Spring Time on Wye mountain

One of the traditions I was so excited to start with my family this year was an annual trip to Wye Mountain. It is located about 30 minutes outside of little rock, a little out past maumelle. ANd it is just a field covered in dafadills!

Since I got Elem such a cute little Easter outfit, I wanted him to wear that to get his pics made with all the flowers to remember his first spring time! Once we got there it was sooo pretty! Elem loved all the flowers and just wanted to pull on them and shake them! Now you really arent supposed to pick the flowers so we did our best not to let him grab too many-and he did really good, and pretty much just looked and watched all the people around. Here are some pics of the day! Just like all my blogs, I know I get a little carried away with the pics, and for the most part they all look the same, so forgive me for the mass amount, but I gots family who wants to see pics of this beautiful baby boy at his finest!

ELem and daddy when we first got there


Elem and mommy when we first got there as well


He takes a look around and I believe he likes it!


Oh and he likes to pull the petals off those pretty flowers! why not huh? they are just his size.


Enjoying the wind on his face.


Happy to be with daddy on such a beautiful day. They are best friends.


Showing off that mouth full of teeth.


Finally he got a whole flower. And not too sure what to do with it.


Overall, what a happy day. He loved it! And was pretty much smiles all around.


Like I said, I really want to have some staple things that we do each year as a family. So far those include, Wye Mountain in Spring, visiting with the Easter Bunny in April, Trips to the beach in the summer, doing Race for the Cure in October, going to the pumpkin patch in the fall, and going to the christmas tree farm every christmas! I feel like those are things that I know Elem will always remember when he gets older and also things he can look forward to throughout the year! I am going to try and think of more as they come along-since this is our first year at it! And hopefully, more fabulous memories will come with the more family times we spend together! I love my family and I am so thankful for the time I have with them each and every day. And if you cant tell, I love getting pics to document the great times, hopefully to savor them long after the memory is gone. :)

Introducing Wyatt Allen Beasley

Yes like I said in my last post, Wyatt is here! Although I have not had a chance to meet him just yet, I will be flying to Chattanooga on Friday and staying until Tuesday! Elem and I are going for a little vacation to get to meet his new cousin, and hopefully be of some help to my sis! Vincent-her hubby just graduated from med school and is a nurse anesthisist. So he has been working like crazy and will pretty much be working 80 hour weeks for a little bit so he can get some time off to spend with his new son! But until then, my mom has been staying with Becky, and Elem and I will pick up right when she is leaving. Hopefully by that time, Becky will be a little more settled in as a new mommy and feel okay about being alone with the baby while Vincent is gone. Here is Wyatt-please remember these pics are from my phone so they are not of the best quality.

Wyatt and new mommy a few moments after he was born. She looks so happy! :)


After eating-nice and full and sleepy!


And this one is my fave-looks like he just got stripped down to get some pretty clothes on to go home!


In the last pic he reminds me of Elem a little bit. I am not sure why, but for some reason it just does! Well congrats again little sis, I am so proud of you and cant wait for our kids to grow up together.

Baby Wyatt is here!

I am so excited to announce that I have a new nephew!!!! Baby Wyatt Allen Beasley is offically here! He was born on Wednesday March 19, at 6:49pm weighing in at a wopping 6lbs 9oz and 19 and 3/4 inches long! He has pale skin, and curly strawberry blond hair! I am so so proud of my sister and so happy she is now a mommy! She was in labor for 17 hours and pushed for about 20 minutes, so major props to her for a job well done! I dont have any good pics yet, because they are all on my phone, but as soon as I get some I will post them! I am going to visit next Friday for about a week, so I will get tons of pics when I get there! Way to go Becky and congrats! She and her hubby Vincent are going to be such great parents and I can not wait for Elem to meet his little cous! Now we have one little niece and one little nephew so we got the best of both worlds!!! Here s a pic of Becky and Vincent when she was about 5 or 6 months along! She was tiny here, but little Wyatt is finally here happy and healthy and perfect all around!

Easter Bunny fun

Last weekend my mom came into town to spend some time with the Elem! We were so excited for her to finally get back to Little Rock ! Seth had to work on Saturday so we spent the day shopping for Elems wedding outfit and an Easer outfit! Easter snuck up on me so fast that I hadnt even bought one yet! So we went to several stores and found the CUTEST stuff!!! We got an all white Strausburg outfit for the wedding

! This is a pic from the store online. He is gonna be the best looking person at the wedding for sure! I can not wait to see him in it! Thanks mom!!!


And we got his Easter outfit, which is along the same lines as the one above, but its red stripes and less dressy! I dont have a pic of it, but I am taking him to the Wye Mountain this weekend and will be getting tons of pics of him in it! So no worries!

After finding the wedding outfit we headed to the Easter Bunny to get a pic! I was kinda nervous because when we walked up, I was reminded that the Easter Bunny is so scary looking! But I knew how good Elem did with Santa, so I had high hopes. As soon as we walked up, Elem loved him! He totally wanted to get down and he walked towards him. He kinda stopped so we took him up and he just loved it!!! He was hopping to music on the Easter Bunny's lap, and just giggling. So I guess he wasnt too scary to a 10 month old! Here is the pic:




Too cute if I do say so myself! It was such a great day and Elem was pretty good considering all the shopping that we did! We had so much fun with my mom here and were sad to see her go but she did get to spend some time with Elem and see him running around the house like the crazy boy that he is! I was so excited for her to get to actually see all the great things he has been doing, and just see how much he has grown up in the last month! He of course played with his ball-which is his current all time favorite thing in the world to do!



They read some books


And got a some pics of mommy and Elem


Such a sweet baby boy-he is getting so big!


Cant wait till next visit! We miss memaw and granddaddy!

Coming soon...

Looks like Elem will be making HIS big commercial debut coming very soon! Elem totally got chosen for a part in an Arvest bank commercial! And it will be shot next Wednesday! I am not exactly sure what he will be doing as of yet, but hopefully we can get the script and see what all Elem can contribute for his first acting appearance! haha! I am so proud of the little dude!

Let me back this up a little bit! About a week ago, Seth -who works for Waymack and Crew-a production company here in Little Rock, told me that they were casting for an Arvest commercial and a little toddler was needed. So he asked me if I wanted to try and get Elem in it and I was like yes of course!!! So we submitted the most recent picture we had of him and made him a little profile and added it to the list of other kids that were being considered for the part! And he totally got it! Not sure how many kids were up for the part, but all I know is my little boy is about to be a star! Well, he is already a star in my eyes, but this will be fun! And I think he will like it-lets hope right?

So for the next week I am trying to keep him accident and bruise free, so his pretty little face looks pretty on the ole big screen! So that is my gaol until Wednesday, and with the way Elem has been walking like a mad man, it will be quite difficult to keep up with him! So wish me luck! Ill keep you posted and take lots of pics if I can from the shoot.

10 month milestones

Amazingly enough 10 months has crept up on me so fast. I can seriously not believe that Elem Zane is 10 months old. Every single day is like a new journey that he so gracefully seems to master. I will keep this short and to the point, because I know I could go on and on about all the things he does and loves to do every day. He is the joy of our life and makes our family so complete. Seth and I are so in love with this itty bitty person, it is almost amazing to even grasp where this love comes from. Every time he looks at me or Seth, or flashes us a smile, our hearts melt all over again!

This month, more so than any other month so far, Elem is developing a concrete personality. I can confidently say some things that I know he likes and finally understand how his little mind works. He is starting to talk, although only a few words and is finally mobile enough to get to the places he wants to go.

These days Elem is:

-walking all alone! all over the house, all over the yard..anywhere he can get to!

-also walks along tables, chairs and from object to object.

-can stand alone for periods of time

-can stand up in the middle of the room, with out holding on to anything., catches himself if about to fall, has great balance.

-loves to walk with walking toys and can turn them any which way he wants them to go.

-likes to push toys in front of his walking toys



-has 6 teeth-4 upper and 2 bottom

-feeds himself for the most part, would rather not eat, than you feed him.

-loves loves loves balls-walks around theh house looking for them, following them, picking them up and throwing them and then picking them up again! He is obsessed-



-loves sage and the idea of sage

-can say dog, momma, dada, and bye

-knows which toys are sages in the house and likes to play "shake" with her-where he holds the toys and she grabs them and shakes them from him. he giggles like crazy.


-thinks he is a muscle man, and likes to push huge objects-like hugh chairs around houses, and restaurants. He can not seem to get enough of pushing things around. He understands how to turn them and get them through corners, etc.


-other things:
-he can drink from a cup
-can roll the ball to us
-understands no and shakes head no if you say the word or if he is doesnt want something
-reaches when he wants out of the high chair or wants somebody
-loves to take a big bath with bubbles and with mommy and daddy in the bath
-favorite foods are baby gerber cheetos, vanilla wafers, chicken, macaron and cheese, green beans, and peas.
-totally done nursing and only formula feeding'
-sleeps from 9pm until 8am in the crib
-holds hand out to say good bye or hello
-mumbles daddadad gagaga babab -basically talking to you all the time
-enjoys books and being read to.
-loves music toys and things that make noise
-does not like to get dressed or get diaper changed.


okay okay I know that is a lot, but I just wanted to document everything I could think of for right now. Our little man is almost a year old and soon I am going to begin preparing for his big birthday party! Ill add more on that later!

Sage's commercial debut

As you all know, Seth works for Waymack and Crew-a production company that shoots commercials all over the place! Recently, he shot one for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, and they were looking for a small dog! So the commercial is basically saying that you can find anything you are looking for in the paper! Although it is a super quick shot, Sage totally got the royal treatment and was picked and got a close up on the shoot! Please take note, and rewind as many times as needed to see her shine! She is so sweet! And did such a good job. Mommy is proud of her first child-she has been giving all the attention to Elem since he came, and it was time for her to shine! Also, the commercial is now airing in Arkansas, so be watching for her on the big screen!
ALso, when you hit play, look for the chick about 4 back from the dude talking, and she is wearing jeans and a white jacket. She is the one holding my baby girl! Look fast, it will be over before you know it! haha!

It IS a snow day

I woke up around 5am this morning to begin planning for the winter blizzard! Unfortunately it was lacking. Therefore, I watched the news for oh an hour or so until I heard those famous words-LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT WILL BE CLOSED! Wahoo, that was my signal to close down the center as well. Dont be fooled, there was no winter blizzard outside, only frightened peeps closing every school in Arkansas almost afraid of a few snow flakes. But I happily will tae what I can get. All it meant for me, was one snow day for our family!

SO I called my staff, closed her for the day, and lay on the couch wondering when Elem would be up. My luck, the little guy slept all the way till 8am. He is doing sooo fabulous in the crib, I just cant put into words how much this is going to help my sleeping through the nights myself and how much better I feel when I get up. This morning, although I got up at 5-I still slept all the way from 10pm straight till 5. Which is awesome!!! Around 8 it finally started to snow. Slowly but surely the ground began to turn a slight white. I couldnt wait for Elem to get up.

I heard him wake up, but he was quiet, and I went into his room and there he was-in the dark, just sitting up, playing so quietly in his bed. Like a little angel. Such a good boy. I watched him for a few minutes and then slowly walked in, and he turned around and just had this huge grin on his face, like "hey mommy!" "I missed you too!". Then I picked him up and we went straight to open the window, to check out the flurries. As soon as we opened the blinds, he started whispering, and just looking at it, whispering more. He had something to say, but I am not sure what it was. He liked it though I could tell!

So we went to the big windows:


He was a little confused I think. He knew there was something out there that was different, but was probably annoyed, I just kept putting him back up to the window. But I really wanted him to see it. haha.


He quickly got down and moved on to the basketball. Hard to keep him from playing with those dang balls all the time. But he still was being so sweet!


Since Seth had to go on into work, we just chilled for a while and played around the house, ate some breakfast, and did some laundry and what not. Seth called around noon to say he was heading home, just as the snow really started to come down! I was so excited and couldnt wait to get Elem out to see what he would do. But we waited till Seth got there. I wanted daddy to get to enjoy it too! So we got dressed and continued with some window watching.


Of course, we had to play some more with the blue ball!


Look how he walks around the whole house carrying it.


Waiting on daddy and looking exactly like his daddy here. One of these days he will be my little mini me.


Yay! daddys home! Its time to get outside. Here is Elem trying to bolt his way out the door to get to that snow!


And FINALLY we headed out to the snow. It was sooo cold outside, and the wind was blowing so hard, that we didnt really stay out too long at all.



It was almost so cold that I couldnt enjoy it the way I wanted to and there was so much snow falling that I couldnt see my camera very well. haha. So I guess you get what you ask for right? Here are a few cute pics of Elem and daddy in the snow. I love the one where they are looking at each other. SO precious. And it just reminds me of how they look at each other all the time. Just like- hey there.





He was looking at sage down the road, and trying to get her. He kept saying -dot. dot. dot. He is totally trying to say dog! such a smart little guy!


After playing for a minute, touching and tasting the snow, we headed back in the house! The pic at the top of the page, of course is my favorite! Seth was running after sage and chasing her trying to get her to come in the house, and Elem was giggling like crazy! He loves it when we run for some reason. So he got a good one of him laughing!

Trip to the Rivermarket

As I write this blog, I am also currently checking the weather to see if there is going to be a blizzard of some sorts outside! In hopes that schools will be out tomorrow, so I can close my center too! And spend a snow day with Elem. Its looking good, and like we might see some snow here in about an hour or so, so lets keep our fingers crossed! Now On a totally different route-last weekend was the most beautiful of the year yet! It was sunny, without a cloud in the sky and upper 60s I believe. So so nice and the perfect day to spend outside. We jumped on the chance to take Elem downtown to the Rivermarket , to spend some good time site seeing/people watching, and simply enjoying the outside air.

First stop was Shaka's, Its a BBQ place where Seth worked from high school ad through college till he got him a real job in the production biz! Needless to say, the folks there are like family and they have been dying to see Elem. About a year ago, a few days before Elem's birth, Mike, the owner of the joint passed away. So it is a little sad to see the place without him there smiling away and trying to get you to try something he cooked up, but it was still good to see the rest of his family. We miss Mike but know he is in a great place looking down on us, and I know he must have been sooo happy to see Elem standing outside of his biz! We caught up with all, and showed off Elem and his walking skillz and just over all good looks as much as possible!

After the trip to Shaka's, we ate some BBQ, and then headed outside to get some air, and play a little ball with Elem.



This ball is his super most favorite toy right now! Every time he walks into the living room, he goes straight for it, and walks around carrying it! Whatever floats his boat I guess, right?


Then we just played around in the grass for a bit, and tried to get a family pic-first attempt by Seth...nice I am glad he at least got my cheek. Guess we know who he enjoys looking at! haha!


Second attempt by Seth-much better-


Mommy and Elem-it was super sunny, so I am squinting like crazy! But Elem looks so sweet here I think. He was pretty much done getting his picture taken! You'de think he would be used to it by now, I mean I follow the child around with a camera 24/7.


After playing in the grass for a little while and walking around, we headed back towards the Clinton Library, to look around for a while. On the way, we noticed that they were setting up for the Little Rock MArathon that was being held the next day. Seth couldnt pass up an opportunity to "finish" the race and catch it on film! Karla-this one's for you! Seth officially beat you through the race. ANd he even had the people sitting on the Rhumba balcony cheering him on. He is too silly.


Elem was sooo tired and only lasted about half way to the Library. We walked and walked and walked and just let him sleep, and enjoyed the peaceful time together!


It was such a great great weekend. I love being outdoors and it has been so cold that I feel like I have been couped up for so long. And I am just so ready for spring so I can get Elem outdoors and in some fresh air. I know he needs it and it makes for way better pics too! haha!

Other than that, we have had a hectic but great week. It flew by and I am ready for the weekend already! Elem has been sleeping in his crib every night and not even getting up once! He is doing sooo good, and has not nursed all week as well. I am amazed at the ease of this transition and I hope it continues to go so smooth until he is in a good routine. He is still walking around the house like a mad man, and his crawling days are over! Now for all you people who think, oh you know what that means-he is moving out of the way for the next one to come along- well you are wrong!!!!!! haha, no more babies any time soon. We would like to enjoy this one for as long as we can, and then we will see.

A good nights sleep

Currenty it is 5am, which I normally would scowl and say why oh why do we have to get up this early, play, Elem drift off to sleep again and just in time for mommy to supposed to be getting up for real, to get ready and go to work! But not today! Today I am soo happy and full of joy I can not contain myself! Last night Elem went down at 9pm after an 8oz cereal bottle, IN HIS VERY OWN CRIB, and only woke once and cried about 30min. until 5am. SO I would say for starters that is great! I know he is 10 months old and should be sleeping all night, but with the breastfeeding and al, it was so difficult to do it and to get up for work the next day without him just laying there beside me. BUt I have turned over a new leaf and we are trying him all by his lonesome. I knew he could do it and just wanted to brag on the little guy for a moment! He also has officially gone a whole day and night with no nursing! which is insanely huge for us. We are officially stopping the breastfeeding as of now. Since Elem is walking, I feel like the time is right. He is so healthy and so smart, and I really feel like the breastfeeding played a huge role in that. I am so thankful that I have been able to nurse this long and would have done it exactly the same if I had to do all over again. Although I might have changed up my technique a little here and there, overall I would have still chose to nurse as long as possible. It was the best bonding time I could have ever asked for and my kid is about as healthy and advanced as they come-at least to mommy and daddy he is! SO after a good nights rest, we are up and ready for the day right and early this morning. Maybe we can catch a short nap here in a little while, and if not, just a little extra time for mommy to relax. Lets hope he goes down in the crib again! Hopefully this is the start of a beautiful relationship...Elem and his Crib! It has been long over due.

We're Engaged!!!

Here is the happy couple!



Sorry for the delay in posting this, because as some of you already know, Seth and I finally got engaged! Yep, we are tying the knot...getting hitched.....getting married. And we are soo excited. We have been planning on getting married for quite a while now, but we both wanted to wait until the right time. If you know me at all, you know that I do not and never have wanted to have a big wedding. I have always wanted to get married on the beach, or at least by some body of water-in nature, with the wind blowing, sun shining, and the sounds of nature surrounding us! With only a few people around, to share in what I consider a very intimate moment. I feel like getting married is very personal and shouldnt be a production. Not to say that I havent been to some fabulous huge weddings!!! Thats just me though, you know!?

We will be getting married at Panama City Beach on May 30, 2008. We have a beach house rented for a family vacation, so it should be beautiful and relaxing and just perfect for the 2 of us! There wont be much to it, but maybe a couple of flowers -me, seth, and elem-chillin in the sun with our feet in the water-with a few family members there to watch!

Now in true fashion, we didnt get engaged just like regular folks. haha -we wanted to get tatoo wedding rings, but after thinking about both our lines of work, and how much we wash our hands, we decided to go a different route. I think we still might get those, but for now, these are our engagement tatoos:



We got the waves to represent nature, peacefullness, and of course to signify the beauty of where we are getting married. Anyways it makes sense to us and we love love love them! So basically the waves are for the two of us, and then the empty is box is for Elem and we will be filling that one very soon. With what?? We are not exactly sure, which is why we are waiting. So all in all, our little family is just so happy and soon I will be Miss Mindy Shelby. Haha. Sounds a little weird. Oh well!

And this is mine all alone. It is soo pretty-I love it!


I was trying to get a cute pic of us to show our excitement and this is what I got from Seth....


and again...