Happily Ever Mock

Our Weekend in Reverse Part 3

On Friday we attended my boss’s annual Crawfish Boil for the first time as a family of 3! I have been attending for years, but this time it was so different watching the excitement through Hallie’s eyes! Let me give you a bit of a background story of how I met this family.  We met at the preschool I taught at years ago. Cleo, the oldest of my girls was 2 and Sadie wasn’t even born yet! Cleo is now almost 12 and Sadie just turned 8! I have now been their afternoon/summer nanny on and off for about 7 years. The coolest part of the crawfish boil each year is seeing how the kids have changed from year to year! Every year, some of Cleo’s little preschool classmates come. Those little babies that I had as 2, 3 and 4 year olds have sure grown up! This year was a great one! Until next year!

Hallie and Sadie
The kids choosing a crawfish for the race
Hallie and Mommy
Me and Cleo
Hallie checking out the crawfish
My big girl
Hallie meeting Hannah (one of my preschool babies…NOT!!)
Hallie meeting Danielle, another one of my babies!

Getting ready for the races

And their off! 
My girls!

Sweet girl!

Hannah and Sydney (They are all too grown up) Teaching Hallie some Cheerleading stunts!!)

And that’s our weekend! It was a great one!
<3 Kelly 

Our Weekend in Reverse Part 2

Saturday Morning Daddy went out to help his Dad sell T shirts at an event for Christopher’s friend that was killed in Afghanistan, so Hallie and I ran a few errands and then played with some Easter Eggs that Mommy painted years ago! Hallie was having a blast! Sorry for the obnoxious amount of photos, but she was just being too cute for words!!

When Daddy and Pop (Christopher’s Dad) got back we all piled into Pop’s car and headed out to Houston for the Mock family Easter at Christopher’s Aunt and Uncles’s ranch. The kids enjoyed hunting eggs and playing on the wagon. Hallie enjoyed watching the animals! This time she wasn’t scared of the chickens! Yay!

Hallie with Cousin Razi

Hallie with Great Grandpa and Great Grandma

Uncle Adam helped us take some pictures in the Bluebonnets
Not afraid this time!
All but 1 of the great grand kids

All in all I think Hallie had a nice time!
<3 Kelly

Our weekend in reverse Part 1

I figured everyone would be sharing about their weekends today. Mostly about Easter! Our weekend was JAM packed though, and their would be no way (Thanks to little Hallie) that I could share it all in one day!

So over the next few days I will be sharing our weekend in reverse, starting with Easter Sunday:

The Easter Bunny came overnight and left Hallie (and Mommy and Daddy) some treats!

Yogurt Melts, Puffs, Hair clips, Rubber duck, bunny ears, Minnie Mouse bubble fan, and candy for Mom and Dad

 Hallie was so excited to open her basket! After that we got ready and went to an Easter brunch at Maggianos with my parent’s, little sister and my nephew. Hallie was so good, and tried everything! Pasta, zucchini, salad, calamari, beef, and chicken!

 After brunch we went back to my parent’s house, where the bunny left more treats!

 This basket included: A little chair, books, a Lamby toy, puffs, yogurt melts and baby food squeezes

Hallie, Auntie Katie and Cousin Hannah

 After some playing, Katie and Matthew and I dyed our Easter Eggs!

Egg-cellent! 
Annual Chick and Bunny eggs!
Top Row: Katie, Middle Row: Matty, Bottom Row: Me

 After egg dying, Christopher, Hallie and I went to Mass with Christopher’s Dad. Then we got home and Hallie showed off her Easter loot!

We hope everyone had a blessed Easter! See you back here tomorrow!
<3 Kelly

Oh hey Friday! Pics from the week!

Oh hey Friday! Nice to see you! I don’t think I have ever needed a Friday so bad in my life! This week between work, and Hallie’s growing adventurous side I’m beat! Luckily I have this Friday off, so I can relax a bit before our busy weekend!

Tonight we are going to my bosses annual Crawfish boil! We couldn’t be more excited, because this will be Hallie’s first one ever!

Tomorrow we will be going to Christopher’s family’s Easter celebration, so Hallie will get to play with her cousins! (We will be missing our buddy Bowen’s 1st birthday party! So Bo, we will miss you, but we hope you have a wonderful time!)

Easter Sunday we are going to brunch with my parents and sisters and then Hallie and her cousin Matthew will have an egg hunt and we’ll dye Easter eggs! We’ll go to Church in the evening!

Anyway we hope everyone had a good week! On to our “Pics from the week”

1. Hallie mostly emptied out her toy box and learned she could climb in…she didn’t think of an exit strategy unfortunately

2. Sporting her Juicy outfit! Hallie loves to wave and does it at anyone and anything ALL DAY LONG! 🙂

3. I have a little fashionista on my hands! 

4. New outfit from her Memi!

5. I took this one from my phone, but I just had to capture this face! This is a Daddy face for SURE!

Happy Friday Friends! Linking up with September Farm 

Currently April

Well, well well! It has been quite a while since I did a “Currently Post”, so I thought I would fill you in on what I’ve been up to around the Mock house! 
Reading: I am kind of reading a filler book right now until I get some good recommendations. I’m reading Devil’s Food Cake Muder by Joanne Fluke, which is a series I picked up years ago…it’s not great, but it kills time! PLEASE PLEASE book recommendations! 

Watching:American Idol, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt on Netflix (SO SO FUNNY! It’s only 13 episodes and goes by really fast, but you will love it! Can’t wait for another season!) I am also rewatching PLL on Netflix because I already miss it since last weeks finale! 🙁 PS…I’m looking for clues! Things are getting ridiculous! 

Working on: Preparing for Hallie’s first birthday! If you missed my inspiration post yesterday, be sure to check it out! 

Looking Forward to: A weekend off with my family! Today is my Friday and then Christopher has a whole weekend off! We have some fun things planned including celebrating Hallie’s very first Easter! 

Loving: The new colors on Freshly Picked! We need them all! 

Have a great Thursday! 
<3 Kelly 

Hallie’s 1st Birthday Inspiration

I have been planning Hallie’s 1st Birthday since I found out she was a girl…and that’s no April Fools Joke!

I knew I wanted the theme to be a Royal Affair and I knew I wanted the color scheme to be Lavender, Blush and Gold! If you follow me on Facebook, you know that I got started making the garland yesterday! (If you are not following me, why not!? lol)

So without further ado, here is my inspiration board for Hallie’s First Birthday:

1. My garland is kind of similar! Though The lavender is the main color with accents of the blushy pink and gold.

2.  I know Hallie will be wearing Freshly Picked Moccs, just unsure which pair yet, because I am between 2 dresses!

3. I will be making all kinds of finger sandwiches in princess shapes. A crown, a castle, a glass slipper!

4.  Hallie will be wearing a crown headband, though I am leaning toward a gold one!

5. This is the cake I had in mind, only in lavender! I just found out my cake lady moved, though thanks to many great friends on Facebook, I have received plenty of advice for back ups and am in the process of getting quotes!

6. I love the idea of putting a tutu around her high chair! *Something I bet many of you didn’t know about me- I used to own my own Tutu company! So you know…if you ever find yourself in need of a tutu, you know where to go!

7. I love the idea of giving the boys foam swords as favors! It fits in with the theme without being girly!

8.  My amazing hubby already agreed to help me make signs to go up the walk to the house! I have Hallie’s story all ready to be painted on!

9.  Purple Princess invitations of course! Can’t wait to get Hallie’s picture made to go on these babies!

What were your first birthday themes?!
<3 Kelly

Promoting Healthy Eating Early

It will not come as a shock to pretty much anyone who knows me, but I am a SUPER picky eater! I don’t eat: Red meat, pork, or seafood of any kind. I rarely eat fruit and you won’t find me with a glass of milk unless it’s accompanied by a giant brownie! This is a trait I am trying very hard not to pass on to Hallie! I have been very lucky thus far! Hallie will eat (almost) EVERYTHING! 

I was recently encouraged by Chobani  and their #Chobanikids project about promoting healthy eating to share some of my tips on providing a healthy eating foundation for young children.

1. Meal Planning: I have recently gotten back in the habit of meal planning! This I feel is SO important for many reasons! First, I can make sure to plan healthy wholesome meals that we can eat together as a family. Also, it decreases the chance of us ordering Chinese take out or driving through Sonic on the way home from work! Most importantly, our grocery bills are actually much smaller because I am purchasing ingredients for meals instead of junk! Try it! It’s worth it!

2. Eating Healthy On The Go:  Hallie and I are pretty busy! We are very active in our playgroup going to story times, play dates and parties not to mention we work every afternoon, so many days we are eating on the go and Chobani makes that so easy! I love that I can grab a Chobani Tots yogurt pouch and be out the door! They are easy to open with a twist off cap and I don’t have to worry about what I’m feeding Hallie, because these pouches are full of healthy ingredients: whole milk yogurt mixed with real fruits and veggies! I love that! But, not as much as Hallie!

3. Hallie Tries Everything and She Feeds Herself:  I make sure to let Hallie try pretty much everything (Aside from the obvious no nos! ie: Honey, nuts, choking hazards, lol) and she definitely enjoys all of her food, and there isn’t much she shys away from! I give her small pieces of whatever our meal is, and most nights I let her feed herself, which she totally prefers anyway! In fact I think it is the reason we are finally now at 9 months on the weight charts! 5th percentile thank you very much!

4. Baby Signs: I think it is so important for a child to tell you when he/she wants more of something,
but also when they are finished eating. I want to make sure Hallie is getting enough, but also not to force her to eat too much! Hallie and I have been working on the signs “More” and “All done” to helpwith this! She’s getting pretty good at “all done” but doesn’t quite have “more down yet!

   

                                                        “More”                                        
    “All Done”

What are some things that you do to promote healthy eating for your kiddos? I’d love you to share your tips below!
<3 Kelly 

Snapshots from our weekend

We had a very busy weekend!

Friday our Mom’s group had an Easter brunch and let the babies play! It was so fun! Hallie and I made deviled eggs..her favorite!

 Saturday Hallie and I attended my cousin’s little boy’s baptism. Afterward there was a big party! Hallie had a great time playing with her cousins! It was also Stella’s birthday, so we made sure to get plenty of Puppy snuggles in!

Sunday we went shopping with Hallie’s Memi who came into town for Christopher’s Dad’s birthday! Then Hallie and I went to her 2nd cousin Abbey’s 2nd birthday party! Hallie enjoyed trying BBQ! This girl is just like her Daddy! Texan through and through! She kept shoving my BBQ turkey sandwich into her mouth! She couldn’t get enough! lol! We left Abbey’s party a bit early to meet Christopher so we could go to his Dad’s house for dinner to celebrate his birthday! It was so fun seeing so much family!

Can you see her little fingers guiding the sandwich into her mouth! lol Yeah she ate about 1/2 of it at least!
Memi!

Hope everyone else had a great weekend!
<3 Kelly

Questions I find myself asking my 9 month old

This kid! She always has me on my toes…always! Here is a list of question’s I have been asking Hallie lately:
1. How were you totally fine a second ago, yet throwing a giant tantrum about NOTHING right now!?  I am fairly lucky that this only happens about once a week, but seriously! The littlest things will set her off…like changing her diaper or if I stand up in the living room! 

2. How did you get egg on your butt? You can replace the food with just about anything…somehow whatever this kid is eating ends up in her diaper..I’m not sure how!


3. Why do we buy you toys when you seem to like my hairbrush, paper, boxes and plastic bottles more?  We seriously have so many neglected toys because Hallie would much rather play with random household items or try to find an escape route out of our living room where we have penned her in..I guess whatever keeps her busy, right?!
4. I just mopped the floor didn’t I? No I couldn’t have, look at it! But I distinctly remember mopping it! I did, didn’t I? Oh Lord this is practically a daily question! My floors are always trashed a minute after I mop them! Self feeding is important, but boy is it messy! Between her and the dog, I can’t keep up! Also if you come over, please know that I do clean..it just never looks like it!

5. Did you just lick me?! Yes, Hallie has a new fun game of licking mommy…I’m not sure why, but she thinks it’s hilarious! 

6. What are you doing?! This can also be followed up with “Where are you going?” This is the busiest craziest kid you will ever meet! I mean it! 

7. What’s in your mouth? I was so hoping to have one of those kids that would find little things on the carpet and hand them to me instead of putting them in her mouth…I got the opposite! EVERYTHING goes in this kids mouth! She will find the smallest little fuzz or crumb that didn’t get picked up by the vacuum and put it in her mouth! Also the dog’s hair…yeah, gross! 

8. Aren’t you sleepy? When Daddy works late, I let Hallie stay up past bed time to see him…but then we get to this point where she is delirious/crazy/loud/so sleepy she doesn’t know what to do with herself…and true story, she can outlast me! 
  9. Did I just put your yogurt in my coffee? Yes my friends! I did! I have been that tired! I meant to scoop some into a bowl for Hallie and scooped it into my mug instead….greeeeat! 
This little girl keeps me busy and makes me exhausted, but I wouldn’t have it any other way! 
<3 Kelly