Father Daughter Dance

Our church put on a Father Daughter dance this year.  I think it was the second year for the dance.  Kevin was excited to take Allie on a date (we chose not to send Krissy because we knew Allie would soak it up and it would give Allie and Kevin some good one on one time).  They had dinner at China Bistro and then headed to church for the dance.  Here are some pics from the evening...

She was doing some serious posing after I got her all ready.  I didn't let Kevin see her until she was all ready.  In the 2nd picture she was practicing her twirling :)

Kevin got her a mini corsage for the dance.  We opted for silk flowers so she could keep it/play with it later. 

 Favorite photo of the two of them.

 She's a daddy's girl!

 Flowers from Mayflower Gardens!

 Little Princess headed to the ball with her daddy!

I may have gone overboard on pictures, but I think this yearly tradition is something she will really look forward to!  Actually, I know it is, because she still asks Kevin if he will take her to the "Hodder Dodder dance" again.  What little girl wouldn't love dressing up like a princess and spending the evening with her Daddy?  Big thanks to our church for putting on such a great event!!!

Funny

I saw this on Pinterest and it made me laugh.... my kids are notorious for doing things that drive me crazy (playing in the water/sinks any time I am not paying attention, writing on furniture and walls with ink pens, just to name a few) and my mom likes to remind me I use to do all these annoying things too.....

Martha & Me

When I was at JoAnns today, I passed this magazine in the check out - Martha Stewart Living - and I was tickled to see MY giant giraffe made her cover!  I knew the giant giraffe was a brilliant idea and I'm glad Martha agrees!

Giant Giraffe

After I decided on a giraffe themed nursery, I remembered after I had Allie I had seen a huge stuffed giraffe on two different occasions that I loved.  The first time I spotted him was at the Women's Hospital gift shop, the 2nd time I saw him was at the Vineyard.  I remembered him being around $100, but like I said, that was almost two years ago.  I searched cragslist hoping to find a huge giant stuffed giraffe no one wanted.  It sounds odd, I know, but I actually found one in an Evansville posting!  I quickly texted the lady and she sent me a picture of the one she had for sale.  Definitely wasn't the same one I had fallen in love with, so I passed, and took my search to the web.  I found it!  I found a brand new one, from Indy, on eBay, for about half of what it costed two years ago! 

I knew the next step was convincing Kevin I NEEDED an expensive "stuffed animal".  That didn't go so well.... it actually took me about a week to convince him I wasn't going to bring a baby home from the hospital with out a huge giraffe waiting in the nursery!  My behavior over a stuffed giraffe wasn't my finest, but I was so excited to order him!  On Monday I tracked our package and saw it was out for delivery!  I waited and waited... and waited... and a little after 5pm, our giraffe was delivered! 

The kids were sooooo excited.  (I used them to help me talk Kevin into getting it).  We quickly sliced the box open and took him out of the package.  He was everything I wanted!  Now, I just have to find a way to keep the kids off of him until the baby gets here! 

A close up of his face!

New Diaper Bag

There are a couple things I buy new (or make, or am gifted) every time I have a baby.  One is crib bedding.  Another is my diaper bag.  I hadn't put much thought into my diaper bag this go around, but I knew I wanted a new one.  Last week, my mom went into TJ Max and they had discounted Vera Bradly diaper bags.  My BFF Amy raves about the VB diaper bags and it's all she's ever had.  After telling my mom I'd love to have one, she surprised me and bought it for me!  I LOVE IT!!!!  This is the 3rd thing I now have for baby (#1 was the green and white blanket, #2 was the crib bumper, #3 is the diaper bag).

It's very large and zips shut.  Both are major pluses!!!  It also can pass for a purse which I love.

Close up of the detail...

The inside is gender neutral AND lined in a plastic liner!!!  So functional!

The back zipper pocket has a diaper changing pad that matches the inside liner!

I couldn't be more thrilled or pleased with this diaper bag!  Thanks, Mom!!!

Mud Room

If money were no object, I'd have this mud room/laundry room built on to my house!  I'm so envious of everyone that has a laundry room.  (Our washer and dryer are located in our garage.)

And a fun hidden kitty box!

Cookies in a Jar

I love the idea of giving a "cookie in a jar" gift!  I wanted to do it the past few Christmases, but haven't gotten around to it!  Since the upcoming holiday is my all time favorite, I'm challenging myself to do a cookie in a jar gift for some friends for Valentines Day!  Sometimes my great intentions get swallowed up by my role as wife/mom.  I feel like if I post my intentions to my blog, I have a better success rate of following through.

When we went to Bass Pro I saw these cookies in a jar:

I hope mine turn out just as pretty!  Give me a month or so to get my act together before I blog about them :)

Aldi Eggs

I love Aldi for many many reasons, and finding scripture in my egg carton just makes me like that store even more!  "This is the day which the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it"! Psalms 118:24