Stephanie Bannon Photography

Sorry I haven't been around. I've been busy starting a photography business. Take a look!
http://StephanieBannonPhotography.blogspot.com

M' & Mama

Just so you know...

(Starting Weight-2 months after M' was born)

(161.2)
(My downward graph)

its looking good for me! As long as I maintain until July 4th the Ipod is mine. . .In case you can't see my picture very well it says 144.4 and just in case you need it a little clearer, thats under 145. :)

When Daddy's gone. . .

the family will play. Pool, trains, hose and popcorn party. That was our day. See?

Really?

7 months? Really? Already? Yep. 7 months. Over half a year. M' is a sweetie. She's my little sugar. She's a peanut. She is so small compared to pretty much any other baby her age. Today she started inching forward. . .she can do push ups like none other. . .and her sitting abilities are lacking. The problem is she just likes to relax and recline, which leads to tipping straight back, which she is fine with. She smiles at anyone who talks to and will got to anyone. She loves to kiss and loves to make noise. 12 hours of straight sleep is her norm. . .and we are more then ok with that.

Babies.

The rabbits on our block aren't the smartest around. Two dogs+Kids=a bad place for a rabbit home. This rabbit has been run off several times and we even destroyed the first empty home. Then it came back. We didn't find the hole. . .the dogs did. They also found 5 baby bunnies that had to have been brand new. They didn't have hair and their eyes were closed. 3 made it. The hole is right in the middle of the yard, not covered by a bush or a tree, just a hole covered with grass and rabbit hair. Like I said, not the smartest rabbit on the block. Well, 5 days, an attack, and a graduation party later, the three bunnies are doing well. The Mama comes back to feed them and their hair is growing in. Take a peek. . .

Feast your eyes on. . ..

the first cucumber that I ever grew.

Surprise Graduation Party.

Master's degree=Complete. Mike is officially done with school so to celebrate we had a surprise graduation party for him and another friend from church who graduated. The thought it was just a BBQ but it was to celebrate them and their amazing accomplishment. So here are a few pictures of the event. All went well except for the 30 minute downpour. We all crammed into our house and waited it out. . .after that, it was smooth sailing.

Some Randomness.

-We have now officially been married 9 years as of Monday.
-Brazilian BBQs are yummy.
-M' is almost 7 months old and can now almost sit by herself. She trys to lean back a little, loses her balance and falls straight back.
-O' is pretty much officially potty trained. He just wears a diaper at nap time and bedtime. . .and only wets it about half the time.
-Target boy underwear fall apart when washed.
-G' is not a fan of VBS. . .until she is bribed with McDonald's afterwards if she gets a good report from the teachers.
-Mike is working working working (20 hrs. of overtime since last week). . .and has a business trip next week.
-O' wants to go to VBS.
-G' starts swim lessons next week.
-145.7 as of this morning. 2 1/2 weeks until the official weigh in on July 4th.
-Water aerobics is still fun.
-Summer BBQ Saturday.
-Free Highlights for me. . .and I don't have strips this time.
-Errands are so much faster with only two kids.
-The house is a complete mess.
-Our room is half way painted so the kids can move in. . .bayside blue & lime moose. . .pictures to come.
-My garden is doing great.
-My red toenail polish has been on way too long.
-Pool water is much warmer if you are moving around.
-M' can now get up on her hands and knees and she can spin herself in a circle. She is also really good and the yoga position "downward dog."
-O' doesn't like black anything.
-Juma needs to be shaved.
-I'm not a fan of humidity.
-Avocados have about 275 calories and I could eat them all day long.
-Tonight=Yard Work. (its long overdue)
-Chocolate syrup over cut up strawberries and banana is really good.

This past Sunday. . .

Grace decided to get into her play makeup right before church. She took lip gloss and covered her lips and she had a streak of it across her forehead. I caught a glimpse of Grace in her room with "new look on." I told her she wasn't allowed to wear make up out (its just for playing in the house) and we would take care of it in the car. As we were walking out she pasted Obie by the back door. He looks at her and says "Gracie your so pretty!" Grace smiled from ear to ear, looks at him and says "You're handsome Obie." and out they went.

O' Quote. . .at the groccery store.

G' has been at VBS all week so today after we dropped her off O', M' and I went to the groccery store. We pull into a parking spot and as soon as I stop O' starts pointing his finger saying "Me no like that lady!" I wasn't sure what he was talking about so I said "what?" "Me no like that lady!" he said again. I looked up and saw a 70 yearish lady with white hair putting her bags in the car. "Why?" I asked. "Me no like white hair!" O' declared.

Fruits of Our Labor. . .

well actually vegetable of our labor. Pretty good huh? Everything is still growing and we have about 6 cucumbers that need to be picked. So Exciting!

A little look at the babes. . .

Here was our attempt to take some pictures of the kids at the park the other day. A pocket full of candy would I been very useful but all I had were goldfish. . .

scamS

if you happened to get an email from my mom asking for money its a scam. she is laying on an egyptian beach and she wasn't robbed in england...just so you know.

Just so you know. . .

there were no fat ladies with sports bras on over their bathing suits with water shoes on. . .just me and a friend + the instructor. . .and we aren't fat and didn't have sports bras on over our swimsuits.

Birthday Celebration

Mike took the morning off and was greeted by two little ones, me and some a new assortment of coffees and teas. Grace & Obie were so excited to sing happy birthday. After Mike got up I made french toast (with homemade bread), with strawberries and maple syrup. After breakfast we went to a lake that is close to our house. Initially the plan was to bike around the lake, and then we realized there was no way to fit all the kids and us on the bikes. Grace rode and we walked. . .well kind of. . .we didn't get very far. Grace and Obie were more interested in playing in the sand and water. Obie ended up "wadding" a little too far and totally feel in. He was able to get to his feet but he scared himself pretty bad. Instead of walking back he just stood there screaming, waving his arms. . .all while we stood on the side screaming for him to come back. After the traumatic experience we enjoyed our picnic we had brought. The sky was getting darker and darker so we decided to finish the trip with some boba tea. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever. When we got home they napped and Mike went to work. While Mike was at work I did my last minute wrapping and got dinner ready. After dinner we opened a few presents had mint ice cream cake from Coldstone's. It also happened to be the first night of water aerobics so at 7:00pm I had to leave. . .so that was our birthday celebration. Low key but so much fun.

29 years and counting. . .

Twenty-nine years old that is. Today Mike turns 29. So Happy Birthday to the best husband & daddy around. We love you!

Little Bit of Life

Here is a little bit of our life. . .seems like so much is going on at this point but at the same time nothing is really happening.

-Last night we ate our first veggie that we grew from a seed. It was a yellow squash and it was so good. Hopefully are plans will produce more. I need to get the pictures off of Mike's phone...we made sure we documented it.

-This morning I spotted several cucumbers which were all about 3-4 inches long.

-I started a new batch of seeds.

-A friend used me as the model to demonstrate a new highlighting technique so I got free highlights today. . .and they don't look like stripes.

-M' can get on all fours and rock back and forth. . .fast.

-Mike's birthday is tomorrow.

-Mike and I went out Saturday night to celebrate him graduating. . .I saw a guy with a gun strapped to his chest. . .and he wasn't a cop. I realized I don't like guns. . .especially when they aren't on a cop.

-Wii said 147.0 (2 pounds to go)

-Tomorrow I start water aerobics.

-O' has been a pee pee/poo poo star on the potty. He has been wearing underwear and has only had on accident in the past 4 days.

-G' loves it when I call her a pro.

-Our family has grown in the past 5 years and our house has not. . .which leaves me with either moving to a bigger house (=$$$) or developing a plan. . .so here is my new plan since we could really use a guest room. Our room is big upstairs and the other two rooms are a good size, so we are going to put all the kids in our big room up stairs. Then we will use the other bedroom upstairs as a babies room/guest room and we will move downstairs to the brown room. We will keep M' in the baby/guest room until she gets a little bit bigger but then she will move in with the other two. We will be having family in town for August, September and part of November so we figure this will be the best plan. . .or else the kids will all have to be shuffled around and the guest still won't have much space.

- Krista is graduating on Friday from BFA. . .wish we could all be there.

-I'm a good griller.

-There are way to many mosquito's in our yard. . .and they love me.

-Craigslist is great.

-I'm so glad I don't have to worry about day camp right now. . .staying at home is nice.

-We got carpet squares for the dinning room so are floor doesn't get all scratched up.

-O' doesn't like not being able to touch the bottom of the pool with his feet. . .his face screams terror but he is in love with the little pool.

-G' is going to VBS next week.

-I like Big Macs.

-I only mowed half our front yard. . .and it looks bad. . .the steep hill is a killer.

-M' eats more then the other kids. . .she downed two jars of baby food the other day and she could have kept going.

So, currently, that's our life.

9 years ago. . .

I wore a jean skirt, and held a small bouquet, and stood beside the man I stand beside today. I was 20 and he 19 (so close to 20) and we made the biggest decisions of our lives. Legally we were married, in front of some dear friends and family. . .while across a big ocean the rest of our family waited for us to come. . .for our "real" wedding 12 days later. So much has changed. . .our family has grown and we have grown. . .and today I forgot. . .but my wonderful husband did not. I love him and he loves me. . .luckily I get a second chance, on our second "real" anniversary June 14th.