A Stroll Down Memory Lane!

The countdown has begun! We have 13 days until the littlest Stafin turns ONE! Tomorrow we start our "stroll down memory lane!" Our "stroll" will recap each month from birth to one with some of my favorite pictures! Maybe, just maybe, we'll have news of first steps by the time the countdown is complete, because my little girl is getting close! Josh has determined she is just like her mama. She won't do anything until she is good and ready. She has been standing, every once in a while, but today while Josh was playing on the floor with Cooper, holding a toy above his head, she crawled over, stood up and just looked at us like, "yeah so, I can stand, what's the big deal!" So we started enticing her with toys and she would stand holding onto the table and try to walk over to the toy we were holding.

Other news I forgot to share. Josh finally parted ways with his El Camino. It was the car he has owned the longest and he's been tinkering around with it since I've known him. Well, one of the guys who works for him got an old TransAm a couple of weeks ago and started looking under the hood and realized it was more work than he had anticipated, so Josh traded him the El Camino for it. It's isn't as much work as he thought, but it does need some work and a new paint job!

Last Swim Class and the house

We've spent this spring/summer working on our front yard. Last week we had our front porch stained! We love the way it turned out! I'll post pictures of what our house looked like when we moved in a little over 2 years ago and what it looks like now! For now here's the porch! (this is for you, Ray!!)

Last night Alex had her last swim lesson! She loved it and I loved going with her, but I'm glad it's over. It was every night for 9 days from 6:30 to 7. We had to completely change her schedule around and feed her at 5:30 so she would have time for the food to settle, then rush home to bathe her and give her a bottle so she could be in bed by 7:45 or 8! She was the youngest in the class and I think she did the best! Granted, she didn't grasp the concept of blowing bubbles and scooping water when her hands/arms, but she had a blast! I think at some point every kid in the class had a meltdown except for Alex!

Silly Faces!

Alex has started making the silliest faces when she gets excited, which happens all the time. Every time I go in her room to get her up from a nap or in the morning, she gives me this huge smile with her eyes squished closed. She now does it when I get the camera out! I love that silly little girl!

ok, I'm about to show you what a scaredy cat I am. I was on my way out to check the mail, I stepped on to the porch and stopped dead in my tracks. There was a snake in the flower bed to the right of the sidewalk. I quickly got back inside and closed the door. Poor Cooper was confused because he was going out the door with me and I suddenly rushed him back inside. I hate hate hate snakes. Good thing I didn't have a boy! I watched it through the front window and the darn thing wouldn't move. It was kinda pretty so I grabbed the camera. I couldn't get a pic from through the window so I stepped back on the porch, zoomed in on the camera and reached my arms as far as they would go so I didn't have to get any closer. It finally went away but I'm still worried it is lingering around so I'll have Josh check the mail when he gets some.

Mom, don't look at this, I know how much you hate snakes and you will just worry about me being outside with Alex...so I won't even go into detail about the HUGE one I saw slivering across the yard one day.

Here is the big scary snake. (it was about a foot and a half long and maybe half an inch in diameter, I know, tiny, but still it gave me the heebie jeebies!)

Father's Day and more!

Poor Josh, we had a busy Father's Day weekend. We headed to Dallas Saturday afternoon and had dinner with Josh's parents. We took them to Buca di Beppo and it was delish! Alex got to try meatballs for the first time. She was not a fan! She would take the meat out of her mouth and drop it on the table! We headed to my Aunt Martha's Sunday to see my family, swim and eat! We got home around 7 and Josh had to mow the lawn since he left for Florida today. :(

The three pictures above were used for Josh's Father's Day present. I framed 5x7's in a black 3 slot side by side frame. It turned out so cute!

And since the invitations have gone out I can share the invite with you! (all the personal info was taken out!) I love them! They were mounted on brown paper then on bright pink paper that was folded to make the envelope!

More Swim Pics

Last night Josh got in the pool with Alex. It was so much fun watching them together! She seemed to do better with him than me, but it may be because it was her second class so she was a little used to the pool. She actually kicked her feet and moved her arm to try to reach for the rubber duck! It looked more like she was trying to crawl in the water than swim!

Alex's first birthday is just around the corner so I've been working on stuff for her party! We'll be having her birthday party at our house and we'll be celebrating with cake twice over the 4th of July weekend at each of our parents house. I think by the time her party happens, she'll be a pro at feeding herself cake! The invites went in the mail yesterday! I'll post a pic of one next week! I've been getting kinda crafty working on stuff for her birthday, I made the invites, I'm making the decorations (with some help from my sister!) and I'll be making her cake...and we made Josh's father's day gift!! I am thinking of starting to make the transition to whole milk in the next 2-3 weeks so by the time she turns one, she'll be completely off, or almost off, formula! Any tips? We are still doing 4 6 ounce bottles/sippy cups of formula a day and she is getting water through out the day. I am kind of at a loss when it comes to how much milk and water she should be getting a day!?!?

First Swim Lesson!

We had our first swim lesson today. I was a little worried because it doesn't start until 6:30 but the evening class is the only one that worked for us. She did great! For the next 2 weeks we'll just push back her bedtime about 45 minutes. We got right in the water with no problems and Alex had fun...until it was time to put her on her back. She was not a fan of being on her back in the water! She grabbed on to my top and wouldn't let go. I've decided I need to wear a swim suit that doesn't tie around the next for tomorrows class. We worked on kicking legs, blowing bubbles, pushing off from the wall and paddling arms. She was soo interested in watching the other kids and everything else that was going on she barely kicked her legs. When we got home and gave her a bath, she was kicking like crazy. Figures!

Look Mom, No Hands!

Alex is standing on her own! She is so cute when she does it because it looks like it surprises her! If I am right there, she just leans forward until she looses her balance and I catch her. Last night she figured out how to slowly lower her booty to sit down without falling! She will take steps holding on to one of my hands. Maybe walking is just around the corner!

Yesterday Erika and Dane came over to play in the splash pool. Alex loved it for a while, then she became more interested in the nectarine Erika was eating. Dane loved it! Abby was happy sitting in my lap waving her hand over the spray. I'm mad I didn't get any pics, but I figured it would be best to leave the camera inside, last thing I need is to get the new one wet! :(