Artists at Work!!

Cecilia and I went to visit Maurie and Ella for a Sunday afternoon paint fest!! C had SO much fun!! This was her first full-out painting experience, and she couldn't get enough. Sweet girls had a blast!! Can't wait until we do it again. Maurie and I won't have Mother's Day Out this summer, so I see many more creative days to come...!

Just getting started...

Of course we have to paint with our feet too...

In deep thought about what to paint first... Hmmm....

The artists... Ella, Elleigh & Ceci

The rascal grabbed my iced vanilla latte and wouldn't give it back!!

Ella & Ceci getting clean before our ride home. Maybe Ceci will have as much hair as Ella one day.;)

Who is who?!

I realize these pictures are a bit late (...taken during the Christmas holidays).;) But I had to post the twins. The first picture is Jonathan as a sweet baby (who knew he was ever this sweet!! ha), and his Mom still had the outfit tucked away!! We thought it would be cute to put Cecilia in the outfit for a quick comparison. Poor, Cecilia!! You look just like Daddy (including the 97th percentile head size!!:)).

OH MY...

Well, this week we went to Bay St. Louis to spend some time at Jonathan's parent's fish camp. Beach pics to come!! But before we left, we had a little episode... the mean floor grabbed Cecilia's feet and wham - there she goes flying head first into the bottom, side of the wall. Poor thing is walking so good but still at times looks like a drunken sailor wobbling about. I picked her up and the immediate goose egg and bruising that occurred certainly scared Mommy more than Cecilia. After a call to the pediatrician and exchanging many texts with my sweet (and super helpful) friend whose husband is an ER doc here, I felt confident she was ok. Not to mention, I rushed over to my in-law's home a few miles away. I needed another opinion on the "head injury." Of course, we all agreed she would live but this was a first for Mommy (and baby)!! Later that day, she would fall chin first on the coffee table at the camp (that was covered in a thick blanket, whew!) and eat a packet of Splenda at dinner. Was this "Welcome to Mommyhood" week or something? My goodness!

About an hour after the fall... Can't really tell how big that egg is from this view.

A day later... Poor thing. The swelling had gone way, way down but the bruise and little scab were forming. We are keeping ointment on the wound.;) She looked so sweet in her little one shoulder dress.

Chrissy's Surprise Partay!!

Chrissy turned the big 3-0 on March 1st, and a few of us had a surprise party for her on Friday, March 2nd. The hostesses were SO worried about spilling the beans. And I am SO not good at keeping secrets or surprises. Good thing I wasn't in the office having to see Chrissy every single day. I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it! Luckily, everyone was able to keep tight lips, and her sweet family delivered the package on time. It was PERFECT! And Chrissy was SOOO SURPRISED! Success!!

Cutest baby pic ever. Chrissy hasn't changed a bit!

The yummy food that Natalie had catered in from a place in Jackson. Delicious!!

Hostesses! Amanda, Natalie, Justice & Brittany

This picture doesn't even catch how surprised she was!!

She's like "ummm, seriously... Seriously!"

Made her put on the gear for a pic!

Mrs. Debbie and I!! They did such a great job getting Chrissy there - and keeping it all a surprise!!

The hostesses with the birthday girl!!

Oh, and I have to mention - it was a GREAT turn-out!!!!!!!! Practically everyone we invited came!! Yay, yay, yay!! And the party continued in New Orleans the following day. The hostesses, less me:(, and a few others went to NOLA to finish out the fun birthday weekend!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CHRISSY!!

Rocky!!

Papa and Daddy finally put together "Rocky," the horse. We just moved, so he has been in a box for a couple months. Of course, she didn't want to get on him!! We will see this week. I also had a fun photo shoot of Jonathan and C after church today. The weather was gorgeous, and our lawn had just been worked on. Pics coming soon!

Ceci & Papa

Should I get on...???

I'd rather take your glasses off and play with those.

PLCA - San Diego!!

Jonathan had a convention for work in San Diego this past week. An entire week sans kiddos... ahhhhhhh.;) We had a great time!! This convention rotates among three places every year, so we did San Diego three years ago. Of course besides shopping (and the spa), we hit different spots this year. One of the cutest, trendiest places we ate at was George's in La Jolla. Pics below.

I also ordered breakfast in bed EVERY morning while Jonathan tended to work meetings. Ohhh, how nice that was... (Back to reality). I also met some of Jonathan's new colleagues who work in Houston. LOVE, love those guys and their wives!! They were so much fun, and I can't wait to see them again soon. In fact, a few of us (including the Hartels) are attending one of their weddings in Cabo this May.

Forrest & Jonathan

(Did I mention Forrest & Maurie went to LA for a few days after our San Diego trip??! They were there last night - the Oscars!! Earlier in the day, she saw Isaac Mizrahi and Ellen Pompeo while shopping. I'm SURE she will see more celebs over the next few days. Jealous!!
Ok, so before I posted this, Maurie has been keeping me updated with who she has seen... a laundry list of stars!! M & F ate across from the Vanity Fair after-party and spotted Sandra Bullock, P Diddy, Rachel Zoe, Tina Fay, Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller ---- AND the list goes on! Tonight they had dinner at Lisa V's restaurant (Real Housewives of BH) and because I'm especially jealous, I had to post the pic!:) I'm so regretting not staying the few extra days!!

Back to the conference....

Friends & New Friends

Maurie and I with Raj's fiance and Shuller's wife (Raj's fiance, Sierra, across from me; Shuller's wife, Margie, in yellow). We had a great time with them!!

Jonathan and I at one of the dinners (If I look big, it is because I am!! Post coming soon re that........!)

Most of the "guys"- Jonathan, Jared, Jonathan, Forrest, Raj & Joel

If you happen to notice, I wore the same dress to Zeus... events within a week of one another. Yes, I do that these days... Any way to convince Jonathan I need a new dress --- I get two wears out of it back-to-back!! No shame!!

AND I just do have to mention (so that Cecilia can reference this in the future)... When we got home, Cecilia was no doubt excited. So excited. BUT that rascal was more excited to see, guess who, DADDY! Excuse me!! Who takes care of you every single day??? That would be me, Mommy. C is such a Daddy's girl!!

Krewe of Zeus

A few nights before our recent trip, we went to Zeus with Maurie and Forrest Hartel. Zeus is the primary (well, only) Mardi Gras krewe in Hattiesburg. As sad as I was not to participate on the Coast, at least I got a little Mardi Gras fun in!!