Double Date

Mary Beth and Alex are on their way back to Texas right now. Tears!!! I've had so much fun with them this visit. They got to stay extra long which made me extra happy. One night, we went on a double date and it was so much fun. We (I) chose to eat at Cantina Loredo (catering my Mexican food cravings) on the Landing and it was delicious. We (I) ate soooo much.

Handsome devils.

I love this next picture for three reasons: (1) Derek's face. He felt awkward because I wasn't in the picture. (2) Alex held Derek's hand to make him feel better/more awkward. (3) It looks like Derek is slowly disappearing into the light.


After our dinner, we went to Andy's for some custard. We were going to play a little mini golf but the sweltering heat caused the guys to wimp out. So we went back to Alex and MB's hotel for a little swim. It was fairly late (10:15ish) by the time we got down to the pool so we were expecting it to either be closed or pretty empty. We were rudely awakened with millions of kids in the pool. And zero parents. The guys were waiting to make their move to stake out a corner of the pool.

They definitely staked it out!

I chickened out with the cold water and only put my feet in. Mary Beth dutifully sat out with me. What a friend!

Birthday Re-cap

I had such a great birthday yesterday. I woke up to an outpour of texts, fb messages, calls, and birthday songs. A sweet card from the husby with candy for our movie date later that evening was also presented before he jetted off to work. Ingrid and I played all morning long. I got a quick shower while she took her morning nap and then we got ready for our lunch out. We met mom and Michelle at Devitos for a delicious lunch. Michelle had Ingrid a birthday present to open at the restaurant. It was a precious penguin in a purse from Sea World. And a Curious George book.

Michelle also had me a present! A super cute Vera Bradley lunch box. It almost makes me excited to go back to school. Almost.

After we ate a delicious lunch of trout fingers, we went outside to take a few pics. I really wanted to get some photos of Ingrid in this adorable ballerina outfit from Nikki! It is so cute. And the pigtail bows match perfectly because she made them! Ingrid was so concerned with the fountain, we couldn't get her to stand still. I was afraid she would jump in the water!




We braved the heat and took Ingrid down to the trout farm to feed the fish. She absolutely loved it.

We couldn't stay long because it was soooo hot! We went back to the house and Ingrid laid down for her afternoon nap and I got ready for a night out with Derek.

We went up to Branson and browsed at Target and TJ Maxx. Then we went to Olive Garden and pigged out! We had two gift cards so we ate for free. I even got the triple chocolate strata for dessert. YUMMMM. It was so good. Then we headed to the movies to watch Horrible Bosses. It was the first time I had stepped into a theater since before Ingrid was born. It was a good night.

Teething Tales

It's no secret that Ingrid has a hard time getting teeth. She's been working on getting a fifth tooth for months. She's a champ though. Even with a low-grade fever and all that hurt in her mouth, she is still a smiley ball of joy. As soon as her fourth tooth came in (about a month ago) we started brushing her teeth! I got a tiny training toothbrush and training toothpaste and we went to town.



These pics are from her first time brushing and she loved it! She's loved it every night since. We always end our teeth brushing session by letting her do it herself. Her favorite part.

Now if we could just get some of those others to come on through...

27 years old

It's my birthday!!! I have a good day planned. I get to spend all day long with my sweet girl. A lunch planned with mom, Michelle, and Ingrid. A dinner date and movie (the first one since Ing was born!) with D tonight. Yahoo. I get to do whatever I want. And going with that trend, I want to show you a few pics of Ingrid in her bargain clearance dress from Target. Excuse the wrinkles--she had a good lap nap with her Gammy Sunday morning during church. I love this dress.


Here's a look back to my birthday last year. With a tiny two-week old Ingrid on her first stroller ride.

I love birthdays!!!

Hand-me-downs

I love getting hand-me-downs. When I was younger, I would get them from my sister and it was the best! Now we've gotten tons and tons from Amelia that Ingrid can wear. It saves a bundle. Sometimes we get hand-me-downs that aren't clothes, though. And that's even better. Recently we inherited a sprinkler mat. Amelia had two, so we got one of them. We were excited!

I thought Ingrid would want to dive right in since she loves getting splashed and water everywhere, but she was pretty timid with it. She wanted her daddy right by her side. Just in case she needed him.




Oh, and this adorable swim suit was Amelia's too. Thank you hand-me-downs!

Nixa Pool

The weather in the Ozarks has been HOT. Extremely hot. The only way to be outside with small children is to get in the water. Mom, Ingrid, and I went up to Heather's a few weeks back to try out the Nixa Pool. Heather had raved about the zero entry and splash time for kids so we wanted to check it out!

At first, Ing wasn't so sure...

Apparently more than one other family had the same idea as us. It was packed! Large crowds with lots of noise aren't on Ingrid's list of favorite things. So it took a little coaxing to get her in the water.

Amelia was a pro, however.

She encouraged Ingrid to try out some of the water toys.


Ingrid was really getting warmed up and ready to have some fun and splash time was over! That's usually how it goes for her. It takes her such a long time to get used to a new place. But she was just as happy borrowing Amelia's chair for a little snack back at the house.

And reading books with Leesy and Aunt Heather.


I hope we can go again before summer wraps up.

Family Time

One of the best things about summer is getting to spend time with my family. I love having a summer vacation so we have more quality time to get together and have fun. I was so happy Ingrid got to see Grandma Cates again this summer (and I wanted to see her too)! We had a great visit and she even bought her a few presents.

The Halsteds wanted in on the Grandma Cates visit too of course! The girls love to play dollhouse. Ingrid is really getting into imaginative play more and more. It's so fun.


A few weeks ago we all got together at Macaroni Grill. We had a private room to celebrate Jen's birthday.


All three little girls were so good. Amelia kept us entertained with songs and dances.

Aunt Jen loved her gifts and cake.

I love this pic of my sisso and BIL (minus someone's fingers. grrrr.)

This summer has flown by but it's been jam packed with memories and adventures. I can't believe I start back to school in just a couple short weeks. But I will be sure to make the most of these precious days I have left!

Ingrid's Big Bash: Food + Decorations

The last post about my big girl's party. And it's all about the details. My favorite! I had so much fun planning little things for her birthday bash. The menu was all about easy outdoor foods. Derek and Daniel grilled up some delicious hot dogs.

I used washi tape and labels from my awesome label maker (thanks Mom!) to add a festive touch to the condiments.


Originally, I was going to make fruit salad, but I thought it might get a little messy outdoors, so I did fruit kabobs instead. Also on the menu: wavy Lays and onion did, tortilla chips and homemade salsa, ranch pasta salad, and italian pasta salad. For the kids I had cheerios and goldfish too.

We needed something to wash all that good food down, so we had glass bottle Cokes on ice.



And tangy fresh lemonade with strawberry ice cubes. I used star ice cube trays but they melted so fast you can't tell! This lemonade was so good. I used this recipe and I will definitely use it again. Mmmm.


I found the cutest red, white, and blue patterned paper straws at Shop Sweet Lulu that I just couldn't resist.

This girl knows when she's hungry!

Eating corn, peas, carrots, and green beans. And giving Uncle Darren a taste.

Little did she know that she really wanted some of that pasta salad. We've been eating leftovers this week and Ingrid loves both kinds of pasta salad. And chocolate covered strawberries of course.

I think everyone enjoyed the food!

Outside we decorated with tissue pom-poms, paper sack flowers, and pinwheels that I made. Derek also strung red, white, and blue paper lantern lights up in the party tree.


Inside I decorated with a photo wall of Ingrid. I matted the 5x7 pics on alternating red and blue paper. I stuck the photos on with washi tape so no sticky was left behind. I started with one week old, then showcased monthly photos all the way up to 11 months. (We haven't taken her 1 year photos yet).


I also made a yarn wreath with some felt pinwheels to hang on the door. Ingrid's birthday banner was made with my Cricut. I hung some tissue paper flowers, circle garland, and stars throughout the space.

One of my favorite decorations turned out to be the sand-filled hurricanes. We used glass hurricanes left-over from our wedding and I decorated them with washi tape, scrapbook paper, and labels. I stuck a few pinwheels in the top.

Thanks so much for letting me share every detail of Ingrid's first birthday party!