Capturing the Moment

I have been wanting to take some family portraits for a while now and I finally convinced Zane to sit still and "smile" long enough to capture some shots. Cally has always been great at taking pictures so I thought it would be an easy, quick photo shoot. Much to my surprise, Zane cooperated (haha) but Cally did not. We spent most of the time chasing her around the park while Molly, my friend and photographer, clicked away. It was an interesting time to say the least but I was pleasantly surprised to see the outcome of the pics. Thanks Molly for coming out and taking our pictures. They came out great!

Park Fun

My wonderful friend Sam lives just 5 minutes away and she has a little boy, Wesley, whose just a few months younger than Cally. Her husband Patrick works with Zane and now that the boys are back from Iraq and we have all settled into our regular routines, we like to get together to pass the time while the guys are at work. We usually take the kids out for a walk, swimming, shopping around, or just hang out and watch them interact. It's great to have such a good friend so close by who understands the "military life." Here's a few pics of Wes man and Cally playing around at the park.

Happy Birthday Cally Mae!

I can hardly believe it! It's been a year since Cally was born but only feels like yesterday! I have learned so much and my life has changed immensely but I'm grateful for it all. Cally has been an amazing baby and it's been so much fun watching her grow and learn new things. She is such a happy, smart, and friendly little girl! She loves everyone, always smiling and laughing and now waving hello. This last month she reached a huge milestone. She finally got walking down and she's now cruising around like a pro. No more hands and knees! This is an exciting time for all of us and I'm so grateful that Zane was around to witness it. It's so fun to watch her walk around, she's like a little person, no longer a baby. I have officially weaned her off breast milk and she is now drinking cow's milk with no complaints. She continues to sleep in her crib and through the night. Along with waving hello, she loves to clap her hands together every time we say "yay!!!" and she's trying her best to communicate with us. She is not quite saying any distinct words but she makes noises to get our attention and to express herself. This has been an amazing year for all of us! Happy Birthday my darling girl! Mommy and Daddy love you more than you'll ever know!

Cally officially turned 1 in TN while we were there visiting John and Mary. We celebrated with a little birthday cake and presents from Nan and Papa bear!
(Pictures to come...)

The following weekend, we drove down to Yuma to visit with friends and family and decided to throw her a small birthday party at my friend Jil's house. We got together with family and some of my best friends which I had not seen in a very long time and celebrated along with all of our kiddos. It was so great to see everyone and share such a fun day!

Mmmmmm, yummy cake!

haha, licking the plate!

Uncle Klay, Auntie Erica, and cousins Nick and Katie

Rachel, Stephanie, Melanie, Me, Jil

Rebbeka, Zoe, Cally, Cadence, Matthew, Carter, Jackson, and Tennison

The mommies, the kiddos, and Mel ;o)

Rebbeka, Rachel, Kristen, Samuel, and Melanie

Rachelle, Brandi, Scott, and Faith

Scottie and AJ

Aunt Bev and Zane

*Jil, thank you so much for lending us your beautiful home and helping me out with everything! I could not have done it without you! Love you!