The Paper Mama Challenge: Eyes

It's my first time linking up with The Paper Mama! This weeks photo challenge is eyes. There is just something mesmerizing about this picture, I love it!

Pretty Patio

Well y'all I finally finished decorating our patio! I LOVE it and can't wait to spend more time enjoying our newest "living space". I don't have a before picture, but there wasn't anything but a grill out there...so just picture a bare patio.

Here is the other side of the patio. 

I took this picture yesterday before I hung up the stars. The grill is to the left of Emma Claire.

In garden news....we have tiny strawberries!

Aren't they so cute?! I can't wait for them to ripen!

Happy Friday!

Paper Coterie Photo Challenge

Paper Coterie is having a photo challenge for the month of April. I've been on Twitter for a while and have seen several of these floating around and they looked fun but I never jumped in. I just got an email about this one and it sounds fun, plus there is a freebie incentive. Who doesn't love freebies!?

Here is the schedule! You can go to their blog {here} to read the specific details.

Emma Claire is excited!

Won't you join us???

 

Daddy's Girl

I was trying to take Emma Claire's picture yesterday and this is the face she made for me....

And this is the face she immediately made when her Daddy walked up and started talking to her...

Oh lordy this baby is a DADDY'S GIRL. If I didn't have proof before, I do now!

Tuesday Thoughts

Today is the Hub's day off so we have been having fun family time. Emma Claire "slept in" until 6am ;-) When she got up the Hubs took her for daddy/daughter time while Mommy slept more! Then he brought her up to me when she was ready for her nap and she and I ended up falling asleep in our bed together for a few hours. She was one happy lady when she woke up and realized she got to nap in mommy and daddy's bed. This afternoon we went shopping and drove around a bit.

We went to Wegman's and while the hubs was happy to get some carrot cake from the bakery, I was excited to find these...

Dairy free cookies! They smell delicious but sadly don't taste as great as their smell. But oh well, they are a yummy treat I don't get to have every day!

After we went to the grocery we drove around a little bit and found this charming little building. Y'all...it's a drive through cheesecake stand! No joke! It was called Cheesecake Heaven!

Isn't it so cute?!

The hubs got coconut cream cheesecake. It looked pretty good.

And he said it tasted good too! It's only $4 a slice and is great if you don't want a whole cheesecake in your house. I can't wait to go back when I can have cheesecake!

At the store we got some yummy sushi which we enjoyed before our dinner tonight.

I got my classic California roll.

The hubs got a wasabi tuna roll.

And because I can't do a blog post without a picture of my little cutie, here's one of my favorite pictures I've taken of her in the bath.

Monday Mish Mash

Well even though Saturday and Sunday aren't part of our weekend I still like to do special things on those days. On Saturday morning I made pancakes, and the hubs got chocolate chips in his.

While I cooked this little sweetie hung out in her swing. I just love that she loves it again!

Yesterday we had some rain in the morning but then the sun came out in the afternoon so the ladies and I went for a walk.

Emma Claire smiled and talked to me the whole time.

After our walk we came home and played for a bit then I fed Emma Claire her rice cereal.

I cannot get over her big blue eyes.

Even though she loves rice cereal she still makes these faces every once in a while, and they still crack me up!

And speaking of funny faces...she makes THE silliest faces after her bath. I finally got some on camera last night.

She has started to purse her lips together and make a super pouty face.

Also..her HAIR. I can't get enough of it! It's all blonde and so fluffy! I love how it sticks straight up.

Okay seriously...maybe I take too many pictures if she is making a fake smile face already???

Today I deep cleaned the kitchen and made some fresh brewed sweet tea. And it's decaf in case you were wondering...my child does not need any added energy!

I also made dinner for tonight after cleaning. It's always such a nice treat to have dinner made already when it's time to eat. I just lay the baby down and get to enjoy dinner and not worry about cooking. Then there is food for the hubs when he gets home for him to snack on. It's a win-win.

My "special" tacos. I pretty much just dump a ton of veggies in with some ground beef and a hint of taco seasoning. The hubs loves them. It also makes a great taco salad which is how I like to eat it.

Friday?

Well while it's everyone else's Friday, it was just another day at our house. Although this morning started off in a wonderful way, I was exhausted so the Hubs took the little one downstairs so I could get some more sleep. As if that isn't sweet enough he handled a HUGE blowout diaper AND morning nap All. By. Himself. I cannot sing his praises enough right now. He is such a great Daddy and I was just so impressed by him today! It was his first time to put EC down for a nap and she handled it like it was an every day thing. She didn't fight him at all...hmmm maybe he should handle all naps? ;-) She is a daddy's girl through and through.

This morning when I went to water my plants I saw this...

Today Emma Claire wore a fun Easter onesie dress made by my bloggy friend, Etta! She just opened her etsy shop! If you need custom burp cloths or a onesie dress go take a look!]

I tried and tried and tried but could NOT get a good picture of Emma Claire in the dress. Thanks teething for making small tasks impossible.

This sums up our little photo shoot. Mommy photog fail.

I did manage to get one quick smile...

Sweet cheeks

But here's an up close shot of the sweet little bunnies on her dress!

Sweet baby on her play mat. Her happy place.

We had a pretty stressful day thanks to these little guys. Her teeth are Right. There. Poor baby was not a happy camper today.

Thankfully Mommy bought her a new taggie blanket the other day for her to cuddle with.

She loved it. Sprout + taggie blanket + swing + orajel= a content baby for almost 30 minutes. Hallelujah.

And in case you were wondering...she is still LOVING her solid foods. I'm going to give her sweet potato soon, I'm pretty sure she's going to love them!

Her faces while she eats just kill me! She is just too cute!

Tonight after Emma Claire went to bed I painted my nails with my new springey polish. It's Essie: Watermelom. I love it!

 

Jumping on the Bandwagon

Well folks, after reading all of the watermarking posts out there lately {like this one} I've decided to start. I will be honest with you, after reading about Kelly's situation last year I was going to start watermarking mine but I was just too lazy. It's a lot of work to have to edit and add text to each picture you plan to post. But after reading Becky's post recently I realized that since I post pictures of my sweet baby girl it's worth the extra time to protect HER. After all, this blog is a journal of OUR life, and I don't want someone to be able to steal our memories. I used PicMonkey and LOVED it! If you need a picnik replacement then this is the place to go! I know you can also use programs to watermark all of your pictures at once which would be the easiest. Becky, at From Mrs. To Mama did a great little how-to post you can find here.

Yet another example that my child is part monkey...I fear for the day she learns to climb things.

A Girl and Her Dog

It's safe to say someone LOVES all the attention she's getting.