Counting Down

Sunday marked the beginning of the final countdown to our baby girl's first birthday. I keep thinking back to what I was doing a year ago and how I was anxious about our family of three adjusting to a fourth person. Here is my beautiful 11 month old daughter.

She is a sassy little girl already. She does not like being told "no". I know we are going to have our hands full with this one. I keep thinking that my mom pegged my kids a couple of months ago. Reese is the sneaky quiet one and Kylie is the loud defiant one. ;o)

K loves R. And vice versa. They light up when they see each other and it is fun to watch them interact more and more. With that said, the irritations have started already, too. Reese has started getting upset when his sister wants a toy he has or some food he is eating. He usually ends up sharing but he has done his fair share of whining, too. I know this will probably get worse before it gets better but I still hope that they will ultimately have a loving, friendship as they grow up.

K has her two bottom teeth and is still working on getting her two top teeth. The top ones have broken through the gums but they aren't all the way down yet. I don't get many glimpses of her baby teeth but when I do, they're cute. She talks a lot more than Reese ever has. GiGi and Gram even decided that she sings. She can say "Mama", "Dada" and "Uh-oh" the clearest. A couple of weeks ago it sounded like she said "Bible" in Sunday School but who knows.

She is standing by herself when she wants to. She took a couple of steps while I was holding on to her hands Saturday but she hasn't really tried to take off yet. I am a little surprised at that but I am certainly not in a rush for her to walk. Miss Priss has already weaned herself from nursing. She officially quit a little over a week ago. That was much quicker than her brother and I'm surprisingly taking it in stride. I'm not upset about it and am just a little nervous about her getting the nutrients she needs through formula just because we didn't really have much experience with formula before her. She is still eating almost everything we give her. She loves to eat and is a healthy girl in that respect. I still can't get over the fact that I have two blue eyed babies. I never would have guessed that either of them would have blue eyes. I actually hoped one of them would have my hazel eyes. I've gotten my fair share of compliments over the years on my eye color which fluctuates between greenish brown and brown depending on my clothes. It just reminds me that God is in control and gives you what He thinks you need.

I feel like a bad mom for not updating this blog more often. I'm really trying to not be a technology obsessed mother to my children. I've found myself keeping my cell phone close by at all hours of the day. I don't want my kids to think that I love my phone or computer more than them. My babies are the best. I can't imagine my life without them. I'm going to end this one with a couple of Reese self portraits. He loves to get my camera and take pictures and lately he has started doing these.

A Very Happy Weekend

This last weekend was busy but very fulfilling. My oldest friend (since kindergarten) got married in a beautiful ceremony followed by a wonderful celebration at the reception in Clear Lake. Yesterday we celebrated my baby sister's 30th birthday with a fun family lunch. Kristi and I were best friends all through elementary school. We played softball together in Highlands for years. Her dad coached us to 4th place in state one year. We managed to stay friends through junior high and high school even though we ran in different circles. We always made time to catch up through college and then as adults we've managed to keep in touch. Kristi was one of my bridesmaids and has been a hostess for baby showers with the birth of both of my kids. It is hard to describe how much she means to me. I've always admired Kristi for her independance and faith. She has always known what she wants and stayed true to herself throughout her life. Kristi knew God had a plan for her and when she told me about Corbett at her kitchen warming party, I was so excited for her. I could tell that this guy was different to her and I wasn't too surprised when she told me that he proposed. My heart is still full for her. She is the happiest I've ever seen her and I can't think of anyone that deserves it more. I was honored to share in Kristi's big day as a bridesmaid. I can't wait to see the professional pictures because I know they will be amazing. Here are a couple that I took with my personal camera.

My baby sister turned 30 today. Since it is hard to coordinate schedules on a weekday (plus she went out of town today), we celebrated yesterday with a family lunch at Dad's. Dad grilled delicious steaks, Mom made potato bake and salad and I made tres leches cake. It was soooooooooo good. We joke that Rachel is my first baby. Apparently I've tried to be Mommy Junior to her since she was born. I love my Saster and hope she has a fabulous day! I can't wait to see what this decade has in store for her. ;o)

Happy Birthday, Baby Boy!

Four years ago today a little blue-eyed boy stole my heart. It is truly hard to believe that four years has already passed with this boy. It is hard to remember our lives before Reese. He is a sweet, loving, smart, funny, handsome boy and I am so glad that God chose me to be his mommy. Favorite Reese sayings right now: - "I do it all myselfs." - "Mama, hold her." (when his sister tries to get his toys) - "I help." - "Ooh. Look at the lake!" (as we drive by a ditch with water) - "Mama, my tummy growling. I'm hungry." (usually followed by, "I want Chick-fil-A or McDonald's".) - "Mama, you go night me down." He loves his sister. He is a good big brother but I can tell as Kylie gets more and more active that he is going to have to keep adjusting to her being in his business. I hope they always have a loving, friendly relationship. R loves dinosaurs, cars, animals, the zoo, Octonauts, Doc McStuffins, Kung Fu Panda, Curious George, chicken nuggets, french fries, corn dogs and apple juice. We are so proud of our little prince and can't wait to see what all he will get in to over the next year. I am excited about him starting pre-K in August. I hope he and his daddy have a few more fishing trips, too. I treated the birthday boy to donut holes for breakfast and then took him and K to GiGi's like normal. GiGi took them to Mrs. Sarah's while Mommy and Daddy were at work. After we picked them up, we went straight to Toys R Us so Reese could spend his birthday money. He chose a pirate ship complete with pirates and a big fish and a Hot Wheels serpent track that you can play with in the bath. He has played with both nonstop since we got home. After TRU we let him pick where we ate dinner and surprise, surprise he chose McDonald's. We had saved the top layer of his birthday cake and pulled it out, lit candles and sang to him again. Silly boy didn't want a piece of cake tonight because he was too excited about his toys. Here is a look at my sweet boy over the past four years.

Octonauts Party

A couple of months ago I started looking at party supplies thinking my son would want a dinosaur party for his 4th birthday. Of course, my son did not want to do things the easy way. He wanted an Octonauts party. I secretly hoped he would change his mind and waited to make actual plans until it was closer to his birthday. You see the Octonauts are new to the US but they've been around in the UK for a little while. So getting anything Octonauts other than books was a little difficult. Thankfully I managed to pull off a party that pleased my son despite his challenging request. I got the invitations from a seller on Etsy. I felt like it was important to communicate the theme with the invites and wanted to make sure everyone knew what the Octonauts are.

I also found Reese's t-shirt design on Etsy. I found hat instructions through Pinterest. You can get the printable logos here. I made the shape of the hats out of thick blue scrapbook paper. Our guests didn't get in to wearing the hats but Reese lit up when he saw them so it was worth the time and effort.

I found a couple of pictures of cakes I liked on the Octonauts Facebook page. I printed them out for my wonderful cake lady and she came up with this masterpiece. She didn't feel confident with the characters so she found another lady to make them. I loved it and even better, it was delicious!

The banner was Pinterest-inspired, as well. I found the paper at Michael's and used a pattern for the flags found here.

A big hit was the gups my aunt made. The Gups A through E are the Octonauts' submarines. My Aunt Andy is a very talented lady and she loves helping me out with parties.

My aunt also helped me by bringing the supplies for bubble prints and then being in charge of helping the kids with their prints. It turns out I pinned a link on Pinterest that tells you how to do this. The kids enjoyed it and it would be fun any time.

We carried the under-the-sea theme over to the bouncy compliments of Pop. Reese loved it and some of the adults enjoyed it after the kids left.

Instead of traditional treat bags for the guests, I found foam pails on sale at JoAnn's and got sea creature foam stickers for the kids to decorate their own pail. These also served as table decorations. JoAnn's also had some fish masks that my sister, Mom and I colored for the kids to use.

I got some inspiration from this blog I found on Pinterest. I printed the Pin the Patch on Kwazii game but the kids didn't play because there were so many other things to do. I'm pretty proud of the fishing area my sister and I made out of a cardboard box and paint. The kids really enjoyed fishing for their goodies. They got a sea creature that grows in water (I found them for $1 at Walmart) and a baggie full of stickers, candy and an under-the-sea game (all found at Party City).

We decorated inside and out with fish found at Party City and sea creatures we made using paper plates, streamers and googly eyes. They added to the ambiance and made it feel more like a party.

Ultimately, we enjoyed eating hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and cake with our friends and family while kicking off Reese's 4th birthday celebration.

Melt My Heart

Today my sweet babies got to go to the zoo for a special GiGi/Auntie Day. GiGi and Auntie took off of work to spend the day with Reese and Kylie. They had a great time at the Houston Zoo and enjoyed just being together. I am grateful that our families are so close and help us fill our children's lives with love. Rachel (Auntie) caught a sweet moment on the way home. She said both kids had fallen asleep and they were holding hands. I'm sure this happens more than I realize but seeing it really melts my heart. I hope they continue to love each other through out their lives. I don't know much about the bond between a brother and sister but I hope they are always there for each other like my sister and I.

Today also marks my baby girl's tenth month of life. Our little lady is growing up so fast. She is crawling like crazy, pulling up and even letting go for a couple of seconds and standing on her own. I have a feeling she will be walking before her birthday. She talks all the time and loves to say "uh-oh". She will say Mama more than Dada but that is about all. She is eating everything. She has all kinds of table food and seems to be weaning herself from nursing already. I'm surprisingly at peace with the early weaning. I was very concerned about nursing Reese for at least the entire year but I think she will be done before June. I just keep reminding myself that each baby is different and I know that she is healthy. Today when I went to pick them up from GiGi's house, she saw me and got so excited that she was flapping her little arms like a baby bird and lost her balance and fell over. It was too cute! We got a good laugh out of it and wish we'd have gotten it on video. Kylie loves her brother. She gets so excited when she sees him and loves to help me wake him up in the mornings. He thinks she is pretty special, too. Reese will crack me up sometimes when he says things like, "Aww, sister's so cute." "Mama, you make my sister cry." I love my babies. Miss Priss has decided over the last month that she doesn't like her bows. I keep trying to tell her "no, no" in hopes that she will leave them alone but I'm not sure it is going to work. She is stubborn so we might have a little fight on our hands over what she is wearing already. ;o)

By the way, this is my 200th post. Woo hoo!

Bluebonnets and Kylie's 1st Easter

I finally did it. I got pictures of my kids in the Texas bluebonnets. It wasn't the fullest field but it was pretty none-the-less. I wish my sweet boy would have cooperated a little more but I think he is going through a I-don't-like-to-pose-for-the-camera phase.

My precious baby girl had a good first Easter. She and her brother were visited by the Easter Bunny a total of 5 times. ;o) We had a fun filled weekend with family, friends and egg hunts. Reese was the most excited yet and it made my heart happy to see him so excited over the eggs and his treats. I really enjoyed the extra two days off to spend with my angel babies.