Grand Opening

I have opened an Etsy shop! Not really sure what I'm doing, besides crocheting a lot. But it's fun. 

That's what I'm selling for now. Actually, the blanket and owl hats aren't even listed yet, so lucky you for seeing them first! You can click the "Shop" tab at the top of the page, then click one of the pictures to go to the real-deal Etsy shop.

Book Review: The Middle Place

Sorry about the Amazon button- clicking that picture will not take you "inside" haha

I didn't expect to be done with this book so quickly! It was a good and quick read, only took me a couple of days. This book is about a woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer, and her father is diagnosed with cancer also. Kelly Corrigan talks about the place between being a mother and a daughter, and balancing those relationships I guess. It was a good book, very relatable. If not for the frequent use of a specific naughty word, it would be a great book.

*Note: I am not specifying in these book reviews whether or not I recommend a book, because I don't want to be responsible for anyone reading something I've read and then having negative views of me because they didn't like a book I liked! So read at your own risk.*

February Goals

Just because it isn't New Years doesn't mean we can't set some goals!

Camille's goals:

-No Pinterest in February. It would be no social media in February, but I recently dropped my phone in water and the internet is my only way of communicating with my husband and the world! Plus, I've got a hankering to decorate our house, and our decorating money is going towards other things right now {like food, clothing, and shelter}, so I'm cutting out Pinterest to help resist that urge.

-Try 4 new recipes. With all that time not on Pinterest, that should be easy right? Riiiiight.

-Do something I've been meaning to do for a long time. {Some options: Finally get my Texas driver's license, finish sewing Millie's dress, crochet that chevron blanket for Steph, etc.}

Tyler's goals:

-Be the best-looking auditor ever. {Check!}

-Work 80+ hours a week. {Check!} Maybe this isn't so much a goal as it is the current circumstance. Not only is he the best-looking auditor ever, he is also the best auditor ever!

-In all seriousness, he did mention to me yesterday not tinkering with his phone when he gets home at night, with the exception of Church calling stuff.

Millie's goals:

-Eat as many fruit snacks as humanly possible.

-Escape Mom's grip and finally run out into the street like she wants to.

-Thwart any and all efforts to be clean and orderly.

Looks like we have our work cut out for us this month! Wish us luck.

Unintended and funny family picture.

My Blue Bell baby

When I was about 10 weeks pregnant with Millie, we went to the Juergens Family Reunion. Part of that reunion was visiting the Blue Bell factory in Brenham, TX! {This remains one of my favorite places to visit. A tour AND free Blue Bell? I'm in!} If you didn't know, Blue Bell is the best ice cream in the whole world. Hands down. Anyway, so I was newly pregnant and only our immediate families knew about it- we were going to break the news to everyone else towards the end of the reunion. As we wandered through the gift shop, I saw a little shirt that said "blue bell baby." HAD to have it, because duh, our baby would obviously be a Blue Bell baby. We had a dilemma- pink or blue? Since we obviously didn't know that Peanut was a girl yet, Gigi and Poppy got one of each, to be safe. I couldn't imagine at the time that little Peanut would ever fit into that shirt {because she was after all barely even the size of a peanut}, but now she does!!

Also, I think it's awesome that we can wear short sleeves this early in the year. I'm glad to be a Texan!!

Book Review: The Reading Promise

This is the first book I've finished so far this year, as part of my resolution to read 24 books in 2013. I am so glad I started with this book! Many thanks to my mother-in-law Gretchen for recommending and lending it to me. 

This book is about a girl whose father read to her every night for a long time. Literally for thousands of nights! Pretty amazing. Her life experiences are shaped by the books they read together and her imagination is awesome, making the book really funny sometimes. I loved thinking about Millie during this book and hoping she has a mind like Alice and that she loves to read! It has a list of the books they read in the back- I wrote some down so I can remember to read them to Millie someday. This book was awesome!

Blogging about blogging

I've been thinking a bit about this blog lately. There are SO many blogs out there on the interwebs and there are times I wish I stood out more, had more awesomeness to share, etc. But then I start to think about what it would take for me to have a zillion followers and I just get tired. And that's when I realize that I don't really care about having a zillion followers... that's not even what I want. I don't want to write for anyone else- this corner of the web is for me to express myself and document our family's life. Nothing more, and nothing less.

So what can you expect from this blog in the future?

Nothing different from the past, peeps. 

Takin' crackers from a baby

Today I put Millie in her high chair for a snack. I gave her some graham crackers and went about my business, cleaning the kitchen while she ate. But then, those crackers started to look real good! So I sat down with her and we had some crackers together. I even poured myself a little glass of milk to dip them in {which is big, because I don't like or drink milk}. Millie looked more and more concerned as she watched me eat, sometimes even pointing and making some unintelligible string of noises {probably protesting my eating HER crackers, by the look on her face}. I knew we had more crackers in the pantry, so I happily finished off the rest of the pack.

But when I went to the pantry to get her some more, there were none. Whoops! Fat kid moment from the mom- my bad. Think she'll forgive me??

a blurry cheeser

I spoke too soon

The universe must have read my last post.

Not that we are having bad days now, but things are certainly changing. Tyler's hours are late {still busy season, so that's to be expected}. What I didn't expect was Millie turning two! 

Not in years, of course, but in attitude. All of a sudden, my sweet, calm, go-with-the-flow baby is gone! This new girl knows what she wants and will not give up until she gets it. {Gee, I have no idea where she gets her stubbornness....} 6 months ago, it was one thing to let her cry it out. Now she's much harder to tire out. Plus, she's so much louder now. Hopefully it's just a phase! I guess it's time to bust out those parenting books I've been avoiding.

I feel like I've done pretty well so far as a mom. Mostly because my job has mostly consisted of fulfilling needs, and I could anticipate what those were. But now Millie needs a mom who knows how to actually parent! Here we go.

Also, here is a completely unrelated photo. Loving the family pictures Gilgen Photography took for us over Christmas!

Good days

Lots of reading happening here

I just really like days like the ones we've had lately. Days when Millie is happy and busy doing all the really important stuff babies do and I get to do all the stuff I need to do. Days when Tyler comes home a little earlier than expected {which is still after 9 but hello, it's busy season y'all} and we get to catch up on our shows together. Days that are dark and wet so we stay inside. But when we do go out {like Millie and I did today} we get soaked in the pouring rain, which is okay because Millie thinks it's hilarious running through the Wal-Mart parking lot with the shopping cart, and then we get to snuggle at home to get warm. 

There are more times than I care to admit when I think of all the things I can't wait to do or have or see, but I'm trying to be better about enjoying all the things I am doing and having and seeing. I think that's important, and it's way more fun!

So here's to good days. And to appreciating them for what they are.

Millie's 1st Birthday!

Warning: Lots of pictures of Millie comin' your way. I'm actually kicking myself for not getting a picture of all of us together on her birthday, but oh well. That girl knows how to be the center of my attention I guess.

Millie turned a year old yesterday! She had a great day. I couldn't stop looking at her and kissing her all day long, just thinking about how much she's changed. It was like I was seeing her a year ago all day long, which made me decide it's all gone by too quickly. We love this little girl more than words can say.

Millie started her birthday off with some relaxation! Normally when I go to get her in the mornings, she's standing or sitting up and playing peek-a-boo with her blanket or inspecting her binky or something. But that morning she just lay there, probably thinking really deep 1-year-old thoughts.

After church, I just had to take some pictures of her in her pretty dress. This is what she wore to Heidi and James' wedding too! She was one beautiful birthday girl.

She posed herself... What a diva!

Millie loves playing the piano

Where are Mommy's eyes?

It was her party, she could cry if she wanted to.

 Millie was given lots of gifts from Poppy, Gigi, and Uncle AJ. We were going to wait for Tyler to get home for her to dive in, but I guess she couldn't wait. She walked right over to the bag and opened her stroller all by herself!

 So after eating dinner, we decided we'd better let her open up the rest of her presents.

After presents, we skyped with my family in Lufkin. They sang her Happy Birthday and Millie loved it! Then it was time for cake. Anticipating a huge mess, I took off her clothes. Turns out that wasn't necessary. Maybe it was because we were all watching her and she had 3 cameras pointed at her, but she didn't want anything to do with the cupcake!

Once Daddy broke it up into smaller pieces, I guess it was less intimidating.

Here are some facts about Millie at 1 year:

-She is walking all over now, and is starting to realize that it's better than crawling. It is so fun to watch her walk around- she smiles so big and seems so proud of herself.

-Whenever I'm eating something {especially when I'm not sitting down at the table} she crawls or walks up to me, spits out her binky, and smacks her lips like she's really excited to take a bite. I should probably start snacking on healthier things, if only for her sake! But when we're at the table, she's more picky and only wants her baby food.

-Millie loves books, but she gets pretty impatient to turn the page. It's more speedreading than anything.

-If you ask her what any animal says, she barks. Her time with Teddy left a lasting impression!

-She still loves phones and remote controls and all things technology. She is her daddy's girl, that's for sure.

-Millie does everything with 2 fingers. Even if it's not the most efficient, she very carefully picks everything up with her thumb and pointer fingers. Her little pinchers are dainty and adorable!

Happy Birthday Millie Mae!! We love you!