THE PARTY!

I made Mylah's cake! It is the 1st cake I have made for one of the kids birthday's, and probably the last! LOL

Ivey was wise and choose a store bought cake!

The girls got sooo many nice gifts!

Ivey being sassy, showing off one of her new birthday outfits!

Ivey loves her kitty "Jinx" (Bengal breed)

Me and Mylah before the party started!

Mylah hanging out with daddy at her b-day party!

Brennan sliding on the water slide we rented for the party!

Our "other daughter" Kendall loves her lil' sis!

Ivey's BFF Amanda!

Ivey loves her friend Shane!

Cousin Meagan and Mylah!

BeBe and Mylah!

Ivey and Mylah celebrated their birthdays together with a big party! Their birthdays are only about a week apart. It is much easier for everyone to get together for one celebration, rather than trying to party for 2 weekends in a row! This year we decided to be brave and have the party at our home! We made it a water theme of course, because here on the coast it is in the 90's each day. We rented a giant inflatable water slide and the kids loved it! We had hot dogs, chips, baked beans, and pasta salad! Yum! But, most of all, we enjoyed hanging out with our family and friends as we celebrated the life of both Ivey and Mylah! Ivey turned the big "6"! I can't believe how fast they grow, Mylah is already 1...unreal!

Danny and I just knew it would rain the day of the party. We have had 3 outdoor birthday parties so far, and it has rained at every one! At Ivey's 1st birthday party there was a Tropical Storm that day! We had outdoor party plans and the weather was really bad! Most people couldn't even make it to the party. On Ivey's 3rd birthday, we rented the swim club out. There were thunderstorms the whole time and bad lightning. No one even got to put a toe in the water! LOL We all stayed under the picnic covered area. On Ivey's 5th birthday party it rained. We had that party at The Fountain, which is a cool place where lots of water shoots out of the ground in various fountains. The kids love it there! They did get to play in the water some, because it did not rain and lightning the whole time. That's the thing about coastal summer storms. We're not just talking about rain, but massive lightning bolts and loud thunder! So, we decided to try another outdoor party, even though we felt like it would be doomed like all the rest! LOL Thankfully, this time we were wrong! It was a beautiful day with plenty of sunshine and temps in the 90's! HOT! The water slide came in good use!

Ivey picked out a Barbie cake that she wanted from Target. She had this exact same cake for a past birthday (her 4th I think)! I could not talk her out of it though, so barbie it was! I have never made any of my girls a birthday cake before....ever! I for some reason decided to make Mylah's 1st b-day cake though! I am not a good cook, let alone a baker! LOL I borrowed the cutest cake pan from my friend Sandi. (Thanks Sandi!) I made 1 "practice" cake which I learned from! LOL Mylah's turned out pretty cute, but I think that will be my first and last birthday cake to make! Now I can understand why cakes cost so much though!

The pile of gifts between the two of them was unbelievable! Our girls are way too spoiled by our great friends and family! They both got some really cute clothes, toys, books, movies, pool gear, ect...Danny and I got Mylah several adoption books which I think she'll love when she gets a little older. They both got some really cute monogrammed clothing, and towels. Monogrammed clothing, or anything is HUGE here in the South! Little girls in the South own tons of monogrammed clothing, and almost anything else us moms can put names or initials on!

Our girls have so many people who care about them and love them! We had a house full of some of our favorite people. We were also missing a few people that we wish could have came, and hope they make it next year! Thanks to all who shared this special day with Ivey and Mylah...hope I don't leave anyone out!

BeBe, Nanny, Aunt Christy, Aunt Donna, Cousin Meagan, Aunt Lindsey, Uncle Brandon, Aunt Julie, Cousin Carter, Jen and her 3 boys: Braxton, Bryson, and Brantley, Terri and Kendall, Stacy and Taylor, Cyndi, Ansleigh, and Cadyn, Shane, Betty, Lauren, and Baby Shane, Rosanna and Amanda, Liz, Trent and Felicity, Mandy, Avian and Nevaeh, then of course there was me, Danny, Brennan, Ivey, and Mylah!

Blessings!

Amber

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY MYLAH!

This grass

feels yucky!

Love my wagon rides with my big sis!

Messing up Brennan's room....AGAIN!

My big sister is the sweetest ever!

Hey! Get this cat off my back!

HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!

Today our baby girl turned ONE! She amazes us everyday with how much she has learned and how fast she is growing! She is crawling super fast and is always wanting someone to hold her fingers so she can practice walking. She is pulling up on things and cruising the furniture a little! She can say lots of words already. Here are the ones I can think of: Daddy, MaMa, Kitty Cat, Duke, Hey, Night Night, Ivey, No No, Uh Oh.

Mylah hasn't been to her one year check up yet, but a few weeks ago she weighed 20 pounds! She is sitting forward facing in the car and seems to like it much better. She is on whole milk now and loves it! She still insists on her milk being warm though...we are trying to work on that! She takes a bottle about twice a day now and drinks out of her sippy cups. She gets a bottle at bedtime, and around 5am. She is sleeping much better! She goes to bed around 8pm and gets up around 7-8am. She does get a 5am bottle from her daddy still though! Mylah has 4 teeth and is eating some table food. She likes pizza, home-made mashed potatoes, cheese, grits, toast, bannana's, ice cream, and spaghetti.

She is developing quite a little toddler temper, and has already mastered having a fit! She can scream really loud when she doesn't get her way! She will also kick and thrash around! It is not pleasant! She just started these fits and I think she is really enjoying them! LOL She has figured out that she has a mind of her own and she wants to use it! She doesn't want anyone else telling her what to do!

Mylah loves playing with Brennan and Ivey! She loves being outdoors and especially going for a ride in the wagon. She also likes going to the swim club and being in the water. She loves playing with our kitten....even though he sometimes scratches and bites! She goes to daycare twice a week and her teachers say she is the best one in the class! Ha! I'm still trying to figure out why she acts so good for them and throws fits with me! LOL

Today I am just really happy to have her in our lives! She is our dream come true...and I thank her birthmom for our precious daughter. I had a text conversation with "T" as we were about to give Mylah her cake tonight. I know "T" loves her and thinks of her all the time.

We just had a little cake for Mylah tonight with just me, Danny, Brennan, and Ivey. She did not like it and cried when she got it on her hands and arms! Then of course she rubbed it in her hair so she went straight to the tub! We took video of it and some pics. She has had a runny nose and has been really grumpy all day, so that may be why she wasn't liking the cake so much. We are having her birthday party in about 2 weeks, and I am hoping she digs into the cake more then. Mylah has tons of clothes and toys (many hand-me downs from Ivey), so I ordered her some adoption books for her birthday. I am so excited about them! They are ones that are written for children and I know she will really enjoy them when she is a little older. There are sooo many adoption books that I want for her and some grown up ones I'd like to have for myself. I'm sure she will get books for every holiday! LOL Ivey likes the adoption books right now too, so she will enjoy them as well. I also got her some more hair stuff: snaps, beads and a beader. I don't think Mylah enjoys me practicing with her hairstyles, but I have to learn! LOL I can't wait till she will sit still while I do her hair! It is very challenging at this age!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MYLAH BROOKE! LOVE~ DADDY, MOMMY, BRENNAN, AND IVEY

DESTIN FLORIDA~SPRING BREAK

Here are a few pics from Destin! The sand and water are beautiful there! That is where we spent part of the girls Spring Break. They had a cheer competition there that lasted 2 days. Mylah loves the sand!

~Amber

EASTER

Mylah loves the beach!

Meagan and Zack (Niece/Nephew)

Saran wrap on cast does not work!

At an Easter egg hunt in Florida at a children's park

These were taken in our yard!

Ivey and Mylah at church Easter party!

Hi! I'm behind on the blog...what's new?! This has to be a quick post too, because I have many other things I need to be taking care of! Just wanted to say that Mylah had a wonderful 1st Easter! We spent the weekend with my parents, and my sister and her family. We stayed at my parents condo which is in Florida! It was a beautiful weekend! The water was still too cold to swim in, but all the kids enjoyed just being outdoors and playing in the sand. Mylah had her first experience with sand. She loved it! She crawled all around and kept picking it up and throwing it around! It got in her hair...which was a little challenging to get out! Not as hard as I thought it would be though.

Brennan's leg was in a cast, which is not fun to deal with while at the beach! She used tons of garbage bags to keep the sand out! The bags kept tearing, so she ended up with sand in it anyway! Ivey also spilled milk down inside her cast...YUCK! She was glad to finally get that stinky, sticky thing off 4 days after Easter! Brennan woke up Easter morning and immediately began vomiting.

:( It seems like that child always has a stomach bug on holidays! There have been a few times that she has spent her Christmas day vomiting! Talk about bad luck! She did not even eat any of her Easter goodies for about 2 days...they just sat in her basket tempting me! LOL

Mylah had a good time pulling everything out of her basket! I also took tons of pictures with her in different baskets! I had a great time...Mylah could have done without the photo sessions! LOL Some of the pics were taking at our home, and some were taken on the beach. These were done on different days...I would just take a few at a time b/c she would get tired of it quickly!

Brennan and Ivey just went back to school today from having their Spring Break. Mylah and I are missing them! We can't wait till they are out for summer!!!! We went to Destin, Fl. for a few days then to my parents condo which is located in another area of Fl. They had a good vacation from school. Brennan was still in her cast, but she didn't miss out on much b/c the water is still a little cold to enjoy.

Ivey lost her first tooth during Spring Break! She was sooo excited! She is a very brave girl and let her daddy pull it right out! I tried to get it out first, but I am just no good at that! She patiently let me tug on it about 10 times...then I gave up! I hate loose teeth anyway, they have always just really creeped me out! I know I'm a nurse and not many things bother me, but teeth are just YUCK! Anything having to do with teeth or eyeballs...I just can't stand! Danny on the other hand LOVES pulling teeth! One of Brennan's friends (Kendall) has even come over when she needed one pulled! LOL

We are so blessed to be celebrating all of these firsts with Mylah! I think she had a great first Easter and we can't wait to share many more first memories with her!!!

Blessings~

Amber