happy birthday vegas landry.

today you are one.

that's 365 days old, which to me... is unbelievable.

how did i ever function before you? what were my goals? what were my dreams? oh yeah, they were YOU. you are my everything. you are the drive that pushes me to want to become a better person. on my worst days, that gummy smile makes everything disappear. you are so innocent and clueless to the real world and i want to keep you that way for as long as i can. all you care about is eating, sleeping and tapping things with your middle finger... which is a pretty awesome life if you ask me. you pass no judgment, i am your mom and that's all you care about. you don't care if i have an important job, drive an import or even pay the mortgage. all you ever want from me is attention, and i really do try my hardest to give you as much as i humanly can because i know you will not be this little forever. while my heart aches just typing those words i cannot wait to watch you develop into an amazing girl. hell, you already ARE amazing, in more ways than your little brain could ever imagine.

you changed my life one year ago today, and for that i am eternally grateful.

i love you [mama].

i know you will not remember your first year, but it is forever etched in my brain. thank you for being awesome!

before vegas, there was maddox.

he is our first born [son] dog.

here is a little back story on dalmatians. they are not a mean breed like some people tend to think. i guess this could be a half truth because any dog can be mean, with the correct owners. anyways, they are extremely needy, like big time. ours is at least [i think we got a defective one!]. and they shed. A LOT. at first we assumed since he was a short haired dog there would be minimal shedding, but when we had to buy our second vacuum in our old house with all wood floors, we knew we had a problem. the first one could not handle the amount of hair he was shedding. funny thing is, his coat never looked any thinner. [piss me off], i tell you.

fast forward five years.

it was always just me, cj and him. when we decided to have a baby we were worried about how maddox would handle it. in general he is a really good dog. we were afraid he was going to be one of those crazy dogs that drags your baby out of its crib at night and hides it so no one will find it. maddox is jealous by nature and that really threw a red flag up for cj and i.

the day we brought vegas home from the hospital he was eager to see this little bundle and started sniffing her immediately. we kept a watchful eye on him at all times because, well, hes a dog. he left her alone for the most part, for the first 4 months or so, then he really took an interest in her. he lets her pet him and touch his tail [which no dog likes]. he sniffs her, she sniffs him - a truly friendly relationship.

i won't lie and say that he hasn't had his moments of jealousy since she arrived, he's had quite a few. i will also admit that i do feel a tiny bit bad for him because he used to be the center of our world and now hes not. we still love him to pieces, but y'all, hes a dog. and people who love their dog the same way they love their children are, well - weird.

its moments like these that melt my heart.

someone is 0.5 years old today!

they tag team [ninja style] - double needle stuck my daughter today.

and this was the end result.

NOT before she let out the most deadly shrieks i have ever heard emitted from her tiny lungs. sadness, i tell you. but fear not, they lasted a mere 60 seconds, tops. i was a little bummed that they didn't have little baby pearls, but i will live... for the next six weeks anyways.

i know it is a "controversial" subject, but every parent is different. some get it done six weeks after the exit from the ute. i am actually surprised in myself that i waited until she was one week shy of six months old.

i told her that any other peircings she wanted would be at her own will, after she turned 35 of course.

day [37]

[37] -"they are D&G helllllloooo" (bruno anyone?) -the sticker on my lens is so not fashionable.

christmas cards.

every year, CJ and i always make personalized christmas cards. it doesn't take much thought, and the price is actually cheaper than buying those cheese ball [happy holidays, may your days be merry and bright] cards that you honestly don't read anyways when they come in the mail. if you are like us, you check the signature at the bottom, and move on. i am not saying i don't enjoy receiving them, because i do, but i am much more likely to display your cute card if you took the time to make kodak moments of yourself, animals and sweet babes dressed in ridiculous outfits on my .99 cent hanging christmas card holder, that up until this year has been fully functional until one of the card holder rings fell off. boo. because i am cheap of the economy, i will hold off until next year to purchase a new one.

i usually create my cards on snapfish.com, and this year was no different, they have like 6783468 templates to choose from. i picked a template, added pictures, had them delivered to walmart [because i am classy like that] and picked them up all in less than 24 hours. i got 40 card and envelopes for $15, thats a deal if i ever saw one.

because i cannot actually link the card template, i will enlighten you with the pictures we used.

[xoxo] - cj, crystal, vegas and maddox.

hi. my name is vegas landry.

and yesterday was my birthday.

vegas landry f.
10.19.09 - only 8 days overdue.
6 pounds / 13 ounces.
20.5 inches long.
9:38pm.

14 hours of labor.
24 minutes of pushing.

oh, and here i am. enjoy me.















excuse me in advance for the massive amount of photos that are sure to ensue from this day forward.

can we talk about how redic cute these are?

ever since i saw these a few months back i have wanted them sooo much more than i probably should have. stupid me thought that they were actual onesies with an iron on patch. i googled the aforementioned infant novelty and was price shocked when i saw that people could actually charge $24 for a small peice of white fabric PLUS $2.95 shipping FOR EACH ONE! although the first year is full of milestones, this mom would have blindly sharpied a number on a spit up stained onesie before i forked out that kind of dough. im not too proud to admit im cheap.

i gave up my search long ago, but today was pleasantly surprised when i ran across these on Etsy. super presh, i know. they are stickers..... stickers! whoever invented these was sheer genius i tell ya.

$13.00 for a set of 12 - pssssht, im sold!