Happy First Birthday Layla Jean...a year ago

When did it happen that my sweet Layla turned one...let alone almost two?  In just two short months my baby girl turns two.  It seems like just yesterday that Nathan was rushing...and I mean rushing me to the hospital because I was in labor with Layla and we're about to celebrate her second birthday.  We are completely blessed with our dancing, singing, giggling ball of energy and joy.  

As I am reminiscing about Layla's first two years I thought I'd look back at her first birthday party.  Oh what a party it was...We decided to invite all of Layla's prayer warriors so we could say thank you for getting us through our pregnancy and year of unknowns with Layla having Cystic Fibrosis.  Having most of our family and precious friends in one room was amazing.  We provided a dinner for everyone and we were able to say thank you and we love you to everyone who was there, a true blessing for Nathan and I.

Here are a few of my favorite pics from Layla Jean's first birthday...

a welcome wreath on the front door

Layla's smash cake...strawberry...so good :) she LOVED it!

I made her cake which was strawberry with homemade buttercream icing.

The fam

Layla's cousin and sweet friend Kaylee

some of the best friends we could ever have asked for...each of these people are a blessing 

Nathan rounded out the party by singing "Sleepy Jean" to Layla.  What a sweet moment.  Layla and Rhett danced along.

Completely blessed by these memories and cannot believe I will be posting her second birthday pics soon!

xoxo, 

jo

long lost friend...

new posts coming soon...i promise :)

while you wait here's the fam saying howdy from texas!

xoxo,

jo

toddler...what?!?

when did my baby turn into a toddler?  i have no idea...it must have been when he stopped crying in the morning and started calling "mama maMA MAMA" or was it when he stopped crawling everywhere and decided to put one foot in front of the other and walk all around?  oh dear me...i have a toddler!

my sweet, adorable, giggly, 6 tooth son has turned ONE!  we had to mark the occasion filled with fun and tons of family and friends...one thing i want to instill in my sweet child is that he is surrounded by people who love him and who first and foremost love the Lord and will help guide him in his life and walk with God.

well, for Rhett's birthday we partied...cowboy style!  oh it was the most fun.  honey and pops were gracious and let us crash their homestead for the afternoon.  what fun...it was an afternoon filled with oh so yummy vittles, sweets galore, mustaches (that's right - "a cowboy's not a cowboy without a great 'stache) and of course cake and homemade ice cream.  for Rhett's birthday i wanted to make his cake just like my mom did for me and nathan's mom did for him so i made Rhett a cowboy boot cake and a small bandana smash cake...which he SMASHED!

the times had were amazing and the memories are unforgettable and just priceless.  that is only because of all of the wonderful people who were there to help celebrate our sweet little cowboy's day.

now, while words are good snapshots are always more fun so here's the day in pictures.

  the sweet spread including the boot cake :) yummm

 the birthday boy with mama and daddy

cowboy Rhett just loved his cake

 and finally the mustaches :) gotta love them and gotta love the fam!!  just wish i could've gotten everyone in a mustache pic

oh the memories...time has flown and i know that this time next year when we have a two year old and a 7 month old i am going to be saying the same thing.

we are truly blessed...thank you LORD!!

xoxo,

jo

just a dash of sweetness

oh my goodness...all i want to do is bake bake bake!!!

thanks to my mom and dad for getting me the uber-fabulous kitchenaid mixer for my birthday...30th birthday...shhhh. now all i want to do is mix, whisk and knead to my heart's content. so far all i have been able to accomplish is making sugar cookies and to be quite honest if all i ever make is sugar cookies i'd be quite happy. this new massive mixer has revolutionized the way i make my favorite treat. everything is so smooth and it doesn't leave any little floury bits at the bottom that i have to knead in. oh, it is just so amazing! to make matters worse (or better) i got two new aprons that are just the cutest darn things you've ever seen so needless to say i am always in an apron :)

here's one...thanks andrew & anna

so, over the years i have been accumulating lots of fun new items (thanks to williams sonoma/pottery barn and crate & barrel) but i've also been given some of my ultimate favorite things from my family and friends that just mean so much.

like this...

this is my great grandmother's biscuit cutter. so great, right? it makes the most perfect circles and the fact that it has been making yummy treats for over 75 years is just amazing and it just warms my heart to be passing on the baking tradition!

so, here's to a great day filled with new and old things to make you smile.

xoxo
jo

lullaby and goodnight

be still my heart...
so, tonight as rhett and i are going through our nightly ritual of singing before heading to sleep i thought we should have some sweet momma and rhett time so we rocked and hummed. in the midst of my humming of lullaby and goodnight i thought to myself...why in the world do you not know the words to this song? so, as i was rocking and humming to my sweet babe i picked up my iphone and tapped in "lullaby and goodnight" and low and behold i found the lyrics and proceeded to sing to my rhett.


"Lullaby, and good night,
You're your mother's delight,
Shining angels beside
My darling abide.
Soft and warm is your bed,
Close your eyes and rest your head.
Soft and warm is your bed,
Close your eyes and rest your head.

Sleepyhead, close your eyes.
Mother's right here beside you.
I'll protect you from harm,
You will wake in my arms.
Guardian angels are near,
So sleep on, with no fear.
Guardian angels are near,
So sleep on, with no fear."

as i was singing rhett was locked in on me and reaching for my lips...how sweet is that...he had the most content sleepy smile on his face as i sang..."close your eyes rest your head..." his eyes got so heavy he couldn't stay awake for one more second and with one last sleepy grin he fell asleep. i am so in love with being a mom!

t minus14 minutes and counting...

here we go again...

i cannot say how many times i have promised myself i would suck it up and be healthy. you know, eat healthy, exercise and really get fit well i think it is about time it actually happens.

tonight before i go to bed i am committing to:

exercising 5 times a week
candy only once a week
water every day
diet coke once a week

my goal is to not feel like i am going to keel over after 30 minutes on the bike and to not crave sugar...whew, that's a big one.

lord help me that all i can say because he's the only way i can be strong enough to finish this healthy habit i'm starting...

dad gum cat

the dad gum cat decided my comforter would be the perfect place to relieve himself...note to self (cat) do not pee on jo's comforter i don't like to fly i am not a bird.

house training + kitten = not one bit of fun