Half-Birthday Party!!

Last weekend was full of celebrations in our house.  Not only was it Easter weekend, but Evan also turned 6 months old!  Which meant, Half-Birthday time!!  When I informed Jimmy that we would be having a half-birthday party for Evan he just looked at me like I was crazy and laughed.  He thought I was joking.  He was wrong.  Apparently, he under estimates my power to celebrate all things Evan :)  So, I baked a Half-Birthday Cake and we celebrated the amazing first six months of Evan's life!  I personally cannot think of anything better to celebrate and honor than my little boy's precious gift of life :) 

Evan and his Half-Birthday Cake!

 I think I'll have some cake now!

Don't worry...he didn't actually eat the cake :)

Daddy and the half-birthday boy!

Mommy and the half-birthday boy!

My amazing little family :)

After eating the half-birthday cake and celebrating, we got down to business and colored some Easter eggs.  We all - Evan, Jimmy, Grandmother, Paw-Paw, and I - all decorated and personalized our own eggs.  It had been a very long time since I last colored Easter eggs.  It reminded me of all the fun my sisters and I had coloring eggs with my Mom and Dad when I was younger.  It was so much fun.  I hope as Evan gets to be a young boy he enjoys himself as I did and has just as many memories of fun times with Jimmy and I as I do with my parents.   

Evan is getting so big and is doing new stuff every day.  His six month well-baby check-up is next week.  Which means he gets his 6 month immunizations...Eeek!  I am working on a 'Evan is 6 months old' blog that I am planning on posting after his appointment.   He already seems like such a big boy :)

xoxo

Date Night!!

nvWe have had fun here in San Antonio for the past week.  Jimmy's parents - PawPaw and Grandmother - came to visit us!  It was great to have them here and especially wonderful they were able to spend so much time with Evan.  We had a lot of fun during their visit (pictures of all the festivites to follow soon!).  While they were here, they offered to babysit Evan for an evening so that Jimmy and I could go out on a "date."  We hadn't been out on a date in such a long time!  So, needless to say, we jumped at the opportunity!  Jimmy will be gone for our anniversary in a few weeks, so we decided to do it up big and celebrate early.  We were brainstorming ideas on what to do, when Jimmy came up with the most amazing idea.  The Tower of Americas in downtown San Antonio!  I put on a nice dress, wore a pair of heels I haven't worn in over a year, actually spent more than 5 minutes on my make-up and hair and Jimmy dug into the back of his closet for a sports jacket, nice shirt and slacks (he was so handsome :)) and off we went!

The tower is 750 tall with a revolving restaurant, lounge, and observation deck at the top.  We enjoyed cocktails (I had a 'chocolate covered cherry' martini...yummy!)  and then dined on a delicous dinner.  All while enjoying incredible panaramic views of San Antonio.  Here are some pictures I took of the San Antonio sky-line throughout the course of our dinner.

After dinner we had the most AMAZING dessert.  Chocolate molten lava cake with vanilla ice cream and Heath Bar crumbles sprinkled on top!  I also like to refer to it as 'Pure Heaven served on a Plate.'

Oh, but wait, that was not the end to our amazing evening!  After leaving the restaurant, we went up to the observation deck.  I'll admit, I was a little scared!  Usually, I am not scared of heights.  But, for some reason that night, it got to me a little bit.  I think it had to do with the fact that I was wearing heels (which, even at 32, I have not mastered walking in) and it was SO incredibly windy!  But, even with the little bit of nervousness, I was still able to enjoy it and the views were incredible. 

Still not done!  After walking around the observation deck a few times, we took the long elevator ride down to the ground level where I enjoyed an after-dinner coffee and Jimmy enjoyed an after-dinner Icee.  We sat outside and spent the next few hours just talking and enjoying our time with each other.  It was such an incredible evening.  I cannot think of a more fabulous way to celebrate our anniversary. 

I really do have the most amazing husband. 

I am such a lucky and blessed woman.

I love him with my whole heart :)

xoxo

Amazing Weekend!

This weekend has been such an awesome weekend!  It is the kind that makes you really sad it has to end. 

It started Friday evening.  Jimmy, Evan, and I tried an wonderful new Chinese restaurant.  It was delicious!  However, Jimmy and I experienced our first "We Forgot the Pacifier at Home" incident.  In order to keep Evan happy at the restaurant and not make all the other patrons sitting on either side of us mad at the crying baby, we had to take turns holding him.  So, our dinner went a little like this...

Jenny eats her Wonton Soup while Jimmy holds Evan

Jimmy eats his cold Hot and Sour Soup while Jenny holds Evan

Jimmy eats his Mongolian Beef while Jenny holds Evan

Jenny eats her cold Hunan Beef while Jimmy holds Evan

Here's Jimmy and Evan during one of the 'rotations.'  My goodness they look so much a like!

Evan was actually VERY well behaved during dinner!  He had tons of fans/admirers (as he always does!) at the restaurant and very much enjoyed all the time he spent sitting on our laps!  Our original plan for the evening was to go to dinner and then stop by Barnes and Noble.  But, we ended up making an impromptu Target stop so that I could pick up an emergency stash of pacifiers.  We have learned our lesson.  There are pacifiers in the stroller glove box of the car.  They are only to be used in case of "forgotten pacifier emergencies!"

While at Barnes and Noble, I bought Tina Fey's new biography Bossypants.  It is hilarious!!  It is such a good read for all my girlfriends out there!  I highly recommend it.  She keeps you laughing the whole time! 

Jimmy and I also got the book Sh*t My Kids Ruined by Julie Haas Brophy.  This book is even more hilarious!  I'm not kidding...Even if you do not have kids (but, ESPECIALLY if you do) you have to at least pick this book up for a second and just flip through it.  YOU WILL BE HOOKED!  Jimmy and I were reading it in the store and we were laughing so incredibly loud.  People were looking.  I just found out that there is also a blog called Sh*t My Kids Ruined.  I just hope that Evan doesn't get any ideas....

Saturday we woke up kind of early and got some errands done.  It was wonderful spending the morning with my hubby and baby.  Even though we were busy getting things done, it seemed so relaxing.  I enjoyed every moment of it.  We stopped and had a delicious breakfast at Chick-fil-A, made a Target run, and then went to Best Buy.  Saturday evening, we had a few friends from Jimmy's work over to the house for dinner.  We had so much fun!  I remember this time last year I was mourning our "life" in Dayton.  Missing our group of friends.  Thinking we were never going to find that here in San Antonio.  While you can never 'replace' friends, you can definitely add to your circle.  And we have done just that.  We have met such wonderful people here and enjoy our time with them so much.  We played an awesomely fun game called Bezzerwizzer.  It is so much fun!  It is a trivia game.  However, unlike Trivial Pursuit, there are ways for the lesser intelligent ones (such as me) to actually win!  So, YES, there is a way for me to beat Jimmy at a trivia game!!! 

And, today we had a wonderful relaxing day at home watching movies.  We finally got to see Harry Potter, Deathly Hallows, Part 1.  Evan was born right around the movie's release, so we never got a chance to see it in the theaters!  We also watched Life As We Know It.  It was a super cute movie.  By the way, I LOVE Netflix!  What a great invention!

Wow, that was a lot about our weekend.  Probably more than you wanted to read :)  We hope everyone had as awesome of a weekend as we did!  Only two more weekends until Jimmy leaves.  That makes me sad.  But, I know that Evan and I will be okay and we will try and fit in as much fun as humanly possible between now and then :) 

Tomorrow I will be getting the house ready for Paw-paw and Grandmother's (Jimmy's parents) visit!  We are very excited they are coming to visit us for the week!  There will be lots of pictures and fun stuff to blog about! 

Have a great week!

xoxo

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String...

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things! 

At least for the moment. 

Here's a little look at what has been putting a smile on my face and making my life a little easier these days!

Our Baby Bjorn

This thing is awesome!  I love it.  Jimmy loves it.  And, most importantly, Evan loves it!  It is a live-saver when food shopping.  Especially since Evan cannot sit up in the grocery cart yet :)  Couldn't imagine life without it right now!

Laughing Cow Cheese Light Creamy Swiss

If you have never had this - You should stop what you are doing right now and go out and get some!  It is so delicious!  And at only 35 calories per wedge, you can't beat it.

Resolve Deep Clean Powder Carpet Cleaner

This stuff is amazing on carpets.  Especially if you have pets!  You sprinkle it on the carpet, brush it in, let it dry for 20 minutes, and then vacum it up.  Wholla!  Your carpet will look brand new.  (It also smells really good too!)

Hostess 100 Calorie Pack Cupcakes

Hostess must be lying...there is no way something this good can only be 100 calories.  Impossible.  They are heaven wrapped in cellophane.

The Couch to 5K Running Plan

I am on Week 2 Day 2 of this program and it already feels amazing.  I've never been a huge 'runner.'  In fact, I pretty much despised running.  But, my New Years Resolution this year was to RUN my very first 5k.  I figure this gives me a pretty good shot!

St Ives Fresh Skin Moisturizing Olive Scrub

Amazing!  Makes my skin feel silky smooth, like I just had a facial.

Cucumber Sandwiches

I recently had these at a party and I have been obsessed about them every since!  They are so yummy.  In fact, I bought the ingredients to make some this weekend.  Can't wait :)

My New Phone - the Evo 4G by Sprint

My Favorite phone ever. Makes my life so much easier.  Enough Said.

My Dyson Animal

Jimmy got this for me for Christmas and vacuuming has never been the same.  If I could marry a household appliance, this would be it.  It picks up dirt and pet hair like its nothing.  Amazing!

Airman Family Readiness Center

The Family Readiness Center has been an amazing resource while preparing for Jimmy's upcoming deployment.  Jimmy, Evan, and I attended one of their family pre-deployment meetings recently and it was SO informative!  It reviewed things I already knew and brought up good points and facts that I didn't already know and hadn't even thought of.  They also gave Evan a Mickey Mouse Doll that has become - no lie - his FAVORITE toy!  If it wasn't for all the other awesome things they do, I would love them just for that alone!!

My Most Favorite Things in the whole world...

My Baby and My Hubby

I love these two guys!  They make me so happy!!

My Sisters

Who I miss terribly

My Mom and Dad

Who I miss even more!

The Whole McEnery-Bowers Family

So, there's a little peek into some of my favorite things right now!

What are your favorite things? 

Anything making your life a little easier or putting a smile on your face from time to time?

xoxo

Our First NBA Game...Go Spurs!!

Two weekends ago Jimmy, Evan, and I went to our first NBA game.  Yep - It was a first for all three of us!  The San Antonio Spurs were playing the Phoenix Suns. It was a noon game on a Sunday.  So, it was perfect for Evan.  Jimmy was super excited  that the Spurs were playing the Suns.  This meant, in theory, he was going to get to see his favorite NBA star, Steve Nash.  However, Nash ended up having the flu and sat out the game.  Jimmy was bummed and even though the game was sans Nash, we had a blast!  It was such an awesome way to spend the day as a family.  I'm so happy that we decided to go!

In the picture above, Jimmy is graciously demonstrating how we had to hold our hands over Evan's ears for most of the game.  Apparently NBA games are EXTREMELY loud!  The last thing we wanted to do was give our little boy permanent hearing damage at 5 months of age.  I feel silly for not even thinking before hand about how loud the arena would be.  Evan didn't seem to mind though...He enjoyed all the lights and watching the players run back and forth on the court.  I could tell that the noise wasn't bothering him too much when he sacked out in Jimmy's arms toward the end of the game....

 Needless to say, I came home and researched ear protection for children and will be ordering these for future events!

Baby Banz Ear Muffs

xoxo

Family Fun Day at the Park

A few months ago a park was built not far from out house.  We drive by it everyday and every time we do, I always say to Jimmy, "We should take Evan there!"  Well, we finally did this weekend!  It is such a nice park.  I love the fact that it is brand new and all the equipment is in such excellent condition.  The best part is that 80% of the park is in the shade!  Which is a HUGE deal here in San Antonio due to the fact that the temperatures are already up in the 90s and it is only April.  Evan seemed to enjoy himself.  He fell asleep in his stroller on the way there and woke up just as we arrived.  So, we didn't stay too long and he was still kind of sleepy for most of the visit.  I just can't wait to bring him back when he's a little older and can really enjoy all that the park has to offer :)

Jimmy is still a little kid at heart :)

xoxo

Crazy about Crocheting...

I realized that I haven't had a crochet post in awhile.  So, I figured I would catch up and post some of my completed projects - old and new.  I actually have quiet a few other projects that I have done but due to current camera malfunctions I haven't been able to get good pictures.  I also have a bunch of items that I've given as gifts and I'm just waiting to get pictures of my crafts with their new owners. 

I love this scarf.  I think it is so pretty. It has a scalloped border which is super fun to crochet.

My baby and a hat I made for him!

This scarf pattern has endless possibilities!  I used two different strands of yarn at one time.  For this particular scarf, I used a brown and beige.  But, how much fun would it be with school colors or your two favorite colors!

War Eagle!

This is scarf has a big ruffled edge.  Very girly!

My adult version of the "Lily Hat"

Evan's infamous Bear Hat!  This hat gets all sorts of comments.  And, Evan looks super cute in it :)

Alex in her "Alex Hat."  I LOVE this little girl :)

I made this super long scarf with bits of left over yarn.  I think it turned out pretty good for scraps!

Lily in her "Lily Hat."  I think she looks so adorable!

This scarf is very similar to the very first one; just a bit wider.  The yarn I used had gold thread....very classy :)

This is my favorite.  I made this hat while I was still pregnant with Evan.  He was due around Halloween and I wanted him to have something to wear just in case he decided to come a few days early.  It was the very first hat I made.

Evan at one week old.  The hat ended up being a little too small :)

I hope to have pictures of my other projects soon!

xoxo