Thanksgiving Point Gardens

Matt and I had such a great time at the Tulip Festival last week, that we decided to go to Thanksgiving Point again. Although the Tulip Festival was over, the tulips were in full bloom due to the weird weather we have been having.

This time, we decided to go right when the gardens opened. It was such a beautiful day. It was around 80 degrees and there was a slight cool breeze. We could not have picked a more perfect day.

The flowers were so beautiful. There were so many colors and tons more blooms then were there last week. Matt was able to get some really good photos. He is going to enter a couple into the Thanksgiving Point photo contest.

Elizabeth had so much fun walking around all of the gardens. She loved all of the flowers. She is getting so good at walking. At times, she runs so fast. It is so cute to see her little legs going so fast. She gets so excited and squeals and grunts as she is walking. It is crazy to see how fast she is growing up. She is such a big girl now.


Here are a couple of my favorite photos of Elizabeth with Matt and me. I love the snapshot that I got of Matt and Elizabeth playing together. She does love her daddy! Matt also got a great one of Elizabeth snuggling to me. She does not give many snuggles any more, so you have to take em' when you get em'!

Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point

I have always wanted to go the Tulip Festival but have never made it. Until this year...my wish finally came true. It was looking like I would not make it this year either because the weather has been so cold and unpredictable. This morning, Matt and I looked outside and knew that it was the day to go. It was sunny and the temperature was in the low 70s. Perfect!

We arrived at the festival and I got so excited! From the parking lot you could see hundreds of beautiful tulips. That was just the beginning. Matt and I walked (while Elizabeth lounged in her stroller) through acres of fields. There was this great path that took you up behind a waterfall. I had so much fun. I loved just spending the day with my little family.

I was so excited when a lady asked if we wanted a photo of the whole family. Matt is usually taking the pictures, so he is not in many of them. I was grateful to get this photo...even if Elizabeth has a look of "who are you?" on her face.


Elizabeth just absolutely loved the flowers. She sat in her stroller and pointed in every direction. She could not take it all in fast enough.


She is walking really well now, so we let her out to wander. As soon as her little feet hit the ground, she was off running. She would grab Matt or my hand, point towards a flower, or a waterfall, and run in that direction. She had so much fun! We had to be really careful though. Once she was brave enough to touch her first flower, she wanted to touch every flower. We had to watch close to make sure she did not tear any of the petals off, as she does not know the meaning of "soft"!



I love this photo of Elizabeth. I cannot believe that she sat long enough for Matt to snap this shot. She is such a blessing. We can always count on her being a smiley, happy baby. She loves people (and attention!).







This was a really great day for me. We got out of the house, spend time together as a family, and got to be in the sun. The flowers and landscape was absolutely gorgeous. I hope that we are able to enjoy the Tulip Festival every year. I would love to make this a fun, springtime, family tradition!

Scrapbook Expo

I went to the scrapbook expo this week, and I had so much fun. In past years, it has not been that great, but this year I was loving it! There were tons of booths and most of them had really great stuff. I was focusing on embellishments because I have a lot of paper and I usually get Stampin' Up! stamps. I found so many things. I now have enough supplies to "embellish the world" (as quoted by my mother-in-law). I am so glad I went to the expo this year because I found some really great stores that I will shop at, now that All My Memories is closing.

My mother-in-law and I took a class from A Page 4 All Seasons. If you have not seen there stuff, you should look them up because it is darling. We had so much fun at the class. Mandi, the teacher, did an excellent job. Here are photos of the two layouts that we created.

I am excited to get as many Disney Pages as possible. We were going to go to DisneyLand this Fall, but decided we may wait until the Spring so that Elizabeth is a little bit older. I think that it would be fun to take her for her 2nd birthday in April.

Elizabeth's One Year Appointment

I took Elizabeth to the doctor this week, for her one year appointment. We checked her weight and height, as well as her general development. Her doctor says she is doing great! She is on the small side, but her doctor says it is nothing to be concerned about. She is 27 1/2 inches tall (10th percentile) and weighed in at a whopping 16 pounds 6 ounces (3rd percentile). Needless to say, we will not be changing to the forward-facing car seat any time soon. The doctor told us not to plan on the upgraded car seat until she is closer to 18 months, maybe. We'll see. I am in no hurry. I am so happy to know that she is doing well and that her size is not an issue. Elizabeth also received her vaccines, which meant three shots. She was so great! She laid on the table and whined a little but as soon as it was done and I picked her up, she was just fine. I could not have been blessed with a more well behaved and beautiful baby. She has been so good that Matt and I are scared to have another baby in the future. We are convinced that we used all of our luck on Elizabeth and are doomed for a terror next.

As I have reflected over the past 12 months, I am amazed at the changes that our little baby has gone through. She is walking, babbling, clapping, and most of all smiling. She has eight teeth and a few strands of hair. She is a great eater, and more importantly a great sleeper. She is the most amazing baby and I am so blessed to have her in my life!

I cannot believe it...

Elizabeth turned one year old. She is the cutest, most precious baby I have ever seen. We had so much fun at her party. She is such a little "ham" and really played it up for all of the people that came to her party. She did not stop smiling the entire night.


Her party began at 5:00pm on Sunday, April 6th. All of our families were invited, and everyone came. We had a full house with Grandma Valentini, Papa Valentini, Grandma Freebairn, Grandpa Freebairn, Great Grandma Gallagher, Uncle Bill, Uncle Michael, Grannie, Grandpa Great, Grandma Great, Aunt Betty, Adam, Tifani, Kena, and Kate all in attendance.

We started out by visiting and munching on snack items. Matt and I made his famous enchiladas, so once they were ready the feast was served. Everyone said that they enjoyed the food (I hope they weren't just being nice).

Elizabeth was the cutest as she opened her gifts. She received a HUGE box from Grandma and Grandpa Freebairn. Once she saw it, she was determined to climb on top of it, so we really had to watch her. She received so many nice things. I am humbled by the giving nature of our family members. Elizabeth is so blessed to have all of these wonderful people in her life. I won't create an entire gift list, but some of Elizabeth's favorites are: a touch and feel animal book (she's been carrying it around the house since she got it), a fisher-price learning bird bath, and a vtech laptop. Some of my favorites are: a pink gingham dress (from grandma Valentini), a couple of taggie pajama sets (from great grandma Gallagher), and money from those that decided to let me go shopping! I love shopping!!! I am sure that Elizabeth will love the Learn Around Playground that Grandpa and Grandma Freebairn gave her. We just haven't taken it out of the box yet. Matt will be attempting that today, since it is his day off.

We ended the night with cake and ice cream. Elizabeth had her own little cake. At first she wasn't quite sure what I wanted her to do with it. She touched it but looked like she wasn't liking the feel of the icing on her fingers. It took her a little while, but she seemed to warm up to the idea that she could grab and eat the cake. At the end, we had a half eaten (and smashed) cake and a really messy girl. Nothing, though, that a warm bath couldn't fix.

All in all, I had a wonderful day. I made many fond memories that I will remember for a long time to come. I love being surrounded by family. They are the most important people in my life and I am so glad that I could celebrate the birth of my sweet little girl with all of the people that I love.

Where to Begin...

The reason I have delayed starting a blog is because I have wondered "where to begin". When I think of all of the wonderful people and things that are a part of my life, I am overwhelmed and humbled. I don't know what to say. There are no words to describe how great my life is. I have a loving husband, a beautiful daughter, wonderful parents and in-laws. I am blessed to be able to stay home with my little girl. I would not trade this time for anything. I love her so much and I am so lucky to be able to enjoy being with her everyday.

It is hard to believe that my little girl will be turning one year old on Sunday, April 6. Boy... that year went fast. It feels like the time has flown, but it also feels like she has been here forever. It is hard to remember my life before Elizabeth arrived. She has brought so much love and joy into my life.

I have been very busy this week, planning Elizabeth's birthday party. We are having the family over to celebrate. I cannot wait to have everyone together. I will post some birthday photos as soon as I can!

Hello World!

I have always wanted a blog, but I have never taken the time to sit down to see what it would take. It is almost midnight, my husband and baby girl are asleep so I decided to see what I can create. It is not perfect... but I will be working on it over the next little while to get it to be where I want it to be! I hope that you will enjoy getting to know my sweet little family!