Happy Pre-Birthday, Dink!

We celebrated our Dink's (Mya's) birthday a little early this weekend with Matt's family. Because we have 3 weddings to attend in September, it was nearly impossible to find an open weekend in which we could celebrate. We opted for this weekend over the last weekend in September, thinking we could make it a birthday/pool party. Nature had a different plan, and gave us a fall-like day. Regardless of the breezy, cool weather, the day was actually pretty pleasant. Although, who knew we would be wearing our fall jackets in August?

We had over 30 family members at the party! It was a big group! Mya was on top of her game... entertaining and shmoozing them all. Luckily, she took 2, 2 hour naps so she was ready to party! Matt, Grandma Diane, and I worked all morning cooking and cleaning to get ready for the guests. Mya even helped a bit, too!

Playing with the papertowel roll kept Mya busy while Mommy cleaned the bathroom.

The invitations to Mya's ladybug party!

The favors for the guests were chocolate ladybug suckers. I made these out of 2 different types of chocolate. They were SUPER cute...if I may say so myself!

The table is set with favors, appetizers, and Mya's 3 month Snapfish Photobooks

I made a timeline of Mya's "monthly pics." It was fun to see how much she's grown!

Auntie Amy and Quentin are ready to party!

Mya in her birthday dress. I am bummed I didn't get a better shot of the dress. Maybe a reinactment will be necessary!

Matt's AWESOME ribs! He made 7 racks and they were gone in minutes!

Q and Mya enjoying their dinner! They are too cute together!

Mya in her birthday hat. She wasn't so sure of it!

Mya's birthday cake.

Mommy helping Mya make a wish and blow out her candle. Matt and I confessed to eachother later that this part of the day made both of us a little teary-eyed. Our baby is growing so fast!

Mya wasn't sure about her cupcake.
She wanted Momma to try it firs so she fed me a bite. These were actually egg-free cupcakes. They were yummy and tasted just like "regular" cupcakes!

She finally dug in! It's hard to see, but she has pink frosting all over her face.

Mya with her Daddy! She ate some of the cupcake and threw the rest on the floor!
Mommy and Mya opening her birthday gifts. She sat with me the entire time and looked at each card and gift. She is very thankful for her family coming to celebrate with her and for all of her great gifts! THANKS EVERYONE!!!

Lots to Share!

It's been awhile since I posted so there's is lots to share! I, of course, took lots of pictures. So I will let them do most of the talking!

Last Friday, I was so lucky and was able to go to the City to celebrate my friend, Mira's birthday! It was a great "girls" night out! Brittany and I began the adventure on the train with our "tall boy beers." Then, off to a pub for some more beer and apps. Finally, we ended the night at Mira's friends, Alicia and Kathy's for even more apps, beer, and games! SOOO fun and MUCH needed!

Mya has been so busy exploring our house. She has rearranged every cabinet and has found new toys that she loves! She can't get enough of her car. She hangs on tight to the steering wheel and goes for ride. It is absolutely hysterical when Matt pushes her around our house. She hangs on for dear life and I laugh uncontrollably! I will catch it on camera soon and share! :) This is her after her joyride!

We have been working very hard at getting our house ready for Mya's 1 year birthday party on Saturday. We are having over Matt's entire family, over 3o people. We are excited to have everyone over to the new house, but I am STRESSING OUT big time! Matt was working on the yard and I was pulling weeds. I decided to put Mya in the grass to play. All she needed was my purse to tear apart and she was happy! She loved the sensation of the grass (Why haven't we played in the grass before now???). This kept her busy for at least 45 minutes! We got a lot done, believe it or not!

Like I said, we have been feverishly working at getting the house ready for the party. While Matt worked at painting Mya's room a couple of weeks ago, it needed some "TLC" from "Rachel's Perspective." So, Matt took Mya to Grandma Diane's while Mommy worked on the room! It is almost done! A couple of finishing touches (window treatments, hanging the heavy mirror) and it will be done. It is AWESOME! The pictures don't really do it justice because you can't see the size of the room, it's huge! Seriously, I wish it was my room! Move over Mya, Mommy is sleeping with you!

11 Months Old and Into EVERYTHING!

My precious baby girl is 11 months old now! I'm a little behind in my "monthly birthday" post. I have been busy chasing, cleaning, and keeping up with my little girl on the go! I may say this every month, but I feel like she has change drastically this month. She has had a month of first- including, crawling, standing, talking (momma/dadda!), and waving. It is bittersweet to think my baby is growing and developing so quickly. I always think, "I can't wait until she can......" but then when it happens I think, "Oh, just another step towards my baby growing up." I never understood why anyone would want to do "this" again. The looooooong pregnancy, the painful delivery, the sleepless nights? Why do this all over again? But, as Mya gets older I somewhat miss those days. If I knew I could have 10 babies like her, perhaps I would do it again and again!

So, one more month before my baby girl turns the big 1! I can't imagine what changes will occur by then....walking....more talking.....we will see! I have a feeling the best is yet to come!

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!

Wanted: Housekeeper/Personal Trainer

I had 2 revelations today.

1.) I need a housekeeper. I know, I'm a stay at home mom. Why can't I clean my own house? I can. I don't want to. With Mya now being a crazy crawler, she is into EVERYTHING!!!! She is into a drawer, closet, cabinet, laundry basket, or bag pulling EVERYTHING out before I can finish putting everything away from her previous adventure. I feel like I am constantly picking up after the little tornado. I am so pooped from picking up that I have no energy to actually "deep clean" anything. Let alone do the laundry or dishes!

2.) I need a personal trainer. I know, I am a stay at home mom. Why can't I get on the stupid eliptical that is collecting dust in my bedroom while Mya naps? I can. I don't want to. All it takes is trying on dresses and then seeing yourself in some photos. UGH! I am ashamed of myself. How did this happen? I am sure having a baby didn't help. However, I can no longer use that as an excuse. I see other moms and they have lost the weight. Girl...GET YOUR REAR IN GEAR!!!!

Spoiled Rotten

I decided today that Mya is spoiled rotten. She has a huge bedroom with a view, a zillion and one toys, a fabulous wardrobe, and now her very own pool! Mya loves, loves, loves our big pool, but Momma and Daddy don't always want to get in that one (especially since it's usually freezing!). So, we decided to get her one of her own. She can play, splash, and entertain herself. And even better, it warms up in no time!

A Week of Firsts!

Mya has been very busy developing and learning new things this week. It seems to be a week of firsts! Here's what she's been up to:

Crawling: She went from rocking on all 4's to actually moving forward. She is still pretty slow, so she typically opts to drop and roll after a few seconds. Her biggest motivation for crawling.... JASMINE!

Pulling up to standing position: She did this once earlier in the week and I kind of thought it was a fluke! However, she did it several times today. She loved climbing up while I was on the computer. I even got her to do her funny "sherbert" while standing.

She also stands very well. I have a feeling she'll be standing by herself in no time! Here she is playing with the new water table that Grandma Diane got her. I was barely holding onto her. She loved the water table!

Waving: I practiced this with her this morning. She thought it was funny and mimicked me whenever I did it. When Daddy got home, she waved to him too!
Here's a video of her waving to Daddy in the kitchen. (Guess I should have turned the lights on!)

125th Reunion

We spent the last few days in Funks Grove celebrating the Stubblefield/Funk 125th family reunion. It was a big event with lots of daily/nightly activities. We got down there Thursday night so that Matt could golf bright and early Friday morning. He was on a team of my relatives that he doesn't really know, and to top it off it was pouring rain! Being the trooper that he is, he made the most of it and his team won! That evening we went to a bbq. It was early to bed for Mya and Mommy, Daddy, Auntie Andra, and Uncle Steve went to Schooners for a few drinks! Thanks Mimi and Papa for watching the kids!

Saturday, we were off to the Grove for our picnic lunch. It was over 90 degrees and very humid! There were over 300 relatives at the reunion. 25 years ago we attended the 100th reunion. We took a group picture and I was a little 5 year old in the front row! This year, I am the 3o year old Momma holding my baby in the back of the bunch!

Carly and Mya playing during the picnic

Mya with her cousin, Olivia

Between events on Saturday we decided to COOL down in Mimi and Papa's pool! The kids...and parents had a great time!

Getting ready to go swimming...it was a HOT one!

Daddy and Mya swimming in Mimi and Papa's pool. It was SO refreshing!

On Saturday night, we were off to yet another meal with ALL of the Funks! We enjoyed a delicious beef (of course!) dinner. We even had a band (and keg) for after dinner entertainment. We had a great time eating, socializing, and dancing! Mya was hysterical! She dance all through dinner! After Mya went down for the night, Matt and I were back to the concert in the cornfield! Who can beat that for a Saturday night of fun?!?!?!

One of MANY videos of Mya dancing!

Daddy and Mya on the trolley! This is how we were transported from one sight to the other! A tractor was pulling this people carrier!

Sunday, there was ANOTHER lunch for the culminating activity! Ahhhh...... finally the end of a LOOOOOONG weekend! It was fun, but its good to be home!!!!

Dear Momma

Dear Momma,

I am sorry I was naughty again. I didn't mean to put my pacifier into the toy. But, I did think it was pretty funny! Didn't you?

Please Daddy thank you for getting it out for me!

Love,

Mya

After Mya put her pacifier into her toy

Upclose picture of the evidence.... can you find the pacifier?

Happy Birthday, Quentin!

Our nephew, Quentin, turned 1 at the end of July and we celebrated with a big birthday bash! Mya was excited to see her cousin! She got all "dolled" up for the party! Momma is a bit of a freak and took a ton of pictures of her in her pretty party dress. Thank you, Granny, for the beautiful dress! Can't wait to see everyone again soon when our little lady turns 1!

Here's the birthday boy! He dove right into his birthday cake!