Cousins, Cousins Everywhere!

We made a trip to Dallas this weekend to be there for the birth of my newest cousin! He decided to be difficult and keep us on our toes until just before midnight Saturday. Luckily, by that time, I was back at the hotel sleeping soundly with my Daddy and Gaga. But, I did get to see him on Sunday and he is so cool! Well, I think he is pretty much taking my "baby" spotlight...but...other than that...he is Baby Ni to me. (That's what I call him.)

Some of the family also came in to see little Nicholas. Here I am hanging with my cousin Anna. We are becoming pretty good friends now that I am not a baby anymore! We ate pizza and I even fed her some bread!


Here is Anna waiting so patiently at the hospital...yep...we were smart enough to bring dvds for this wait!

Nicholas decided to take so long that we went back to Uncle Jeff and Aunt Tamara's house so that we could blow off some steam. Here we are swinging on the hammock. We loved this thing!

And...FINALLY...here is the proud Daddy...Uncle Jeff! Man, we were all excited to have this baby here...but no more than Jeff and Tamara. This birth was a few days in the making!

And, here he is! The first Strauss boy in our family since 1975!!!! Nicholas Ozro Strauss. 8lbs. 9ozs. I think 20 inches. He is healthy and beautiful! Katie now has 3 boy cousins (Austin, Jack and Nick), 5 girls cousins (Dani, Ally, Haley, Anna, and Collins) and another girl cousin due this summer (Uncle Stinky Pete and Aunt Coolie are having a little sister for Anna!) We have this girl thing down...but we really enjoy these boys too!

Nicholas' middle name, Ozro, is after our grandfather Cozzie...that is what we called him...but his name was Ozro Polk Strauss...and Jeff and Tamara are so awesome to honor his legacy and memory with Nicholas Ozro! Thanks for letting us be part of this amazing weekend and we cannot wait to see him again. Hopefully I will have some better pictures of Nick to post...I was too busy looking to take pictures. But, I am so proud that I just could not wait to post him.

Love is in the Air

Happy Valentine's Day! (Daddy gave these to Mommy!)



Isn't my outfit cute?!?!?

I can't wait to go to school and celebrate at my class party! Mommy made the best heart shaped sandwiches and heart shaped rice crispie treats!

Daddy got me this balloon...it is so fun! I just might play with this thing for hours! By the way, I was so hopped up on sugar from my class party that I really did play with this balloon for a VERY long time.

Words cannot explain...

how funny, cute, sad and shocking it was when I walked in the other morning and found Katie sleeping like this! First, I ran and got the camera...and then I put her back in bed. Who knows how long she was sleeping like this...but I was just passing by on my way to work out and just happened to check in on her. So cute!

All Girl!

Tom-girl that is! So, I hate bows and head bands...and even give my mom and dad a little grief when it comes to ball caps...but I loved this batting helmet and was really upset when I had to take it off and leave Academy. I guess I am a lot like my Mommy. She was a ball player herself! Next trip...I take a little batting practice!


And, I am now 17 months old. I am constantly changing and there is no way that Mommy can re-cap the entire month in this post. But, my vocabulary is growing and is getting pretty clear. I love puppies and growling. Of course, I still like to eat...mostly whatever Mommy is eating, which now includes salad. Being outside makes me SO happy...and I love to hang out and chase Berit. We are doing some pretty fun stuff at school and I recently learned "blue" and "circle". Plus, I now get to go outside and play with the cars, which is the best part of the school day. I no longer sleep in a crib (see the post below for that story) and I am just an all around happy chick. Check back next month...it is a big mile stone! Or, check back daily...Mommy loves to update the blog and loves to have an audience!

My future's so bright....

I gotta wear shades! They keep me happy, and the sun out of my eyes! Hope you can see them...I kind of fell asleep so Mommy just had to take the best pic she could. Hopefully we will get some better pictures.

Cooper's Party

Cooper Nelson turned one and had a great bash to celebrate! Here I am jumping in one of the jumpy things...I loved it! My friend Ainsley is hanging out in the yellow pants and Alexine is in mid-air behind me. We had some fun! Cooper will probably be more involved in the jumpy thingy at the next party, we were a little crazy for him!


Here we are singing. You can see my Aunt Coolie in the background...isn't my new little cousin so cute inside her belly? And, there are all of the other kiddos and friends, including Cooper and Colton's puppy, Casey. She loved the cake part of the party!

Ainsley and I really loved these cupcakes!

I jumped until it was too dark to see! And then I was constantly trying to go back outside to play some more!

This puppy pretty much displays exactly how we all felt at the end of the party. Isn't she cute?!

Charge it!

Here I am heading out shopping. Just grabbed Mommy's Coach clutch and I am out! Nope, I don't want that "hand-me-down" purse that Mommy tried to give me...I want this one! Plus, I know that it works...I see Mommy pull it out of my diaper bag and buy, buy, buy!!!


Let's see...open here...

Flip this flap...

And, those cards are right in here!!!!

I've Been Tagged!- Lynn

here are the rules:
1. you have to post the rules before you give your answers.
2. you must list one fact about yourself beginning with each letter of your middle name. (If you don't have a middle name, use your maiden name).
3. after you are tagged, you need to update your blog with your middle name and your answers.
4. at the end of your blog post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name. (Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and that they need to read your blog for details).

For those of you reading and have no idea what is going on...us blogaholics (me and some of my crazy friends and blog friends) like to do these things. That said...if I tag you and you don't do this...I really don't care...I just thought this one sounded easy and fun. If I tag you and you don't have a blog...get the HINT!!!!

L-Love my family. All of it! Moms, dads, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, in-laws, SCOTT, KAITLYN...you get the point!
Y-Yikes! That is what I say when roaches are within a 100 miles! Well...if I can see them!
N-Nothing beats a Red Raider football game at Jones Stadium! Guns Up!
N-Never give up! That motto has gotten me through so much in life!

Tagged: Hilary, Allison, Amy, Ashlee (no blog? See above...get the hint!!!) Don't feel pressured...I know we are all busy!

So Big!

Picture this: Katie standing up in her crib...crying for 2 hours...falling asleep while still standing (head resting on her arms that are laying across the top of the crib)...realizing that she is asleep while standing...and then crying for two more hours...and the cycle continues. Well...this is what we had to endure for 2 weeks before we realized that maybe Katie was unhappy sleeping in her crib. Scott and I never had to deal with Katie awake during the night. She pretty much slept through the night from the day we got her home from the hospital. So...we were in shock! We finally tried letting her sleep on the futon and the sleep came a little easier.

So...we caved in and bought Katie a big girl bed...well, actually it is called a "junior bed". Bigger than a toddler bed, but not quite a "big" bed. We are not ready for THAT yet. I mean...I almost cried taking the crib down. Katie actually did cry while we took down the crib. But...the result is a happy baby that is sleeping through the night again!

We were lucky to find tropical bedding that matched Katie's room and her decor at Ikea...and we decided on the blue bed instead of pink just in case (and the blue isn't too boyish for our Katie)....


Here is the bed after a couple of nights use...we had to put a big pillow on the ground next to the bed...because Katie has rolled off a couple of times. No injuries...and she pretty much crawls back in and goes back to sleep...but I just want to be safe!

We put the bed together in the living room so that Katie could get used to it...and moved it in the next day. A little transition for all of us!

Auto Show Fun

We headed out to the Auto Show last weekend and I had so much fun. All of those shiny cars and tons of people to watch. And, I had a comfy seat!


Here I am catching a snack at the show...yummy!

And, just to prove where we were...here is a car. Mommy doesn't really like this car...she would prefer something...oh like a Range Rover to drive over a little car like this one! But, she just snapped this pic before we left...just for the blog.