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December 1st

2011-12-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

I did something crafty for once in my life and made an advent calendar.

Luke 1:26-28, 31
“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you… You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.’”

Angel Gabriel was inside the box tonight along with the scripture and a marshmallow treat for each of the boys. Reed likes to share his treats and Will doesn't complain. I like this new tradition so far.

I had actually already purchased to box and Christmas papers to make this a couple of months ago, but I found this website last night when I was searching for what to put in each box.

Reed's First Haircut

2011-07-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

I've got a lot of catching up to do, but I will start with today, July 12, 2011....Reed's first haircut. It was a big event for me. I was never emotionally attached to Will's hair. It came in straight and we really couldn't do anything with it, so his first cut wasn't that big of a deal. Reed, on the other hand, had the cutest little curls and I just loved them. I really did not want to cut them for a long time. But he got mistaken for a girl for the first time two days ago and Chris has been subtly pushing for a cut, so I gave in. We went to our favorite Sports Clips after dinner tonight and Reed got his first haircut. It was just a week ago that we were in that very place getting Will's haircut when Chris said we should go ahead and cut Reed's hair too. I laughed it off, but tonight he won. He is a squirmy little guy so I wasn't sure how he would do, but Chris held him and gave him a sucker and he did really well. We also got a wonderful stylist named Reese. We will definitely go back to her. She was so patient and good with Reed. My baby is turning into a boy!

I was a lot better at this...

2010-11-30T21:58:00.001-08:00

...when I only had one child! And it's funny how every little milestone seemed so interesting with Will. I mean of course I am proud of all of Reed's milestones too, but I don't feel the urgent need to blog about them. But just to catch you up...Reed is 7-months-old now. He started sitting up sometime in September (or was it August?). He started eating real [baby] food in October. He loves the baby food I make him and Puffs. I am trying to switch him from Puffs to Cheerios, because we will go broke feeding him Puffs at this rate. He started crawling a few weeks ago. He never even went through the rocking stage...just decided to start army crawling one day. He started crawling on all fours a few days ago and now he is really going fast. And Chris found his first tooth a week ago and another one today (the bottom middle two)! He is such a joy! He is so happy, sleeps great at night, loves to cuddle, admires his big brother...pretty much his only flaw is that he doesn't take naps. Oh my. That is a pretty big one. But we will get through it. Really the only time he cries is when I put him in that darn crib during the day. At night, he goes right to sleep and doesn't make a peep for 10-12 hours. Somehow the crib is not a happy place during the day though. This pretty much makes me crazy everyday, but it is worth it because he is my baby and he is SWEET when I am not trying to get a nap out of him. I love him so much!

Will is approaching three-and-a-half-years-old and he is so much fun. This is the best age. He constantly makes me laugh. Sometimes he is trying to be funny, but most of the time he is funny without trying. He always has a pretend football game going on and it is pretty entertaining to hear all about his games everyday. Sometimes I am not allowed to call him by his name. He will correct me by saying, "I am not Will...I am football player." He still enjoys playing with cars, coloring, reading, painting, and watching tv. He recently learned how to play the Wii and he is pretty good at it. He likes all the sports games and Mario Cart. He has also been very interested in helping me in the kitchen lately. His favorite thing to do is pull a chair up to the sink and wash dishes. This will come in handy someday. He loves his baby brother and wants him to be in the same room with him most of the time. He is a great kid! He is hilarious, very smart, sometimes sensitive...always my little buddy! I love my Will!

Picture taken by Therese Barrett Photography.

I am so thankful for these two amazing little guys!

Reed is 3 Months!

2010-07-31T12:33:00.000-07:00

My little Reed turned 3-months-old and he is just as sweet as can be. I will say he is a homebody to the extreme. He is so happy at home and rarely complains, but the second I start to put him in his carseat he starts arching his back and crying. You would think I am torturing the poor little guy. He will just scream and scream in the car until he falls asleep or until we get somewhere and I get him out of his carseat. But even when he gets out of his carseat and we are not at home, he is not 100% happy. I guess he is very aware of his environment and feels most comfortable at home. It is probably a good change of pace for me. Sometimes I like to just go go go and now that I have Reed that doesn't like to do that, it keeps me at home a lot more and I am learning to be okay with that.

He is a GREAT sleeper. He sleeps 10:30-8:30 most nights. He slept until 9:15 this morning...talk about spoiling mama on a Saturday!! His naps have gotten shorter, but he still takes several 30-45 minute naps throughout the day. I think he is going through the 3-4 month wakeful period and just doesn't want to miss out on anything right now. But I'm sure we will be able to work on stretching his naps eventually. I'm not too worried about it right now.

He is still a big boy...at least in comparison to Will. He was 14.5 pounds a few weeks ago. He is a good eater, but currently hates the bottle. He doesn't do any tricks yet...but to be honest, we have only done tummy time a few times, so I haven't really given the opportunity to learn how to roll yet. I just hate to mess with him, when he is so content to be just laying on his back all the time. The doctor said not to worry and we can start working on this at 4 months...so that's what we will do! He has really started to watch his big brother and thinks he is pretty funny.

We love you sweet Reed!!!

Will is 3!

2010-07-28T13:19:00.000-07:00

I seriously cannot believe I have a 3-year-old. That seems so old! We had a race car birthday party for him this year. I said last year that it was the last birthday party we would have for Will at our house, but of course we ended up having it at our house again. When I first mentioned the idea of having the birthday party at Chuck E Cheese or McDonalds to Will, he said, "Nooo...I want the kids to come to my house!" I started to try to convince him to do it somewhere else and he did warm up to the idea, but then I got nervous that he would clam up like he sometimes does when we are out in public and I wanted him to have fun at his party. So we did have it at home...hopefully next year will be the year we have it somewhere else. It's not that having it here is the worst thing ever, but it always seems to stress me out and I can't enjoy the party myself...but this year, I just decided not to do food (just snacks) and that helped a lot. Oh, and Chris let me hire someone to clean the house!

I really wanted a flag banner for the "Pit Stop" but I couldn't find one anywhere (it was too late to order online), so I made this one out of a table cloth and string.

Chris and I made these cars out of boxes and the kids decorated them and then raced them on a little race track we setup in the backyard.

This was the little kid heat.

Chris has been collecting Hot Wheels for Will since I was pregnant with him and we found out he was a boy. Since all the Hot Wheels stuff says it is for ages 3+, I told Chris we would have to wait until his 3rd birthday to give them to him...even though he already has a bunch that he has played with for awhile. But I think this might have at least triple his collection of cars and he only had a really simple race track before...now Chris and Will spend their evenings designing all kinds of cool race tracks. It really is pretty cool...I didn't realize what the race tracks would be like.

I went to Walmart right before the party to pick up a few last minute items and found all these car shirts for cheap (they all just happened to be red)! They didn't have one in Reed's size so I bought him a red onesie and put a car sticker on it.

I will have to write more about my 3-year-old later, Reed is calling! :)

Rainbow

2010-07-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Call us doting parents, but Will drew this rainbow from his heart this morning and Chris and I think it is pretty special. It is the first time that he has drawn something, told us what it is, and it actually looks like what he told us. :)

Reed Laughs

2010-06-23T15:55:00.000-07:00

Smartie

2010-06-23T15:40:00.001-07:00

I just have to write this here so that I won't forget how smart my boy is at a month shy of 3-years-old (and how much he doesn't like change of any kind). The past two Thursdays we went swimming in the afternoon followed by Firehouse Subs for dinner and Spoonfull for dessert. Yesterday we went swimming in the afternoon and I had started dinner before we went, so we came home to eat but Spoonfull sounded really good, so we decided to head that way after dinner.

As Chris and I were talking about it, Will asked if we were also going to Firehouse Subs. I told him that we weren't going to Firehouse Subs because we already ate dinner. He was disappointed, but eventually gave up asking why we couldn't go there. When we have gone to Firehouse Subs, he doesn't act like he likes it more than any other place that we go...we can barely get him to eat anything just like everywhere else, so I am pretty sure he just wanted to follow the routine we had set in the past. He doesn't like change!

About 30 minutes later, we are in the car headed to Spoonfull and Will announces that he is thirsty. I tell him we have water in the car and he says he wants Sprite (which he usually doesn't request unless we are eating out somewhere). I told him we didn't have any Sprite and they don't have any at Spoonfull either. To which he replies that we need to go to Firehouse Subs to get him a Sprite. I couldn't believe that he had thought of a way to try to get in Firehouse Subs. So funny!

So then we get into Spoonfull and Will gets his usual thing - sprinkles with a side of yogurt, which Will says is "kind of like donuts." Again, I think he has forgotten about Firehouse Subs....wrong. After he finished his treat, he tells me he is hungry again and he needs a sandwich from Firehouse Subs. It still didn't work, but kudos to Will for trying so hard! ha!

Quick update...

2010-06-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Reed will be 2 months old on Saturday! He has changed so much already. For one thing he is BIG...13 pounds last week and in the 90th percentile! Will never passed the 25th percentile. He also started sleeping through the night four nights ago...10:30 to 7:30 and it is awesome!! He is sooo happy when he wakes up in the morning. I love that sweet boy so much.

I am definitely adjusting to having two kids now! I am starting to feel normal again. I don't think I got the baby blues this time, but I just had a panicked feeling for awhile....like I couldn't handle two kids. But I can, and it's not so bad!

I took some pictures today for Father's Day and I couldn't help but ruin the surprise...they were just too cute not to share!

In other news....now that Reed is 8 weeks old, it is time to start shedding the baby weight. I started the Couch to 5k program tonight with some friends and it felt pretty good! I have done it before and liked it, but I never actually ran a 5k. I am planning to do it this time though...I will let you know how it goes. So far the the C25K and Lose It apps on my iphone are really making me feel motivated.

Reed meets Reese!

2010-05-15T19:38:00.000-07:00

Funny story...

The week Will was born we got new across the street neighbors, Mark and Elizabeth. We ended up becoming great friends but sadly, we sold our house and moved last year and then shortly after we moved, they sold their house and moved to Amarillo!

They stopped in Lubbock for a quick visit last September and told us they were expecting their first baby. We knew that I was pregnant too, but we didn't say anything at the time because we hadn't told anybody yet.

As it turns out, our due dates were exactly two weeks apart. Elizabeth's due date was April 14th and mine was April 28th. We decided to name our boy Reed and they decided on Reese for their baby girl's name. I joked that they should be born on the same day since they had twinsie names and all.

Well, Elizabeth's due date came and went without baby Reese making her appearance so they decided to induce on April 19th. A couple of days later, we scheduled an induction for April 20th because my doctor was going to be out of the office for a week. I thought it was so funny that our babies would only be a day apart!

On the night of April 18th (after 11pm), Elizabeth and I were texting each other. Elizabeth said they would be leaving for the hospital at 4:45am and I thought that seemed sooo close. I was so excited that they would be meeting their sweet baby so soon. Little did I know that I would be headed to the hospital to have Reed even earlier than that!

So that's the story of Reed and Reese ending up with the same birthday!! How funny is that?

And tonight...they got to meet for the first time on Skype! Reese is so adorable and we can't wait to meet her in person!

Reed is here!

2010-05-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Wow...sorry I have not updated the blog since Reed joined us in this world. My life has been a little crazy and I just can't seem to find the time to sit at the computer to get pictures uploaded and write. But I am doing it now!

Reed was born April 19th at 5:21am. He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces (almost a pound bigger than Will!) and was 19 inches.

I was scheduled to be induced on April 20th, but I was really hoping that he would come on his own like Will did. On Sunday night, I thought I would make one last effort to see if I could encourage him to come on his own...so at about 8:30 that night, we went for a family walk. I wasn't having contractions or anything...but I thought maybe it would help. I'm not sure if that was what did the trick, but at about 11:30 that night I started having contractions, but I didn't think too much of it at first since I had been having contractions for several weeks.

I did catch Chris just before he fell asleep and told him that I was having contractions and we might be making a trip to the hospital that night. I don't think he thought much of it because he said okay and went to sleep. I stayed up and cleaned, got a few things together, and then took a shower. I finally laid down for a few minutes around 2am after I took a shower and the contractions were coming about every 3-4 minutes...so I woke up Chris, called my mom to come stay with Will, and we left for the hospital.

We got to the hospital about 3:15am and Reed was born at 5:21am! It went SUPER fast and I was kind of regretting wishing that he would come on his own. With Will, I labored all night (10pm until 7:23am) and it was easy. By the time it was time to push, I only had push a few times and Will was here. But since I progressed so fast with Reed, I was already dilated to a 9 by the time I got the epidural. Believe me, I was BEGGING for it long before I got it, but apparently it was a busy night and there were 4 people in line ahead of me to get an epidural. So I basically went through the worst part of labor naturally and the epidural did kick in a little by the time I was pushing, but I could still feel a lot. It never fully took effect...so that was kind of a bummer for me! So all that to say, that it was a totally different labor experience than what I had with Will and I was not expecting it to be that way at all! But we all survived!

Throughout my pregnancy I prayed and prayed that Reed would be a good eater because Will was not and that was really stressful for us for the first few weeks after he was born. Well, God answered my prayers and Reed has been a great eater and he is growing fast...again, unlike Will! Reed was already 8 pounds at 11 days old and seems to be getting bigger and bigger!

Reed is a really good baby. He sleeps a lot and really only cries when he is getting his diaper changed or getting a bath. He hates both of these things! He is also not a huge fan of being in the carseat. Once again, all of these things are different than Will. It is so funny how different they are already! Will loved the swing and the bouncer and while Reed will tolerate the bouncer, he isn't a fan of the swing at all. However, he will sleep in his cradle all day long...which is probably better anyway. We haven't moved him to the crib in his room yet because his room is right next to Will's room and I am terrified that Reed would wake Will up in the middle of the night. In my mind, there would be nothing worse than having both of them awake in the middle of the night and so far, it hasn't happened! :)

Most nights, Reed eats at 10 or 11 and goes right to sleep...then wakes up at 3am and goes right back to sleep and then he's up again at 6 or 7. Not too bad! I think Will only woke up once during the night when he was this age, but a lot of times it was hard to get him to go back to sleep. Reed pretty much goes right back to sleep very easily which is nice!

Will is really sweet to Reed and seems to really like being a big brother! However, it has definitely been an adjustment for him. Actually, we are all still adjusting to Will's new behavior. He seems to do a lot of things for attention now that he never did before. I'm sure it is normal...but it has been hard dealing with these new issues. I am just praying that we will all settle in soon and get adjusted to our new normal.

Well I guess I will stop rambling and post some pictures! We haven't decided if he looks like Will or not. At first, I didn't think he looked like Will much at all but then after we looked at Will's baby pictures, I started to think they do look alike. It will be interesting to see how Reed changes as he gets older.

First picture with mom and dad - only a few hours old!

Will meets Reed for the first time! Will was a little intimidated for a few minutes, but nothing a few donuts and pieces of chocolate couldn't fix! :)

So proud to be a big brother!

Hi Reed!

Sweet boy!

Daddy taking a picture of his boy.

Ready to go home.

First car ride.

Napping with dad.

First bath...notice Will plugging his ears.

Daddy with his boys!

Eviction Notice

2010-04-13T08:45:00.001-07:00

I posted this when I was pregnant with Will and he was born two days later. So I thought it was worth finding out if Reed could be just as cooperative...

Your mother is issuing a notice for EVICTION. Tenant will have 2 more weeks in which you can either gather all belongings and promptly vacate the premises, or wait until the final day. After which, you will be physically removed from the property.

You are being evicted due to breech of contract and destruction of property. Expansions only to the FRONT of the house, within reasonable limits, were discussed. Not only have these limits been exceeded, but additions to the back of the house were also made!

Remodeling and gutting of the home was never approved, nor was changing the initial layout and base structure. And due to property damage, there are now leaks in both the upper AND lower levels of the home. On top of which, the landlord has received numerous complaints about nightly disturbances.

Failure to comply with the notice will result in immediate and forceful removal at mommy's discretion.

Reed's Room

2010-04-10T13:10:00.000-07:00

I still need to hang a few things (that I don't have yet) on the walls...but for the most part, this is it!

Donna Hill painted this for Reed! She makes the cutest signs and does custom orders...so let me know if you want her info!

I just love his bedding! It his a little hard to see all the different fabrics...so here is a picture I took of the swatches before I got the actual bedding in:

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T16:38:00.000-07:00

I hope you all had a wonderful Resurrection Sunday! Will loved everything about Easter this year and it was definitely fun for all of us. We read about the resurrection story in his Bible all week and talked a lot about the meaning of Easter...which meant a lot of talking about Jesus! Yesterday, my good friend Meredith came over and Will read the resurrection story to her. She asked him where Jesus was carrying the cross, which I believe was a new question for him, and he quickly responded, "To the post office!" So we probably need to brush up on the story a little bit.

The three of us had fun dying Easter eggs last night and talking some more about Easter. Then this morning before church, Will told us, "Happy Easter Bunny!" After church today, our families came over to our house for lunch and Easter egg hunting. Will kept asking when the Easter Bunny was coming and when it was finally time to hunt the eggs, he excitedly told everyone that the Easter Bunny came. I'm not really sure where he came to this conclusion because I never told him the Easter Bunny was coming to our house...I'm sure someone did though. Will and Brayden were the only kids old enough to hunt Easter eggs this year, but they made the most of it. Will got his share of eggs and helped Brayden put some in his basket too.

We did manage to take a few pictures after church. I was NOT up to it since I've been having some pretty serious contractions since yesterday afternoon...but I'm so glad we did. I think this could be the last family picture of just the three of us before Reed gets here. The contractions haven't gotten close enough together to go to the hospital, but we must be getting closer. They have been about 5-20 minutes apart and they sometimes they go away for a couple of hours at a time. I am still hoping to make it about another week since I am only 36.5 weeks, but God knows the right time!

He is so darn cute!!

2.5

2010-02-28T12:49:00.000-08:00

I took some pictures of Will just before Christmas...he was about a month shy of being two-and-a-half-years-old, but I think they can count as his 2.5 pictures. You would think that I would take pictures of him all the time, but the fact of the matter is that I don't. Sad, I know. I really want to do better, but I will admit that most of the pictures of Will these days are taken with either mine or Chris's iPhone....great quality, let me tell you! :) But at least we have something.

Chris was having a lot of fun making him do little poses like this. It was kind of driving me crazy...but I think this one is my favorite.

Love his perfect little smile!

Still so small.

My boys!

He was so cold...but I still love this face.

I have said it before, but I just love this age! Will is so much fun right now. He has a great sense of humor and can make us laugh all the time. He talks really well now and he also knows almost all of his letters. Another thing that stands out about him right now is that he is VERY particular. He likes everything to be a certain way. Everything from wanting his toys organized a certain way (yes, he loves to clean...even dust!), to not wanting his Cheerios to touch his grapes, to wanting to wear the same shoes everyday...it is funny, but sometimes a struggle! He almost threw a fit when the guys from Best Buy delivered our new washer and dryer. He started crying when they took the old ones out, but calmed down when I explained that they were bringing new ones in.

I have always thought that kids say the funniest things and I remember thinking that I couldn't wait to have my own so they could entertain me constantly. Will does a good job of that. I find myself posting the funny things he says on Facebook a lot, but not on here...so I am going to attempt to go back through Facebook and think of some others to list here so that I have them recorded in a permanent place.

Stuff he says a lot:

- In response to "Good job!", "Don't do that.", "Please stop.", etc... "What did I do?" in the most innocent voice you can imagine.

- He mixes up words in questions. Two common questions he asks are, "Where we are?" and "Where it is?"

- Chris has taught him that his "other" name is Ferg. So now anytime I call him silly, goofy, sweetie, or anything along those lines he responds by saying, "No, I'm not sweetie, I'm Ferg." Lovely. :) He even told our clerk at Target that asked him his name that it was, "Will and Ferg."

- Chris likes to tell Will he is amazing and he always responds with, "I'm not amazing, I'm crazy!" He has said this for awhile and we aren't sure where he got it.

- He often makes suggestions for what we should do at the moment or sometime during the day and then follows it with, "Does that sound like a good plan?" I'm pretty sure I must say that often.

Now here are some funny conversations we have had or funny things he has said:

- He hasn't done very well with potty training to say the least, but he decided a little over a week ago that he doesn't want to poop in his diaper OR the potty, which has meant some minor constipation for him a few times this last week (he eventually ends up going in his diaper...or the bath tub...or on his potty STOOL). He has been telling me when his "bottom hurts" so I will attempt to put him on the potty and he usually just cries the whole time. A few days ago, he was sitting on the potty crying and he said, "I want Jesus to help me!!!" I couldn't help but laugh, but I then I told him that Jesus could help him and then he replied, "I don't want Jesus to help me, I want God to help me!" I have NO clue where he came up with this.

- Ever since then, he has been telling me that God will help him go poo-poo on the potty. I always agree and then ask if wants God to help him now. Just a few minutes ago, I was changing his diaper before his nap and we had this conversation. When I asked if he wanted God to help him now, he said, "No, God will help me go poo-poo on the potty after my nap." So I said that sounded good and then he asked, "Where's God?" I said, "God lives in Heaven, but He is also here with us we just can't see Him." He then asked three more times and I replied with the same answer each time. Then he said, "Oh..." thought for a few seconds and then said, "Where's God's car??"

- When my belly button first started popping out several weeks ago, Will noticed and said, "Oh! Reed David came out!" I have tried to explain that my belly button is not Reed, but Reed is just pushing my belly button out...but he still says it sometimes. I think he is just being silly now, but it does make me laugh. He has also pointed to his own belly button and said, "There's MY Reed David."

- Kristin brought her kids over not too long ago for me to watch for awhile and Will was taking a nap when they got here. Emma Kate laid down on the couch and fell asleep, so Easton (who is 8-months-old) and I went in the office while they were sleeping. Will woke up before Emma Kate, so I sat Easton down for a minute and went to get Will out of his room. I told him we had to go in the office and be quiet because Emma Kate was sleeping, but there was someone waiting to play with him in the office. Will has never been very interested Easton, probably because he is more concerned with playing with Emma Kate when they are around. But on this day, he smiled really big when he saw him and played with him...he was even trying to make him laugh. After a few minutes, Will just smiled at me, smiled at Easton, and then asked, "Reed David came out?" This makes me think that he really does understand that there is a baby in my belly, but I had to explain that Reed would be much smaller and I would have to go to the hospital for Reed to come out.

- A couple of weeks ago I asked Will if I could have a massage (sometimes he will play along and scratch my back for a few seconds) and he said, "You can have a Krispy Kreme donut!"

- I always ask Will questions about what happened at school when we are driving home. He usually tells me what happened or who he played with until I stop asking questions, but one day he had enough and said, "No talking!"

- When he says or does something that I haven't heard or seen before, I usually ask him who taught him that and his answer is almost always, "Pop taught me this!" I am not sure if Pop really is teaching him all those things or if Pop is just getting the credit or blamed, whichever the case may be.

- I asked him one day what book he was reading and he said, "I don't know...google it!"

- Will: I want chips, please! Me: Eat all your turkey and carrots first. Will: (sings Itsy Bitsy Spider while dancing) Me: Do you think being cute is going to get you chips? Will: Yeah!!!

Okay, that is all for now!

Chicago

2010-02-26T13:26:00.000-08:00

Chris had a work conference in Chicago back in October and since neither of us had been there before, we left Will here with my parents and I got to go with him. Unfortunately, it was during the peak of my morning sickness so I wasn't feeling great most of the trip...but we did have a fun time anyway.

We got there on a Saturday afternoon and the conference didn't start until Monday, so we had some time to do a little sightseeing. The first thing we did was check into our hotel that we only stayed at for the first night. There was another big conference there that weekend which meant we couldn't find a hotel to stay at in the downtown area for that first night...so we stayed at a hotel close to the airport.

We dropped our bags off in our hotel room as quickly as we could and then hopped on a train to go downtown and see the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower). We had read that the line to get up to the top of the tower was really long, especially on the weekends, so we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to see it that night. Chris bought our tickets online which ended up saving us from waiting in a big portion of the line, so that was nice. It does seem like the line is never ending because you just have to go through room after room standing in line...but we actually felt like it moved pretty fast. I think it ended up only taking us about an hour to go through the line and look around once we got to the top of the tower.

The view from the 103rd floor of the tower:

They recently built what they call The Ledge which is basically all glass boxes built off the side of the building on the 103rd floor! Chris said there was no way he would stand in it, but I wanted to and he ended up doing it with me.

This is the picture I took while standing in the glass box looking straight down to the street:

And another view:

I took these next two pictures from their website so you could get a better idea of what I'm talking about:

After we left the Willis Tower, we were starving and thought we would find something close by to eat. So we started walking around and quickly discovered that everything was closed! It was around 7pm on a Saturday night and everything in downtown Chicago was closed. Chris and I thought that was really strange but we just kept thinking that if we kept walking, we would find something that was open. Well we ended up walking a lot longer than we expected, but we did finally find the area of downtown that was open...it still wasn't very busy for a Saturday night though. I have heard Chicago compared to New York...and although it's been over a decade since I've been to New York, I remember it being a lot more happening than Chicago was. We ended up eating in a pub and it was good, but I think we were hoping to find something a little better in downtown Chicago. After we ate, we were worn out so we caught a train and headed back to our hotel.

On Sunday, we slept in a little and then got a cab to take us downtown to the hotel we were staying at for the rest of the trip. Our cab driver told us about a hot dog place that wasn't too far from our hotel called Portillo's. Getting a Chicago hot dog was definitely on our list of things to do, so we headed there right after we checked into the hotel. I have to say that it was delicious, but not what I was expecting at all! I was thinking it would be some kind of hot dog stand that we would just walk up to a window and order, but this was more like a casual dining restaurant. It was very good though and I would recommend it!

After the hot dogs, we walked to Michigan Avenue to do a little shopping and then we walked down to the Navy Pier and got on a boat for a tour on the river that goes through downtown Chicago. All I remember about that is there are a lot buildings in downtown Chicago that have a lot of history! It was mostly interesting, but I have to admit that I fell asleep for a good ten minutes or so. The guy sitting on the other side of Chris slept the entire boat ride, so I didn't feel too bad. :)

View from the boat:

The tour guide told us to get the picture below. I never really figured out why...I think it had something to do with the old and the new (old bridge, new Willis Tower maybe?). I figured it must be important though, so it had to go on the blog:

After the boat ride, we walked around the Navy Pier for awhile and then rode a bus back to our hotel. I was exhausted at this point and not feeling well at all. Chris has always wanted to go see the Blue Man Group, so he had gotten us tickets to go see them that night. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it if I didn't get some rest, so Chris let me lay down for a little bit even though it was throwing us off schedule. After about 30 minutes or so, I felt a lot better so we went to a nice place called Petterinos to eat dinner, but we were going to have to eat fast.

Thankfully there was not a wait, but when we were seated, our waiter asked if we were going to see a show (there were several theatres close by) and we told him that we were going to see the Blue Man Group. He freaked out a little because we were going to have to ride a train to get to the theatre where Blue Man Group was showing. So he kicked it into high gear and we had plenty of time to get to the show. We thought it was pretty funny that our waiter was so concerned with us making it though.

Once we arrived at Blue Man Group, a man that worked with the show came over and asked Chris if he would be willing to participate in the show and Chris agreed. I have to admit that I was surprised because it is so not the type of thing that Chris would typically do. He really didn't end up having to do much, but it was probably good for him to do something out of the ordinary anyway. :) We were really disappointed with the show itself. I honestly had no idea what to expect because I haven't ever heard much about the Blue Man Group, but Chris was expecting something a lot different than what it was. It was basically a theatre performance with a little music, but no talking...it was supposed to be funny, but it just wasn't our type of humor I guess. Chris was expecting something more like a concert. Neither of us were impressed.

On Monday, Chris got up early to go to his conference and I think I stayed in the hotel and rested the entire day. Chris did have a lunch break, so we walked to a nearby Chipotle and then I went back to the hotel and rested some more. It was nice since I hadn't been feeling so great. That night we went to eat at Pizzeria Uno. Or was it Pizzeria Due? I can't remember. They were right across the street from each other and the waitress told us they were owned by the same people and were basically the same restaurant. It was deep dish pizza that was pretty good, but it took a really long time for them to bring it out. We weren't sure if it was worth the wait when all was said and done. After the pizza, we walked around Michigan Avenue and went in a few stores. I think this was the night that we went to a Ghiradelli ice cream shop and Chris claimed that it was his favorite part of the trip. In fact, Chris asked the employee that took our order if it was the most awesome job ever to work there, to which she replied, "No." haha.

The next day, Chris had his conference again and I did get out of the hotel to do some shopping...but I got a lot of rest that day as well. That night, we had delicious steaks at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. I think we walked around some and then headed back to the hotel.

This a picture of the river at night:

We stayed at the Renaissance Hotel, which I think is the shorter building near the center of the picture with a row of white lights at the top. I think our hotel was 23 stories...which is taller than any building in Lubbock and it looks so small next to all the other giant buildings in Chicago!

On Wednesday, Chris got out of his conference around noon and it was time for us to take a cab back to the airport to come home. Overall, it was a good trip and I think we spent the perfect amount of time in Chicago. It is not a place that I will be dying to go back to...but definitely a good place to say we have been.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

So maybe I will catch up on some of my blogging afterall!

To be honest, I don't remember a whole lot these days...so I don't have too many details of what happened 2-3 months ago, but there are a few things that I do want to remember....

1. Adam came over to put up our Christmas lights and Chris helped. I think it was the coldest day we had all year, but Will was dying to go outside and see what they were up to. So I bundled him up as much as he would let me and took him outside. He hates to wear hats and isn't a big fan of coats either...so really the only way I could convince him to put it all on was to tell him he had to dress up like daddy...which meant he needed sunglasses too! So here is what mini Chris looked liked...

I can't believe I didn't think to take a picture of Chris too! I think we only lasted about two minutes outside and then Will was content to try to figure out what was going on from inside the house. It really was so cold that day.

2. Will had his second Christmas program. This year was about the same as last year. He pretty much sat on the stage the entire program and stared out into the audience while the other kids either participated in the program or played amongst themselves. He did decide to do two of the hand motions in the very last song of the program...that was exciting!

3. Lolli and I took Will to see Santa Claus at the mall. He was very interested in him, but not so sure that he wanted to sit on his lap. Luckily, the Santa Claus at the mall is very good with kids and he was able to convince Will to sit in his lap by reading a book to him.

Afer reading to him a little bit, we tried to get Will to smile at the camera and it was just not happening until I had a stroke of genius and quoted a line from Elf that always makes him laugh - "What's a Christmas gram? I want one!" And sure enough, it made him laugh for this one picture!

4. Just a picture of us that I like... :)

It is rare that we get our picture made together.

5. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Lacey asked if they could take Will on the Polar Express and Lolli went too! I took this picture when I left him with Lolli....

I heard that he cuddled with Uncle Jeff most of the ride. He turns into a big cuddler when he gets tired and I guess the train had a soothing effect.

This also happened to be the night of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and I surprised Chris with tickets for a Christmas date. We both really liked the show even though our seats weren't great. Chris wants to go back next year so I will have to get the tickets earlier so we can get better seats. It really was pretty amazing.

6. We did Christmas morning with my family at our house this year. It felt a little strange since we have done Christmas morning at my parents' house for as long as I can remember. But I think it worked out well for everyone and we will probably do it again.

I don't think I took any pictures Christmas morning because I was cooking breakfast plus trying to watch Will enjoy the day. I made monkey bread for everyone that came over early (Pop, Lolli, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Lacey, & Grammy) and then I made sausage bread and my mom made an egg casserole and banana nut bread for everyone that came over later in the morning.

We went to Grandma's house for Christmas dinner and we did manage to get few pictures there...

Will has been really into taking pictures himself lately. Here is just one of the many he took...this one of Uncle Cole...

Christmas was really special this year! It was the first Christmas that I think Will got a grasp on what was going on. We had a lot of talks about it being Jesus's birthday and that was the reason we had Christmas lights, Christmas trees, and gave each other presents. Every morning when he woke up before Christmas, he wanted to turn the lights on the Christmas tree and anytime we were out at night, he wanted to drive around and look at Christmas lights. The lights in our neighborhood were his favorite and the blow-up Grinch a couple of blocks from our house was his most favorite of all. It was convenient, but anytime we tried to look at lights anywhere else he would say that he wanted to go see the Grinch and he would always say, "That's my favorite!" when we drove by. He hasn't seen the movie, so I'm not sure why it was his favorite. Speaking of movies, he did grow quite fond of the movie Elf and we watched it countless times. He can quote a lot of the movie while he watches it now...which is hilarious. I was afraid it might stick around even after Christmas, but I think he has only wanted to watch it a few times in the last couple of months.

Overall, it was a great Christmas and we made some fun memories this year! I was a little worried that Will would be really upset when we took down the tree and could no longer go look at Christmas lights, but he actually handled it very well. He did ask about it quite a bit at first, but I would just tell him that Christmas was over and we would do it all again next year and he just said, "Oh"...which is a pretty common response from him when he is trying to digest information. Every now and then he will still randomly ask, "Christmas is over?" His little mind is funny! I can't wait to see what Christmas will be like next year as a family of FOUR!

Baby Stuff

2010-02-15T22:23:00.001-08:00

Since I feel like there are so many pregnant ladies around me these days and because I am getting ready for baby #2's arrival myself, I thought I would put together a list of some of my favorite baby items from when Will was a baby.

I linked each item to a place you can buy it, so click on the item if you are interested! Don't worry - I am not getting compensated in any way by writing these reviews and providing links...just trying to be helpful. :)

1. Angelcare Monitor* - This is probably my all-time favorite and I recommend it any chance I get. It is not just any monitor. Not only does it work like any other monitor, it also has a motion sensor pad that you put under the crib mattress that is so sensitive it can detect if your baby is breathing. If it doesn't detect breathing, the alarm goes off.

We did have a few false alarms when we used this with Will because apparently babies can get into such a deep sleep that their breathing becomes extremely light and hard to detect. Even so, I didn't mind dealing with the false alarms every now and then for the peace of mind it gave me 99.9% of the time. I even read one theory that if you do get a false alarm, the baby may have been getting into too deep of a sleep and being startled by the sound of the alarm may have been needed. If it weren't for this monitor, I think I would have gotten a lot less sleep in those first few months (and we all know it's not much sleep to begin with!).

We did have Will sleep in our room for a few nights after we came home from the hospital, but we quickly realized that none of us were getting much sleep with that arrangement. So we ended up moving Will to his crib very early on and I don't think I would have been able to do that if we didn't have this monitor. We all slept so much better!

We stopped using the sensor part of the monitor when Will was 6-7 months old because that is when he started rolling around a lot. If he rolled too far to the edge of the crib, the sensor couldn't detect his breathing...so we started getting a lot of false alarms and at that age, the sound of the alarm would sometimes wake him up. The alarm typically didn't wake him up when he was younger, so we would just check on him and turn the alarm off.

*Ours only has one unit, but I couldn't find it online. I did see the one unit version at Babies R Us today.

2. Happiest Baby On The Block DVD * - We received this as a gift when we were in the hospital and I didn't get around to watching it until Will was a couple of weeks old. At that point, it was a last resort because I didn't know what to do when he cried for 3 hours straight during the night no matter what we did. Not even trying to feed him would calm him down!

So basically, the DVD just teaches a soothing technique. It consists of the 5 S's - swaddling, shushing, swinging, side/stomach position, and sucking. When I watched the video, I thought, "Yeah right, that won't work with MY baby." But sure enough, when we did everything just like the video taught, it almost always worked with Will for the first 3-4 months of his life. After watching, I couldn't believe that I had waited until Will was two-weeks-old to watch it! That doesn't sound like a lot of missed time now, but those first two weeks felt like an eternity at the time!

I even downloaded a hairdryer recording from a website called www.calm-your-screaming-baby.com (haha!) and put as many tracks of it that would fit on a cd and we would play it anytime he needed to calm down (this is the "shusing" part of the 5 S's). We had three copies of the cd - one in the cd player in his room, one in the cd player in our living room, and one in my car.

We ended up using it as white noise in his room anytime he slept and he actually still slept to the hairdryer sound up until a few months ago when the cd player in his room broke. And now he sleeps just fine without white noise...so I know it didn't ruin him for life or anything like that!

*I have never been able to find this DVD sold in a store. There is also a book that can be found in most bookstores or libraries, but I think the DVD is far more helpful. If you live near me, I will be happy to let you borrow mine if you promise to give it back!

3. Chicco Cortina Travel System - Just in case you are unaware, a travel system is basically a matching stroller and carseat. The carseat snaps into the stroller so that you can easily move your baby from the car to the stroller without bothering him too much.

I originally decided to get the Chicco Cortina system because I read that it wasn't as heavy as some of the other travel systems and it was easy to open and close the stroller and snap the carseat in and out of it. I also really liked the simple look of it. I've never really been a fan of the patterned strollers and carseats...especially for boys.

Once I tested it out in the store, I was sold. I could definitely feel the difference in the weight from the other travel systems (although any carseat is heavy once your baby gets over 12 pounds or so) and I did find it very easy to use as well.

Now that I have had the travel system for almost three years, I can most definitely say it was one of our best buys. The stroller and carseat are still in great condition and I will be using them again with Reed. But there is more! When Will was a little over a year old, we flew to South Carolina to visit my grandparents. You can gate check strollers (and FYI, it doesn't count as one of your bags), so as we were boarding one of our flights, Chris was trying to quickly get the stroller to fold up and something broke. I was very upset and thought there was nothing we could do, but I decided to call Chicco and see if maybe there was a part we could replace. I briefly explained the problem to the lady that answered the phone and she told me they would send me a new stroller at no charge....and they did! That is the best customer service I have ever received, so I am now a fan for life and tell everyone I can to buy this travel system!

I will say that it probably won't be the only stroller you will ever want. We actually have two other strollers. One is an umbrella stroller (also Chicco) and it is better for Will at the age he is now and the other is a jogging stroller that I borrrowed.

4. Noodle & Boo Ultimate Ointment* - I bought a bottle of this to use as diaper cream before Will was born. I was a little bit shocked by the price, but I had heard it was really good so I bought it anyway. Let me just say that we used this on Will's bottom everyday of his life for the first year and we still use it to this day (although only when needed now). The same bottle. Yes, the bottle I bought almost three years ago. It is running low, but there is still some in there! He has never once had diaper rash and we have also used it for dry or irritated places on other parts of his body. It is really a great thing to have on hand! I will be getting another bottle soon for Reed.

*I bought the bottle we we have at Holly Hocks. It is a 4 oz. bottle and was over $20. It looks like the 2.5 oz. tube may be the only size they sell these days.

5. Ultimate Crib Sheet - This is basically a flat waterproof pad that snaps onto the crib to put on top of your normal crib sheet. Now if you haven't ever had to change a crib sheet in the middle of the night due to an accident of any kind, this probably makes no sense at all. However, the first time you find yourself having to untie and retie all the pieces of your crib bumper in the middle of the night just to be able to change a crib sheet, you will be wishing you had this wonderful invention!

Up until today, I just had one of these but there were a couple of times that I wished that I had two so that on the nights when there was more than one accident, I could easily switch them out and wash the dirty one. So I picked another one up at Babies R Us today and I know that I will be glad I did.

Another thing that should be noted about the Ultimate Crib Sheet is that you don't have to sacrifice the look of your nursery for it. Since it lays flat on top of your normal crib sheet, you can still see your cute crib sheet that matches everything else in the nursery and it never has to get dirty!

So these are my top five must-haves if you are about to welcome a new baby into the world...I hope this list is helpful to someone out there! :) If I discover anything else in the coming months, I will be sure to let you know!

John 1

2010-01-06T07:08:00.001-08:00

Reed David

2009-12-18T11:43:00.000-08:00

We are almost positive that our new BOY will be named Reed David. Reed has been the only boy name that I have come up with that I really like and Chris couldn't come up with anything better, so it looks like we are going with it. And as it turns out, Reed means "red-head"...so maybe Reed will be our little red-headed boy.

I am having a little bit of a hard time getting used to the name David. It's never been a name that I particularly loved...but we didn't have any prospects for a middle name. When we were leaving our sonogram, Chris asked our doctor what we should name him and he said he liked David (that is his first name). Chris instantly said he liked that..."man after God's own heart." I thought it was funny because just that morning Will brought his Bible to me and told me he wanted to read about David. He had never asked me this before, but I later found out that Chris had just read him the story of David and Goliath the night before. So it seems like it was just meant to be.

I have to say it is a lot easier to get used to after hearing Will say it, he really seems to love the name and I think he may actually call him "Reed David"....when I tell him to say "Reed" he says "Reed David." Or maybe he just wants me to read about David? :)

I think Will also finally understood for the first time this week that the baby is not going to be in my belly forever. We talked about it for a few minutes the other day and he paid attention really closely...I could tell he was really thinking about it and when I finished, he tilted his head and said, "huh?" And then thought about it a little bit longer. Now he has been asking me when he is coming out. I think he will be ready when little Reed gets here!

Bob

2009-11-23T18:01:00.000-08:00

Chris and Will are reading the Jesus Storybook Bible right now. Chris called me in there because they were looking at a page that had pictures of about eight different Bible characters on it and Chris read them to Will once and then he remembered who all of them were. He wanted to ask me if we had looked at them before and that's how he remembered them so well...but we hadn't. Yes, he is that smart! :)

Sometimes when he notices that we are trying to get him to "perform" he starts being silly because he knows we will laugh. Chris said after a few times of him naming all the characters correctly, he went through a few of them again and it went like this: "Peter...Mary...Daniel...Bob." Bob was actually Moses...but it did make us laugh. Good one, buddy!

I will admit that a lot of the things he says right now make me laugh even though they normally wouldn't be funny. There is just something about words that actually make sense coming out of a two-year-old's mouth. At dinner he said, "I dropped my napkin" and Chris and I both laughed. Now what is funny about that?

On Saturday morning, Chris and Will went to get donuts and and then went to the park. They were home before I ever woke up. When I did wake up, Will got very excited and the first thing he said to me was, "Mommy want a donut?" Hilarious! I cannot get it out of my head...I hope I never forget how that sounded.

And I will end with one sweet story. Will woke up crying before I went to bed a few nights ago. He was still half asleep when I went in there, but I patted his back gave him kisses before I left. He asked for "more kisses" three times and after the third time of more kisses, he said, "Thank you!" and rolled over to go to sleep. Sweet boy!

Returning soon...

2009-11-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

Everytime I see my sad little blog I think about how badly it needs to be updated. But the truth is I just haven't felt like it. I am now over 17 weeks pregnant and have been sick for most of it. The last week or so has been a lot better, but I have still been extremely tired. And I have been working a lot since Christmas is quickly approaching. When I am not working, I do not feel like sitting in front of the computer to blog.

Sooo...that's where I am at right now. However, I do have several things I need to blog about. Chris had to go to Chicago for work a little over a month ago and I got to go with him. We did some fun things that I would like to write about so that I will remember. Will is also doing and saying a lot of funny things lately. I really need to keep track of this! I LOVE this age...it is so entertaining and he truly is like a little sponge right now...soaking up and remembering everything we say. We have been trying to take advantage of this in a positive way. So the plan is to return very soon. Pray that I can just find the energy to do it! :)

P.S. Chris has been blogging lately. I have been thinking about the video he posted. It puzzles me because this guy is supposedly an atheist. Atheist or not, he makes a good point.

My Doggie

2009-11-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

This is the only kind of doggie I will ever own....

Big Brother

2009-10-01T20:55:00.001-07:00

Impressed

2009-08-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

People have always told me that Will has got quite an arm when they see him throw a ball or any other object, for that matter. For awhile, I wasn't sure if this was just the standard thing to say when you see a little boy throw, so I didn't think too much of it. But lately, people seem to really be impressed by his throwing skills. I have been starting to think that he does have a special talent.

But as of Friday night, I am convinced that he will be a professional baseball player. Okay, maybe not professional...but I think he may at least have a career in Little League (I typed Junior League first and knew it didn't look right...I will definitely need to brush up on my terminology if my boy is going to be a star). This is what happened on Friday night:

Yes, that was me yelling for him and saying, "He's really good!" And this was not a one time thing. My Uncle Bobby pitched to him for a good 10 minutes and I would say he hit half of them. Impressive, right?

First Day of School

2009-08-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today was Will's first day back to "school"...he only had two weeks off, but it felt like an entire summer! :) We have had a fun time together and I am happy to say that he has not had many behavioral issues, but I really feel like he enjoys having other people to play with besides me when he goes to school...he gets pretty bored with just me. He is always excited when daddy gets home from work, but he has been especially excited for the last couple of weeks. I feel like he is thinking finally someone else to play with me! Actually, our neighbor (6-year-old boy) has come over to play with him several times...so that has also been fun for him.

Anyway, he was really excited to wear his big boy backpack and see his teachers and friends today! However, I was afraid he was going to fall apart when I dropped him off because he has been very attached to me lately. But he walked right into his class like a big boy! It helps that both of his teachers really love him....that is such a blessing!

As much as I like having the time to myself to work or run errands while he has at school, I can't imagine it being 5 days a week! I guess God has a few more years to prepare me for that. Chris was just saying last night what a special time this is for Will and me and that is so true. Dear God, please help me to focus on enjoying and making the most of our time together before it's gone!

Mini Me

2009-08-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have been working in my office while Will is playing behind me. Suddenly I hear "cheese mommy....cheese mommy" and I turn around to find this:

He is now practicing his photography skills with the regular digital camera.

Family Photos!

2009-08-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

We went to Dallas last weekend for Kristen's wedding (my dad's cousin) and we were lucky enough to have my friend Jamie of Jamie Coupaud Photography take our family photos! If you live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, you should definitely hire her! Her specialty is weddings and she does a BEAUTIFUL job and has amazing prices...so if you know anyone getting married around there, check her out! I also took her family photos and you can see those on my photography blog.

Will was not in the best of moods since we had travelled 6+ hours that day AND it was dinner time. But I am still extremely happy with what Jamie captured! We had so much fun!

She also took the photos that are in my new blog header!

Thanks Jamie!!

Not a baby anymore!

2009-08-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

A few nights before Will's birthday, Chris decided not to give him his pacifier when he went to bed and he went right to sleep and never asked for it again. We only gave it to him for naps and at night, but I did not think he would give it up so easily. I am so grateful that it was so easy to take away...but it did make me sad knowing that his babyhood is quickly fading away.

Then he slept in his big boy bed for the first time the night before his birthday. Again, it didn't seem to bother him one bit. At first, he didn't even try to get out of the bed...when he woke up, he would just sit in his bed and cry for us to come get him. But now he usually gets out and cries at the door until we come get him when he wakes up. When will he learn that he doesn't have to cry for us to come get him? Or maybe he does have to cry for us to come get him? Anyway, he sleeps great and hasn't woken up during the night at all. He did fall asleep at the door for one of his naps last week when he didn't want to take a nap. I actually got a video of his fingers sticking out underneath the door...he slept like that for at least an hour...so funny!

And finally, he peed and pooped in the potty about a week ago! I haven't been seriously potty training him, but I do ask him a few times a day if he wants to sit on the potty just to start getting him thinking about it. He usually says yes, but he doesn't go...he just likes to play with the toilet paper (I have the training potty on top of the normal toilet). Anyway, I finally had the brilliant idea to take the toilet paper off of the roll and put it on the shelf behind him. I told him he couldn't have toilet paper until he pooped in the potty...to which he replied, "Bye bye, Mommy!" So I went around the corner and a few seconds later he did it! I was so proud of him. He did pee in the potty a couple of other times and then one night he peed on the floor right after he sat on the potty! I screamed (as if I had seen a mouse) because it honestly caught me off guard...which scared him out of going potty ever again! Actually, he did show interest in sitting on the potty again today...so maybe he will try again in a few days.

And because I didn't have any pictures with this post, I will leave y'all with a silly video of Will. This was last weekend when we got stuck in traffic driving into Dallas. We had been in the car about 6 hours at this point with only a break to change his diaper. We are so lucky that he is such a good traveller...especially with all of the trips we've been taking in the last few months!

Oh, and I guess I will go ahead and put the video of his fingers sticking out underneath the door while I'm at it...

This reminds me that I have been meaning to get a video of Will's favorite new phrase - "awwwwww man!" It is hilarious when he says it and hopefully I will be able to prove it with another video soon!

We had a ball!

2009-08-03T21:55:00.001-07:00

Will turned 2 a few weeks ago and we had a ball themed birthday party for him at our house! It was tons of fun, but I have decided that this may be the last year that we do the birthday party at our house. It always seems like it will be so simple, but turns out to be so much work...even though I had lots of helpers (thanks Mom, Lacey, Brandi, & Staci!). I really like doing it, but when it's over, I feel like it just flew by without me really getting to enjoy the party (not that it was for me to enjoy anyway...but that is beside the point). I didn't even do very good with taking pictures this year...but here are a few I did take:

These were the invitations. It was a ball inside of a little box. On the inside flap of the box, there was a sticker with Will's picture and it said "Have a ball! I'm turning 2, y'all!" I thought this was the best idea ever and then I took them to the post office to mail them and I was told they were too small to mail! It made me very sad for a few minutes and then I decided that I would just deliver them to mailboxes myself. The funny thing is my cousin's mailman returned hers to my mailbox (mailed it back to me) with a stamp that said "postage required"...ha!

There were lots of balls to play with and Grandma got Will his favorite present - a bouncer. Lots of fun was had in the bouncer and we still get it out several nights a week. The older neighborhood kids even like to come over and bounce with Will!

We had all types of ball food - cheese ball puffs, meat balls, sausage balls, melon balls, spinach artichoke cheese ball, chocolate chip cheese ball, and cake balls.

Aunt Lacey made the cake with whoppers on it!

Will really enjoyed opening presents this year...but Pop and Lolli's card was his favorite thing to open (it sang "who let the dogs out?" and it sadly ran out of juice yesterday).

Overall, it was a FUN birthday! I am excited about all the future parties I get to plan but grateful that there is a year in between each one. :)

Best.Wedding.Processional.EVER

2009-07-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Yes, I do realize that I need to blog about Will's 2nd birthday party and such, but since I haven't even looked at the pictures, I thought I would share this awesome video that I just watched!

TWO

2009-07-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

How can my baby possibly be TWO today?

Happy Birthday Will!!!! I love you so much that it makes my heart hurt!

Our Trip to Denver

2009-07-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

A week and a half after Chris and I got back from Mexico, we loaded up the car and headed to Denver, Colorado to visit my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins! We had a really fun time and Will did awesome in the car both ways. We bought a DVD player for our car the night before we left and that helped a lot. He didn't seem to be bothered by the 9 hour drive at all.

This was our lunch break at Dairy Queen in Dalhart on the way to Colorado. Slowest Dairy Queen ever!! Don't stop there if you are in a hurry.

The first day we were there we went to the Denver Zoo. Will seemed to enjoy seeing all of the animals, but I think he liked running around like a big kid with my cousins the most.

Some of our crew at the zoo.

We saw a wildlife show with real animals and birds flying over our heads....Will was impressed!

These guys were probably my favorite of the day...they were swinging around playing a crazy game of tag.

And this one just sat below them exactly like this the entire time we watched.

Chris and Micaela...they were best buddies this time. Last time we went to Denver, Micaela was only 1, but Amanda was 5 and she loved Chris...remember this hilarious video? Amanda was more interested in Will this trip.

Grandma and Grandpa with Jessica and Amanda.

We spent July 4th at Kathy and Brian's house. They (along with their neighbors) put on a great fireworks show. It was the first time that I can remember being cold watching fireworks. It was pretty cool for the summer the entire time we were there (low to mid 80s), but I think it got down in the 50s at night. It was nice for a change.

This is the second time Will got to see his great great grandfather, Will's Pop's Pop.

Pop with Pop (my dad with his grandfather).

On Sunday, we took Will to a place called Tiny Town. It was basically a park with miniature houses and such in the middle of the giant mountains. It also had a little railroad around the park with a miniature train that we road. Will LOVED riding the train....he was so excited to get on that he could barely stand it.

A very small portion of Tiny Town.

Waiting for the train to start moving.

Monday was our last day in Colorado. We wanted to go to the Mint, but unfortunately the tours were full, so we went to the firefighter's museum instead and then we walked around the 16th Street Mall and ate at the Cheesecake Factory. That night, we went to a Rockies baseball game with the entire family. I don't think I watched any of the baseball game but still managed to have a lot of fun!

Chris and Will outside of the firefighter's museum in downtown Denver.

Will sitting on my grandpa's lap at the Rockies game...with my cousins surrounding him.

My family with all my cousins on my dad's side (minus Jeff, Lance, and Jackie).

On the way home, we stopped in Amarillo to visit our old neighbors, Mark and Elizabeth. They moved to Amarillo a couple of months after we moved out of our old house and we miss them a ton! It was so good to see them!

Back to life...

2009-06-21T20:44:00.000-07:00

This is where I have spent the last week of my life:

AKA: Heaven on Earth!

Chris and I went to the El Dorado Royale in Mexico for our 5th wedding anniversary! This is also where we went for our honeymoon and 2nd anniversary...so it was our 3rd time there and it gets better everytime. I was literally giddy when I saw that our room was right on the beach. This was the view from our back door:

The little pool outside of our room was actually a "lazy river" that led to the big pool.

Here we are on the first night...so excited to be at our favorite place!

When we checked in, they gave us three vouchers that were each good for either a couple's massage, a candlelight dinner on the beach, or an expensive bottle of wine. We had no idea we were going to get the vouchers so it was a very nice surprise! Evidently it was a promotion they were doing when we booked the trip. Anyway, we opted to get three massages...so we did that 3 of the 5 days we were there. The best part? This is where we got our massages each day:

So almost everyday we woke up, went to breakfast (huge buffet that even had cheesecake...for breakfast!), read/took a nap on our beach bed, went to our massage, ate lunch, went for a swim through the lazy river, back to the beach bed for a nap, cleaned up for dinner, ate dinner, then went to sleep! Could it get any better?

The pool even had beach beds around it...this was new since the last time we went there! The first couple of days we were there, the wind was really bad right on the beach so we moved to the beach bed around the pool after we got tired of the wind.

The resort is referred to as a Gourmet Inclusive rather than an All-Inclusive because the food is delicious gourmet type food, but still free (well, included in what you pay to stay there)! There are 7 different restaurants to choose from and each one serves a 5 course meal. Some of the food is different...but very good! We ate way too much.

This was our dessert the last night we were there. We love it that our waiter wrote "nope to see you soon." :) Did I mention that the waiters, actually almost everyone that works at the resort, are the happiest people you will ever meet? They are so nice and friendly...and really try to do everything they can to make you happy.

And here we are the last night there...the night of our 5th anniversary! I am so lucky to have Chris to spend these special times with. He is such a great husband and provider for our family. I will never forget this anniversary! I love you, Chris!!

I was really nervous about leaving Will for a whole week...I thought I would be worried about him a lot and not be able to fully relax. But that was not the case at all. Once we got there, I was just so happy to be there with Chris and I knew Will was in good hands (thanks Mom and Dad!). This was a much needed vacation for just the two of us and highly recommend that every married couple with kids get away together at least once a year or so...it was so good for our marriage!

So who is giving me my massage tomorrow? Oh wait, back to reality... :)

Update: Since several of you have asked, I am going to give y'all the info for booking. First, go to funjet.com. Cancun (CUN) will be your destination (it is actually about 30 minutes from Cancun...but you fly into Cancun then a Funjet car or bus will take you to EDR). We drove to Dallas and flew to Cancun from DFW the last two times we went. If you fly out of Lubbock, like we did for our honeymoon, you will have a layover in Houston...and I would prefer to just drive to Dallas and then fly straight there without stopping.

Anyway, once you've selected Cancun as your destination, El Dorado Royale should come up on the first page of hotels. We booked a swim-up suite this time. Our building (#55) was the only one that had swim-up suites right on the beach...so maybe you can try to request it when you book or check in. After you have made all your selections, you should get to a page where it gives you the final price with insurance (you definitely want trip insurance). I always look at leaving different days because the price does vary for whatever reason depending on the day of the week you leave. Monday was the cheapest for us this time.

Once you see the price that you like, print that page and call Whitney Norman with Bell Travel at 806-796-2355 and give her the dates and flights you chose. She can get the exact same price through Funjet and can even take your credit card info over the phone, but I think it is best to have a real person to talk to rather than just booking on the internet just in case something goes wrong. For example, all the swine flu stuff happened right after I booked and Whitney kept me very informed by sending email updates. And if something does go wrong, you can use the trip insurance to book something else at the last minute...Whitney would take care of all that for you.

We only spent $150 the entire week...mostly on tips. We tipped a lot for our massages since they were free. We also tipped the maid a total of about $20 and $1-3 for each meal. We pretty much tipped everyone...you don't have to, but after you see how nice the people are, you will want to tip them too! We also spent about $20 to use the internet while we were there and we bought Will a shirt. However, we didn't leave the resort or do any excursions, jet skiing, parasailing, etc. That kind of stuff does cost extra...we were just happy to be not doing anything at all!

I think that covers everything...but feel free to ask more questions in the comments and I will answer!

Another Update: I just looked at the Funjet website and it looks like the promotion we got for the vouchers is good through December. Apparently, we got a voucher for each upgrade and since the swim-up suite is 3 levels up from just the normal suite, we got 3 vouchers.

Easton is here!!

2009-06-04T22:08:00.000-07:00

Brice, Kristin, and Emma Kate welcomed Easton Brice into the world today!! He was born at 11:47 a.m. He was 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 20 inches. He is sooooo sweet and cute!

This is Emma Kate getting her first peek at her new brother through the nursery window.

And here are a few of MY husband and Easton....anyone think me might have a case of the baby fever???

What happened to my mailbox?

2009-06-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

This is how I found my mailbox yesterday when I went to get the mail. I have heard of mailboxes being ran over many times, but the bottom part is still normal? It's just the box part that is messed up. Any ideas?

You can also kind of see the pretty flowers that my mother-in-law helped me pick out and my mom helped me plant!

Future Tattoo Artist

2009-06-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

Will hasn't told me his career aspirations yet, but I think he gives body art a new meaning.

Everything looks pretty normal...right?

Wrong.

I may or may not have been distracted by something else while Will was playing with a pen. And I noticed the wonderful art just as I was telling him that he didn't need a bath tonight. Wrong again. I am not exaggerating when I say that my jaw dropped and I covered my mouth (just as I'm sure many mothers have when they discover a real tattoo on their child). Will immediately started laughing hysterically at that point and kept laughing long enough for me to take off his clothes and take these pictures. Fun times!

The Shed

2009-05-26T21:15:00.000-07:00

We have this really awesome shed in our backyard that I have been thinking would be fun to use for some photos. Apparently, our neighbors don't feel the same way about the shed, which means it will be coming down soon. So I took Will outside to play in it tonight. Turns out, he was quite the poser tonight...please ignore the fact that he seriously needs a haircut....I didn't bother to fix him up like I normally would since it was almost bedtime. I had no idea he would be so cooperative.

And I have been horrible about blogging about my little man, so I should probably give a little update. Although today really isn't the best day to do it since he has been constantly fussing at me. I think I heard the words "hold you" about five thousand times today. Normally, it would melt my heart...but about 30 seconds after I pick him up, he wants down...only to start the fussing again. Oh my. I am praying this phase passes quickly.

Anyway, besides the fussiness, he has really started talking a lot more. He will repeat pretty much anything we say....which hasn't been a problem yet. Except for my sighing and growling. ha...that sounds really funny. I have never noticed that I do this until Will started doing it. Apparently, instead of saying choice words, I growl..."argh!" And now Will does it too. Chris says we also sigh at the same time. Funny.

He has started watching a little bit of TV. He's still not too interested and won't watch for very long. Every now and then he requests "Elmo"...but he really means Nemo.

He has developed a love for his Hot Wheels. It's a good thing because Chris has a huge collection for him that he is saving for his 3rd birthday. I originally said he couldn't play with Hot Wheels until he was 3 since that's what the package says, but he probably has about 30 that he already plays with...and a track.

He has been eating better! He is a really picky eater and we have to bribe him with other food to get him to eat the food that is currently on his plate...whatever works!

He is really good at pointing to his eyes, ears, nose, belly, toes, etc. He tries to count, but doesn't really know his numbers...so he acts like he's counting by pointing and saying something...just not numbers (well maybe he throws a two or three out there sometimes). He sort of knows colors and animals...sometimes he knows them, sometimes he doesn't...or he acts like he doesn't. We have also been trying to teach him animal sounds, which is pretty hilarious.

He has made some neighborhood friends. There are several kids that live in houses that we share an alley with. Since our driveways are in the alley, they are out there playing most afternoons and Will cannot get enough of them. They actually get really excited to see him too...even though they are all much older than him (the youngest is 7).

He graduated from his one-year-old class at PDO and will be moving up to the two-year-old class next week. This made me really sad and I even cried when I read the book he (his teachers) made throughout the school year. I am not a crier, so this was a big deal. I really am nervous about this transition and I hope he does okay. He has really grown to love "school" this year.

Well that is enough updating for now...hopefully in the next update I will be able to report that the fussy stage is long gone!

Time for a funny story...

2009-05-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

Maybe the pictures say it all, but I will explain just in case. :) Almost a month ago, I took Angela's family portraits. We were in the courtyard of a church downtown and thought we would try to take some family pictures around the fountain. Right as we were getting the photo set up, this man came and sat on bench right by the fountain. We went about our picture taking. At one point, Taylor decided he wanted to run off so his dad ran after him...Angela was a bit distracted by what was going on with Taylor when suddenly this man decides it is time to take off his clothes for a bath in the fountain - right behind Angela and Kami! Angela had NO CLUE what is going on, but I am dying to get a picture of this scene...so I say, "One more picture!" Now the man starts to jump up (as you see in the picture) and says he is sorry...like he didn't notice that we had been taking pictures there the entire time he had been there!?! Well, Angela also jumps because she still had no idea he was there...and this is when I start giggling uncontrollably. Good thing Angela is my friend because I'm pretty sure this would have seemed unprofessional if she wasn't!

Please understand that I am not completely insensitive and I am not in any way trying to make fun of this man. It was a hot day and I'm sure I would have done the same thing...just not with a camera pointing at me. :)

Wednesday Weigh-In

2009-05-13T12:00:00.001-07:00

It has been 2 weeks and 2 days since I told you about my 4 pound weight loss in just two weeks. The news isn't as good this time, but I have lost another 1.7 pounds for a total of 5.7 pounds in a little over 4 weeks. I am pretty happy with that number considering last week was my birthday which meant a lot of food and a lot of dessert. I tried to be good, but it was hard and I did end up gaining a little last week. It's okay though because I am definitely on track to reach my goal by the time we go on vacation and then I will be sure to eat a ton on vacation and not exercise at all...it will all be downhill from there. :) Happy Wednesday!!

P.S. I have been questioned about the exactness of my weight calculations. I have been weighing on Wii Fit and it tells you the exact tenth...that is my secret.

MY Week!

2009-05-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

Well this has been MY week because my birthday was Wednesday and then of course, Mother's Day today. We have pretty much celebrated the entire week (thanks to Cole's graduation also falling this week)....I am not looking forward to tomorrow when I have to start cooking and cleaning again. :) It has been a good week though. I took my usual Sunday nap today while Chris cleaned the house and mowed the lawn. Then he cooked dinner for us tonight! It makes me exhausted just think about doing all of that in one afternoon.

Chris got me a new little camera for my birthday...which I really wanted. I have had fun playing with it and Will actually LOVES to smile at this camera...yet I have to trick him into looking at my "big" camera. Go figure!

Big Smile

Giving me a "big squeeze" for my birthday!

This morning before church...a very happy Mother's Day!

The truth is that I asked for this camera so that Chris would actually take pictures of Will and me. Just kiddding...kind of. :)

I also got a new camera for my business this week which is really exciting! I had to take a few pictures of Will eating his corn tonight because he thought it was the most hilarious thing ever. And I have to admit he looked pretty cute...corn in the teeth and all.

4 Pounds!

2009-04-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

I have now lost 4 pounds in two weeks! I wanted to blog about it to keep myself accountable to keep at it and so that I can look back at this post when I need inspiration in the future.

This is what I've been doing:

- Running three times a week. I put Will in the jogging stroller (thanks Stacee!) and run around my neighborhood. I've been running for 20 minutes, walking 5, then running 10 more.

- Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred DVD. I just started last week...I think I did it 5 times. I love it because it's broken up into 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of abs...then it repeats 2 times. I think it goes by really fast and it's only about 20 minutes.

- Counting calories. I think I've mentioned before that I have an app on my iphone called Lose It. It has a lot of foods already in there, but you can also add foods that you eat. You also input your excercise so it adds the calories you burned to the total amount of calories you get to eat for the day. I only went over once last week...darn bread pudding.

This is what I've been eating:

- Breakfast - Honey Nut Cheerios with skim milk or a Nutrigrain bar with skim milk

- Lunch - Most days I've been eating a sandwich without the bread...I just roll up the turkey and cheese (thanks to my friend Dena for giving me this idea). With my "sandwich" I eat Garden of Eatin blue corn chips (my favorite) with pico de gallo. I buy the kind that United makes...yummy. I usually eat some fruit at lunch too. If I'm not at home, I just try to eat something very light. Oh, and I can't forget my Dr. Pepper. I'm not planning to give them up, so I've just been having one can a day...usually at lunch.

- Dinner - I've pretty much been eating normal dinners, just smaller portions.

- Snacks - It is hard not to eat snacks with Will around. Pretzels are one of his favorite snacks, so a lot of times I'll eat a few with him. We've had a big bag of M&Ms around, so I've also been eating a few those...but only 10 or so a day. Or sometimes I'll go back to the blue chips and pico.

- Dessert - Chris loves ice cream, so we usually have a ton of it in the freezer. Sometimes it's really hard to resist, so last week I bought some Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches to eat when I crave ice cream. I've only had one so far, but it was delicious!

I am by no means a guru on any of this, I just wanted to share what is working for me so far. Please feel free to share any tips or suggestions you have!

House Pictures!

2009-04-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

Okay, this is sure to be disappointing since I've talked it up so much and really don't have that much to show. We haven't decorated any of the bedrooms, the office, or the second living room...so that basically leaves the dining room, living room, and kitchen...and that is what I am going to show you! They are still missing some finishing touches, but good enough for now!

I need to give a shout out to my interior designer (Donna Hill) and my mom for helping me decorate!! We went for a different/funky look...but not too funky. :)

Dining Room

Before

Living Room

Before

We didn't forget to decorate the mantle, we are actually getting the TV hung up there tomorrow. I need to hang something above the windows and I want more pillows for the couch.

Kitchen

Before

I decided that I like the color of the cabinets and I don't mind the countertops either. But we HAVE to get new backsplash. The current backsplash is seriously white shower tiles...?? I also need to get some rugs for the kitchen and underneath the table.

Master Bathroom

Before

That's it for now! I may post more pictures as the rooms get decorated, but who knows when that will be!

Random Thoughts Update

2009-04-20T20:55:00.001-07:00

This is an update to my random thoughts post below:

- I saw a product on the Today show called Freeze & Go. It's a cream that is supposed to work like botox, but only temporarily (for a day...maybe?) so you have to put it on everyday or just whenever you want the freeze, I guess. They said it really worked, so I thought this might be my solution! So I bought it (it wasn't cheap) and it doesn't work (at least not on my problem area...which is lines under my eyes). I took before and after photos on my iphone to show you, but then I decided they weren't even worth uploading because there is no difference. I was really disappointed and I am now even more disappointed after reading about this on Darci's blog. I wish I could get my money back and put it towards that! Oh well, maybe I was just meant to have lines under my eyes. :)

- I booked our 5-year anniversary trip to Mexico! After looking at this website, I feel comfortable with our decision to go back to our honeymoon spot in Mexico...but we got trip insurance, so we can always cancel at the last minute if we get nervous about it. I'm so excited that I've been reading reviews of the resort everyday...even though I've been there myself twice already! :)

That beach bed is where I will be spending my days for an entire week.

- I am STILL running three times a week! And I finally started the Jillian Michael's 30-Day Shred DVD last night. I am really feeling motivated to get in shape for our trip. I have also sadly discovered why they tell you to only weigh yourself once a week. According to the scale, I lost .7 pounds from Monday to Wednesday of last week. Then another 1.1 from Wednesday to Friday...for a total of 1.8 from Monday to Friday! I was totally excited and then I weighed again on Sunday and had gained .4...weighed again this morning and had a gain of .7. Granted, I did eat pizza last night. :) Anyhow, it is still a net loss of .7 for the week and I think I would have felt okay about that if I had only weighed last Monday and today. We'll see what happens this week.

- I can't believe I haven't taken pictures of the house yet! Honestly, it is because I haven't felt like removing all the toys from around the house to make it look like a toddler doesn't live here! :)

That is all the updating I have for now!

Top Ten

2009-04-14T22:20:00.001-07:00

We went to San Antonio last week with Brice, Kristin, and Emma Kate! These are my top ten favorite things about our trip:

1. Sea World! The kids loved it, but I think the adults loved it just as much. We went to all of the shows, visited most of the sea friends, the boys rode a couple of rides, I rode a water ride with them, and then we played in the kiddie splash park before leaving.

2. The Riverwalk! I hadn't been to San Antonio since I was a kid so I didn't remember much about the Riverwalk, but I thought it was great. I love how there is so much going on in some parts and then it is quiet and pretty in other parts.

3. The Food! We ate some really good food mostly on the Riverwalk. My favorite was Saltgrass, but we ate at an Italian place on the Riverwalk called Paesanos that was really good too.

4. The Hotel! We stayed at the Hyatt Regency right on the Riverwalk and the best part is that I used priceline.com to bid for our rooms and got them for only $70/night! I loved that we didn't have to load up the car everytime we went to eat...we just walked right out onto the Riverwalk and there was plenty to do.

5. The Boat Ride! Will was obsessed with watching the boats go by and he really thought it was cool when we got to actually ride one. We had a funny boat captain that also made it a lot of fun.

6. Church! When we first got on our boat, we turned a corner and there was church going on right there on the river on a Friday night. I thought it was so cool. On one side there was a stage with a worship band sing "Mighty to Save" and on the other side all the people were on these steps worshipping. And all the boats were going right through it! After we got off of the boat, we walked over to the church and stayed for a few songs.

7. Ben & Jerry's! I looove Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream and they had a shop right across the street from our hotel. I ate it two nights in a row...oops!

8. Shopping! Kristin and I went to San Marcos one day to shop at the outlet malls. Shopping is always fun for me even when I don't buy anything...but I think I bought a little too much this time! :)

9. Family Time! Of course I always love hanging out with my boys.

10. Friend Time! We had a really fun time with the Fosters. I'm sure we'll do it again soon...but we'll need more than one car next time. And no, I'm not hinting that I'm pregnant...but Kristin is!

So if you can't tell, I thought this was a FABULOUS family vacation and I can't wait to go back. I'm thinking I could take Will every year...or maybe twice a year. :) Chris and I both said that we wish we had stayed longer. I highly recommend it!

The Hunt

2009-04-13T12:26:00.000-07:00

Will took Easter egg hunting pretty seriously this year. Although, he wasn't necessarily hunting for himself...he put a few of the eggs he hunted in the other kids baskets. :)

He Loves Us!

2009-04-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. John 3:16 (The Message)

This is a really awesome video that I remembered today while I was thinking about the sacrificial and unconditional love that God has for us. It's from a church in Amarillo...I saw it on several blogs awhile back. It's such a great reminder of how undeserving we all are of His love and grace, yet He freely gives it anyway. Amen!

Snow

2009-04-07T11:45:00.000-07:00

When it snowed a couple of weeks ago, Will wanted to go outside and play in it sooo bad. By the time I finally gave in and got him dressed to go outside, it had already melted. Bummer!

Will's favorite thing to do outside right now is play with his bubbles that come out of this little bubble machine. He could not figure out why they wouldn't come out after he had pressed the button...I guess they were frozen. Poor kid.

Sorry I haven't had much to say lately!

Precious

2009-03-29T22:28:00.000-07:00

I usually don't post my photography stuff on this blog, but I seriously need one of these...

Is she not the sweetest thing you've ever seen? Go to my photography blog to see more of her. And when you think about it, say a little prayer that whenever the time comes for Chris and I to have another baby, God will bless us with a sweet little girl like this....but only if it's in His will, of course. :)

I feel the need to write a disclaimer, so I will just say that of course I would be overjoyed to have another boy too and I would love him ever bit as much as a girl...just don't be surprised if you see him wearing cute pink hats and bows the size of Texas.

Random Thoughts: Late Night Edition

2009-03-22T22:31:00.000-07:00

- Do real people get Botox? I told Chris this morning that I need Botox and he said that normal people don't get it. I'm not even sure I know what it's for. I even googled it just now, and I'm still not sure...just think I might need it.

- I think I am the only one that is happy Spring Break is over. I really missed those two "school" days this week. Don't get me wrong...I love hanging out with my boy, but I think the break twice a week is good for both of us.

- Kristin and I went to see Confessions of a Shopaholic tonight (loved it!) and as she showed me the special way to put napkins in the cup holder so that they would wrap around the coke we were sharing in a certain way, I wondered if our husbands share a coke when they go to the movie together. hmmm...?

- Our five year anniversary is in a few months. Have we really been married that long? I am hoping to go back to where we went on our honeymoon (El Dorado Royale in Mexico) to celebrate. It would be our third time...but is Mexico too dangerous right now? Even in the resort areas? Any other suggestions for a resort that is not in Mexico? EDR is my happy place and I hate to go anywhere else, but we do have a son that we need to come back home to.

- I went running three times last week...on my own! I need to do it again this week.(running = very light jogging)

- I will try to decorate my house this week, so that I can take pictures and show you! Better yet, you should just come over and see...call me. In fact, you can help me decorate. Chris doesn't trust me to do it anyway. He keeps suggesting people that I should get to help me.

- Night night!

I'll take the pink sandwich, please!

2009-03-13T12:59:00.000-07:00

It may be raining, snowing, and freezing cold outside, but that hasn't stopped us. We have had a fun-filled day! First thing this morning, Dondi came over to watch Will while I went to Chris's doctors appointment and she brought his buddies, Connor and Averi. I could tell he was having a good time, because he could have cared less when I got home.

Shortly after they left, we went and picked up his friends, Mason and Reece, so that they could come over to play for awhile. I am telling you, I cannot wait for Will to start really talking! This is why - when I was getting ready to make lunch, I had this conversation with 2-year-old Reece:

Me: Reece, would you like a sandwich or hot dog for lunch?

Reece: Sandwich!

Me: Do you want turkey and cheese?

Reece: Turkey!

Me: Do you want a whole sandwich or a half sandwich?

Silence. This question takes some thought...

Reece: Pink! (said with much enthusiasm)

Me: A pink sandwich?

Reece: I want a pink sandwich!!

When in doubt, pink has got to be the right answer...right girls? :) By the way, I do think I convinced her that the turkey was pink.

And this is the miracle picture of the day...all three smiling at the camera at the same time (ages 3, 2, and 1)!

By the way, there are no after pictures of the house yet because we are far from finished! It is still very messy and there is nothing hanging on the walls...but rest assured that I will eventually post them. :)

Before & In Between

2009-02-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Living Room

I love love love the new paint color! It brightens up the rooms so much. I did not want yellow when I was picking out paint colors, but what we ended up with is pretty close to yellow and I can't believe how much I love it.

Kitchen

The kitchen actually got its first coat of green tonight...it's a little different than what we expected, but hopefully we will like it!

Our Bedroom

The paint is finished in here (I think it ended up getting painted the same color that it was before), but we obviously have a mess to clean up. And by the way, we did finally get matching lamps to replace the lamps that each of us have had since we were 12. Seriously. :) Maybe someday we will get bedroom furniture!

Our Bathroom

Wallpaper is off!

Will's Room

What a difference!

Guest Bathroom

Unfortunately I did not take a before picture of the lovely wallpaper that was in this bathroom, but I wanted to show this in between picture anyway because I LOVE this mirror.

As of tonight, all of the walls officially have at least their first coat of the new colors...so there is an end in sight! The game room and office aren't pictured above but they have been finished for awhile. They were just taped off and not acessible when I took the pictures. Each day it looks more and more like OUR house.

OCD?

2009-02-21T19:24:00.000-08:00

I think Will may have picked up some OCD tendencies from his daddy...what do you think?

Here are a few other cute videos from the last month or so...

Will was having some fun with the pieces of our favorite board game - Settlers of Catan.

Like any kid his age, Will says "no" quite often...Chris likes to try to teach him to say "yes" instead...his version of "yes" is pretty cute.

This one is from tonight. My parent's cd player is right at Will's level and he knows that there is always a cd in there that he wants to listen to (I guess my parents play it for him everytime he is over) and he turns it on all by himself at least a few times a day. The cd is Frontline and there is a song on there with lyrics that say, "If you've been blessed throw your fist like this..." Apparently, my parents have also taught him the moves. :) The song that is playing in the video is not the same song...but I just wanted fill you in on where the moves came from. The boy can dance for sure. :)

Homeless

2009-02-19T21:31:00.000-08:00

Well, the truth is we are not homeless. In fact, we owned two houses for about a week. But I sure am starting to feel homeless since we aren't actually living in the new house yet. Hopefully the painter will be done soon and we can live in our house! If it were just Chris and me, we'd be living there...but it's really not kid friendly right now with paper taped to the floor, plastic covering all of our furniture, and all of the electrical outlets exposed. :) We do feel lucky to have family to stay with during this time. A lot of people wouldn't have that luxury...and it is quite cozy staying with my parents.

I did freak out a little bit about the paint color I chose for the whole house! If you remember, I had chosen Ivoire...but it turned out looking really light on the walls and almost the same color as the trim - not good. So I decided to go a shade darker to Blonde - it looks yellow in the rooms that have been painted so far. I never thought I would want yellow, especially after we repainted over yellow in our last house. We repainted the entire house, even the ceilings were painted yellow and we repainted the ceilings! However, I really do like it...it just goes with the look of the house, I think.

This is the Sherwin Williams simulation of the Blonde. The main living areas haven't been painted yet, so I am really just hoping that I love it when it goes up. I am also hoping that I love the green for the kitchen!

We are getting really excited about living in our new house....I think we will really appreciate it after not having our own house to live in for a couple of weeks. It is slowly starting to look like a house now that some of the rooms are finished and we're getting things set up the way they are supposed to be. I am on the hunt for a couch for our gameroom, bar stools, rugs, and a breakfast table. Brandi suggested a round breakfast table and I think that sounds like a pretty good idea....so let me know if you see a really good deal on any of these items!

Since we were working on the house over the weekend, we didn't do anything for Valentine's Day. So last night we went out to Pei Wei and to see He's Just Not That Into You. The main storyline was cute, but a lot of the other stuff in the movie literally made me cringe and left a bad impression overall. Gosh, I seriously hope most people don't view relationships the way the movie portrays...it's just...well, depressing and sad. Has anyone else seen it? What are your thoughts?

Oh, and have I mentioned how awesome all of our friends and family are for helping us move?? Everyone showed up to our old house at 2 on Sunday and I think everyone was gone by 5....it was a seriously fast move. I think we had 5 trucks and a trailer....none of which we own....and many more people. We are so blessed!!

It happens.

2009-02-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

Last night Will pooped in the bath tub for the first time. I was starting to think that I was one of the lucky ones that it wouldn't happen to...especially since I am rarely the one that gives him a bath. It was actually a little bit funny...I knew it was about to happen and I really wanted to grab him and set him on the toilet. I thought it would be a great learning experience...but he wouldn't let me touch him. Ater it happened, we both freaked out...he wanted out of the tub immediately so I took him out and made Chris clean up the mess.

I did finally take some 18-month pictures of him. He is getting really difficult to take pictures of and that is why I (sadly) don't try very often anymore. At 18-months, Will was almost 24 pounds (20th percentile) and almost 31 inches (10th percentile). He does seem to be growing though!

He has definitely gotten some personality over the last few months. He loves to make us laugh and he loves to make himself laugh. He has also gotten really good and hugging and kissing. He's becoming more and more of a mama's boy and I have to say that I love it.

He is obsessed with shoes and wants to have them on as soon as he wakes up in the morning. Literally the first thing he says when we pick him up out of his crib in morning is "shoe?"...and he prefers everyone else to have their shoes on too.

His form of dealing with discipline is acting like he did nothing wrong. When he gets time out, we hold his hands together and count to 10. When we do this, he will not look us in the eye and will just look around the room like nothing is happening. Or when we say "No!" he'll look at us like he is confused. How does he know how to do this kind of stuff already?

He is a very picky eater. But the strange thing is that he doesn't have certain things that he will always eat. It changes from day to day. So you pretty much have to go through everything in the refrigerator at every meal time to find something he will eat. It has been really bad lately and it's the worst when we're at home. I think because he knows there are options at home. Or maybe he just thinks it's fun to watch me pull everything we have out of the refrigerator?

I'm sure there are some other updates I should write about, but I can't think of any now. And since I started this post several days ago, I'm ready to be done with it. I'll have to add more Will stories as they come in.

I'm lovin' it.

2009-02-05T09:33:00.000-08:00

I really loathe McDonald's as everyone in my family knows (another story for another day...but probably not). I mean every once in awhile I might get just a plain cheeseburger from there and by every once in awhile, I mean once every few years.

Anyway, after I dropped Will off at PDO this morning I had a few minutes to kill before my workout and I remembered that I hadn't eaten breakfast. A donut (or two) crossed my mind, but I was on my way to workout so that just didn't seem quite right.

I have no idea how this happened, but the McDonald's parfait popped into my head. My mom told me about it a long long time ago. So of course I pulled up my new app Lose It! on my handy dandy iphone just to make sure there weren't a ton of calories...only 156 with granola! The thought of fruit from McDonald's did make me want to gag a little bit, but I thought I might as well try it out. To my surprise, it was really quite good and only $1.08 with tax! And the fruit was actually frozen fruit...which didn't taste as good as fresh fruit, but I'm thinking that it tasted better than "fresh" fruit from McDonald's would have tasted. To say "I'm lovin it" might be a stretch, but for a McDonald's hater like myself to say it was good, is saying a lot!

Oh, and if you have an iphone you must install the Lose it! app. It's awesome!! You can keep track of your food and exercise...and it already has every food on there (even the McDonald's parfait!). I've been meaning to install it, but just remembered last night and I just think it is great already. It even lets you set your goal and figures out your allowed calories in a day in order to meet your goal. If you go over, it tells you and highlights the number in red. I think this could really motivate me.

In other news, we are moving in about a week and a half! Our house is SOLD and we should be closing on our new house Monday! I should probably start packing now....

Paint Colors

2009-01-29T10:39:00.001-08:00

These are the two main paint colors we are thinking about for our new house...

This one is called Ivoire and it's like a light light gold. I think we would use this for most of the rooms (yes, I know we're boring).

This one is called Hearts of Palm. I want this for the kitchen for sure and then maybe the dining room.

I'm trying to decide what to do for Will's room. I kind of just want to do the Ivoire and then just decorate it with cute stuff. Blue seems sort of typical for a boys room. But let me know if you have any great ideas....I haven't even looked at new bedding for him or anything (I think we will be moving him out of the crib when we move to the new house).

Also, I am now thinking about wallpaper for the bathrooms. They already have wallpaper and I was originally thinking we would just paint them...but they would need texture too and that gets expensive. I know I've seen some fun wallpaper in magazines...does anyone know of any websites I could look at?

By the way, the paint colors are from Sherwin Williams and you make those cool rooms on their website. Chris and I have had some fun with it (mainly Chris).

Smart Boy

2009-01-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

Last night I was in the office while Will and Chris were playing with Hot Wheels. Chris bought him a little plastic track recently that you can add on to and Will loves it. Apparently, Will kept running over to hug and kiss Chris and then he would go back to playing for a few minutes and then do it again. I kept hearing Chris say things like: "awwww Will, you are so sweet....I love you so much...you are such a good boy." After 10 or 15 minutes of this, it had been quiet for a few minutes and then I hear Chris say, "You wanna go to Toys R Us tonight and buy another track?" I guess it doesn't take very long to learn how to get what you want!

Guess Who

2009-01-27T15:19:00.000-08:00

If you watch the Bachelor, you should be able to figure out who this is!

Open House

2009-01-23T11:21:00.000-08:00

After having two offers fall through, we are still trying to sell our house and we thought we would do an open house this weekend before we list it through our realtor next week. So if you know someone that is looking for a house, tell them to go to the website - www.mynewhouse2009.com for all the info and then come by for the open house this weekend!

4th Picture

2009-01-19T23:02:00.000-08:00

Kristen tagged me. Here's how it works:

1. Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on the computer.
2. Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same
5. No cheating. (cropping, editing, etc)

I don't really have a 4th folder...well I do, but it just led to more folders and eventually to a folder that only had one picture of someone random. Our organization on the computer is a little crazy. So I decided to do the 4th set in flickr instead...

I don't think there is anything to explain so I will just say what a cutie my little baby boy was and he is so much bigger than that now. :(

I tag Amanda, Angela, Kenley, & Stacee.

I need a girl....

2009-01-17T09:23:00.001-08:00

But since I don't have one, all of you that have girls must go buy this stuff and then give it to me when your girls have outgrown it. Hopefully I will have a girl by that time. :)

www.matildajaneclothing.com

* Picture taken from Matilda Jane website.

Update

2009-01-14T12:46:00.000-08:00

Both of my boys are feeling much better!! We got the house that we've been trying to buy!!! Well, it's not totally official yet but as long as we don't back out, I think it's a done deal. It is very exciting, but we still need to sell our house....so we will be really excited once we've done that. If you know anyone that might like to buy my cute house, please tell them to call me!

And now I need some decorating ideas/help for my new house! As you will see, it needs some help. I have never been much of a decorator...mainly because I have a hard time making decisions. So this is where all of you get to help me. I'm sure I will post a lot more about this as we start making decisions...but any initial ideas you have would be great. I am open to all suggestions.

Here are the pictures - some I took and some are from the website when it was listed:

The Front - How do you feel about the semi-circle window blinds? I sort of want to take these down, but I'm afraid that might look weird.

The Kitchen - I know I want to paint the cabinets white eventually and redo the backsplash and countertops. We've also talked about doing some serious remodeling to open it up to the living room....so we may have to wait awhile on this. I am also thinking I want to paint the walls a light lime green.

The Living Room - The dark wood floors and dark paint make this room seem so DARK to me. I want to paint it something much lighter...ideas?

Dining Room

Second Living Room - We will definitely be painting and changing the carpet eventually.

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom - Wallpaper has to go.

The Office

Will's Room - Red Raider fan? We will paint this.

Extra Bedroom - We probably won't do much with this since it will eventually be the next baby's room.

Laundry Room - Does anyone know if the brown paper bags will come off?

Back - I love the outdoor living area! Can I call it that?

Rough Week

2009-01-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

We were supposed to take a fun, relaxing trip to Abilene and Dallas this last weekend. Instead, Chris has been to the doctor and made three trips to the emergency room (infection in his messed up arm), Will's been to the doctor (fever, ear infection, sore throat), we've shown our house three times, and we've been trying to get a contract to go through on the house we're trying to buy. Yes, this has all happened since last Friday. So say a prayer for us if you think about it! I think I'm handling things better than I normally would under these kinds of circumstances, but I'm starting to feel the anxiety of it all now as I'm about to tackle cleaning my carpet by myself at 10:44pm.

In an effort to make this post a little more cheerful, I thought I would add a few random pictures I've taken with my iphone over the last few weeks...

Will loves this hat! I found it at Old Navy for $3.99.

There had to be thousands and thousands of geese at this park close to my house. I was amazed.

A beautiful West Texas dust storm. Isn't it sick that this does almost look pretty in the picture?

Our Christmas

2009-01-05T13:56:00.000-08:00

I know this is way overdue, but better late than never...right? We had a really fun Christmas this year and lot of fun activities leading up to it as well. Will is getting to the age where we want to take him to do every fun thing there is even though he probably won't remember it.

First of all, Will had his very first school program. The picture below shows Will at his finest that night. Clapping was about as exciting as it got for him.

Just in case you are having trouble picking him out of the crowd, he is on the front row with a blue sweater vest, next to the boy in the red sweater.

Speaking of the boy in the red sweater...I think this is Will's best friend at school. His name is Parker. I always try to get Will excited about school on the way because he used to cry every time I left him (he is doing SO much better, by the way). I always name all of his teachers and one morning I started naming a few of his friends that I know are in his class. When I said, "Are you excited to see Parker?" He repeated me and said, "Parper"...so I continued to say "Parker" and he continued repeating "Parper" all the way to school. Now he says it anytime we ask him...it is one of the very few things he will say on demand. They must be good buddies. And Will is a smart one because I'm pretty sure he is the smallest in the class and Parker is no doubt the biggest in the class.

I had to add this one in there for Parker's mama, Ruth. I am pretty sure this is when he spotted her in the crowd. Poor baby!

Several of my friends' kids are in this picture....I thought it was pretty cute!

Here we are one night before night night time. He is the sweetest mama's boy ever.

Just a cute picture of him reading a book. Yes, he is amazingly talented...he can read upsidedown. He loves books!!

There was a small mix up when we put up the tree. Will thought HE was supposed to get decorated.

No big deal, he can play with his toys while being decorated.

We went to the live nativity scene at Indiana Baptist one night. I hope they continue to do this every year...I think it will be a great way to teach Will more about the night Jesus was born. Will even got to pet a real camel. This picture was taken with my iphone...so it's not the best. Hopefully Will can still appreciate it someday. :)

He loved looking at the tree and was really good about not taking the ornaments off.

So cute. By the way, this was the first fire we've had in our house in the four years that we've lived here. Chris got brave one night. :)

Now onto the actual Christmas...Will got spoiled and we only bought him two presents.

Grandma got him every musical instrument you could think of. He loves music...so this was perfect!

He also loves Little People...which Grandma also got him.

Will asked if he could wear the bows. How could I say no? Notice that daddy was not too thrilled about this.

He was really funny about opening presents. He would pull a tiny piece of paper off and then hand it to me. Then do the same thing over and over again. Needless to say, we ended up having to help him out quite bit.

Admiring Pop & Lolli's tree on Christmas morning. You can also see the top of the train they got him. He loves it!

Now this is what Daddy...umm, I mean Will...really wanted ever since his friend, Tagen, got it has his birthday party.

Here he is with Uncle Lance and his new Aunt Olivia.

The best family picture we got...I think Will was a little distracted by all the new toys.

After we opened presents at my parent's house on Christmas morning, we all went up to the children's hospital to take the kids and nurses small gifts. I think it was a good way to start teaching Will that Christmas is not all about getting presents. It was really the least we could do for someone stuck in the hospital on Christmas day, but hopefully we made someone's Christmas a little brighter. I hope we can do something like this each year to remind Will that is more fun to give of yourself than to get. I didn't take any pictures of this...well, I did...but they were on my mom's camera. Go to her blog to see them and read more about it.

Thanks for reading this incredibly long post if you got this far. We are so blessed!

Kristin is having another baby!

2009-01-04T15:03:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I shouldn't really be posting about this on MY blog. But I've wanted to do it for awhile now. I've jokingly said I was going to, but resisted even though it was hard. Now that Kristin has finally posted about it on her blog, I thought I would just do it anyway. I just can't contain my excitement. :) It is so very exciting because it's finally starting to feel real...especially since it's not a secret anymore and I have been allowed to tell a few people. And yes, I do realize I'm not the one that is pregnant. But when I first found out, I just couldn't wrap my mind around Emma Kate being a sister already...mainly because I can't imagine being the one with 2 under 2! Kristin is obviously a better woman than me...and I know she can do it because she has done great with 2 under 2 when I have left Will over there to play. Heck, it should have been twins this time around! :) We really are excited for them and I'm sure we will get baby fever when this baby gets here!

House For Sale

2009-01-01T00:13:00.000-08:00

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Will's Room

3rd Bedroom (we use it as an office)

Guest Bathroom

Backyard

3/2/2 in South Lubbock. Built in 2000. Huge master bedroom and bathroom with jacuzzi tub, separate shower, and two walk-in closets. Updated fixtures. Tall ceilings. Large backyard. Sprinkler system. $107,950.

I thought my blog readers might know someone that is looking for a house. If so, send them our way! My phone number is 790-8300.

And can I just say that my mom is a saint? She came over and cleaned all day...like really cleaned. She scrubbed every baseboard and cabinet and literally scrubbed my kitchen floor on her hands and knees. Thanks Mom!!

Need a hug?

2008-12-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Or perhaps a tackle?

And one more of the cuties holding hands in the car (I swear we don't stage this stuff!!)...

My first time!

2008-12-10T23:37:00.000-08:00

Can you believe that I'm 26 and I've never been to the North Pole before tonight?

The daddies and babies boarding the Polar Express.

The North Pole!! We made it!

We picked up Santa!

Still not a fan of Santa.

Emma Kate enjoyed her cookies!

We love Emma Kate!

The train just about rocked Will to sleep.

I love this one of my two guys!

We got the best car on the train! The others looked like buses, but this one was nice and comfy.

I have a feeling this won't be my last visit to the North Pole!

Naughty?

2008-12-06T16:22:00.001-08:00

It looks like Will won't be getting what he asked for this year!

New Blog

2008-11-29T22:07:00.000-08:00

Since I don't blog anymore, Chris started a blog. Just kidding. I will blog again soon, I promise. But Chris did tell me that he decided to start one since I don't write on mine anymore. The only problem is that he said he hasn't really told anyone about it yet, so I thought I would. You can find it here and I will add it my blog list.

mmm...cookie!

2008-11-10T19:21:00.001-08:00

Our sweet neighbor, Elizabeth, brought us over cookies tonight. Will has had a cookie before, but never a chocolate chip cookie. Mark & Elizabeth always give him food he's not supposed to have (hehe...just kidding y'all)! You can judge for yourself, but I would say he was definitely a fan of the chocolate chip cookie. After this video, he spun around in circles while screaming with glee for a full 10 minutes.

Expanding Musical Taste

2008-11-02T23:36:00.000-08:00

Buddies

2008-10-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

Everyone knows that life can be busy at times and you just don't get to see your friends as often as you want even if they live close by. Well, it just so happens that Will and Emma Kate have been able to spend some quality time together this last week and they are really starting to become buddies. It is so much fun and so cute.

We took them to the pumpkin patch last weekend...well we thought it was going to be a pumpkin patch, but I think Kristin misunderstood (just kidding, Kristin!). There were at least a few pumpkins there to take pictures with. We all rode in the same car. Emma Kate has a big carseat but it still faces backwards and Will's faces forwards...so they got to look at and talk to each other during the drive. They even held hands part of the way.

Today we took them to shop and play at the mall. At one point, Will had his arm hanging over the side of his stroller and Emma Kate reached out and grabbed his hand! Can you picture how adorable this was...two young moms strolling down the mall (with the exact same stroller) and their baby's arms stretched out holding hands? (We are still young, right?) Oh how I wish I had my camera handy at that moment! Later, Emma Kate cheered Will on as he went down the slide at mall playground over and over again. She went down a few times, but she seemed to prefer standing at the bottom waiting for Will to come down.

After they both had long naps this afternoon, we got to meet up again for dinner. I'm pretty sure they were excited to see each other again.

I took this picture with my iphone. I'm not sure I would call this hand holding...it was more like arm wrestling but they were both enjoying it for the most part! (That is a "Superman for President" sticker on Will's back that a nice lady at Baby Gap gave him.)

This picture was taken when Emma Kate was just a month old and Will was almost 6 months old. I promise we did not stage this! Do you think they were just meant to hold hands or what?

We are grateful for our buddies - Brice, Kristin, and Emma Kate!

Will is also grateful for his pumpkin buddy.

He could have done this all night!

Vintage Will

2008-10-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

So Will turned 15-months-old this week! He is 22 pounds, 9 ounces with clothes on (26th percentile) and 29.75 inches (12th percentile). The doctor was impressed that he can load a fork and put the food in his mouth with it. But he needs to learn how to talk! He does say a few words, but mostly likes to say "ball"...his newest favorite word is "uh-oh" and it is the cutest thing! He says "uh-oh" about everything. He also knows how to hug and "be sweet"...he is not very cuddly in general, but he has sweet moments that melt our hearts. When he lays his head on my shoulder, he pats my back at the same time...sooo sweet. And of course we think he is the smartest kid ever! Most importantly, and I'm sure you can tell this from these pictures, he has a very joyful spirit (as long as I'm not leaving him at PDO or the nursery at church) and that is such a blessing to Chris and me everyday. Jesus is already shining in him and I pray that continues throughout his life!

Not enough time in the day!

2008-10-16T15:33:00.001-07:00

Sorry, friends! We went on vacation last week and I have been so busy getting caught up with work stuff that I have neglected my blog. But my little buddy, Will, turned 15-months-old today so I fully intend to at least write and update on him after his doctor's appointment tomorrow. Can you believe he is so grown up already?

A few of his favorite things...

2008-10-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

Leslie tagged me to list my husband's favorite things:

God
His Family
His Friends
Chocolate
NASCAR
The Office
Podcasts
Theology
Reading
Ice Cream
Movies
Visits from Will at work
Collecting Matchbox Cars for Will
Pei Wei
Sandwiches
Guitar Hero
Good Work Shoes
The Twin Towers
Asking Questions
Sleep

I think everyone has pretty much been tagged, but since I haven't seen it on these people's blogs yet, I will tag Stacee, Marla, Amber, and Tiffany.

The Zoo

2008-10-07T21:13:00.000-07:00

We took Will to the zoo for the first time....he loved looking at all of the animals!

The zebra had an itch.

And I love these flowers...I think I might print them and hang them in my house somewhere.

Our Little Star

2008-09-28T17:13:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to surprise you, blog readers, with this post when there was actually something better to show for it. But since Chris is mad at me for not updating my blog in so long and this is the easiest thing for me to blog about right now, I guess I will spoil the surprise. Will shot a commercial last week! Hopefully we can figure out a way to post it here when it airs, but for now, here are some behind the scene pictures I took during the shoot.

Mr. Manners

2008-09-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

Will now prefers to eat with a fork as evidenced by this video...

Is this even legal?

2008-09-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

I saw this today at the park while I was waiting in my car....

New PJs

2008-09-08T19:34:00.000-07:00

I bought Will his first set of two piece pajamas about a month ago and had not been able to locate them until last night when I was desperate because all of his other pajamas were in the washer. Turns out they were hanging in his closet...who hangs pajamas? Anyhow, he looked super cute in them so I had to take some pictures of him lounging around this morning. Rainy mornings are great for lounging.

And this is his new trick...climbing off of the bed!

The Fan

2008-09-05T19:40:00.000-07:00

We took Will to the Tech game last weekend and I guess he has turned into quite the fan since then. Here is a video from first thing this morning...

I can't believe it has almost been a year since we took him to his first Tech game.

The Sleeper

2008-09-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

It's currently 10:42 am and I'm just sitting here watching Will finish up breakfast because he just woke up at about 10:15. Last Saturday he slept until 11...but he didn't go to sleep until 10:30 the night before because Chris and I had been out on a date. This is actually really nice for me because I can sleep in and have time to get up and get ready before Will wakes up. However, he started "school" yesterday and it starts at 8...yikes. We have decided that we need to put him to bed earlier so that he won't sleep so late...so we put him to bed at 8:30 last night and he just wasn't ready. He fussed until around 9 when he finally went to sleep...and then slept until 10:15. Even if I could get him in the habit of going to bed at 8 or so, how does this work on nights when we have something to do? Oh, the dilemma.

Speaking of starting school, this is a video I took of Will yesterday before his first day of school even though we were already late....

And this was our jam session right before bed last night...

He should have been tired, right? By the way, have you noticed that this is his favorite song?

The Rocker

2008-08-30T14:34:00.000-07:00

Chris turned the big 2-6 on Thursday, so we had a date night last night for his birthday. We really wanted to go see a movie since we would be without baby (thanks Brandi and Adam!), but when Chris initially looked at what was showing he said there wasn't anything he wanted to see. I suggested Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, but he quickly nixed that one. We were bummed because what else were we going to do in Lubbock on Friday night after we ate? We talked about moving somewhere fun for a few minutes and then realized if we did that, we wouldn't have any babysitters to enable us to have a fun night on the town. Then I said I would check to see if there were any movies showing at the other theatre since he had only looked at the one by our house.

I hadn't even heard of The Rocker but since it was rated PG-13, I thought I would look at it a little closer. We aren't against seeing R movies in general, but we have learned that we have to be very careful and get other people's opinions before going to see one...I get so frustrated when we waste money on a movie that is completely raunchy or has horrible language. When I told Chris that Rainn Wilson was in the movie (we love The Office!), he had remembered seeing the preview and said we should go see that. In the first few minutes of the movie, I was rolling my eyes and just about to get up and leave...it wasn't bad (in the ways that I mentioned above), but it was just plain dumb. Then it changed...and turned into the most hilarious movie. We loved it! And if you are a fan of Rainn Wilson, you will definitely like it. It makes me smile just thinking about it....and Chris has already started quoting some parts to me. Has anyone else seen it?

This and That

2008-08-27T13:31:00.001-07:00

Today we went out to the Apple Orchard that is just on the other side of Idalou to meet up with some friends. The family of some good friends of ours (Travis & Brenda) own it. I can't believe I had never been out there. Of course I have driven by it many times and Brenda has even invited me to go several times, but it had just never worked out. I also didn't know that they served lunch...it was really good and Will had a ton of fun playing with all the boys. I would say it was worth the trip out there or if you're ever driving by going in or out of town, you should stop by.

All the boys ready for a ride around the orchard.

Will getting a sweet kiss from Jeremiah.

When we first met up with everyone today, Elijah showed me how his teeth were missing because he had to have them pulled. Later, I was trying to take a picture of him and I told him to show me how his teeth were gone. After I took it, he asked to see the picture so I showed it to him and he said, "Uh-oh! Where's my teeth?" Hilarious!

I've also been needing to do a little Will update. He has started saying some words and I want to keep track of it. I may add to the list if I think of more.

- nigh nigh (night night)
- buk (book)
- baw (ball)
- duh (duck)
- dah (that)
- dad
- dada (daddy)
- mumum (mama)
- muh (milk)
- moh (more)
- down
- yum

Now he does not say these words consistently and rarely on demand...but when he does say them, it makes sense (not just random babbling) so I'm counting them as words. The last two he just said in the last two days and he said them at the appropriate times...they even came out clear as day. This could have been coincidence...but I will just say he is really smart. I am also happy to say that he has not yet said "no"...I'm sure it is coming, but for a long time I thought I didn't want to tell him "no" (yeah right) because I didn't want him to catch on and say it to me all the time. Well, I do have to tell him "no" quite often and he hasn't repeated it yet. :)

There are a couple of funny things about him that I want to mention. First, he has become a streaker. When we get him undressed at night for his bath he just wants to run around the house naked until we make him get in the bath. He does the same thing when we take him out of the bath and will fight to get out of the towel until we let him run free. He thinks it is hilarious and just runs around and laughs and laughs. So cute. He also looooves to get his teeth brushed and when I am finished brushing them, he will brush them himself for a few minutes. Chris and I laugh at how much he loves it.

A few of his favorite things right now - being chased around the house, shutting doors, music! (this is a big one), fruit, Cheerios, water, balls, going outside, sitting on the couch, and getting approval (I love this). When he thinks he has done something good, he will clap for himself and then look at us to clap for him if we haven't already.

I have been trying to teach him how to "be sweet" recently. A lot of times he will slap my arm while I am holding him. He's just playing around, but I will grab his hand and rub it gently on my arm and tell him to "be sweet"...then he will smile and lay his head on my shoulder. He's such a schmoozer! I love it!

And finally, a couple of you have asked about Twitter. I really don't know what all it involves, but I know that I can put it on the side of my blog and post updates on what I am doing. It's kind of like status updates on Facebook or Myspace but it's on my blog. I like it because I put it on my new iphone (woohoo) so when I am bored, like waiting in the dentist office, I can just post a quick status update and it gives me something to waste my time on for about 30 seconds. ha.

Toe nail hurt?

2008-08-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

Do those word verification things on blogger (or elsewhere) ever make you laugh? It seems like I always get ones that make me think of something funny. Just now, I was commenting on a blog and the word verification word was tonanurt. It just made me think of something I might hear while getting a pedicure and I couldn't help but laugh. I can't think of any of the others now, but I may need to start writing them down.

And there's a random post for the day. :)

Giggle Box

2008-08-21T08:36:00.001-07:00

Bento

2008-08-20T12:04:00.000-07:00

After my last post, a friend gave me this link and this one. Wow! I think those toddlers eat better than I do....they for sure eat prettier lunches than me. Not that my pizza wasn't pretty.

I don't know about you, but this kind of stuff totally intrigues me. I start fantasizing about how I could make lunches like that for Will and be super organized and still spend lots of quality time with my family. But who am I kidding? Let's just say I haven't been looking for any Bento boxes yet and judging by looks of my refrigerator I don't have the necessary food organization skills.

I hadn't even heard of Bento before this. Had you?

Grapes, Pizza, and Milk

2008-08-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

That's what Will just had for lunch. A whole slice of a large Papa John's pepperoni pizza. Okay, maybe I ate the crust...but he ate the rest. Even worse, we ordered it almost a week ago. And to think a few months ago I thought a grilled cheese was bad and now it's a staple around here. I can totally see how kids get into bad eating habits now.

** Picture courtesy of Google Images. Ours, unfortunately, did not look this good today. Something about the microwave just doesn't do it justice.

Family Pictures!

2008-08-05T21:34:00.001-07:00

Amanda took our pictures tonight and did such a great job! I'm so excited. Thanks Amanda!!!!

First of all, this is how Will acted most of the night...

...just so you know Amanda did not have it easy. I think he got hot in the very beginning and never really snapped out of it. Poor baby.

Notice Chris being goofy...I bet he didn't think I would put this one on here. ha!

Didn't Amanda do good? I love them!

Goodbye

2008-08-03T21:44:00.000-07:00

Will said goodbye to two things last week - crawling and.........the swing!! He is now walking only. He does fall but he just stands right back up and starts walking again. Saying goodbye to the swing has been very exciting for me. I could not get this little boy to take a nap in his crib for anything until last week. Before he would only nap in his swing or his carseat (which we also said goodbye to...so I guess that makes three things). He has been so good at napping in his crib and even took two two-hour naps almost everyday last week! It has been wonderful.

Such a great model already.

I love him!

The Fiesta!

2008-07-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

This will be the last post about Will's birthday, but I wanted to make sure I got some birthday party pictures on the blog. And a couple of people have asked to see the invitation.

I also tried to get pictures of all of his friends that were there...but I missed a few.

Ellie

Tagen

Kate (don't you love that hair?)

Joshua

Elijah

Madelyn

Dylan

Emma Kate

Abi

Gotta love Emily!

Thanks to everyone that came to the party! We had so much fun!!

Letters To Our Birthday Boy

2008-07-17T17:44:00.000-07:00

Dear Will,

I love being your daddy! You are an incredible blessing from God in my life. I pray God will give you everything you could ask for in life. You are a terrific son and I can't wait to spend many more birthdays celebrating with you. I will always love you, forever and ever. You are my buddy for life. I love you! Happy first birthday!

Dad

----------

Dear Will,

I cannot beleive you are already a year old. I vividly remember the first time I saw you one year ago today. It was the best feeling to meet my baby boy that I already loved so much. I felt so lucky to have you in my life and extremely blessed. Little did I know that it would only get better!

I have loved every moment I have had with you - even the hard times like getting up several times a night to feed you and changing dirty diapers. All in all, you have been the best baby. It has been very easy and so much fun to spend all of my days this last year with you. God has truly blessed me.

I pray everyday that God will show your daddy and me how to be the best parents we can be and that you will grow up to be the man God wants you to be. He has great plans for you and I can't wait to see what all that is!

I love you so much. I will never forget this last year.

Love,
Mommy

----------

Yup, it's been a year. I can't believe it. He doesn't seem like a one-year-old in a lot of ways, but I can see a little bit of the transformation. He is definitely starting to think he is a big boy.

Here are some updates:

- I took him to the doctor today for his one year checkup. He is 19 pounds, 13 ounces (10th percentile) and 27 3/4 inches (5th percentile). Little guy.
- He is walking...he's not great at it yet, but he can walk across the room if he wants to.
- He has let me put him to bed wide awake without being rocked for the last week. He usually fusses for just a few seconds, but that's it. One night, he didn't make a peep...he just went right to sleep.
- He is a picky eater (ughhh). He will eat cheese, yogurt, cheese, turkey, cheese, some fruit if I'm lucky...but no vegetables. Oh, and did I mention cheese? This is really frustrating to Chris and me but we are trying to work through it. The doctor told me today not to give him anymore bottles (just milk out of a sippy cup) and hopefully that will drive his appetite for other stuff.
- As of two days ago, he is completely switched over to whole milk...no more formula! Yay!!
- He loves to point at things and say "that"...well, he may not be saying "that"...but that's all I can make of it.
- He is very friendly as long as he doesn't think you are going to take him away from me. When we are at the mall or grocery story, he will laugh and smile at strangers. It's pretty cute.

Last night we took him out to take some pictures of him for his birthday. It was fun but we ran out of light due to a late nap. We are going to try to take some more pictures this weekend. After pictures, we came home and gave him a cupcake. He pretty much responded the same way he did to his birthday cake at his party....not a huge fan, but not the worst thing in the world either. Kind of surprising. I really thought he would love all of that sugar. It was fun day!

To see more pictures of Will from last night go to my photo blog.

Happy Birthday Will!!!!!

2008-07-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

We love you, baby!!

Will's First Year!

2008-07-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

Chris has been working on this video for a few months so that it would be ready to show at Will's birthday party. I love how it turned out! Make sure you watch it all the way to the end or you will miss out on something very important. :) The birthday party was yesterday and I'll have an entire post about that later! It was so much fun!!

Gather around your babies ladies!

2008-07-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Will produced his first baby aerobics video tonight...he starts out with stretching, of course, then he leads into dance aerobics with some balancing techniques thrown in there, and a grand exit completes this installment.

Will says it's time to say goodbye to those buddha bellies!

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T11:58:00.000-07:00

Emma Kate and Will got to watch their very first 4th of July parade together this morning.

Today has been sentimental for me because this day last year was the last really memorable day before I had Will. I remember exactly what we did all day and can even slightly remember what it felt like to have Will in my belly. When we went out to 4th on Broadway last year, we sat in a tent to cool off for awhile and we ended up listening to a band that was really good. I wanted to go back to that same tent to hear the same band...just to bring back memories of last year (and see if Will recognized the music). Anyway, we had a good time and I'm glad will was on the outside this year! :)

Tonight

2008-07-02T19:59:00.000-07:00

Just a little insider glimpse of what is going on in my house tonight...

He walks!!!

2008-07-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

Will started taking real steps for us on Sunday and now we're up to four or five or more! I didn't catch the first step or two on the video.