Happy 10 Months old!

(No she's not really blowing up that balloon, but there's no doubt she would try!)

10 months really?! It's seriously hard to imagine a year ago I was stressing over nursery details and shower invites and today I was stressing over getting my baby to eat her dinner. Times they have changed. In just a matter of a few weeks Chloe has become a speed crawler, she's pulling up on everything and she is now a full-on table food eater (good thing I just bought two cases of baby food that she won't eat anymore). Everyday I'm curious what she'll do or say. She and I have lots of conversations, but she's doing most of the talking. Her cousins have been in town this week and she is loving all of their attention and trying to keep up with them all. Her cousin Brennan brought in this pink balloon and it was the coolest thing in the room. Don't mind the buckets of toys just feet away, no it was the balloon she desired. Anything goes for her and I'm trying to take that approach to my life as well. Remembering to let things just be is hard for me to practice, but now I catch myself sitting on the floor watching Chloe play for hours or next to her highchair waiting to see how many cheerios she can fit into her mouth at once. She's defining life in a whole new way...and that's a good thing. 

Charlie always finds her way into the photo shoot

Chloe @ 9 months

Little girl is getting big! I was a little delayed taking her 9 month photos, but we got them done despite the fact she no longer sits still or just lays there as her mom gets all paparazzi on her. The dog Charlie is a good prop to keep her interested, but she is crawling all over and easily distracted so rather than having 100 photos I get maybe 10 good ones. Yeah I realize that's a good thing. Anyway, she's a great little gal and I'm so so glad she's in my life and gives me daily purpose.
I used a quilt my mom gave me as the back drop and put on the sweet sweater her Mimi made over 10 years ago. Read more about the story here. It's pretty awesome. I thank God for this angel in my life right now. She has a contagious smile, a sparkle for adventure in her eyes and an excited spirit that fills me up.

Where I'm at

I want this for Chloe. I want this for me. To live richly beyond the amount in our bank accounts. To relish in the beauty around us, explore cultures that intertwine, to seek creativity, to enjoy golden moments in time. That is what I want. 

Dallas Flea

I'm a few weeks behind, but here are some snapshots from the Dallas Flea I went to a couple of weeks ago. There was definitely nothing flea about it. The area was filled with curiosities and items made by stellar artists. Check - check - check it out. Maybe you'll get some last minute gift ideas!

Ruthie's Rolling Cafe food truck - all the craze for fresh gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches.

 

 Cole Paper Co. Custom wedding invitations + Stationery + Prints

Leah Duncan illustration + design + textiles

 Rachel Elise handbags + accessories

 Signifying Not

GAIA for Women Home

 Rad jewelry from F is for Frank

 The Pink Pagoda

 Studio Slo Mo

 Leah Duncan pillow cases

 3 Bears Studio

Etsy Find: Silhouette Necklace

Surfing the world wide web this weekend I stumbled upon these little gems. I'm just in love. It's such a unique take on the personalized mommy necklace. If you're looking for more than just a charm with your child's name on it, check these out. Lucky Me Beads will customize the infamous silhouette using a photos of your children. Don't ask me how she does it, but she does and it's cool.  

Weekend wrap-up

Weekends are always full of lots of football around our house. Chloe witnessed history when her daddy's alma mater (Baylor) had it's first Heisman trophy winner - RG3

Totally want this ... for Chloe ... errr myself. This thing is so sweet. If they have it around when Chloe gets older we're so getting it. 

Hello cute slippers from Wal-Mart! Yeah, I know. 

We found our first Christmas tree and Chloe helped. She had to touch every tree before we found the perfect one!

We had a great time...even if she was still in her pajamas and I pulled a celebrity, wearing my sunglasses the entire time. 

New favorite app on the iPhone: Photo Collage 

Our perfect tree...really so perfect my dad thought it was fake. Love me a real Christmas tree! 

My mom and dad flew back from Malaysia after visiting my sister there and they stayed with us while they fought jet-lag. Chloe took advantage and had Grandma reading to her all day. 

Silly girl loving life.

Blog clog

You ever wonder how you can ever keep up with the overload of technology? Blogs, Pinterest, Facebook, more blogs, Twitter and long list of bookmarked websites. There are so many blogs out there that I used to follow, but when baby came I just didn't have the time or the want to log-on any more. Then the full-time job came and that further reduced the time I had towards browsing the web. I write all day and look for ideas on a computer, the last thing I want to do when I get home is get on the computer and look at more websites that make me feel like I should be doing more. 

Everyday there's a new "list" or "guide" full of items you never knew about. You wonder if you're totally out of the know if you don't log-on everyday. Then there is Pinterest. It's a great concept, but I have a hard time with how it's really bettering my life. Sure I like to go on and "pin" things that appeal to me, but that's it. I wish I had time to do all the things on my DIY board or cook the items collected on my "Cookin'" board, but I don't because there's just not enough time in the day. And I guess that's just it. What are we doing with our time? Are we going from blog to blog wishing our lives looked like those we read about, envying how that person can come up with such clever crafts or how that fashion blogger has the time to find all those clothes that you'll never be able to afford or wear like that? I just wonder if we're tricking ourselves into thinking life happens on a screen. I have to give myself space with the computer and remember to go and create my own life that is completely independent of something I saw on a blog, read on website or liked on Pinterest. 

Don't get me wrong I do think the web has a lot to offer. There is just such an insatiable amount of things out there that it can get overwhelming! I wish I could do all of the creative crafts I see or convince myself that I can cook, but I'm realistic and know that right now in my life it's just not happening. That little 8-month-old is the best thing I've ever created and the fun part is she continues to refresh my life without having to log-on. When I do get on the computer after baby is asleep, laundry is folded, dishes are cleaned, bottles are made, I pay a visit to a few blogs that just plain inspire. I go to Under the Sycamore almost everyday to see what Ashley's wild crew is up to next. She has stellar photography and a great sense of purpose and perception of what life is really all about. Lil Blue Boo is somewhat of a new blog for me. Another Ashley writes this one and her life story has so many chapters of love, heartache, loss, hope, illness and joy. Both are women of faith and they make it known that life is something to be lived, experienced, enjoyed. Now that is inspiring. Check them out. 

baby girl

(note: I'm a little late on this...the whole working mom thing puts a kink in things.)
Whew where do I begin? The last eight months have been a combination of a lot of things; pure joy, gratitude, unconditional love, exhaustion, excitement, pride, frustration, fear and more love.
This sweet joy named Chloe Anne makes this life incredibly full. Even though her tummy never seems full because she's always spitting up her food, her smile remains big and wide. We're on some reflux medication that we hope will start helping, but the word on the parenting street is that we just need to wait it out..."it will get better." Until then we keep lots of burp clothes around and do lots of laundry. You know you're a parent when you get thrown up on and you don't even flinch. I'm sad for her because I know it can't be fun to spit up all the time, but she just keeps going on having fun. She's rolling a lot and thinks about crawling but it just turns into her baby worm.
In a time where life continues to be uncertain she is the spark in our day. When weeks fly by because work has become all consuming and it seems like it's work/home/work/home rinse and repeat she brings a perception into my day that reminds me what a gift life is and to just slow down and enjoy it. She loves books so I have fun reading to her while she tries to eat the pages. I enjoy watching her play with toys and explore her hands or roll and scoot herself to something in her sight. And so it goes...8 months and counting. Not sure I'm okay with the fact that she's now closer to 1, but that's life, it keeps moving.

Estate sale Saturday

I'll be honest. I've been to my share of a few garage sales and I'm not a fan. There's just too much stuff and it's all just thrown out on a concrete slab for the masses to sift though. Rarely do you find treasures. So today I decided to go to an estate sale here in Dallas to see if that experience would differ. Um yeah they did. The first sale I went into was located in an upscale neighborhood. The exterior of the home was traditional, but inside the decor was all sorts of Asian Mid-Century. It's always kind of creepy walking through someone's home like they just stepped out and looking at their things...buying them and taking them home with you. It's just odd, there's really no other way to describe it. BUT...it does provide a unique opportunity to find some one-of-a-kind treasures. The prices are typically higher, and there are definitely some sales that have lots of junk and a few diamonds in the rough. The second sale I went to seemed sort of grungy when I first walked through, but I didn't judge it by the bad decorating, I kept searching and found the great yellow chevron blanket and that coral necklace. It's getting items at places like this that make wish there was some type of journal that came with items so we could see the history of where it was first bought, what homes it's been to and the connection of those who have had them.

Etsy Find: Modern Mobile

This little gem is makes me go into a daze...wonder what it would do for Chloe? I'm thinking she's growing out of her musical bird mobile and this just might be the little nursery upgrade she needs...or wants. Yes, she tells me things like that. 

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