It's a Wonderful Life

15 Months

2012-01-29T07:56:00.000-08:00

My little buddy turned 15 months last week! In the blink of an eye, he has turned into such a big boy! I am loving this stage that he's at. Sure, I have to do a LOT of re-directing, and I say the word " No" more times than I'd like to admit, but he is just so much fun right now!

Here are some things I want to remember about B-Diddy....

-he hates his high chair! He would much rather eat his meals at his little table we got him for Christmas. But, this means he eats a bite, walks over to get a book, picks up a car, takes a bite, sees Chloe and gives her a bite,etc..... Meals can drag on and on!

-is still in love with his " Bo Bear" and paci. We try to leave both in his crib during the day, Some days he will walk to his room, stand in front of his crib, and just whine! When I go in there and get him his paci and bo bear, he puts a huge grin on his face. :)

- has started to rough house with other kids. When I drop him off at school, he greets the other kids in his class by pushing them! The teacher assures me this is normal, but I still feel a little mortified! Especially because majority of my day at work is teaching kids not to be bullies.... Maybe I need to bring home some lessons for Bennett :) jk

- Mickey Mouse is da bomb! He is madly in love with Mickey and Pluto.

-is not a good eater! He ususally eats a good breakfast, probably bc he is starving, but the rest of the day is hit or miss. He will eat grapes, blueberries, applesauce ( only if he can feed himself) and yogurt. THATS IT! I really hope he grows out of this!

-he is really excited to have a baby sister ;) Jk This pic was just too cute not to attach!

- is so stinkin cute I can hardly stand it! He has the cutest profile and
sweetest smile! I can't believe he's mine!

Dear Bennett,
You are my constant buddy and I love you more every day! You definitely have a stubborn streak that wears me out some days, but I secretly love this about you. You know what you want and won't settle for less! I'm so thankful that YOU are my son! I love you!
Love, Mama

20 weeks- Half way there :)

2012-01-26T10:45:00.001-08:00

We had our 20 week appointment/sonogram this week and baby girl is doing great!!! I still can't get over what a miracle it is to have a healthy baby!!

The ultrasound went smoothly! To be honest, I was a little nervous! We went at 16 weeks to a spa type place to find out the gender. We found out at that appointment we were having a girl and were over the moon.( Honestly, I would have been just as excited to have another boy! Just want a healthy baby!)
But, I was nervous that today they were going to discover we were having a boy instead of a girl. It wouldn't have been a huge deal, but we would have to tell everyone what had happened and return some pink items ;)
All this to say, we are having a healthy baby girl! She was opening and closing her mouth during the ultrasound :)

I have been feeling pretty sore lately! My back and stomach are so achy at the end of the day! I know I need to go easy on picking up Bennett, but my baby needs me;)

My stomach has really popped this week. Non-maternity pants aren't an option anymore. The kids at school have noticed too! One kid said, " You're having another baby? Don't you have a baby at home?" Haha!

A sweet 5th grade girl at my school made baby girl this quilt!

This is a terrible picture, but you get the gist! On the back it says, " To Mrs.Emmons and her baby girl"
Of course, I started crying when she gave it to me! Such a sweet gift for my daughter! And man, I need to learn to sew/quilt ;)

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Weekends are for relaxing!

2012-01-23T07:03:00.001-08:00

We had a slow, relaxing weekend. Just what the doctor ordered!!!
Bennett was invited to his friend Kinsleys 2nd birthday party on Saturday. He was thrilled to see his buddy Mickey there :) I was really nervous we were going to have to bring this balloon home with us. Bennett was obsessed :)

Saturday night Ryan and I went to Ninfas for a quick date night. I thought it was funny because we ate at 5:30 so we could be in bed early ;) We party like rock stars :)

Sunday was lazy and rainy! Ryan won husband of the year for letting me sleep in until 9, and did the grocery shopping with Bennett. He's always doing sweet things like that to help me!
Like I said in a previous post, Bennett has 3 of his molars coming in. They've broken through the gums, but are still causing B a lot of pain! Hence all of the laying around we did this weekend. He has been waking up every 3 hours screaming and in pain. Breaks our heart!
Bennett has been such a Mamas boy lately, but on Sunday he only wanted his Daddy :) so sweet!!

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Rambling

2012-01-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

- Molars are going to be the death of me!!! OH MY WORD.... I only thought I was tired when Bennett was a newborn. I've reached an all new level of exhaustion that I did not think existed. Poor baby has at least one coming in in the back. He wakes up every 1.5 hours screaming and then takes about an hour to fall back to sleep. I think he got about 5 hours last night, and Ryan and I got about 3. I pray that those suckers come through FAST! I feel so helpless when I can't help B!
- I"m very proud to say that I am NOT watching the Bachelor this season. I was never really a fan of Ben when he was on the bachelorette so I wasn't too excited. I went on Reality Steve to cheat and see what happens this season, and I"m so glad I did. He just confirmed to me that I do not like Ben and he is not going to be walking away from this season with his soul mate. Why has it taken me 10 years to realize this? I am pretty proud of myself! ( although I am still watching Real Housewives :))

-We are on Team Tebow in our house. I think it's so refreshing that there is such a respectable player in the NFL! I think he is awesome!

-Ryan and I are having a very hard time coming up with baby girls name! We have two front runners, but Ryan is not too sure about which name we should choose. I'm so ready to srart monogramming and calling this sweet little one by name!

Thats about all I've got today! I'm running on adreneline right now- that and some diet coke!

New York, New York!!

2012-01-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I took a much needed vacation to NYC the weekend before Christmas. I have always wanted to go to NYC when the Christmas decorations were up! It was such a fun trip and I'm so glad we got to go enjoy some me and him time before baby #2 comes!

I love all of the pretty churches in NYC! This was one on Madison Ave.

One of the MAIN things I wanted to do on this trip was go to Serendipity! This pregnant girl has been dreaming about their desserts a little too much lately :) We got there about 10 minutes after they opened and there was already a 1.5 hour wait! Insane!! So, we went and had lunch at a delicious Italian restaurant and shopped at Bllomingdales since it was close by.

When we got in, we ordered two yummy desserts.

Frozen Hot Chocolate....

And this little slice of heaven! It's a peanut butter pie on the bottom, topped with banana, vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and whipped cream. OH MY WORD! It was soooo good!

Sadly, this is the only pic of the two of us together!

One of the main things Ryan wanted to do was go to the 9/11 Memorial. I'm really glad we went, all though my pregnancy hormones were in full effect there. It was so erie being there and I couldn't help but think that ALL of the men and women that died there that day had been someone's son/daughter!

This was a tasty little itallian restaurant we ate at that had the BEST caprese salad and pizza. YUM!

If you haven't noticed a theme with our trip, let me sum it up for you..... FOOD! We ate all day, but I like to think that all the walking we did helped to balance all those calories :) Ryan was really sweet and waited in a long line at Magnolia Bakery to get these cupcakes. They were pretty darn good!

We went and saw Wicked on Broadway too, but I didn't get any pictures. It was so nice to just walk around, eat yummy food, sleep in, and spend some quality time together.

Until next time New York!!

2011.....

2011-12-31T08:57:00.000-08:00

2011 was a great year! Here are some highlights:

January- went back to work after maternity leave. Bennett started daycare.

February- Bennett got baptized and we had a reception at our house after. It was such a special day with our family and close friends!

Ryan turned 31....OLD MAN!!!

March- Our sweet boy turned 5 months. We hosted a wedding shower at our house for some good friends!

April- I lost my job and decided to be a stay at home mom!! We traveled to San Augustine for a family reunion. Bennett loved spending time with his Mama!

May- celebrated my first mothers day and 4 years of marriage with Ryan!Gigi and Pops came down for Bennett's first Easter. Poor baby was sick that weekend though :(
We made sure to have lots of play dates with Walker and Palker! Bennett loved being around other

June- I turned the big 3-0!!! Ryan went to China for two weeks for work. Luckily Honey stayed with us and helped me take care of Bennett.

July- Ryan and I went to the Marriott Hill Country for two nights of relaxation! Ahhhh it was glorious :) Bennett started crawling NON STOP! We celebrated Ryan's first Fathers Day as well!!

August- I was offered my job back, and started working half time! What a rollercoaster!

September- I went to lake McQueeny with some Mama friends for a much needed night away! We went to Bennett's second Astros game with the Millers!

October- Bennett turned 1!!! He also celebrated Halloween as a pumpkin :)

November- we announced to the world that Bennett was going to be a big brother!!! We celebrated Thanksgiving in San Augustine with my moms side of the family, and then back in Houston with the Emmons family. We have so much to be thankful for!!

December- this month was fast and furious!! Ryan and I spent some time together in NYC, we traveled to Dallas for Christmas, and found out we were having a baby girl!! What an exciting month!!

Looking back at this year really brings tears to my eyes. It's amazing how fast time flies by! People always tell you, " You'll blink and your kids will be moving away to college". I always kind of roll my eyes and think they are being silly. But, if this year has taught me anything, it's just that... Don't blink! You are bound to miss something!
I've learned so much about being a mother, a wife, a friend and a Christian this year. There have been many struggles, but I wouldn't change this year for all the money in the world. Things that seemed like such huge/stressful deals at the time really weren't that important in the long run. I learned who my true friends are this year and made some new ones. I spent much quality time with my family! They mean the world to me. Something that I want to always remember about this year is the countless hours I spent rocking my sweet baby boy! I have loved that time more than anything else!!!

I hope you all take time to reflect over this past year and realize how blessed you are! Happy New Year!!!!

16 weeks and a scare....

2011-12-30T08:58:00.000-08:00

I turned 16 weeks on Monday with Baby #2! I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm slowly starting to feel better! Praise the Lord!!!!

I have so much blog catching up to do, but want to announce that we are having a GIRL!!!!! I truly can not believe it ( neither can Ryan). I am working on the post that goes along with that exciting day as well! \

How Far Along? 16 weeks
Size of Baby? 3 inches long ( about the size of a medium shrimp)
Maternity Clothes? I pulled out the maternity jeans. I don't wear them every time, but they are pretty comfy!
Weight Gain?1 pound. All of that holiday food finally caught up with me :)
Stretch Marks? Not yet
Gender? GIRL!!!!
Movement? Not yet. I can't wait to start feeling her move around!
Sleep? When I'm not woken up in the middle of the night by B, I sleep really good. I pretty much pass out right away. But, I'm still exahusted in the morning.
Food Cravings? Apples, ice cold water, angel food smoothie from smoothie king
What I Miss? I really miss having energy to get things done. I've been such a slug lately and haven't felt like my normal self!
Symptoms? I'm still really sleepy all the time, I've also started getting real bad acid reflux at night when I lay down. Tums are my best friend!
Best Moment of the Week? Having two ultrasounds and seeing that baby girl is healthy! I am so very grateful for this!!

On to the scare......
On Wednesday night, I put Bennett in bed with us because he hasn't been sleeping well due to being out of town and a stuffy nose ( I really rarely do this but was so tired!) At one point in the night, he started crawling towards the foot of the bed, so while laying down I picked him up to bring him back to me. When I did this, I felt a HUGE punch inside my stomach. It really scared me! I then started cramping up and was spotting the next morning. I went to the doctor that morning for a check up. The nurse couldn't find the heart beat for the longest time. Of course, I start crying! A lot!! She was finally able to find it and it was 150 :) Phew!
My doctor checked my cervix ( which hurt a lot) and discovered there was no tear, but a little bit of blood. So, she wheeled in her ultrasound machine. I was very happy that I was going to get to see my little girl again on the screen. She determined that everything looked good, and even " checked" her body parts to see if it was still a girl. And it is!! :)
I can not tell you how thankful I am that this baby is healthy and everything is okay! My doctor told me the spotting and cramping was most likely due to lifting Bennett in that awkward position and that I do need to take it easy on my body. Got it!!!

It's amazing how much I love this baby already! She is such a wonderful surprise and I can't wait to meet her!

Merry Christmas!!!!

2011-12-25T11:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!! I hope you all have a wonderful day spent with loved ones!!

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Santas Helper

2011-12-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

Bennett's Gigi got him this cute onesie from Gap! I thought he looked so cute in it ;)

" What's under here?"

"Hi Mr.Snowman! Can I give you a kiss?"

This box kept him occupied for about 3 minutes! That's a lifetime for a pregnant Mama chasing a 14 month old around ;)

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Somebody pinch me!

2011-12-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

Often times I wonder how am I so blessed to get to be this boys Mama?

To me, he is just perfection!

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you~ Philippians 1:3

13 Weeks

2011-12-05T06:24:00.000-08:00

I am so very happy that we are pregnant again! It was such a different experience seeing two little lines on the test tihis time around. I think because I look at Bennett and feel such joy! Now I get to have that joy times two! Of course, I have moments when I go into panic mode worrying about how I'm going to juggle having two! I know it's going to be a rough first year with 2 under 2, but I can't wait to see my two little chick-a-dees grow up together. They will be 19 months apart. I will definitely be calling on my Mama friends with two babies to get ANY tips they have!!

On to the pregnancy..... It's been a bit rough! I've been barely functioning but am starting to feel better. All I want to do most days is hang my head over the toilet, which is hard to do with Bennett running around and laughing at me. He thinks its hilarious when I'm throwing up/ dry heaving. Glad I can entertain you buddy!

How Far Along? 13 weeks..... into the 2nd trimester! Woo Hoo!
Size of Baby? 3 inches long ( about the size of a medium shrimp)
Maternity Clothes? Not yet. I do think I will be getting the maternity jeans out real soon though just for comfort.
Weight Gain? I'm down 3 pounds total. I gained a pound over Thanksgiving ( no surprise there) but overall am still down 3.
Stretch Marks? Not yet
Gender? No idea- although I'm thinking B is going to have a little brother :)
Movement? Not yet. I can't wait to start feeling him/her move around!
Sleep? When I'm not woken up in the middle of the night by B, I sleep really good. I pretty much pass out right away. But, I'm still exahusted in the morning.
Food Cravings? Apples, ice cold water, angel food smoothie from smoothie king
What I Miss? I really miss having energy to get things done. I've been such a slug lately and haven't felt like my normal self!
Symptoms? I've been pretty sick this pregnancy ( hence the weight loss) and just really sleepy!
Best Moment of the Week? Last week we had my 12 week appointment and got to see our little lime on the ultrasound machine. He/she was just moving away and looked healthy! Praise the Lord!

Weekend recap

2011-12-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

We had a really good weekend! The weather here was super hot- Ugh! But other than that we had a great weekend.
Friday night was really exciting. We put Bennett down for bed, watched and episode of The Office, and went to bed. At 8:00. Exciting, huh?? It's a good thing we went to bed early though because a certain someone was up from 12-2:30 crying in pain from some pesky teeth coming in! Poor buddy!
Saturday morning I got up early and participated in a 5k supporting Pancreatic Cancer Research. One of my good friends from high school, Jessica, lost her father over a year ago to this terrible illness. She and her sister Claire have been such an inspiration with all of the fundraising and planning they've been doing to get more funding for Pan Cancer. They are rock stars!! I didn't get any pics at the race ( mainly because I am vain- I had little sleep the night before and looked like a wreck :)) This is the shirt that they designed for us all to wear. Jessicas fathers name is Hal Hecht, so we were Hals Angels. You can see his face on the pic.

This was the first race I've done that was supporting a cause. It was so heartbreaking to see all of the people there with shirts that had faces of lost loved ones on them. I pray that there will be a cure for all kinds of Cancer VERY SOON!!!!

Saturday night was Ryans company Christmas party. It was at a hotel in The Woodlands and I had high hopes that it would be buffett and delicious! When we sat at our table, there was a menu for what we would be served. Crab cakes, lobster tail, and beef tenderloin. I was pretty excited!! Only, the food tasted like the lobster you would get at an elementary school cafeteria if they served that kind of thing. I was trying to be a good sport, but I'm sure my pregnant/hingry self was pretty obvious. It was gross! Luckily the guy sitting next to Ryan saw my full plate of uneaten food and said that he would be driving through Whataburger on the way home.. Haha! It was fun to get out though and have a night with Ryan.

Today we made a big breakfast, watched some ESPN and chased Bennett around the house. He never sits still!!

Extreme Slacker!!

2011-11-30T08:20:00.000-08:00

Hi there... if anyone is still reading! :) I've been such a slacker lately! I have so many fun things that have been going on in our life, but haven't wanted to sit down and take time to write. So, I'll leave you with a majorly exciting thing going on in our family..........

Bennett is going to be a BIG BROTHER!!!!!!

I will be writing more soon... I promise- bare with me :)

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T10:59:00.000-07:00

My little pumpkin had a great Halloween!!!
He had a parade at his school that Ryan and I went to. He was so intrigued with everyone in their costumes. It was pretty funny!!

He loves Ms.Ashley!!

These are some of the girls I work with.Last year at our school, 9 of us were pregnant! It was pretty crazy! It's been fun sharing stories with these girls!!

On the night before Halloween, our church had a trunk-or-treat in the parking lot. The Millers met us there!

" Parker, why are you dressed like that?"

Katie and sweet Parker!

Happy Halloween!!!

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B likes to party!!

2011-10-25T04:20:00.000-07:00

We had Bennetts bday party on Oct 15 at our house. It was such a fun celebration and one that I will always remember!!

Here is the birthday boy looking cute before the guests started to arrive.

For decorations, I wanted to keep things pretty simple. I used pictures of Bennett to decorate through out the house. Here are some pics.....

Once the guests arrived, we had Chick-fil-a nuggets, dips and crackers, fruit, and goldfish for the kids. Bennett was such a little beggar at the party. If he spotted anyone eating, he would start begging for food! What a cutie:)

My grandmother couldn't resist sharing her food with him

We were so thankful that most of our family was able to make it to the party. Bennetts Gigi, Pops, Honey and Mama were all there :)

On to the cake.... I did not know what to expect when we gave Bennett his bday cake. He LOVED it!! He was just eating the icing like it was the best thing on earth!

But, then his mean old Mommy took the cake away from him! Poor Baby! I was worried he was going to get a tummy ache from all of that icing :)

We had such a good time playing with all of Bennett's friends that made it to the party. We had our sweet photographer, Ryan Flores, come to take pics during the party. I am so thankful for that!! I was able to really enjoy the party and not worry about getting lots of shots from the party.
I can't believe my baby is 1!!! I still need to do his 12 month post, and a post on how he is walking now!!
More on that later :)

12 months

2011-10-21T07:29:00.000-07:00

How can my sweet baby be 12 months old? He has turned into a little boy overnight!!
At 12 months, Bennett:
-is WALKING!! He took his first steps on October 19, and proceeded to slam his head into the hearth of the fireplace. I had a huge panic attack, but all was well. He didn't need stitches, just some steri-strips.
-is still a picky little eater. He loves to eat bananans ( whole and not cut up), grapes ( with the skin peeled off), cheese, any crackers, turkey lunch meat, breakfast bars, watermelon.... and thats about it! I try to cook him things, only resulting in me throwing it out :(
-loves to look at books. He is so smart and rotates the book around until it is facing the right way.
-loves to play with cars! He got some really fun ones for his birthday!
-does not want help doing anything. He wants to climb onto the chair BY HIMSELF, feed himself, walk outside without any help, etc. He is very independent.
- has started to throw full out fits when he doesn't get his way. This looks like him, throwing himself to the ground, flailing his arms, and screaming. Little stinker!
-LOVES Chloe and loves to "pet" her.
-has 5 teeth
-sleeps with his lovie that we call Bo Bear and a paci.
-goes to bed at 7 and wakes up around 6.
-is sooo sweet and loves to snuggle on the couch or in bed in the mornings. I really cherish our time together in the morning with his bottle and cartoons.
-is wearing 12-18 month clothes

Dear Bennett,
I am so thankful that you have been in my life the past year! You make each day so much brighter and full of joy! I love every thing about you and your sweet personality. Thank you for being you!

Going Private

2011-10-10T06:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone!!! I hope y'all had a great weekend! It was so nice to get some rain around here yesterday :)
I've decided to make my little ole blog private. If you would like to continue reading, leave me a comment with your email address and I'll make sure you get an invitation. If I don't know you and you read my blog, PLEASE leave me your email address too! I love meeting new people from blogs. I just felt like this is best for our little family :)
Have a great Monday!!

Pumpkin patch

2011-10-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to our church pumpkin patch. Bennett was still in my belly this time last year, so this was his first time to see all these pumpkins.

He's not so sure about it all.

" Smile Bennett, Here let me take your paci out."

" Buddy, it's okay. You don't need your paci!"

" Okay, here you go!"

Sweet Parker met us there!

So did the Board twins, Parks and Brooks

And this my friends, is the best group shot I got :)

Checking out the wagon.

Have a good weekend everyone!!!

Guilty pleasures- movie addition

2011-10-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

Do y'all have movies that you love so much, you watch them ANY time they are on t.v? Ryan makes so much fun of me because I watch the same movies over and over. I think this behavior started at a very young age for me. When I was 4, I would watch The Wizard of Oz at least once a day. If I was sick, there was a good chance that the movie was on repeat all day. Luckily for me, these movies come on tv a lot, and I usually stop what I'm doing to watch them.
1. Sweet Home Alabama

2. Pride and Prejudice

3.Overboard

4 It's complicated

5. Julie and Julia

6.He's just not that into you

I think RYan especially gets irritated when Overboard comes on. I don't know what it is about that movie, but I love love love it!!

Weekend re-cap

2011-10-03T01:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Monday everyone! We had a great weekend here. The weather was so perfect! We had the windows open on Sunday , with some pumpkin candles going..... it made our house so cozy!

Friday night Ryan and I went on a date. We really try to do a date night once a week. Obviously this doesn't happen every week, but I think it's so important for us to get out of the house sans baby. We went to a very fancy dinner at the mall. Chick-fil-a to be exact :) We walked around the mall and then went and saw Moneyball.

While we were walking around the mall, we saw these pet costumes in Target. How cute is this?

I'm pretty sure Chloe would kill us if we put her in this sherrif costume :)

Moneyball was good... it's just really long! I'm not the biggest Brad Pitt fan, but he did a good job in this role!

Saturday we hung out around the house and worked on some projects for Bennetts party ( which is in 2 weeks....eeeek!). On Saturday night we went to an early dinner with the Millers. I love these boys so much!

Bennett has been having a runny nose for about 2 months now! He started running a little fever Saturday night, so Sunday we snuggled on the couch. I was able to catch up on some new shows I dvr'd.

Have y'all watched Person of Interest? I am a huge JJ Abrams fan ( Hello Alias, Felicity and Lost) and was so excited to see that he has a new show on CBS. It's really good! I'm excited to have a new show to watch!

I'm really hoping this cooler weather sticks around! It puts me in so much better of a mood! Have a great week!

Fall bucket list

2011-09-26T11:12:00.000-07:00

Dont you love this image I found here.... too bad the trees near me NEVER look like this :)

I saw this cute idea from Tiffany's blog and thought I should make a bucket list as welll. Afterall, I love making lists :) During this fall season I want to:

make a pumpkin pie, carve a pumpkin, bake pumpkin seeds ( YUM), visit a pumpkin patch with BJE, do a photo shoot with BJE in the leaves, go on a wagon ride with B and Chloe girl, tell loved ones why I am thankful for them, spend time outdoors with my family, make some new crock-pot meals for mi familia.

Sounds fun, right?! I do want to buy some new fall clothes also since I had just had a baby last year at this time. I really want some new UGGs; hmmmm!

Silly Boy

2011-09-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Bennett has been cracking me up lately! The boy loves to laugh and loves even more when you are laughing with him :)
One thing he loves to do is put off going down for a nap ( honestly, I'm sure EVERY kid does that). He's started throwing his beloved lovey and all 4-5 of his paci's that we keep in his crib over the rail. He then proceeds to giggle until I come in there. I watch him do this on the baby monitor several times, and each time I laugh. He thinks he's so sneaky :)
At meal times we have a little shark that circles the highchair ( Chloe) just waiting to be fed. Bennett has started throwing his food down to Chloe, watching it fall to the ground, Chloe pick it up, and then he starts laughing. I KNOW he needs to be eating this food and that I am encouraging him when I laugh, but I just can't help it! He's too cute! I really hoped that B throwing food to Chloe would improve their relationship, but she still avoids Bennett like the plague :(
I sometimes think my heart might burst with love for B.... he makes me so very happy!

Book nerd!

2011-09-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

I've been getting a lot of time lately to read... and it's been awesome! I've read some really good books, but most have been pretty emotionally draining. I'm ready for some fun reads!
Here is what I've read......

I love reading a good book, but need something that is more light hearted than these last three. Any suggestions?!

Five

2011-09-21T09:29:00.000-07:00

Bennett now has 5 teeth! His nose started running on Saturday which is a clear cut sign that a tooth is coming in. Sure enough, his left incisor tooth is showing now :) He looks so cute with all these teeth- not to mention it hurts now when he bites me. Since he is teething, he wants to chew/bite everything. Including me!
We had a check-up for B this morning. He is healthy healthy!
Weight- 24 lbs 4 oz! No wonder my back is killing me!
Length- 32 in.
Head- big!
He is still off the charts in height and head, and 78th percentile for weight. Another mother in the waiting room thought Bennett was 2! Not quite :)
After the check-up and flu shot, Bennett had to get blood work done. Our doctor has all patients do this before they turn 1 to check for anemia. Poor Bennett. He was sitting in my lap while they drew the blood from his arm and screamed the entire time. Luckily it only took about 30 seconds to fill the vile, but it was so sad! There is nothing harder than seeing your little one in pain!
We are just going to snuggle and relax the rest of the day!

Never Forget

2011-09-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

I will never forget 9.11.01. I was a junior in college. I had an 8:00 class that morning.
We got out at 9:15 and I went back to the Tri-Delt house.
Everyone was up ( which was shocking) and in the chapter room watching the heartbreaking coverage on the news.
I remember sitting there in a state of complete shock. I couldn't believe what was happening.... and I still to this day can't believe what happened.

Theres a scene in Love Actually at the beginning where they say, " When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion… love actually is all around.” When thinking about 9/11, I want to remember the images I saw on the news of people helping each other, of a country that was united. I have never been so proud to be an American! I pray that our country never has to go through something as devestating again. I am praying for those families that lost loved ones 10 years ago. And, I"m praying that we never forget 9/11!

Mid-week happenings

2011-08-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Hump Day! I'm so very glad it's Weds and the weekend is so very close by :) I have nothing very blog worthy going on, just wanted to document some recent thoughts....

-Bennett is a VERRRRY picky eater- which is hard to belive considering I'm not a picky eater at all ( I wish I was!). He basically eats Mum Mums, yogurt, yogurt puffs, string cheese, and those squeeze bags of baby food. We've tried boiled chicken, chicken sticks, chicken nuggets, spaghetti, green beans, corn, cooked carrots, ravioli, and he looks at me with complete disgust. I sound like such a fool clapping and saying " Yay Bennett" when he puts something in his mouth, only to have him gag and push my hand away when I try to put it in his mouth again. I'll keep trying! He will occasionally eat pureed baby food, but he wants to feed himself. Any tips?

- I'm so excited that Big Brother is on tonight! I don't really like any of the players, besides Jordan, but it's still entertaining. I read somewhere that Rachel was pregnant.... Yikes!

-On another tv note, I think this years cast of dancing with the stars is one of the more exciting casts that they've had in a while. I'm not sure how many of them are actual STARS, but I'm sure I'll tune in to see my favorite prefessional dancers ( Max and Mark).

-It's so dang hot here! The forecast says the high this weekend is going to be 91 which is music to my ears!!

-Bennett loves pushing all of his walkers, He also likes to push things that aren't walkers and walk behind them ( his music table, chairs). He is such a cutie when he's walking.... kind of reminds me of a 79 year old, but oh so cute. He's getting very adventerous and standing on his own, and moving from the walker to the furniture without balancing on anything. I think he will be walking anytime now!

-planning for B's 1st birthday party is well under way! I want to enjoy his party and not stress over every little detail, so it will be a little more low key than I originally planned. I've learned that I'm not good at being a calm hostess, so why add all that stress to myself and my family?! We are going to have a great time celebrating little mans 1st year though!!

I have been lusting over this shirt from Anthropologie for months now, but wanted to wait until it went on sale to buy it. Well, I went online to see if it was on sale today, and it says that this top is no longer available :( I love love love this shirt!

We had pictures taken 2 weekends ago when Ryans family was in town. We got some really good ones that I'll always treasure!!

I love my boys!

I don't know how she does it?

2011-08-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

I've seen several blog posts and commercials for the new movie coming out with Sarah Jessica Parker, I don't know how she does itl? It looks so cute and funny. And something totally relateable.
I feel at times that I wear so many hats, but none very well. I'm struggling with being a good mother, wife, sister, daughter, friend , counselor, and mainly Christian. At the end of the day I feel so tired! I know so many women who " try to do it all" but the truth is we can't do it by ourselves. We need help from our loving Father to make all of these different hats fit and work. I know I say it all the time- God doesn't give us more than we can handle. But, I've really stuggled with that this week. Because I don't feel like I can handle all of these different roles I've been handed. I love each of them dearly, but am I doing a good job with each of these?
This week was especially hard because Ryan was out of town for work, Bennett was sick, it's the first week of school;, yada yada yada. I truly felt like I was drowning and was way more stressed than I've been in a long time. But, there were some powerful verses that helped me to make it through each day. And, I can say because of God's grace, it was a good week :)

B's 1st day of school

2011-08-23T10:13:00.000-07:00

Bennett is back at his school! He is in a toddler class which can't be right?! He's still my baby!! The teacher he has this year LOVES him and loved him last year too, so I think she tried really hard to get B in her class! We had a meet the teacher the day before school started. That was when I got the news that Bennett needed to have a nap mat ( seriously?!) and would be taking one nap at 12 with the whole class. Hahaha!! Good luck with that! Apparently these ladies know what they are doing though! Bennett slept on his nap for 1.5 hours that first day and has had some kind of nap since then. I wish they could come over to my house at night time and get him to sleep :)

Here he is with Miss Ashley. We love her!!

Me and my boy! This is a terrible pic of me but you get the idea!

There are 13 kids in his class. I think 11 of them were screaming their heads off when we got there. Not our brave little man. He saw the Cheerios and knew this was a good place to be. He was so cute though looking at all the other kids that were crying. I was so thankful that B wasn't crying just then. It would have made leaving him impossible!

Doesn't he look like a 4 year old in this pic? Look at those long legs!

Overall its been a good year so far ( we are 1 week in :)). He did get bit by another kid in his class on the 2nd day and has already been sick. Ugh! But, he is only there 3 days a week so he gets to socialize with his peeps, and hang out with Mommy a lot! Not to mention I run by on my lunch breaks sometimes :)

License to drive

2011-08-22T10:01:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend Bennett passed his drivers test and got his first set of wheels...

I sure hope he doesn't drive like his Daddy!

We thought Chloe would want to go for a ride as well! Not so much! I'm pretty sure she is calling the SPCA right now to tattle on us for torturing her through this pic :) We love you Chloe!!

Honk Honk! See you later!!

10 months!

2011-08-21T06:53:00.000-07:00

I can't belive my baby is in the double digits now.... Whoa!!!
Bennett is growing and growing these days. I swear he grows more hair on his head every night and an inch in length :) He is still just the sweetest, happiest baby ( unless he is teething, then he is just plain miserable :()

At 10 months Bennett:

-is a little more of a picky eater! He is DONE with baby food, but I"m having a hard time getting him to try new table foods. Cheerios are loosing their luster as well!! Yikes! I am trying my harders to shovel food into his mouth though so he gets enough!
- loves pushing toys, ottoman around. He looks back at me to make sure I'm watching him and smiles from ear to ear. I then cheer very loudly and proudly for him!
- started back to school last week. He is in a BIG kid class. I'll post more on that later, but it's kind of freaking me out how much they expect him to do ( 1 nap a day on a Nap mat?)

-loves swinging outside, or just being outside in general. Unfortunately it is oooh so hot here so we haven't been able to play much outside

-has turned into a big cuddle bug!
-says Dada all the time! melts my heart

-is a very fast cralwer.

-laughs at me when I say, "No!". this is going to get me in trouble, but I laugh because he is laughing. I can't help it though... he's so cute!

-loves Mickey Mouse still. He flaps his arms and bounces up and down when he hears the theme song.
-gives kisses to his stuffed animals

-loves his lovie that we have named " Bear". He just rubs Bears ear while he's trying to go to sleep.
-has 4 teeth- two on top and two on the bottom.

-opening and closing doors and cabinets is his favorite past time. I'm pretty sure he would do that all day if I let him.

-loves the books, I love you through and through, Where is Babys Belly Button, The going to bed book. We read these over and over at night. He is very opinionated when it comes to which books we read. The pictures BETTER be bright and colorful, and the words better be read quickly :)

Each night before I put Bennett to sleep I tell him how much I love him. I tell him that he has so many family members that love him too. It's incredible how much joy and happiness Bennett brings me and our whole family! I hope and pray that he always knows HOW much we love him. I might tell him 4,238,390 times a day that I love him and still go in after he's asleep to tell him again. He's such an angel baby!!

Life is a rollercoaster....

2011-08-17T12:36:00.000-07:00

I've always heard that life's a dance, a box of chocolates, is a beautiful ride..... while all of these are true, life has been a rollercoaster for me these past couple of months!
Before I start, let me say that I LOVE my life. I have to pinch myself sometimes because I can't get over how blessed I am to have such wonderful people in my life, a healthy body, roof over my head, etc..
As you know, I graduated with my masters in counseling 2 years ago. I worked my tail off to get this degree so that I could do something that I love. I loved teaching, but felt a tug towards being a school counselor, so I went for it. I have been a counselor for three years and think I have such an important role in schools. With bullying on the rise and since times are a changin, kids are even more stressed than they used to be. So, counseling is a necessity in the school systems.
Last spring, we kept hearing about job cuts being made in the school systems. I never thought my job was on the line. Again, I felt like my fellow counselors and I play a very critical role in the schools. Well, the school board felt differently, and they cut half of the counseling positions in our district. Since I was one of the newest counselors to the district, I was told I wouldn't be offered a contract. I would be put on a " re-assignment" list- meaning they would put me in a teaching position anywhere in the district. Whether or not I wanted this job/was qualified for this job/had experience with this job that they offered me I HAD to take it or I would be resigning. What a crummy position to be in!! I was offered a 4th grade teaching position at a good school, but my heart wasn't in it! So, I turned it down, and then had to resign! I was ( am still) furious! I couldn't believe that the state was making all of these cuts!! Ryan was so very supportive through all of this and we decided I should take this opportunity to stay at home with my Benny Boo! I was thrilled of course!
Enter July- my former principal called me and asked me if I wanted to come back part time as the counselor! My first reaction was, No! Im a stay at home mom now! But, the more I thought about it, the more wonderful it sounded. I would get to be around my friends at work and the kids that I love for 2 days a week, Bennett would get loved on at his school, and I would get a little bit of a pay check! So, I accepted, and I'm back at work!
It's day #4 and I'm getting back in the swing of things. I'm really only going to work 2 days a week, some weeks I will have an extra day. Bennett looooooves his teachers and they were so excited to have him in his class.
All this to say, I have been through a very wide range of emotions in the past 4 months. I've felt angry, helpless, worried, excited, nervous, confused, and now very content and happy! God is so good and answered so many prayers! He always knows what I can handle and never gives me anything I can't handle.

I Phone pictures

2011-08-05T16:45:00.001-07:00

Here are some of the latest and greatest from my 500+ pics on my iPhone ( I hope I'm not reaching the limit soon!)

How can this be comfortable?! I moved him after I took the pic :)

My babies :)

B and Parker going for a 5 minute stroll. I can't wait for cooler weather!!

Poor B wants to go outside all the time! We go out for short stints of time.

Ryan was out of town all week for work so we were both VERY happy to see him today ;)

This is my favorite summer dinner. I love zucchini, squash and chicken with rice. YUM!!!

Have a great weekend!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2011-08-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

I LOVE our house! It's been such a work in progress, but I love the direction it's going in. However, there are so many pics I've saved in pinterest that would make me love our house even more. Here are some little beauties that I would love to either have in our house now, or in my dream house in lala land :)

I am on a serious hunt to find an old arched window frame like this. If you know where to find one, PLEASE let me know ( oh, and one that doesn't cost an arm and a leg!)

Source: thesweetsurvival.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

I love everything about this bedroom!

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Julie on Pinterest

Most of our house has green accents. But, lately I've really been loving soft blues as well!

Source: camillaathome.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

I love the staircase in this pic and the dark dark wood! So very pretty!

Source: nikinikinine.blogspot.com via Julie on Pinterest

Okay, off to look around my house and see what I can do to spruce it up :)

9 months!

2011-08-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

At 9 months Bennett:
-is still the cutest little man EVER ( I know I'm slightly biased :))
-is crawling everywhere! He is pretty fast too. Especially when going somewhere he isn't supposed to!
-eats 3 meals a day, with 4 bottles
-2 naps a day
-LOVES books!
-babbles all day
-loves to have his paci with him all the time. If it's not in his mouth, he likes to know that it's close by. Some mornings when I get him up he has one in his mouth, and one in each hand.
-loves standing up
- his favorite past time is opening and closing the doors, drawers in his room, chasing Chloe. forget all the toys we buy him :)

Dear Benny Boo,
I can't believe how much you've changed this last month. You are a little person now with so many opinions. You are quick to let me know when you don't like something or don't want to do something ( like EVER have your diaper changed or change of clothes). You make me smile no less than 1,238,490 times a day. You are such a little ray of sunshine. I love you so very much and think you are the best!!
Love,
Mama

Lil Getaway!

2011-07-28T12:13:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I just got back from a much needed little get away.... just the two of us.... for two whole nights! I was so very sad to leave Bennett behind, but I knew he was in a great hands with his Gigi. We left Weds. morning and headed to the TX Hill country. We stopped by Fredricksburg, TX on the way to the JW Marriott for some mexican lunch!
I didn't take ANY pics of our hotel, so I stole these off the website. We stayed here and had such a relaxing weekend!
The lazy river and water slides consumed the majority of our time there. Needless to say, we looked like lobsters at the end of the first day there ( typical!). There are so many activities and attractions for kids, so Ryan and I kept going on and on about how fun it will be to bring Bennett next summer.
Ahhh Hill country, I love you!

New tricks!

2011-07-14T12:49:00.001-07:00

Bennett has been practicing some new big boy skills lately.
Skill #1- going from sitting to standing....

Mama sure is glad she lowered the crib matress to the lowest setting ( although it was really sad :( )
Get me outta here!!

He has even been standing in the bath and trying to jump ship!

Skill #2- crawling
I tried to upload a video of this but it isn't working for me. He has been crawling for about 2 weeks now and is getting so fast!! Chloe is very afraid now!

Skill#3- eating new and exciting foods!
I'm trying to slooooowly introduce some table food to B. He prefers baby food, but I am trying to help him have a love for different kinds of food. We've tried chicken ( he hates it!), blueberries, little pieces of bread and avacado.

My baby will be 9 months next week! Yikes! Keep up the good work Benny Boo... I'm so proud of you!

Getting in a groove

2011-07-07T11:58:00.000-07:00

It's officially been a month of my new job and we are getting into a nice routine. It's been so fun getting to watch Bennett grow and change each day! Our days are pretty similar each day so I thought I would document it so I can remember what it's like having a 8 month old

6:00- Bennett starts wrestling in his crib. We usually leave him in their to play/talk to himself for about 20 minutes. Ryan and I go in to get him together because he is always so cute and happy first thing. I give him 6 oz in our bed as we watch the news. Then we go out to the den.
I have coffee at this time and try to wake up, feed Chloe, etc.

7:00- Bennett and I go on a walk. I really wish we could bring Chloe along, but its waaay too hot for her. She starts freaking out the second I put my running shoes on because she wants to go so bad. Bless her heart! We walk for about 30-45 minutes depending on how miserable it is outside.

8:00- B gets his apple cinnamon oatmeal and devours it. I usually give him some Cheerios or puffs so that he can practice his pincher grip.
8:15-9 ish we play in the den. He usually likes to play with his ball pit or some random toy. He is no longer a fan of the exersaucer which makes me sad. Another baby toy to pack up :(

9- down for a nap. I run around like a crazy person during this hour nap. Do the dishes, clean up breakfast, * maybe* shower and then the hour is up!

10- wake up and 6 oz bottle

This time varies from day to day. We are usually out, either running errands or at lunch with someone. Bennett is usually pretty good at restaurants and/or shopping. He LOVES playing with the container that the puffs come in. He doesn't really want to eat any, he just wants the container. And when I take it away from him when we get in the car, all hell breaks loose. He gets sooo mad!

12- lunch. Veggie and fruit. He loves pears for lunch ( they are really yummy!)

more playing. We try to move to another room so we don't get bored. He loves playing with his books in his room.
1ish- nap. This nap can be 30 mins- 2.5 hours. YOU NEVER KNOW. I take my shower first thing if I haven't yet and then have some down time. I try to play with Chloe girl now.

3- 6 oz bottle

I sometimes attempt another errand, but sometimes thats pushing it.

5-dinner- veggie and apples
wait for Ryan to get home :)

6:15-6:45 bedtime routine. We give him a bath, 6 oz. bottle, and read his bible verse board book. I sing him " You are my sunshine" and " Jesus loves me" and put him in his crib at or around 7.
I then tip toe out of the room and hope he falls asleep fast :) He usually goes to sleep pretty quickly, it's just a matter of staying asleep. He rolls around soooo much in his sleep.

I like having this time to unwind with Ryan. We watch tv and talk about Bennett.

Some days are easier than others, but I am so thankful for this blessing in my life. I always wanted to stay home with my kids, but didn't know if it would be possible. I of course have my insecure moments when I worry that Bennett would rather be at school ,with his teachers and friends, but I try to get over that quickly! Bennett actually started crawling TODAY, so I know that our nice, little routine is about to change big time :) I'm so proud of him!

Happy 4th!

2011-07-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful 4th of July! God Bless America!

The big 3-0!!!

2011-06-30T07:06:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I turned the big 3-0! I have to admit, it was the best birthday to date!!
I got to sleep in ( can I get an AMEN!!) which is what I had been asking for whenever Ryan asked me what I wanted for my bday :) I walked out to the dining room and found this waiting for me......

All of my goodies!

Ryan was up really late the night before, and I kept wondering what he was doing. I was waaaay too lazy and tired to go check on him though. Apparently he was blowing up all of these balloons! That was so sweet of him :) I got lots of sweet cards, a gift certificate for me and my mom to go get a massage, beautiful flowers and many more goodies! Ryan went to work and we got on with our day!

After Bennett and I went on our walk, we came in so I could feed him his apple cinnamon oatmeal. I went to get his high chair out of the dining room and found this sweet little box waiting for me in his high chair....

I was so excited! My first reaction was to start tearing the ribbon off! Then I started to worry that maybe Ryan wanted to be there with me when I opened it. So, I called him but he didn't pick up. So, I went ahead and opened it! :) He got me another wedding band. It's beautiful!! I have been wanting another band but didn't think I would get one for a while ( especially since I am currently retired!). It was so sweet of him to get me this and I will always remember getting this beautiful ring for my 30th!

My mom and sis came over and we all went to lunch in the Heights. Bennett was so cute at lunch. He kept turning around to listen to this table of older women talk. I told him it's not polite to stare :)

Me and my little man! Oh, I love him so!!

Sprinkles opened up on June 24 last year in Houston. To celebrate, they were giving anyone with the birthday of June 24 a dozen free cupcakes!

Our Yummy cupcakes! We were kind of embarrassed to order this many cupcakes... but we got over that quickly! My favorite flavor is always Strawberry!

My mom and sis threw a little brunch for me on Saturday at one of my fave restaurants... Hungry's. It was so nice to just hang out with my best friends and have yummy mimosas and breakfast food!

Sarah and Rebekah

Erin and Sasha

Mom and Carly

It was such a wonderful birthday weekend! On Sunday we went to the Astros game and just hung out! I had such a wonderful time in my 20's, but I am so excited about my 30's!!!

Go Stros!!!

2011-06-26T14:13:00.001-07:00

Part of Ryans Fathers Day gift was tickets to the Astros game and shirts for he and Bennett. We went to the game and had so much fun!

Bennett slept in the car on our way there so he's sleepy in this pic!

I've almost come to terms with the fact that pics without the paci in the mouth are near impossible!

Here I'm hiding the paci behind my back :)
We sat in our seats and were enjoying the game. I was feeding Bennett a bottle when a foul ball made it's way to our section! I was so scared the ball was going to hit us in the face!!! Luckily Ryan caught it! How exciting that Bennetts first baseball game was so eventful!

An hour was really all one little boy could handle. He was squirming out of our arms and wanted to roll around :)
I see lots of baseball games in our future!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

Better late than never, Right?! These two have such a sweet relationship! Bennett literally lights up when Ryan gets home from work each day. If Ryan is in the other room talking, Bennett gets whip lash looking around for him. Ryan was out of town for two loooong weeks, and I know Bennett missed his Daddy so much. I'm so glad Ryan was able to get home in time to spend his first Father's Day with Bennett. It was a great day!

We made a picasa collage for Ryan and had it framed. These are some of my favorite pics of my two boys together!

We love you Daddy! You are the BEST!!!!!

8 Months

2011-06-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Bennett is 8 Months old!!! This has been the best month yet! He is so much fun and has such a sweet little personality!

At 8 Months:

-LOVES his Daddy!! Ryan was out of town for 2 weeks, so Bennett has been soaking him in every chance he gets!

-has 2 teeth!!! Teething is not easy or fun for poor Bennett. His nose was constantly running and he had a little fever. I'm hoping we get a little break before those next teeth pop in!

-his favorite toys seem to be books. He loves chewing on them. turning the page, and talking at them, It looks like he is trying to read :)

-is so smiley! When we are at the grocery store he is constantly waiting for someone to look at him so he can flash his smile. He also loves to laugh!

-loves to eat. He is now eating 3 "meals".... 8, 12,5. His favorite is apple cinnamon oatmeal. He had cheese yesterday for the first time and I think he liked it. He is still taking 24 oz of milk each day.

-recognizes the words bottle, paci, dada, chloe, peek-a-boo

-sleep is pretty bad again :( We stopped swaddling him., so now he loves to roll all around in his crib. He gets stuck in positions that he doesn't like and can't get himself out. So, he wakes up about 5-6 times a night. He goes down for a nap around 8:30-9:45 and then again at 2-3ish.

-changing his diaper is like wrestling a calf. He screams the whole time, flips over, and tries to put his diaper in his mouth

-is starting to get annoyed with Chloe. I don't blame him.... she is constantly in his face! :)

-wears 9-12 month and some 12-18 month clothes.

-weighs 21 lbs!!! No wonder my back hurts! Bennett is in the 96th for length ( going to be tall!!), 78th for weight, and OFF THE CHARTS for head! It's a struggle gettting shirts over his head sometime.

-has a bit of stranger danger now. It takes a little while for him to warm up to people. And, if I'm in sight he doesn't want to be held by anyone else.

-he has started fussing when I leave the room. Makes getting all of my chores pretty hard to do :)

-loves Mickey Mouse!!!!

-pulling up on all of his toys, crib. He only pulls up to his knees, but I have a feeling he will be pulling up to his feet in no time. Eeeek!!

-talks all the time! I have friends that have babies B's age and they comment on how much Bennett talks. He has so much to say :)

Dear Bennett,

I hope you always know how loved you are! Everyone always comments on how sweet and cute you are! I of course already know this. I have loved being home from work with you each day. It's fun taking you places because you are usually happy to be on the go. We have shared some tears together in the middle of the night, but I think that brought us closer together. I really do cherish those moments when I get to rock you to sleep. Yesterday I rocked you for over an hour. You slept with your head on my chest and it was pure bliss! You are such a ray of sunshine and I love you soooo much!! Happy 8 month Birthday Benny Boo!!

Funny!

2011-06-20T06:12:00.001-07:00

While I was at H-E-B the other day I saw these funny cards! I had to pick up a few....they are to funny to pass up :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pearly whites

2011-06-11T13:24:00.000-07:00

( B is saying, " Mom, get your hands out of my mouth!!")

I know you can't tell a thing in this picture, but Bennett's two bottom teeth have finally popped in ( at the same time). We started seeing them last week, but now they are there in all their glory! And they are super sharp too!! So, at 7 months B has his first two teeth :)

I can hear the bells....

2011-06-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my sweet friend from waaaay back when got married. Sasha is one of the sweetest, funnest ( is that a word?) friends I have! I was so excited when she asked me to be in her wedding party! Being a new mother, I was pretty excited for the bachelorette party. When I say excited, I mean scared to leave my little boy, but needing a night away with my girls!
We went to Wimberly, TX for a night back in May. There are several little vineyards there that we went to and stayed at an amazing house!! I wish I had taken more pics, but of course I didnt!!

Here we are at the Salt Lick Vineyard. This one was by far our favorite!!

The pretty bride-to- be and Kimmy!

We were joking about how mature and old we are now since we were having a rather low-key bachelorette party, so we wore white gloves and pearls. So very classy :)

This is a group of us at the rehearsal dinner last Friday night. Kim, Sarah, Katie, Erin, me, Rebekah.
The rehearsal dinner was at Churasscos and was so much fun! Everyone gave such good toasts and laughed a whole lot!

The happy couple!
The only pic I got of the night... rats!!!! They are such a fun couple and I couldn't be happier for them! Congrats Sasha and Steve!!

My new job

2011-06-03T08:10:00.001-07:00

I have been a teacher/counselor for the past 8 years! I have loved this job ( for the most part) and am going to miss it! I recently have been given the opportunity to have my dream job!!! It starts immediately which is exciting!

My hours are: Sunday-Sunday, 6:30 am-7:30 pm ( on a good day, some days may require longer hours).

Duties: cooking, cleaning, rocking, grocery shopping, cleaning the pool, reading books to my boss, making a fun atmosphere for my boss, changing diapers, snuggling, etc.....

Pay: I will be paid in hugs and kisses and with wonderful memories

Meet my boss.....

And my assistant:

( my diva assistant has told me she will not help with chores, changing any diapers, or really doing much of anything. she will require some love and attention too though!)

I really do feel so very blessed to get to be a full time mommy and wife! Ryan is wonderful for being patient with me and working hard so that I can have the job of my dreams! I'm going to have to cut back on the trips to Target and Sonic, but that is aokay with me. I can't wait to report to my new boss next week!!

Precious Moments

2011-05-30T07:00:00.000-07:00

If any of you know me, or have read this blog for a while, you know that Bennett is not a sleeper. Which stresses me out to no end. I love to sleep and have stressed for 7 months about getting this baby to have good sleep habits. We've been weaning Bennett out of being swaddled the past week or so. He slept in a sleep sack, with both arms free, last night.
The most precious thing in the world is going into Bennetts room when he is crying, and having him reach up for me. We didn't get to experience this much since he has been swaddled for so long. But, this sight is something I'll never get tired of seeing. I love being able to go to him and comfort him when he needs me! This morning he woke up bright and early at 4 am. He reached for me, I picked him up to rock him, and he stroked my face for a good ten minutes while I rocked him. Precious!!
Instead of being stressed out and pissed off that I'm not getting sleep, I'm going to enjoy these precious times with Bennett. I have so many friends who would give anything to have this problem, and I'm complaining about it?! So, while I hope B gets the sleep he needs to be a happy and healthy boy, I'll look forward to our precious moments..... in the early morning, snuggling in his chair, staring at my beautiful son!!

I hope you are all having a wonderful Memorial Day! I'll post pics of our weekend later on :)

2011-05-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

Psalm 37:4-7

Delight yourself also in the Lord,
and He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
trust also in Him,
and He shall bring it to pass
... Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him

What I'm loving......

2011-05-25T07:17:00.001-07:00

Happy Wednesday!!! I'm so happy that this week is half over and my last full week at school! Woo Hoo... bring on the summer :)

* I'm loving that my first friend in colllege, Liz, has started her very own etsy shop selling such cute art work. She is so talented. I want you all to check out her new blog!

* I'm loving that we found a wonderful photographer in Houston. She.is.awesome and took such cute pics of B! I'm thinking we will get pics taken every month ( wink wink). Look how cute.....

I seriously love that little boy sooooooo much!

* I'm loving that my 30th birthday is less than a month away. I'm not as scared to turn 30 as I thought I would be!

* I'm loving that SYTYCD starts this Thursday. I LOVE LOVE LOVE that show!

This was the BEST dance sequence EVERRR! Ellen and Twitch need to have an encore of this number :)

* I'm loving that I have such a sweet family! We are hoping that the weather is nice this weekend so we can go on a family picnic and soak up the weather before it gets miserable outside.

Happy Wednesday Friends!!

7 Months!

2011-05-21T06:17:00.000-07:00

My sweet buddy is 7 months today.... say what??! Time sure is flying! I love this age!
At 7 months Bennett is......
-eating like a champ! He has 5 bottles ( 6-8 oz) and two "meals" a day. He usually has a fruit in the morning after his 9:00 bottle, and has rice and veggie at 5. He is so cute and knows which cabinet holds the food. He gets SOO excited when I open the cabinet :)
-We've tried Mums and Puffs and he just gags when they go into his mouth. We'll keep trying!
-Bennett LOVES Chloe! He can hear her nails/paws coming down the hallway and he immediately looks for her. It's so cute!
- Laughing is something that comes natural to Bennett. He is such a happy baby and loves to get laughs and give them
- Bennett isn't crawling yet, but he sure is trying. He sticks his little booty up in the air and gets his legs ready, but then just stops.
-Sleeping is wonderful now ( Praise the Lord!!!). Bennett has been sleeping from 7-5:30/6 for the past 2 weeks! I can not tell you how great it feels to get some precious sleep around here. I really thought it would never happen :) ( and I do realize I have just jinxed myself and will be waking up again :))
-At school when they put Bennett in the little buggie, he always tries to hold the babies hand that is next to him.... melt.my.heart! He is such a touchy-feely kind of guy :)

There are so many other wonderful things Bennett is doing now, I just can't think of them all!!

Dear Bennett,
Words will never describe how much JOY you bring to me! My favorite time of day is first thing in the morning when I go pick you up from your crib. You are always so happy to see me and just talking away. I hope that you will always be happy to see me....even when you are a teenager :) You are such a sweet boy and I couldn't have asked for a better son! I love everything about you and can't wait to see what this next month holds for us! You are my sunshine!
Love,
Your Mama

4 years

2011-05-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, in Houston Texas......

Surrounded by my best friends

and loving family,

I married my best friend!

In 4 years we have:
-lived in 2 apartments
-bought our first house
-adopted a pug
-taken trips to Hawaii, NYC, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Mexico, mini trips to San Antonio
-stood by friends as they got married and had babies of their own,
-graduated from my Masters Program
-laughed a lot
-cried some
-had a beautiful baby boy
-started new jobs

I can't wait to see what the future has in store for us! Happy 4th Anniversary Ryan!

Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T09:44:00.000-07:00

"I've carried my child within my body, Slept with my child on my chest. I've kissed little toes & wiped away tears. I've been puked on, peed on & spent sleepless nights cradling my child, but I wouldn't have it any other way. My body isn't magazine perfect, but when I look in the mirror I see a… MOM, and there is no greater Honor, Love or Blessing!!"

I've seen this quote all over facebook, and every time I read it I cry! Being a mother is the most rewarding honor I could ever imagine! I love Bennett with every ounce that I have and I appreciate my Mom in a whole new way!
I hope all of you Mommies have a wonderful day and I pray for all of you hoping to be mommies soon!

What I'm loving....

2011-05-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

I'm loving that summer is soo close!! We only have 21 more school days left. Woo Hoo!! I'm loving these TOMS shoes and think I need some for the summer :)

I'm loving Bennetts natural little faux-hawk. He wakes up every morning with one :) His teachers at school yesterday told me they love how I keep "styling" his hair. I had to laugh! If only I had that much time in the morning :)

( You can kind of see the hawk in this pic)

I'm loving Stella & Dot as usual. Since my sis sells these lovely jewels, I tend to order them more often. Here are some pieces I'm dying to have ( ahem..... Mothers Day gifts Ryan :)

I'm loving how AWESOME Glee was last night. They sang songs from Fleetwood Macs album Rumors. I was really hoping they would sing The Chain, but loved it anyways. You have to watch this short clip....

I'm loving my sweet family! I am so amazed at how blessed I am to be surrounded by such loving people :) I love love them!!

Happy Wednesday!

The last few weeks!

2011-05-02T06:07:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last posted. Not because there has been a lack of things to post about, but because my little man has been sick AGAIN!!!
He woke up on Good Friday with a very high temp (101.9). We snuggled with him all day and tried to keep the fever at bay. The next morning it was 102.1 so we went to the dr. Sure enough, he had RSV again! Poor baby. We got a nebulizer this time and he does a breathing treatment every 6 hours. He sounds so much better and went back to his school today. I know he is in good hands there, I just hope he doesn't get sick again for a LOONG time!
Here is a little re-cap from Bennett's first Easter. We didn't do much because he was sick, but he got lots of lovin from his grandparents that were in town from Arlington.

Bennett had so many goodies in his basket from his Gigi and Pops.... he loved the plastic wrap around it :) Baby boy was not feeling too well that day, so we put him in his little outfit very quickly and shot some pics of him. This is the best we got by himselfHeres our little family :)The Easter bunny even brought Puggy a rawhide. She was in hog heaven :)

I was so bummed that we didn't get to do all of the "fun" Easter things I wanted to. I really wanted to take Bennett to our church egg hunt, go to Easter service and get tons of cute pics of Bennett with all of his goodies. Even though things did not turn out as I had hoped, we had a wonderful time loving on our sweet babe!

My new Sunday activity

2011-04-20T09:21:00.000-07:00

I've decided it will be much cheaper, more fun, and less stressful to make Bennetts baby food. I always stress about what is going into his body and if it's good for him. So, what better way to make sure it's all nutrition than to make it myself :)

This past Sunday I made a batch of apples and carrots. He LOVES both of them ( and I do too when I was taste testing). We had contimplated buying a beaba babycook, but figured we alreayd have a food processor, so we just needed a $20 steamer. It was so easy! I made a little over a weeks worth of food in two hours.

I just peeled the carrots, steamed for about 25 minutes, put in the food processor, and Voila! My MIL got us Beaba Mulitiportion freezer Trays and those are what we are storing the food in. It's seriously so easy and even fun!

BTW, in the last picture I have the carrots and the apples in the trays :) The apples were prepared the same way, only I left the skin on when steaming. That leaves more of the nutrients in them while steaming!

Glee Tuesday

2011-04-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

I know it's no suprise to you that I LOVE Glee! I'm so excited there is a new episode on... finally!! I thought it would be fun to post a favorite clip each Tuesday from Glee.

I LOVE Puck and love him even more for singing Sweet Caroline. Enjoy!!

Hello old friend

2011-04-15T06:52:00.000-07:00

I miss reading! Ever since Bennett was born, I've wanted to spend all of my time staring at him and playing with him. When he goes to sleep I usually pass out! But lately I've been finding some time to read at night. Ahhh, its been so nice :) I've read some good books in the past couple of months.....

1. The bathtub is overflowing, but I feel drained, by: Lysa TerKeurst. This is a book that i did as a bible study. It's a great read for mothers. Some of the topics are stress, trying to balance everything, and worry! Worry is such a big part of my day to day. I've been trying to be better about trusting God and handing over my worries to him. I'm still a work in progress, but the first step is admitting you have a problem, right?! :)

2. Heaven is for real, by:Todd Burpo. This book was recommended to me by a parent when we lost a sweet teacher at my school earlier this year. It's a true story about a little boy that spends some time in heaven after a near death experience. This book is so hopeful and sweet and is a constant reminder that we have so much to look forward to after our time here on Earth.

3. Heart of the matter, by:Emily Griffin. This was a fun, girly read. There are two main characters in this book, both in love with the same man who happens to be a doctor. One is married to him, while the other has a son under his supervision. This is not my favorite of Emily Griffins books, but it was still an easy read

4. The Hunger Games, by:Suzanne Collins. OH.MY.GOSH! This book is so entense! I read it in about two days because I could not put it down. The Hunger Games is a book set in the future where the USA is divided into twelve districts. Each year, the twelve districts have to send one boy and one girl to the Hunger Games which is basically a fight to the death. The last one standing wins and gets to have fame and fortune. I really had a hard time reading this in some areas because it is just so sad and nerve wracking. But, it was still really good :)

Right now I am reading the second book in the Hunger Games series, Catching Fire. Again, I am biting my nails trying to figure out whats going to happen. Eeek! I'm sure I'll be done with this one very soon :)

This is not a daycare.....

2011-04-05T16:24:00.000-07:00

I think it has potential to be one though!

Can you spot the cutest member of our household? There he is!!

Lovin the Loft...

2011-04-04T10:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a big lover of Ann Taylor Loft. I love the way their clothes look, feel and the fact that they don't break the bank!! I'm in desperate need of some new duds for this summer. I'm wanting pieces that are easy to clean ( since there will probably be baby spit up on it), comfortable, and don't make me feel like a slouch :) They have some really cute necklaces too.. but since a certain 5 month old LOVES to yank on necklaces I won't be wearing any of those for a while :)

Loft is having a friends and family event this Tuesday- Thursday where you can use a 30% off coupon. If you are shopping online, enter Friends in the coupon area to receive 30% off. Also, if you are a teacher you can sign up for Loft loves Teachers. You get 15% off every purchase. Cha-ching :)

Adventures in eating

2011-03-31T06:42:00.000-07:00

We had another first in the Emmons household on Tuesday night. B had his first taste of rice cereal. It was seriously the cutest thing ever. He was so excited to finally get to eat something. I think he was hoping it would be a little tastier than rice cereal, but he thought it was fun regardless!

He did really well with thrusting his tongue and opening his mouth for the food. He didn't like the taste of the cereal though. He started to gag a little when I put the spoon up to his mouth after the third time... so we stopped then. We are going to try again this weekend and see if he likes the taste better.

Another first to document! In my opinion these milestones are coming on waaay too fast :( But each milestone is so fun and makes me appreciate my time with Bennett more and more!

Picnik LOVE!

2011-03-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you out there already know about Picnik... but I am just now discovering this WONDERFUL resource. I think I've spent about 3 hours on it over the past couple days playing with all of the fun photo options they have for editing your pics. I love making these collages and using different colors, exposures, etc. And it's FREE! That makes this Mama very happy. Here are some of my little projects... Adding text to pictures is really fun too!!

I really like how I edited this pic from our wedding. So, if you haven't already played around with Picnik.... I suggest you do. It makes taking pics so much more fun! Are there any other photo websites I should know about?! :)

5 Month pics.....

2011-03-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

Bennett turned 5 months on March 21,2011. I took about a zillion pics of him in his 5 month onesie and it was so hard to choose pics. I think he is so stinkin cute and pretty photogenic :) Here are a few faves........

Bennett is so aware of Chloe now. He grabs big chunks of her fur when she gets close enough to him. Chloe is so patient with him and never growls or barks at him. She just gets up and moves away. Honestly, I think Chloe is just excited to get any attention these days :(

At 5 months Bennett is: eating 6 times a day ( still no rice cereal, I'm thinking we'll start in the next couple days)

sticking everything in his mouth

drooling like it's his job

sleeping better at night

the king of cat naps

smiling all the time

so content

loves sitting in his walker or exercauser

a fan of bath time

the most adorable baby EVER

One word that comes to my mind over and over through out the day is Joy. Bennett brings me so much Joy! Joy that I did not know existed before meeting him. I thank God every morning and night for letting me be his Mama. Oh what a JOY he is!!

Play date, Sushi and Bachelor!

2011-03-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was such a fun day! Since I don't get to have many playdates being a working mama, I felt it was necessary to have a playdate at our house over Spring Break. It was so fun to see all of these cuties and their Mamas! Walker, Parker, Jay, B and Sloan chillin on the couch :) This is Walker... isn't his curly hair the cutest!! Princess Sloan! The only girl at the party and I thin she likes it that way :) After the playdate, Carly and I went to have some sushi with Bennett. I haven't had sushi in over a year, so to say I was excited would be an understatement! YUM! Do you see B's hand in the pic. I told him he would not like the wasabi! I love that my sister lives so close to us and comes over all the time. Bennett loves his Aunt and is always excited to see her! Did yall watch the Bachelor? I was so excited he chose Emily!!! But I was cringing while watching the After the Final Rose! I say it every year that Im not going to get sucked in again, but I loved this season!! I really hope Brad and Emily make it :)

Here comes the sun.....

2011-03-12T07:22:00.000-08:00

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter. Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here.

Here comes the sun, Here comes the sun and I say it's alright!

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say it's all right !!

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... Sun, sun, sun, here it comes... -The Beatles

Yee Haw!!

2011-03-08T15:07:00.000-08:00

Bennett went to his first Rodeo on Friday. It was at his little school and it was super cute! Most of the activities were geared towards the older kids, but it was still fun to walk around and see everything! B looked so cute in his little farmer outfit :)

This is Bennett and some of his classmates ;o)

Bennett and one of his girlfriends, Sloan :)

I thought these were so fun! Bennett wasn't too sure.
It was so fun to watch all of the kids get excited for the parade and all the fun activities that went along with this fun day. A great time was had by all!

Randomness....

2011-03-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

Here is a hodge podge of what's going on in my life right now.... - Spring Break is 6 work days away!!! I have never been more excited for Spring Break in my life! I can't wait to spend time with Bennett and do fun things ( like go to lunch with friends, go by and see ryan at work, maybe a trip to the Zoo if it's not too hot..... ahh!! ) - I am reading Something Borrowed right now and can't seem to put it down! It's a total chick book but I love those! - I'm also reading Heaven is for Real. It's so wonderful! - Bennett has Rodeo Day tomorrow at school and I can't wait to get him all dressed up!! He is going to wear overalls, plaid button down, bandana and some cute socks that look like boots :) -Bennett is feeling a lot better, but still not 100%. His cough is still pretty scary but it's not as frequent anymore., -Homeboy is still not sleeping through the night. Ryan usually gets up at 4 with him so I can get some un-interrupted sleep. But, he informed me this morning hes not doing that anymore. So, I need some tips on how to get B to sleep through the night. - I've been so sucked into the Bachelor this season. I'm so mad at myself because I read online who wins... but I keep on watching regardless. I love Emily and think she is beautiful! - I'm in need of some new make-up in the worst kind of way! Do any of y'all put something on your face before you put on powder and concelear? Something that makes it stay on longer and look smoother?? Happy Thursday!

Poor baby :(

2011-02-27T13:24:00.000-08:00

This:

Our very slow weekend! Poor Bennett has RSV and has not been feeling well at all :( We went in for his 4 month check up on Thursday and the doctor said it was good we came in because Bennett has RSV. He started feeling bad on Sunday night, runny nose, coughing, but really started feeling bad on Thursday. My mom stayed home with him Thursday and I stayed with him Friday. He's still smiling and wanting to play, but his breathing is AWFUL. He isn't sleeping well either so hes been a little more fussy! Theres nothing sadder than a sick baby boy! I hope these breathing treatments we are doing every 4 hours help FAST and he gets some relief!

4 months already!

2011-02-21T08:59:00.000-08:00

My sweet lil angel is 4 months old!!! Time, PLEASE slow down. I'm loving this stage and loving my little boy more than I could have imagined.
At 4 months B is:
- eating a lot! He has 6 bottles of 6 oz everyday. Some feedings he'll only take 4 oz but thats on a rare occasion.
-sticking everything in his mouth.... his hands, my hair, my phone, sophie the giraffe....
-laughing a lot more. he loves when we play peek-a-boo and laughs and laughs
-still not a great sleeper... sigh! Maybe in this next month he'll catch on to how awesome sleep is!
- so very curious about everything around him. He loves touching things and bringing them to his mouth. He's always been very alert but I think he is even more so now.
- still loves to be held all the time. I love this!!
- takes a paci to calm down. a paci is a MUST for him to sleep. as well as being swaddled up in the straight jacket:) I'm hoping we can stop swaddling this month, and start sleeping in his crib. We shall see
-baptized on Feb.20, 2011!! More on that
-rolling over from his tummy to back
- so so much fun!

Sweet Bennett,
You have brought our family so much love and joy. You really could not be any sweeter. WE love you so much and cant wait to see what the next month has in store for us!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

2011-02-14T09:03:00.001-08:00

Weekend re-cap

2011-02-14T06:56:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend! The weather was bee-utiful!! Finally. We got a BOB jogger last week but it's been way too cold to use it. So, we put it to good use this weekend. My friend Sarah and I took B for a walk on Saturday and Ryan and I went for a walk in it on Sunday. I ran afterwards in it ( Bennett started getting fussy so Ryan took him home). Oh.my.word!! I felt like I was 129 years old after that run. I had to lay on the floor in our office because my back hurt so much. Whats the deal?! I guess since I haven't run in about 10 months that could be the cause. Not to mention I felt a little jiggly when I was running :) I felt like Bridget Jones running with my wobbly bits :)

Saturday night was a big night for these first time parents!We celebrated Ryans 31st birthday by going to dinner and spending the night at a hotel. Meaning we left Bennett with his Honey and Aunt Carly OVER NIGHT! It was pretty hard for us to do. I knew he was in good hands, but I missed him so much. Not to mention he still wakes up ALL the time in the middle of the night so I felt bad for my mom having to wake up. It was a much needed night with my birthday boy and we had a great time. We had dinner at Grand Luxe by the Galeria and stayed at the JW Marriot. We watched a movie in the Hotel which is so dang expensive - $14.99 and were fast asleep by about 9:30. Do we know how to party or what?! :) This is the movie we watched:

It was alright.

Sunday we got up and had breakfast at Starbucks and stopped by Crave cupcakes to get some treats for the bday boy and our babysitters :)

I wish I had taken more pics of our weekend outings, but alas I did not! It was a great weekend and can't wait for next weekend!!

Happy Monday and Happy Valentine's Day!

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts

2011-02-10T07:12:00.000-08:00

CANT LOSE!!! Mercy me, I was so very sad when I heard this was the last season of Friday Night Lights. It's such a great show! I love all the characters and story lines. I was worried when a majority of the cast members " graduated" from high school and left the show. But, I love the newer characters just as much.

I don't want to give away anything that happend on the finale last night to those of you who don't have Directv and haven't seen it yet. Let me just say, it was awesome. I sure am going to miss Coach Taylor, Riggins, Landry, Tyra, and Matty! And good ole' Buddy :) He's such a hoot! If you don't watch it.... what are you waiting for?! It's so good! If you do watch it, did you like the finale??

Day 4

2011-02-05T09:52:00.000-08:00

Dasy 4- Photograph your loved ones clothes. Here is Bennett is his little baby legs. I.love.these!! They are so convenient when changing diapers and they keep his little yams warm :) Yesterday Bennett was being fussy and Ryan said " Bennetts fussy because you have him in leg warmers". Whatev! These are too cute!!

Bennett is going to be baptized in a couple weeks and I can hardly wait!! My mom got him this sweet outfit to wear for his baptism. I could cry just thinking about how sweet he will look in it!! Do y'all watch The Office? Well, I hope Bennett doesn't have a blow out in this like CeCe did at her baptism :)

Days 3

2011-02-05T09:35:00.000-08:00

Day 3 of my photo challenge is to do a Now and Then photo.... Check out how much my snuggly 3 month old has changed.....

Here Bennett is 11 days old, just chillin in his swing. Look at those little chicken legs :)

Here is Bennett at 98 days old, PLAYING in his swing. He loves looking at that little mirror and watching the world go by.

The Joy of Love

2011-02-03T06:25:00.001-08:00

A couple of weeks ago Ryan and I bought a new fancy, shmancy camera. And I LOVE it! But, I am not a pro by any means and would love to learn how to take better pics.

While perusing some blogs this morning, I found out about this great photographer, Willette, who is offering an online 28 day class. Through out the month of February she will send daily emails with photo lessons and assignments. And, the best part is that it's FREE.( Finally something is free :)

So, everyday this month I have to post a new picture. I think I can handle that! After all, I have the cutest model ever. :)

Day 1- Show a loved one doing what they do.
So, here is Chloe, doing what she does... Sleeping on top of clean laundry! Shame on Mommy for leaving it there! I've learned my lesson

Day 2- Capture your loved ones at their best or worst. This pic displays both... and I don't mean that in a rude way. Ryan is wearing what he slept in, hair a mess, etc... But, this is also him at his best. Loving up on our little man. I love this pic!!

Day 3- Now and then... this is going to take some time to scan some good pics. SO, be on the lookout for day 3 :)

Stay warm my friends!

3 Months

2011-02-01T10:49:00.001-08:00

Bennett turned three months a little over a week ago and I feel like he has already changed so much in that short time!! Almost daily I notice something new and exciting about his personality. It's so fun watching him explore his world!

This month Bennett has really found his smile! He LOVES to smile! His teachers at school say that he is one of the smiliest babies they've ever met :) He can go from screaming crying, to smiling, and back to screaming crying in a matter of seconds. He loves when you smile back at him and waits for you to do so :) Just thinking about his smile makes me smile :)

Bennett is talking up a storm. It's so cute when he talks because he gets this serious look on his face and slows down what he's doing so he can talk. He is saying his vowel sounds as well as some Grrrr and Quuuu sounds. It's really funny!

His body is getting much stronger! He loves sitting up like a big boy and taking in the world around him. He has great neck control when we are holding him or hes sitting. When hes on his belly though, thats another story. He does not like tummy time and it's a constant struggle! This picture cracks me up because hes trying so hard not to topple over.

Like I said, he loves checking everything out. His favorite thing to check out is his hands, and his dog. He is so curious about Chloe.

-Bennett is eating 5-6 times a day. -He takes lots of cat naps at school. He usually has one big nap ( 1-1.5 hours) at some point during the day. - He has set a bedtime for himself of 7:00. He has been so fussy in the late afternoons so we have our routine down. Bath, baby massage, milk, rocking, passed out!!! He has been sleeping 8 hours straight the past couple of nights. 7-3 which is great. I just wish he would sleep a little longer after that :) We aren't feeding him in the middle of the night so he just wakes up because the paci has come out or he wants to play! -He has the sweetest little personality. He just loves to be held and talked to . I love that!! -His hands and feet are his new best friends. He has started getting so squirmy when he's on the changing table. I have to be really quick or he will surprise me with a "present". Luckily we have more than one changing pad cover! - He traveled for the first time to Arlington. He did a great job and slept pretty much the whole 3-3.5 hour ride there. - Santa came and visited our little man. We took him to Memorial City Mall to meet the big guy and B was asleep the whole time! -Bennett loves pulling my hair. I will randomly find stands of it in between his little fingers. Ouch! -Blowing raspberries is fun! Dear Bennett, I can't put into words how much I love you and how much joy you have brought me. I think about you all day at work and literally race to your school each day to you pick you up. I love watching you grow and can't wait to see what the next month has in store for us. XOXO Your Mama!!

Baby must haves.....

2011-01-31T09:06:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to do a post about this for a while now. But, it seems we are still figuring things out around here. I have to admit, when I was registering for baby items, I was looking for what was cute and would match with our living room decor. What?! Do you think Bennett cares that our swing is tan colored and matches our couches? Nope!! Do you think he is impressed that you can hook your ipod up to it? Absolutely not! So, there have been many trials are errors in our household. I will say thay on more than one occasion I have gone to Babies R Us late at night to get the latest thing my friends say I need to have to get B to sleep. Here are some things that have worked for us:
The Sleep Sheep. For the longest time we had it on the heartbeat sound. It got to the point where I couldn't go to sleep without this noise. Ryan thought it was obnoxious so now we put it on the ocean. Much more peaceful!! Bennett doesn't need this every night anymore, but we still have it on hand!! And it's neutral and pretty.. Haha!!

These MAM Pearl pacifiers are the bomb!! They stay in his mouth ( for the most part) and are easier to clean than the others. Don't ask me how they stay in his mouth, they just do. And that buys us some time around here.

This here is the best $50 I've ever spent!! This is the Fisher Price newborn rock and play sleeper! Bennett still sleeps in this in his room. For a while he was next to our bed in it. It's so convenient because I could just lay in bed and rock it while he was fussy in the middle of the night. When we went to Dallas for Christmas this is what we took with us. Much smaller than the pack and play. It's going to be a SAD day when he outgrows this thing. I wonder if they make it in toddler sizes?? :) Just kidding! But, I think he loves it because the space isn't too big so he feels cozy and it sits him at an angle. I seriously love this thing!!

These are Aden & Anais swaddle blankets. They are perfect for swaddling. These blankets are lightweight so I never worry about B getting too hot, or them covering his mouth. They don't get used for night time, but this is what we use to get him to sleep during the day. My buddy doesn't get much sleep if his arms are loose. They will flap all around and wake him constantly.

We like to call this the straight jacket at our house :) This is the Summer Infant SwaddleMe Wrap. It has velcro on it and wraps baby up like a burrito. I felt so guilty the first time I wrapped B in this. But, he really does calm down once he's in it. And, he never wakes up due to his arms flailing around. He looks like a little glow worm in it :)

Some other things we can't live without are our boppy pillow. We use this to prop B up in the morning when we are getting ready. Mylicon drops were very helpful at the beginning when he was soo gassy. I never knew how many blankets/quilts we would need. But, those are helpful with when we lay him down for tummy time or blanket time.

I guess the lesson I learned was that every baby is different and will like different things. Luckily we had lots of gift cards so some trial and error hasn't hurt the bank account. The other lesson is who cares what the product looks like... if it makes baby happy then mommy is happy :)

A heavy heart....

2011-01-28T09:59:00.000-08:00

Today has been a tough day! It seems that everyone I pass in the hallways has just finsihed crying. We got terrible news yesterday that one of our SWEET, LOVELY, YOUNG, WONDERFUL teachers battling cancer is not getting the relief she needs. I almost feel weird "telling her story" since it's not my story to tell. I just want to ask you that read this blog to PLEASE pray for Sarah Chidgey. Please pray that she is free from pain, that she finds peace in the deciosions that she is making, that her doctors are able to help her with her pain. Please check out her blog. She is amazing and such an inspiration!!!

Best 92 days of my life!

2011-01-21T08:42:00.001-08:00

How is it possible that my sweet babe is 3 months today? Ahhh time sure goes fast now! Here are some of the many expressions of our B man!

Melts.my.heart!!

My superbowl

2011-01-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Golden Globes are my superbowl of the year. I LOVE watching the red carpet before and guessing who I think will/should win. Usually the show and actors I want to win don't, but I was so glad when " Kurt" won best supporting actor! He is WONDERFUL on Glee! The fashion last night was kind of blah! As I was looking through pics to post of my favorites, I could only come up with three. Thats pretty unheard of to only like three. Here they are:

I was really sad that Mad Men didn't win! Ryan and I watched all of the seasons this summer on netflix and are kind of obsessed! I was happy when Glee won for best Comedy/Musical ( even though a win for Dunder Mifflin would have been good). I'm sad to say that I haven't seen any of the movies nominated. I only saw 2 movies when i was pregnant, and have only gone to one movie since having B ( Harry Potter). So, I really didn't have many expectations for those categories.

All in all it was fun watching my superbowl while my sweet pea slept peacefully in HIS room ( we finally moved him into his room....tear ;( )

Weekend recap...

2011-01-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

We had a great long weekend here! The weather was horrible, but it gave us an excuse to stay in and play with some new toys!

We've had this jumper/toy thing sitting in the guest bedroom for months, so we decided to put B in it. He wasn't too sure about it. His neck control is still a little wobbly, so he didn't want to stay in it too long. But, it was fun watching him look at all the toys on it :)

I LOVE reading him this dog book... and he loves it too. I think because 90% of the day he has a pug up in his space, so he can see the pug in this book!

Saturday night we got to go out to eat with the Millers. We went to Ruggles in City Center and it was so yummy!! This restaurant is pretty small, so we looked like a travelimg circus trying to get two highchairs, 2 BIG diaper bags, 2 daddys and 2 mommys all situated, but we did.

Katie and I have been best friends for 16 years. Our boys are 6 weeks apart and I hope they will be bff too!!

Bennett and sweet Parker on the left.

On a sad note, this little girl has been sick this weekend. She threw up all over our couch! Luckily we invested in some slipcovers that are being drycleaned as we speak. Poor baby girl Chloe!

Splish Splash

2011-01-14T17:19:00.001-08:00

Bennett LOVES taking a bath! He acts like he is in a spa and we are servants waiting on him :) This is what goes through his head....

"Ahhh!! This is the life! "

"Who is that in the mirror? Man he's cute!"

"Daddy needs to wash under my neck. I sometimes store milk down there which does not smell too good. I gotta smell good for the ladies!"

" Not to mention under my arms. I'm so fresh and so clean"

" Now I'm off to go get my baby massage. Then a midnight cap and I'm out for the night!"

Prayers.....

2011-01-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

A sweet couple that we know from college had their baby boy, Preston, on Jan.4. He is having open heart surgery as we speak. Please pray for Tiffanie and Tony that they find strength through all of this. Please pray for the doctors and surgeons that they have knowledge on how to fix Prestons heart. And please pray for Preston who we already know is such a fighter. You can find their blog here.

My how things have changed.....

2011-01-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

Before Bennett was born, I LOVED shopping for myself and for cute things to put around our house. J.Crew catalogs would come in and I'd dog ear all the pretty shoes and dresses that I wanted to buy. Potterybarn catalogs come in the mail and I would look around our living room deciding where I could put that side table or how to re-arrange our photo montage on the wall. Now a days, those catalogs are collecting dust under the pile of neverending laundry. I would MUCH rather peruse through GAP baby online or Janie and Jack. I received a gift card to GAP from my aunt because I have been whining about how I have no new clothes and nothing fits. Did I buy myself something? Nope... instead one cutie got some cute new duds! Here are some things I'm dying to buy for Bennett..... Seriously... How cute are these from Janie and Jack?! I know Ryan won't let me dress him sweet like this forever, so I need to get these stat before he gets to old!

From good'ole Gymboree....

Bennett needs to be rocking this for Valentines Day! He is the best Valentine I could ever hope for!Or these shoes.... Ahhh I love them! I know babies don't need shoes, but Mama needs to get these for B!

I worry Bennett would get to hot in this little penguin suit, but it's adorable!

Now, on to Baby Gap! I swear I have gone in there 20 times since Bennett was born. I'm not exagerating! Most of the time I don't buy anything, I just like to look at all the cute things and giggle at how cute B would look in them. Of course, most of the stuff would be WAAAY to hot for my little Texan man to wear, but they are cute! I will however be getting him some of these necessities :)

Like these comfy pants and cute polo onesie. I'm a bit of a Gap snob and love when their trademark bear is on the clothing piece :) Also, 80% of Bennetts closet consists of shirts with stripes. I need to steer clear of those pieces, but thought this shirt was way cute!

And last but not least, this cute onesie. Haha! I love it!

So, when you see me wearing the same old thing week after week and wonder WHY I am, I've just given you several reasons why. It's so much more fun shopping for my cutie!

Happy 2011

2011-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!

What a year 2010 was! I think it would be safe to say it was the best year of my life. It wasn't the easiest, but the joys last year outweigh the sorrows!

I'm not one to make new years resolutions and to stick with them. Of course I want to get under my pre-baby weight, I want to take more pictures, I want to make more time for my relationships, I want to grow closer to God. These are always on my list of things to work on. But, this next year I really want to focus on living in the moment. I find myself constantly looking ahead to something. Or, dwelling on something that happend in the past. If I've learned anything since becoming a mother, it's that time FLIES by! Way too fast if you ask me. I want to just marvel at how beautiful my baby is. Not be sad that he is already almost 3 months and holding his head up. I want to cherish each middle of the night hour long feeding I get to spend with him. As tired as I am in the morning, I know I will miss those moments of holding a semi-sleeping baby. I hate to admit this, but I find myself waiting for him to get older so that he will sleep through the night, or be able to feed himself. I'm so ashamed that I feel those things. Again, I know I will miss those times when he is older. So, this year I am going to enjoy each day I get with my family and not wish for the past of future to come. Just enjoy the present.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2011! And enjoy each moment you have with loved ones :)

On another note, I had to go back to work today.... wahhhh!!! It was so much harder than I thought it would be. I wish I could be hanging with this little man all day. But, you better believe that I will be out the door as soon as school is out to go pick him up and smother him with kisses!! This is a pic of us this morning:
Doesn't he look so excited?! Such a cutie :)

2 Months

2010-12-30T14:48:00.001-08:00

Happy 2 Months sweet boy ( a little late )!!

This past month has flown by! Bennett has changed so much... which is so fun but makes me kind of sad that hes growing up so fast :( Here are some highlights of the month: -weighs 12.8 pounds ( 75th %) and is 24.5 in ( 80th%). -eats like a champ! I nurse him at 6,9,12,3,6,8:30 and then the night is a free for all. He usually wakes up between 1-2 to nurse and stays up after that. He usually spends this time grunting and whimpering. I then feed him again at 4, then start all over again. - he is smiling a lot now which makes my heart melt! -he loves when we sing to him. We sing Jingle Bells and bounce around and he loves that! - the Emmons side of the family came to HOuston for Thanksgiving. B got to meet his Uncle Kyle then! -B is doing better in his car seat. I can take him on errands and he usually sleeps in the stroller and then on the way home. I love getting out with him because he is so good. One day we had lunch, just the two of us, in the mall because he was passed out! It's funny to me that he sleeps so well at the LOUD mall. - the subject of sleep is not a good topic around here. That one deserves a post all on its own :) -he is cooing a lot and talking to me. he likes to talk the most on his changing table after he is fed and has a clean diaper. I think he is saying, " Thank you Mommy!" -he is quite the wiggle worm. His legs and arms are rarely still. It's so funny to watch him dance away! -everyone comments on how alert he is. He is constantly looking around at his surroundings. When I'm holding him he wants to face out so he can check things out. He's such a smart little man . - he has the sweetest disposition. i think he is going to grow to be a kind boy that loves being around people! Sweet Bennett, Each day gets better and better with you. I really don't know how I lived without you for so long! You make me smile constantly and I am so proud to me your mama! I love you sweet boy!

Silent Night

2010-12-27T08:36:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas from Bennett!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Just because....

2010-12-21T18:36:00.001-08:00

I have so much that I want/need to blog about but have been keeping myself busy! I just wanted to post this sweet pic of my little man staring at the Christmas tree. In the words of Chandler Bing, Could he Be any cuter? I love love love Bennett!!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Give Thanks....

2010-12-02T14:19:00.000-08:00

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I am a big fan of St.Jude! This was our sorority philanthropy in college and I continue to donate money each year. One of the easiest ways to donate money is to shop online at thanksandgiving.com.

Here are some of this years favorites....

Bennett might be getting some of these ABC blocks. They are a soft material and the colors are great! How fun is this diaper bag and diaper bag blanket? Perfect for the manly man who doesn't want to carry their wifes girly diaper bag:) I LOVE LOVE LOVE this necklace. I love angels and I think this necklace is so sweet!

RYan and I are big fans of the tervis tumbler. We each have one and love that it keeps your drink cold or warm ( whichever you prefer) and it doesn't sweat. These would be great stocking stuffers!

Have y'all seen the St.Jude comercials? They play everytime I'm at the movie theaters. Of course, I always used to tear up at them. But, when I recently went to the theater to see Harry Potter and saw one, I lost it! I was crying so hard at the sweet faces of kids on the screen. Marlo Thomas always says at the end of these comercials to give thanks for the healthy kids in your life. Not an hour goes by that I don't give Thanks for my healthy baby boy! He was mader perfect by God! I'm so thankful for that~

o, if you are like me and would prefer to shop online for Christmas gifts this year, please stop by St.Jude and check some of their merchandise out.

Happy One Month Bennett!

2010-11-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

We have had one wonderful month with our sweet baby boy! Bennett turned a month old last Thursday, so this is a little late... but I have been so busy staring at my little man!

Here is what Bennett is up to at one month:

He weighs 10 pounds 13 ounces ( 75th percentile), is 22 1/5 inches long ( 75th percentile) and I can't remember how big his head is but it's in the 95th percentile. So, he is very healthy! Praise the lord!

-Bennett loves being held! This makes getting work done around the house pretty difficult, but I will hold him all day if he wants.

-He loves to kick his legs and flap his arms around. He might be a soccer player when he gets older.

-Hes not a consitent sleeper. Some days he will take a 4 hour nap, other days he takes lots of cat naps. At night, he will sleep from 9-1 or 2. Eat, and then the rest of the night is a free for all. He will sometimes go back to sleep, other nights he will grunt and whimper all night. This makes for a very tired mommy!

-He is sleeping in a pack and play in our room. He sleeps in hisbouncy chair in the pack and play. Ryan thinks hes ready to start sleeping like a " big boy" on his back. But, the bouncy chair helps with keeping his food down.

-He is a good eater. I nurse him about every 2-3 hours during the day. We give him one bottle of formula every night and he sucks it down!

-Poor guy has terrible gas! An hour or so after he eats he starts grunting, his face turns bright red and his knees go up into his chest. It breaks my heart to see him in so much pain. We have tried Milicon and Gripe water. They seem to help a little, but not enough. His GiGi was in town and laid him on his side and he instantly fell asleep instantly on his boppy. Have any of you dealt with gassy babies? What helped?

-I love reading books to him. We sit in his glider and read different stories. He focuses on the pictures which makes me excited. I hope he grows up loving to read!

- He is such a serious guy. He loves to look around and check everything out. When he does smile, it melts me heart!

- We went out to eat for the first time when he was a little over a month. We went to eat at Cyclone Anayas and he slept the whole time!

People tell you all the time you can't imagine how much you will love your child. And honestly, I had NO cliue. I constantly tell Ryan that I love Bennett so much! My love for him is so much more overwhelming than I could have ever imagined!

I pray every night that Bennett will have a kind heart and enjoy helping others. I pray that he gets involved at our church and serves the Lord with happiness. I pray that he always knows how loved he is by his family! And I constantly Thank God for giving us this amazing blessing. God is so so good!!

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Hanging with my peeps....

2010-11-19T07:00:00.001-08:00

I love staying home everyday with Bennett. Where does this time go though? It's amazing to me how time seems to disappear after having a child. Bennett and I hang out a lot with these peeps.... They keep us company on our fleeting days. We love watching re-runs of Friends. I have a bunch dvr'd, so I can watch them while I"m nursing. Ahhhh! I'm so excited for the final Harry Potter movie! We are going this weekend to see it, but I wanted to re-read the book before I went to see it! I'm only about 150 pages in, so I most likely wont finish in time. But, thats okay! We LOVE Ellen! Her show always makes me laugh and she is such a good dancer. And of course, we watch Regis and Kelly in the morning. So, this is a little glipse into my days at home with B. Of course, my favorite person to hang out with and snuggle is my real life peep....

A week ago today....

2010-10-28T14:57:00.000-07:00

A week ago today......

I woke up at 4:00 am. I was too excited to sleep. I knew this was the day I was going to be a mother and couldn't wait to meet my son.

My husband and I made sure we had everything we needed for our hospital stay. We talked about how our lives were about to change forever... for the better!

I took my sweet pug, Chloe, for a long walk. I kissed her a hundred times and told her I love her so much!

I waited for my mother to meet us at our house. We were all going to the hospital together for my 11:00 am check in. We stopped off to vote first! :)

I signed some paperwork at the hospital and got checked in. We were walked back to my room where we would wait until 1:30 for my c-section. Ryans parents met us in there and brought tons of presents.... Texas Rangers shirts for Bennett to wear, goodies for the new parents to be.

I was rolled down to the room where I would have my son. My wonderful doctor came in and told me everything was going to be okay. As I was receiving my epidural, I said a prayer that Bennett would be healthy and that I would feel God's presence in the room.

I cired after receiving the eidural. I couldn't feel anything and it really freaked me out. My doctor came around the curtian, rubbed my arm and told me she was going to take good care of me. She said she knows it's such a weird feeling, but within the hour my son would be born. I felt better!

After I was all set, Ryan was able to enter the room. I burst into tears again when I saw him. He was so wonderful and tried to get my mind off of what was about to happen. He told me Chloe would be proud of me and I felt better.

At 1:53 I heard the sweetest noise I have ever heard. My sweet Bennett let out his first cry! Dr.M lifted him above the curtain dividing us so I could see his sweet face. He was so beautiful!

A week ago today my heart grew bigger than I ever knew it could. I became a mother to the most amazing child.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur! I was in post-op for about an hour and a half. When they wheeled me to my room, I got to hold Bennett again. All of the grandparents came in and we immediately fell in love with Bennett!

My Love!

2010-10-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Bennett James is here!

Born on October 21 at 1:53 pm to two VERY proud parents

Weight: 8 ibs 15 oz Length: 21 1/4 in

He is absolutely perfect and we are so in love with him!!

Bennetts room

2010-10-18T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm officially on Maternity Leave... woo hoo!! I am so happy to have this time before Bennett gets here to rest and finish up some last minute things I want to get done. Of course, I've been a complete lazy bum today, but I did wash some clothes and take pictures of Bennetts room. SO, it hasn't been a complete waste! There are some things I want to add to make Bennett's room perfect, but this is where we are at now. This is the view from the hallway. Ryan painted the walls and we had bead board put up. I love the color of the walls! I think it is so soothing! I hope Bennett thinks so too! :) This is the crib that Pottery Barn was holding hostage for months! It was worth the wait though. When the guys came to deliver it, we ( and by we I mean my husband) were prepared to have to put it together ourselves. Well, they put this baby together in about 5 minutes. It passed Ryan's "shaking" test too.... so its safe. We didn't want a theme when we were planning the nursery, but really liked this bedding, so we incorporated some elephants in the room. That makes my uber-conservative husband happy too! :)

Here are some other little areas in the room. Blogger is messing up and not letting me move the pictures .... dern! So, I will let the pictures do the talking!

We don't have anything hung above the bed yet. I bought some frames at Pier 1 the other day that I am contemplating putting about the crib. I was thinking we could either put a bible verse in each, or have his initials in them. What do y'all think? These are the frames... Nevermind, I can't upload them! So frustrating! Anyhoo, they are white scrolling frames. We'll see!

It's been so fun getting B's room together. I love sitting in the glider and wondering what life will be like in a few days/months/years. Chloe and I like to rest in here as well. She has no idea WHY we are spending so much time in here. Bless her heart!!

Happy Monday!

Dick Butkus

2010-09-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Do y'all know who Dick Butkus is? He is known for being one of the all time greatest linebackers in NFL history. He played for the Bears in the 1960's and 1970's. SO, you might be wondering why I am writing about him... afterall I'm not a football fan. Well, we had a doctors appointment yesterday and ultrasound. I was so excited for this ultrasound because we haven't seen our Bennett in over 4 months. We got such a good glimpse at our sons strong heart, spine, head, and sweet chubby cheeks! We also got a good idea of how big he is. Keep in mind that I still have 3.5 weeks until my due date. Bennett is weighing in right now at 7 pounds 6 ounces!!! YIKES! Of course, it's not an exact science and they can't say 100% that he weighs that right now, but none the less he is measuring a couple weeks ahead in size. It all makes so much sense now! My doctor who we LOVE, said I was growing a baby linebacker! So I'm thinking I might need to get more interested in this football game. :) I can't say enough how much in love we are with Bennett! I am so nervous about the whole delivery process, but keep thinking about how worth it everything will be when I get to hold that miracle! I get excited just thinking about it!! Happy Thursday everyone!

Long time no Blog!

2010-09-26T08:47:00.000-07:00

Hello again!! It's been almost 5 months since my last post. I needed a little break from blogland. And I'm not going to lie... its been glorious :) I have soo much to share, but would kind of rather summarize how things have been in the last 5 months. So, here we go... THE GOOD - The most exciting news of the last 5 months..... We are having a BOY! Bennett will be here in 4 weeks. I can hardly wait to see that precious face! - Ryan and I have been blessed beyond measure with wonderful showers. We aren't going to have to buy much on our own which has been so helpful! - I've had several friends who have had babies in the past 5 months.... It's been so neat being on this journey with them. And, it makes it all so much more real that I am in fact going to be a mother in less than a month! - We've been trying to get things done around the house. Normally we might put things off, but we have this ticking timer telling us we have a couple weeks to finish things up! -I've been in awe of pregnancy. Its amazing what our bodies are able to go through! Feeling Bennett move around is the best feeling in the world. He is a sweet baby and does most of his kicking during the day time. Thank you B!! THE BAD - Not much to report here! My job this summer was a little terrifying! Working with 18 four year olds, while being five months pregnant, in 100 degree weather does not make for a lovely day! Note to self.... don't apply for this job again! - My heart breaks a little every day for Ms.Chloe! Her world is about to turn upside down and she doesn't have a clue! I love her to death though! -Pottery Barn kids has been keeping our crib hostage since we ordered it in MAY. I dont understand what takes so long!! We are supposed to get it this weekend, so fingers crossed they don't delay it anymore! THE UGLY - Pregnancy hormones are rearing their ugly head. I have been so emotional lately. To top it off, I can't breathe, so I sound like I'm suffocating while crying! - My wedding bands don't fit! Who am I kidding, they haven't fit since the end of this summer :( I miss wearing them and can't wait to wear them again! -Water retention. That's it! It's not pretty! I'm not sure if anyone even reads this anymore, but I'm glad to be back blogging! I'll have lots of pictures up soon of Bennett's nursery and Baby showers. Not to mention, lots of other random happenings!

Any LOST fans out there???

2010-05-05T09:18:00.001-07:00

Are any of you LOST fans? If so, I have a lot of questions for you! 1. Where the heck is Ben Lynus? Did I miss something? 2. What is ( I should say was) up with Sayeed? I thought he turned bad, but then he was such a good guy last night? Was that all an act? 3. When Sayeed said that " Jack is the one", does he mean the chosen one? If so, how does he know that?? 4. Were you not heartbroken at the end of last nights episode? I don't know if it's the pregnancy hormones or what, but I was a wreck!! If you don't watch Lost, this is probably a good thing. This show confuses me to no end! But, I LOVE it and am sad that it's ending!!

Blue or Pink??

2010-05-03T08:12:00.000-07:00

Ryan and I are going in for an ultrasound in 2 weeks to find out the gender of this little angel! We have had differing opinions this whole time on what we are having. I KNOW we are having a sweet baby boy, while Ryan KNOWS we are having a little girl. So, I've been killing time at work by taking online gender quiz after quiz. Here are the results of the well respected quizes :) The Chinese Gender Chart- BOY Heart rate- GIRL Ring Test- GIRL Morning Sickness- GIRL Online Old Wives Tale Test- GIRL Bertha, the lady that did our 12 week utlrasound swears it's a girl Family history and intuition- BOY SO, as you can see there is no clear picture as to what we are having. I can't wait though to find out! I want to be able to call this baby by name and start shopping! I feel so guilty using the term "it" to talk about my child. So, it will be lots of fun when we do find out! As always, we are praying that this baby is healthy and continues to get all the nurishment he/she needs. I thought it would be fun to put a poll on the side of the blog for you to vote on what you think we are having. By the way, Chloe is hoping it's another little puggie! She hasn't quite realized that her life is going to be turned upside down. Bless her heart! She is so used to being an only child!

Dangerous....

2010-05-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

It's dangerous to send a pregnant women to the grocery store. Maybe others have more self control, but not me. I have been so sick through out this pregnancy. But, in the last week I have definitely got my appetite back. So, I headed out to get some necessities. And look at some of the goodies I brought back...
In case you can't tell from the pic, we've got : Individual guacamole packs, Lucky Charms, Jello pudding, and orange candy slices. And, if you couldn't tell... I couldn't wait to get home to break open the orange slices. I had to sneak a few on the way home! Sad! Before you go thinking I'm the most unhealthy pregnant person EVER, I have to point out that I did buy lots of fruit, Total cereal which is a must for me, and yogurt. Those just aren't as fun to take pictures of :)I have a major sweet tooth theese days!

Sweet Pea

2010-04-26T04:40:00.000-07:00

Here is our sweet pea at our 12 week appointment. Baby E is so active during our ultrasounds, which we LOVE!! Everything looked good with both baby and me! Praise the Lord! I was so nervous about this appointment because we would be testing for several different genetic and wanted to know that everything was okay... and it is :)

I've been feeling a lot better these days. At week 6 I started getting sick at least once a day... fast forward to week 14, and things are looking better. That might have something to do with Zofran the dr. gave me... :) I am still pretty sluggish when I get home, but am getting energy to work out now so that's a plus!

We are scheduling to have an ultrasound at 17 weeks to determine the gender. I am 98% positive it's a boy. Ryan swears it's a girl though! We shall see. We love this baby no matter what! :)

That's all for now...

2010-04-19T12:07:00.000-07:00

Notice anything new on the blog?????

Yep, that's right! Baby Emmons will be here in October!!

Ryan and I are so very excited for this new blessing.

Of course, I'll try to be better about blogging and documenting this part of our life.

I'm just waiting for some of the sickness to pass! Yuck!

We love this baby so much already!

Pray with us as we prepare our hearts to grow AND as we pray for a healthy, happy baby. :)