oktoberfest

Last fall, back in Oklahoma, we headed out to attend Ft. Sill's Oktoberfest celebration. (thank goodness we had Tiffany to make sure we went out and did fun stuff, otherwise I probably would've just stayed at home the whole time like the hermit I am...) It was so. much. fun! Not really how Germany celebrates Oktoberfest I'd guess, but we had a blast!

I was really excited when we got there because there was a mini fair set up and we had heard that the stuff for kids was free. So Max ran through this bounce house a couple times:

When we moved on to the next thing we found out that it was, in fact, not free. You had to buy tickets to go on any of the rides... We're guessing Max managed to go through that first thing without any tickets 'cause the old man running it didn't really care:)

So we wandered around instead (tickets were way overpriced) and managed to find the free activities! Unfortunately, they were on the tennis courts where it was blistering hot. Max managed to guzzle most of my water that day:


Max got to bowl (with Chris, of course!):






Here is Max watching some games with dad:


Meanwhile, I got some shaved ice (my favorite!)"


Then we all chilled in the tent while the military band played. Nick did some people watching from the safety of his stroller:


While we scarfed funnel cake:


This old man was so cute, he just sat by himself drinking, toasting the band whenever the occasion called for it:


I thought the tent was pretty cool:


After we ate we found the free bounce houses and Max had a grand old time:


He would only go down the slide this way:


Then Max wanted to see how strong he was:


Then decided he might need dad's help:


It may have been hot, but it was fun!


Sorry for butchering your holiday Germany!

chunky monkey and skinny minnie

Yesterday morning the boys and I were engaged in our morning activity of lounging in my bed. I was calling Nick "chunky monkey" since he looked huge in his too small pajamas, and upon Max's request for a nickname too he became "skinny minnie." A couple minutes later, out of the blue, Max tells me

"Chunky monkey my best friend."

I hope they stay best friends for the rest of their lives.

sunday best!

Like last week, this outfit was chosen last minute before bed Saturday night. Not one of my favorites, but I love color and I think this reflects that pretty well:)

shirt: Old Navy (hand me down from my sister)
sweater: Target (on clearance!)
skirt: made by me (for Easter), fabric from Hobby Lobby
shoes: Target (little girls section...)
necklace: Classic Hardware



And with a little bidding from Max, I did some jumping photos...

(only one I don't look terrible in:) )

Then I grabbed him for a couple shots of us:




And Rob was really confused when he saw me moving everything away from that wall... He asked me what I was doing and when I told him these pictures he rolled his eyes:) I think he thought I'd get over it pretty quickly. Sorry hun, we have too much fun!

check this out!

So cyber friends of mine and fellow photographers Wendy Laurel and Tory O'Leary have started a blog that features portrait sessions!! It's called Let the Kids Dress Themselves. The internet has SO many blogs dedicated to weddings and wedding photography, but is severely lacking in blogs for life before and after the big day. What's even better is the goal of Let the Kids Dress Themselves is to feature HONEST photography of REAL people. No more styled shoots with models and props. Instead, honest-to-goodness families, babies, kids, pregnant bellies, normal people. They launched the blog this week and have already showcased some yummy sessions, I can't wait to see what the future holds! So if you're ever in the mood to view some fabulous photographs, head on over!

sunday best

I present week two! This outfit didn't really excite me that much... I pulled it together last minute Saturday night while I was brushing my teeth 'cause nothing else had come to mind the entire week preceding. I especially didn't like the shoes I wore with it; I wanted some sort of sandal (like some cute gladiator sandals) but I don't own any. And since I didn't try on any shoes with it until Sunday morning I didn't have time to try on every pair of shoes I own so I just went with the ones below.

shirt: Old Navy
dress: Target
sweater: Old Navy (I wore at church when I got chilly, otherwise it was too hot here for it)
necklace: not sure, it was a gift
shoes: Payless







And in case you were wondering, the novelty hasn't worn off yet...











I don't mind though. It's pretty much the only time he'll willingly be photographed these days.

(p.s. I've noticed after taking these that I have a good side:) Explains why all my IDs look like mug shots.)

sorry ladies...

He's TAKEN!

one year!

I'm still somewhat in denial that I'm the mother of a one year old... again.

But whether I'm ready or not, he is and he's made sure to rub it in my face!

Nick is still a sweet little thing, but there's some toddler vinegar starting to creep in...

Some of it came through when I tried to take some pictures of this freshly turned one year old... he's not as patient at putting up with mom and her camera like he used to be, that's for sure! But some toys and a tube of chapstick managed to get him still long enough for me to catch these:)















Nick still isn't walking, but he's been standing confidently for at least two months now. He managed to take ONE TINY step yesterday so we know walking is coming soon!


And I'm sad to say this was about how happy he was for his birthday. My kids have a knack for being cranky on their big days...


Originally I wasn't planning on having a party for Nick's birthday. But Rob convinced me to have one, mainly because we've made great friends here and they all love Nick so much. So I figured it would be mean not to let everyone share in his big day.

Here is Nick right after he woke up, the morning of his birthday:

Ready to PARTAY!!!

Rob reminds me all the time that I am weird. And he is so right. I decided to have a germ party. Hey, I'm the mom to little boys allright? And they love the Yo Gabba Gabba germ song and this germ book we like to check out from the library AND my nickname for Nick is booger. So I think it was appropriate.

Here is the invitation I designed:

And the cupcakes:


I had a ton of fun putting the goodie bags together! I had to get creative (I mean let's face it, germs aren't exactly common party themes) but I think it worked out.

I just used simple lunch sacks and made little paper germs to use as name tags.

Each bag held a couple sheets of make-your-own-"germ" stickers (they're really monsters), "germ" finger puppets, fuzzy "germ" creatures, and hand sanitizer.

Remember these from when you were kids?:


Or these?:

I was so excited to find them!

Now for the party itself...

We decorated balloons to look like germs:


Nick was not into pictures at all during the party but I snapped a few anyway:


Michelle (she reminds me of you Shelley!) and Nick's "girlfriend" Isabelle:


Nick and Kimmie:


Nick and Billy:


These two together crack me up. We know Billy from Oklahoma, and the first time I met him was at Rob's platoon dinner. Billy came up, introduced himself (Rob already knew him from class), then took Nick (who was only a couple months old at the time) and carried him around with him for the entire social hour. It was so cute to see this big Army soldier holding my tiny baby:)



Singing to the birthday boy! He was so confused at the roomful of people looking at him and singing at him:


And was not sure why there was a candle in front of him:


I blew out the candle for him and took it out, but he just stared at the cake (still a little confused at what was going on). Rob finally helped him along by pretty much shoving the icing against his lips so he could taste the goodness:


Getting the go-ahead from dad after tasting the icing:


And digging in! Or almost. He started out timidly by just licking icing off his fingers:


Then he started getting into it!:


Going to town:


Showing off his messy face for the camera:


He officially loves cake.


And I snapped this photo quick so the camera settings were all wrong, but I wanted to put it up to show what Nick did for the next couple days:

He contentedly played with his new toys for long periods of time, it was great! It enabled me clean the house back up after wards without too much interference from my mess maker:)


It was a fun party and this little boy got spoiled with all the love and attention (and gifts). His sweet spirit is felt by everyone!!!