunt Deanna’s new studio and took pictures with her Easter toys. Then for her one year pictures we went to Mercer Arboretum. This place is beautiful! It was hot, but we got some great shots. As usual, Alexis did a great job. She is apparently a cake lover! She has had a lot of it since she turned one and she just digs right on in!

And last but not least, Alexis is officially walking! On July 3rd she went into the grass to play fetch with the dogs and I guess she didn’t like crawling around anymore in the dirt and grass, so she just started walking across the yard. Of course she fell down, but she kept getting back up and walking. I've got several videos, but I can't get them uploaded. I can’t believe she is already walking! More importantly, I can’t believe this past year is already gone! It was one of the best years of our lives.

Bottle Free

It's officially been one week since Alexis had her last bottle! I was so nervous about giving up the bottle, especially at nap and bed time! She doesn't like to drink milk in large doses, so when I realized that she wasn't going to finish her 6 ozs anymore, I just took it away and she went down for a long nap! That was last Monday and we haven't looked back once!

I tried ravioli with spaghetti sauce and despite the finger licking photo, she was not a fan! She is such a picky eater! She isn't a fan of fruit or veggies anymore and it is driving me nuts since that is all we are eating right now. One week she liked it all and the next it was disgusting! I keep trying though!

Saturday we celebrated my niece's arrival! She is still in the hospital but she is getting bigger every day. She weighs 5 pounds 9 ounces and is up to 8 bottles a day, but she tires easily and isn't finishing them all. I don't have any recent pictures of her because I'm a bad aunt. But Brian has been out of town for what feels like all of June and A can't go with me. Hopefully, I will get to go next Tuesday!

Here is a picture of the forest fire in Trinity county. This is about 2 miles from Rachel's house. Thankfully it didn't get close enough to destroy their property, but it did destroy our deer lease, including my uncle's fifth wheel. I can't believe how dry it is outside! The amount of fires in and around our area is truly scary. Please pray for rain and safety for all the people affected as well as the police and fire fighters who are protecting these families.

While you are praying, please say a prayer for Blakey. Blake is a family friend who is having his third open heart surgery tomorrow and he is only three years old. Tiffany will be updating her blog but she could use some prayers while you are at it.

Uncle Kirby Comes to Town

This past weekend Alexis got to meet her Uncle Kirby for the first time! I’m not sure who was more excited to see the other! Kirby was super cute with A and she smiled every time she saw him! I get a little sad every time our friends leave after a long weekend! We hardly see each other and when we do, we have the best times and I hate that it will be long time before we do it again! But, I think we had a blast! It was well worth getting up at 5 am to take Uncle Kirby to the airport! She LOVES running water! It doesn't phase her one bit when it gets in her face. She has mastered the steps at the lake! She isn't afraid of anything and it is very scary, but I'm letting her explore it all.

Summer Is Here

And I couldn't be happier! Alexis and I have been having some much needed bonding time. Before I got out of school she was having some serious separation anxiety from my mom and Brian’s mom. It has only taken a week and she is already snuggling up to me like I never went to work! Last weekend Daddy went fishing so Mommy and A stayed super busy! We were up and out of the house every morning and didn't return until dinner time! We did lunch with our Aunts, visited Aunt Kristi and Uncle Michael so we could see Brinkley's new room, had our 1 year photo shoot, and met Jack, Aunt Lissa's new puppy! We also did lots of walking and swimming! We LOVE our new stroller! Sunday afternoon we went to Aunt Lissa’s house and played on the slip ‘n slide and in the pool. Watching Anna and A play is just way too cute. Anna has been dying to have some close girlfriends and she loves Alexis so much! She is so good with her. I already know they are going to be very close. How could they not be when their mommy’s are BFFs!

This weekend A gets to meet her Uncle Kirb! He flies into town tonight and is spending the weekend with us at the lake! We have a full weekend planned of boating and jet skiing! We are at the lake for at least a week and a half. I said I would come back on the 20th, but I have a feeling I may push it back a week! I love relaxing here and waking up and walking the hills of the neighborhood! It is so very peaceful!

Happy summer!

She has been all over the place pushing her walker. She is even standing on her own now. I'm just waiting for her to take her first steps. I swear it is going to be anyday now! It only took a few minutes in Uncle Michael's house to find the doggy door! She was so curious! So, Uncle Michael went outside to take some pictures.
I don't think Rowdy liked sharing his door! I tried to get some cute pictures of her in the bubbles. She got tired and was more interested in the machine that made the bubbles than the bubbles themselves.
Enjoying some Anna time!

1 Year Stats

I guess with the start of Summer vacation, I've had some major Spring fever and I've been way behind on the blogging. But, we just had her Dr's visit last Wednesday, so technically I'm only a week behind. These pictures are from the day of her birthday, when I cried all the way to work. She still remains one happy baby in the morning. She loved her 2nd cake of the week! We went to Fudrucker's for dinner with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Rachel then came home to dig into our brownie. I think she loved it! She's actually had three cakes! Sunday we did her final shoot of the year! I'm going to miss Aunt' Deanna's awesome work every month! But, I'm sure we will think of some reason to have a photo shoot!

She is still one tiny little girl, but she is so tall. She weighed 20 lb and 2 oz (32.28 %) and she was 2' 6 " long (76.80 %). She is also all over the place in the clothes department. It is very hard to shop for her. Some 12 months are too small because they aren't long enough, while others are too big because she isn't big enough! Some 18 months are too long and others she will probably outgrow any week now! Unfortunately, I keep trying to find the "perfect outfit" for her!

Memorial Day

We had a blast at the lake! We fit a lot of action into this Summer kick off weekend. There was fishing, swimming, exploring, boat riding, jet skiing, water balloon fights and even mud fights. I didn't fare too well in the mud fight. I fell on a stump and I still have a bruise the size of my palm! (yes, it is two weeks later!) Alexis loved every part of it! She has the best time being outside, it doesn't matter what she is doing, she is loving it. She even gets to ride around on the ranger in her "car seat." Don't judge, you do what you can do in East Texas to have fun!

Cole loved the mud fight! He let out an evil laugh every time he hit someone. It was precious! I was supposed to be JUST taking pictures till they all turned on me! I ran away and the next day I couldn't walk. That's why you don't run at the lake!! Thank God the stump didn't do any permanent damage.

We set up the pack and play in the boat for the babies. Ryder just loves to share his toys. I guess that's why A loves to take them!