My First Pigtails

Playing Catch-Up

I added a few new posts, so be sure to check them out :)

Fun at the Park

I just wanted to share some pictures of Ella playing at the park today. She LOVES going to the park! She especially likes to watch the ducks in the pond. She is very independent and likes to do everything all by herself.

her daddy made over

not too happy about leaving

Back to Reality

Two weeks ago we got back from Nick's 2nd Gold Cup Trip to Lanai, Hawaii. We had a great time! We stayed at the Four Seasons Resort at Manele Bay and the staff was so nice. We soaked up some sun, got a facial, played golf, had a massage by the beach, went on a snuba adventure, went to Maui for the day, did some shopping, snorkeled, ate some amazing food, enjoyed way too many adult beverages, and gained 11 pounds between the 2 of us. Ella was 6 months older for this trip, so that made things a little easier on us. We checked in on her daily and she did great! She is such a big girl! These are just a few pictures from our trip. So this is for all you non-facebookers (Mom & Dad).

Mother's Day

Sunday morning Ella & I drove to Clarksdale to surprise my Mom at church for Mother's Day. She was so excited! I dropped Ella off at the nursery with my Mom and went to Mass. After church we took Gram to lunch and then headed back home to Hernando. Nick's parents came to our house later that afternoon to see Ella. Nick was in California all week for work, so as soon as he got home we ate the dinner his mom cooked & visited a little with his family. I hope all you mommies had a great Mother's Day!!

lunch at Abe's

we had to bribe her with a sucker to sit still

Child Psychology

Lately, Ella has been a little easier to reason with. She really isn't a fan of wearing bows (big sigh). I decided to sit her down and explain that Minnie Mouse always wears a bow in her hair and how MM wants Ella to wear a bow too (you get my drift). I was so excited that she wore the bow during lunch...yay! That's a start...right?

Reed turns 3!!

On Sunday, May 2, we celebrated Reed Gapen turning 3 with a John Deere Birthday Party! The weather turned out perfect and the party was a success with no rain in sight! Thank goodness!! The kids played outside, rode on a hayride & whacked a pinata. The food was great & the cake was awesome! Later that night Eddie, Steph, Will, Carter, Nick, Ella & I went to Windy City for dinner. Too bad I don't have a picture of that. All 3 had slight meltdowns but at least there was a band to drown out the noise. Can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday, Reed!!

getting ready for the hayride

the yummy cake

Reed whacking the pinata

Ella even got a turn

showing baby Carter some love


Will Chittom

family pic

Brace Yourself

2 weeks from today I will be getting my braces! After many years of contemplating it I have finally decided to go ahead and do it. I am so excited!! Hopefully I will have them off by the time I'm 30...yikes! I heard it can be pretty painful in the beginning and throughout the entire process but no pain, no gain...right? Happy Wednesday!

MudBug Dash & Birthday Bash

Saturday morning a few of us ran in the 1st Annual MudBug 5k Dash that benefited the Palmer Home for Children here in Hernando. It was such a great success with almost 200 participants!

Way to go Ginna (in the middle)! She's 18 weeks pregnant and was such a trooper!

(L to R) Ashley, Ginna, Jessica & Me sporting our J. Cox Orthodontics race day shirts. Jessica was one of the presenting sponsors, so we were so proud to wear her shirt.

After the race Ella & I headed to Collierville for Will Chittom's 2nd birthday! Nick couldn't go because he was busy installing a drainage system in our backyard. Fun, fun! Ella was on the go the entire time. We had a blast celebrating that sweet boy's birthday!!

riding with the birthday boy



Will's new tractor

Steph & Miss Priss

getting a ride from Reed