Knoxville Texas

Snapshots

2011-12-10T09:07:00.001-06:00

Baby sister has arrived!!

2011-12-04T18:28:00.000-06:00

Introducing

Autumn Grace Knox

December 2, 2011

2:52 pm

8 pounds, 8.4 ounces

20 inches

Happy Fall Y’all

2011-11-07T08:51:00.001-06:00

Number three

2011-10-14T16:51:00.001-05:00

10.14.11

We had our 3D/4D ultrasound of baby girl today. Here’s a peek…..

Baby girl at 32 weeks, 1 day

Chubby at 31weeks, 1 day

Bug at 34 weeks 2 days

18 and 19 months

2011-10-05T17:00:00.001-05:00

BoogieBoo,

There is so much I want to remember about this stage with you. You are so much fun! You are talking like crazy! 95% of it is most likely unintelligible to 99% of people, but I can usually figure out what you’re saying. I love to watch you learn new words every day. Some of your more clear new words are milk, juice, book, duck, God, apple, whoa!, backpack, hat, walk, baby, ice, balloon, and of course NO. Some of your less clear words are helicopter, blankie, shoes, grapes, please, spoon, bath, Bible, yogurt, banana, broom, outside and football.

You are never short on energy. I think you sleep a little less each day. Your nap sometimes lasts 1 hour and you sleep about 11 hours at night.

You did fantastic on our plane rides to and from California. You had a lot of fun and now you’re a little obsessed with airplanes.

You go nuts when we pull into Chick-fil-a. HA!

You are wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes and are almost out of your size 6 shoes. You weighed about 26 pounds at your checkup and were in the 80th percentile for height. You had your first bout with croup just after you turned 18 months. Talk about scaring mommy! Thankfully, the steroids did their job and you cleared up after about a week. Those first few days were a little stressful, though.

You absolutely love to play with sister. You play well together most of the time. Bugger wants you to carry on a conversation with her so badly. You mostly nod yes and follow along with anything she tells you to do. We do need to keep you away from sister’s dress up clothes. You, too, love shoes, including gold feathered high heels.

Despite this, you are totally boy. When I drop you off at the Y while I exercise, every single teacher picks you up and says something like, “Whoa he is solid!” I have to just laugh every time. You eat like a boy, run like a boy, are tough, love dirt and mud, and are pretty chill. I don’t know that you’ve ever been mistaken for a girl.

You still love your paci, but you mostly just have it during naps and night times. You are a teething machine right now, and the paci seems to help a bit when nothing else does.

You still love to be outside. Thankfully it is cooling off a bit (highs in the mid to low 90’s), so we have been able to actually play outside! You love every single second of it. You just find ways to entertain yourself outside, even when sister does not want to play. You love the sandbox and the swings.

Your smile and laughter bring us joy each day. I think you could have the best laugh ever. I pray that your joy comes from the Lord. You are a blessing beyond measure. We love you more than you’ll ever know.

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-02T09:21:00.001-05:00

7.2.11

Feeding Giraffes

2011-07-01T22:07:00.001-05:00

6.20.11

This was definitely worth the five bucks!

(Can you see that her mouth is open, just like a mommy when she’s feeding her kids?)

Sweet Sixteen

2011-07-01T09:52:00.000-05:00

6.18.11

(Photos taken 6.22.11)

Chubby, you are 16 months old!! You are growing like a weed and changing every day! We are having so much fun! You laugh and smile so much. You make eye contact with lots of people when we are out and they always stop to talk to you.

These two pictures really sum you up well right now. Always moving. I have not even come close to mastering “action” shots. You would think I’d be a pro by now!

You love to give Bear squeezes and smooches before bed and when you wake up. You love for me to spell out your name pointing to the letters over your bed. You love to sing and pray when you lay down for bed. You love to watch the birds in the backyard. You love to run all day long. You love to sing the “Wise Man” song. You love to play with our babysitter. You still love to play outside.

You still sign, but mostly communicate with grunting. People comment all the time that they’ve never seen such an avid grunter. It is quite funny. I am certain you will communicate well when the words come. We are in no hurry and know it will happen. For now, I really treasure this part of your life that is still “baby” like. Silly, I know. I just know time is flying by and you’ll be a big brother before we know it!

You are becoming an increasingly picky eater. I can always count on you eating a banana, cheerios, and sometimes yogurt and drinking milk for breakfast. Otherwise, meals are hit or miss. You love fruit, but not so much veggies, unless ranch dip is involved.

In the month of June you took your first trip to the beach and loved every single second of it. You were completely covered in wet sand and thought it was heavenly. Your swim suit was even caked with sand!

We have had a couple occasions where I was able to be with you by yourself and we’ve had so much fun. It is strange to think what it would be like if you were the first born and we spent every day, just the two of us. You are so laid back and usually go with the flow, until prompted by your commander in chief (sister).

I love you more each day. Happy sweet sixteen (months)!

Bug, Aunt Kourtney and Chubby 6.22.11

“Knoxville, party of five, your table is now available.”

2011-06-10T21:19:00.000-05:00

6.9.11

That’s what we’ll soon hear when we (rarely) go out to eat as a family!

We’ll be welcoming our newest addition in early December.

In even bigger news around our house…..

Many of you heard the sad, sad story of Bug’s beloved small blankies disappearing after our camping trip. Well, we searched our house high and low and just assumed they somehow ended up in the trash. We had many talks about her blankies and she even became semi-attached to a medium-sized blankie she liked to carry around the house and have in the car. Well, this week (on Tues, 6.7.11) I loaned our air mattress to a friend and went to load them in the car and when I took a second glance, the small blankies were in the bag with the air mattress! Bug was giddy and took to them immediately and giggled for about 2 hours over the rediscovered treasure. She has not let the blankies out of her sight since.

Life

2011-06-09T21:18:00.001-05:00

6.9.11

It feels as though life is moving at an insanely fast pace, and gets faster every day. My real camera has barely left the shelf this week, and life has been mostly ‘captured’ on my phone’s camera. I think this picture could be one of my all-time favorites.

Bowling

2011-06-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

5.28.11

Our favorite friends from Corpus came to visit for Memorial Day! (I unfortunately grabbed my camera one time. Ugh. How do you find the balance between savoring your time with friends and your kids and trying to snap pictures? I think taking pictures feels stressful in my mind sometimes and I avoid it when I want to relax or feel tired.) Despite a lack of photo evidence, we had a fantastic time hanging out and watching the kids play for the weekend. We love y’all!

On Saturday we took the kids bowling. They really enjoyed it! I think the whole waiting several minutes between turns was a bit confusing, but they got the hang of it.

Blackberries!

2011-06-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

5.25.11

We went on a little adventure to pick fresh blackberries at Matt Family Orchard! (Yes, it is already blazin’ hot!) You may be wondering, “Why would you pick blackberries when you can just buy them at the store?” We say it’s all about the experience. And the blackberries are super delicious and tender when you hand pick them!! Blackberries were much easier than blueberries, but not as easy as strawberries. I think' we’ll pick them again!

The Troopers

The fruit of our labor!

Hat

2011-06-04T14:49:00.000-05:00

5.21.11

Chubby found daddy’s hat and had a hay day.

15

2011-06-03T14:37:00.001-05:00

5.18.11

Chubby!! You are 15 months old!! You are one happy kid!!

You are all over the place and into everything!! The toilet, the pantry, cabinets, dirt, water, small crawl spaces and the stairs are a few of your favorite trouble spots. Just when I think I have “toddler proofed” our house, you find a new creative place to play. I love it because you’re such a boy, but hate it because I am exhausted.

You, on the other hand, are rarely exhausted. I think you need less sleep than the average kid. You’re content with about 10 hours at night and a 1, maybe 2, hour nap.

You can say mama, dada, ball, and up. You mostly grunt and point to get what you need/want.

You weighed 24 lb 6.5 oz (50th percentile) at your check-up and were 32 inches tall (77th percentile). You’re still in mostly 18 month clothes.

You’re still teething. Bless your heart. You’ve been teething almost your whole life! You’re working on molar number 2 with some canines and molars 3 and 4 in the mix, too.

You still love to play with sister. You guys crack up at each other all the time. Sister is pretty much your world right now.

You still love your paci and your blankies. You are great about leaving blankies in bed now and you usually just take your paci for resting.

You love to play ball. You also love to wear your boots. But your absolute most prized possession is your BROOM! You carry it everywhere and it never seems to get old to you. It cracks us up.

You are quite the picky eater. This is a challenge for mommy since sister eats everything. We’ll keep working toward expanding your diet. Right now you love bananas, cheerios, chicken, pears, strawberries, blueberries, and milk.

My favorite thing you do right now is when we say, "How old are you?" you giggle and hold up "1" on each hand and just smile so big. It is so precious.

This next picture is really a better portrayal of you right now……

We love you chubby!! You are a blessing beyond measure.

Sister wanted in on the pictures, too.

Blessed

2011-06-02T14:30:00.000-05:00

5.17.11

We are blessed to belong to a church with many young and growing families. One of our sweet families has just relocated, but we were able to snap a picture of all of the mommies with their kids together before they headed out.

PS - Have you ever taken a picture of 7 mommies and 11 kids under 5? Thank you, Suzie!

Goose

2011-06-01T14:20:00.000-05:00

5.15.11

Who needs a horse when you’ve got a goose? Not Chubby! HA!

60th Celebration

2011-05-31T15:35:00.001-05:00

5.15.11

We were able to attend my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary. What a blessing and what a tremendous day to celebrate.

This couple stood with my grandparents 60 years ago on their wedding day.

The 3 GREAT Grandkids

Bug felt the need to taste the icing before the cake was cut. I would say her face screams guilty!

"I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations."

Psalm 89:1

(Family – If you need any of these pictures, please email me!)

A long car ride

2011-05-30T09:49:00.000-05:00

5.13-5.16.11

The kids and I made the trek to OK for my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary celebration. It was indeed a long car ride. Bug semi-looks forward to these because she gets to watch “moobies.” Her favorite of the trip was Tangled. We managed to survive the weekend without daddy, but we missed him dearly. Besides the party, I only took a few pics.

At the Park

2011-05-29T09:37:00.000-05:00

5.12.11

One of our favorite destinations is the “train” park. It is tolerable even when it is on the warm side because of the extra shade. This particular day it was crazy humid and felt much warmer than it was, even early in the day.

Mommy’s girl

2011-05-28T09:34:00.000-05:00

5.11.11

The Greats

2011-05-27T09:32:00.000-05:00

5.10.11

My Grandparents came to visit and spend a week with us. Again, I failed to take many pictures, but here is one of Chubby with his Great Grandpa.

Lips

2011-05-26T09:28:00.000-05:00

5.9.11

Bug is all girl. Lipstick, chap stick (which she calls chop), lip gloss, whether real or pretend brings her so much joy.

Our newest family member

2011-05-25T09:26:00.000-05:00

5.8.11

is BEAR! He is a 56 inch plush teddy bear. The kids cannot get enough. Chubby will randomly run over and snuggle with him, then get up and continue playing. It’s adorable.

Bug’s Party

2011-05-24T14:01:00.000-05:00

5.7.11

Bug loved every second of her 3rd birthday celebration! We suggested every fun alternative to having a party at home, but she insisted on having it at her house like Chubby did. We ended up with a fun moonwalk, pizza, juice boxes and cupcakes! The moonwalk was delivered before the kids woke up, but Bug would not get in until her friends arrived! I’ll let the pictures show all the fun the kids had.

They had a blast and were worn out by the time it was over!

Nana and Papa – Thank you for coming down for Bug’s party. I am so sorry we did not take any pictures of you with the kids while you were here. We will make sure it doesn’t happen next time! We love you!

Mrs. Potato Head

2011-05-23T13:47:00.000-05:00

5.6.11

Who said Mrs. Potato Head’s accessories were exclusively for her?

Happy Birthday, Bug!

2011-05-22T13:42:00.001-05:00

5.2.11
I know I say it with every milestone and birthday, but how can this be?!?! 3 years. It is just unbelievable in a new way. The changes from 2 to 3 were just crazy. My sweet bug went from a baby girl to a big girl!
I sang to you when you woke up on your birthday and the first thing you asked next was, “When will my friends be here?” A birthday without friends and a party just made no sense to you. So, you were convinced that your real birthday wasn’t until your party. You opened a few gifts at the breakfast table, and were most excited about the computer you had been asking for for months.

Bug, you have grown up SO much since you turned 2! You have finally put on some weight and the doctor even said you were “chubby!” We’ll take it.

You LOVE to sing. You sing all day long. You love to sing psalms (you have psalm 4B and 113 memorized) and the songs from your Wee Sing CD.

You also love to talk! You wake up talking, and fall asleep talking. You always have something to say, at least while we are at home. Sometimes you are shy in public, but you seem to warm up pretty quickly to new faces.

For better or worse, you repeat just about every single thing I say.

You still love being a big sister and take care of Chubby all of the time. He mostly laughs, but sometimes just stares at you like you’re crazy. You are not deterred in any way.

You are a social butterfly. You love your friends deeply and long to play with them every single day. Most days you wake up and say, “Who is coming to our house?” or “Who will we see today?”

You really enjoy Sunday School. I think your favorite part is the treat you get each week. And once again, you love seeing your friends at church, too.

Along with loving to talk, you love to talk and “text” on your Barbie phone. You’ll tell me that Barbie is calling or texting you. It cracks me up.

You eat anything and everything. You really love fruits and veggies (with ranch dip). We always joke that you would be a vegetarian if it were up to you!

You are always saying funny things. On our way home from Oklahoma (5.16) you saw the little Chickfila sign on the side of the road and emphatically said, “Mommy! That signs says we need to go to Chickfila!!”

When you don’t think I can hear you, you speak really slowly and over-annunciate. I have no idea where you picked this one up.
We’ve been having trouble with cell phone service at home, and the other day you were talking to daddy on the phone (he was at home), and you said, “Daddy, go stand by the door, I can’t understand you.”
Daddy was changing Chubby’s diaper and he said, “Oh, this is a piece of cake!” (As in the diaper was easy to change.) You came running into the room and said, “Where’s the cake?”
You are about 95% potty trained. There are occasional accidents, when we are somewhere strange or you are distracted, but for the most part, you’ve got it down. You are doing really well staying dry during nap time, and we are slowly working on staying dry at night.
You strongly prefer for mommy to put you to bed. When you lay down each night, you say, “Can you sing peace like a river and praise God from whom all blessings flow?” If I try to talk to you or sing another song, you interrupt me and say, “I’m ready to pray, mommy.” After we pray, you ask me to leave to door open and have daddy come lay with you.
There is so much more I know I am forgetting at the moment. We have so much fun, Bug! We do have our hard days, too, but that’s okay! You are a joy and a blessing and I just know God has great things in store for you.
We love you more than you’ll ever know sweet girl!!

A special visitor

2011-05-21T13:16:00.000-05:00

4.29.11

Grandma Mason came to town to celebrate Bug’s birthday. We went back to Another Time Soda Fountain and had a little photo shoot afterwards.

Thank you for coming to visit! We love you!

Suga!

2011-05-20T13:01:00.000-05:00

4.23.11

We were finally able to meet the newest Suga! It was such a blessing and so exciting. We are so proud of you, Sug! Y’all are doing an awesome job!

Spring has sprung

2011-05-19T12:53:00.001-05:00

4.21.11

We celebrated the coming of spring with egg dying and an egg hunt with friends. The big girls had so much fun. I believe dropping the eggs into the dye was their favorite part. I guess all the fun surprises inside their eggs were fun, too!

fourteen

2011-05-18T14:37:00.001-05:00

4.18.11

Sweet boy, you are fourteen months old!! (I am writing this the day you reach 15 months, so I’ll save all my writing for that post.) Here are pictures of you at 14 months.

His second mommy

2011-04-12T21:26:00.000-05:00

4.10.11

Chubby doesn’t stand a chance. He always has another “mommy” giving him instructions. Bless his heart. Thankfully, he takes it in stride!

Bluebonnets!

2011-04-11T20:57:00.000-05:00

4.7.11

We made our annual trip to Brenham to see the bluebonnets. I’ll just say taking pictures of 4 little ones was much easier in my mind as I planned out cute shots. HA! We had a blast and the kids were so tired by the time we were finished. We are so thankful for our friends!

And this is how we ended our “shoot”

More backyard fun

2011-04-10T20:55:00.001-05:00

4.6.11

Switching hats has become a new “thing” at our house.

And Chubby is a climbing machine!

Please do not be alarmed, it’s just Nutella on their faces.

Sweet Friends

2011-04-09T20:50:00.000-05:00

4.7.11

Garden

2011-03-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

3.26.11

We have started our first family garden! We have planned to have a garden the past 3 springs, but never made it happen. Two weeks ago at the produce market, I picked up a few vegetable plants on a whim, not thinking about their future. Saturday, they all got a permanent home. We shall see what grows! The kids thought playing in the dirt and water was heaven!

Park

2011-03-30T21:36:00.000-05:00

2.25.11

Many of our mornings are spent at the park. We frequent the “tire” park and the “train” park. Sometimes we meet up with friends for a picnic and other times we just go play, just the 3 of us. The kids always have a blast!

A day in the life

2011-03-29T21:28:00.000-05:00

3.24.11

overalls

2011-03-28T21:22:00.003-05:00

2.22.11

thirteen months

2011-03-27T21:15:00.001-05:00

3.18.11

Seems like his first birthday was just yesterday! We are having so much fun these days. Chubby has a new love……his blankies! It must be in their blood. He now can be found carrying around either his brown or green “small blankie” throughout the day. He has slept with his big blankies for a long time, but now he actually lunges for them in bed and searches for his small blankies around the house. I just think it is hysterical. I had no idea he would love to carry a blankie, too!

He is loving green peas right now. He cannot get enough! He is a bit obsessed with bananas! He will stand at the counter where they are stored and point and grunt until he is fed. It is not much fun if we run out!

His molars are still giving him grief and have not come through!! I think it has been at least 4 months that they have been on their way out. Sheesh!!

He has been battling allergies for a few weeks and has not been sleeping great. I think he is clearing up, so I am hoping a little more rest is on the horizon!

I love you more each day, sweet boy!!!

We did it!

2011-03-17T14:50:00.000-05:00

3.11.11 & 3.12.11

We survived our first family camping trip!! We actually had a blast. The kids thought it was about the best thing they have ever done. Chubby was picking up dirt and just pouring it on himself. He could not get enough. He just laughed and smiled the entire time. Bug loved to pick the direction we would take on our hikes. She loved climbing the hills and descending down hills to reach the river. She loved sleeping in the tent. God truly blessed us with beautiful weather. It was absolutely gorgeous.

Fun in the sun

2011-03-16T17:12:00.000-05:00

3.10.11

We are soaking up the warm (not hot) sun these days!

Rodeo Houston

2011-03-15T14:01:00.000-05:00

3.9.11

We spent the day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. The kids had an absolute blast! They loved all of the animals and all of the fun “agventures.” They were totally worn out by the end of the day, but it was so worth it! My camera ran out of batteries at the very beginning, so I only got a few shots. I am looking forward to taking them next year for sure!

This little calf was born about 3 hours before we arrived.

This black sheep was 2 days old and his name was ELI!!

This little chick had just hatched and was learning to walk. It was cute and really sad at the same time. It would take a couple steps and then just plop down flat, looking lifeless for several minutes.

This little chick was just about to hatch. It would kick it’s leg for a minute then be still, then kick a little more a few minutes later.

These little piglets were SO cute! They were 2 or 3 days old. Bug was fascinated by them. We tried to stay around to see another pig give birth, but they said it could be a while. Bug is still talking about all the animals that had babies in their tummies.

Workin’ on his truck

2011-03-14T19:46:00.000-05:00

3.3.11

Buzzzzz

2011-03-13T19:41:00.000-05:00

2.28.11

Chubby got his first “trim” on February 21st, but his hair was always over his ears and uneven, so we buzzed him! He was not such a fan, but he looks like such a little man now.

Before

After

To Corpus we will go!!

2011-03-12T15:07:00.000-06:00

2.26.11

We were finally able to visit Corpus to meet our friends’ new baby girl!! Our trip was long overdue, but we were so thankful to spend some time together with them. Somehow I did not take a single picture of Baby V, but lots of Bug and Buckaroo.

And my personal favorite….

Sandbox fun

2011-03-11T17:32:00.000-06:00

2.21.11

There will most likely be post after post in the next few months with this title. The kids absolutely love the sandbox. We have been going straight outside each morning after breakfast if we do not have somewhere to go.

A birthday shell-a-bration!

2011-03-10T17:15:00.001-06:00

2.19.11

Chubby’s very first nickname was Turtle, from the ultrasound that revealed he was a boy, so we had a turtle themed party for him. I’ll let the pictures show how much fun we had!!

one (continued)

2011-03-09T16:28:00.000-06:00

2.18.11

I’ll just say that February 18, 2011 was a MUCH better day than February 18, 2010. We celebrated your birthday with a relaxed day at home and supper with family instead of in the hospital for 21+ hours of labor!

9:08PM was a sweet moment to remember, but I was thankful to not be where I was 1 year ago. You were worth every last second of pain and agony, though!

one

2011-03-08T16:07:00.000-06:00

2.18.11

365 days. 52 weeks. 12 months. one year. however you want to say it. whoa.

I have been avoiding writing this post for a long time, just because I want to pretend it hasn’t been the fastest year of my life! I want to soak up every last second of my sweet boy. He is such a joy and such a blessing. My words fall so short. I just had no idea how much I would really love my sweet littlest one. Here’s a shot at it anyways…..

I sang happy birthday to you when you woke up, but you were still a little groggy….

until SISTER arrived!!

We sang to you so many times, and you just kept staring at us like we were crrrrrazy!!

You are walking! You started walking about 3 weeks before your birthday, and you are now walking full time! You rarely crawl and are super fast! I keep telling sister she better watch out because you’ll be chasing her soon!

At your one year checkup you weighed 22lb, 7.5oz and were just over 30 inches tall. You are in 12-18 month clothes, and I think you will be for a while, because you’re growing taller and slimming down significantly. You’re wearing your 12-18 month Pedipeds out! You’ll be in the 18-24’s any day.

You are right on target for all of your milestones. Your latest “thing” is signing. You sign eat, more, and all done. You are drinking whole milk a couple times a day. You don’t love it, but you tolerate it. You also love anything we are eating. You do still enjoy a couple baby foods, too.

You are still mama’s boy to the max. I secretly love it. You are really starting to scream when I drop you off in nursery, but you calm down quickly.

You still love to be outside! Now you run to the back door and bang on it and grunt if you want to go play in your sandbox! It’s so cute!

You are a sneaky little one. Our gate to the stairs is broken, so we have a gate that sits on the ground out but is movable. You can slip right behind the gate and go right up the stairs. And when you see me coming, you go as fast as you can!

You’re sleeping a solid 12 hours at night. Sometimes you’re up once, but that is becoming less frequent. You take one nap during the day. It usually lasts about an hour and a half. You sleep with your paci, but don’t seem to want it much during the day.

You’re teething like crazy! I wish I could get your teeth through for you because you’re so miserable! Some days you just cry and cry and chew our house down. I think you could be the slowest teether in human history.

Your laughter is contagious. You start cackling and can hardly stop. You smile at mommy the most. It makes my day. You always grin at me just when I think I could lose my mind.

I hope you always know and never doubt how much mommy and daddy love you. Our love for you is imperfect, and we will mess up every day. But, God loves you way more than we ever could, and His love is perfect. I pray that you love the Lord all of the days of your life and you long to serve Him. I know God has great things for you, sweet boy! I thank God for your sweet life every day. You bring us so much joy!

(Sister wanted to be included with monkey, too!)

3rd time’s a charm!

2011-03-07T15:30:00.000-06:00

2.14.11

So, my friend and I planned a Valentine’s day party for the kids from church this year. Due to inclement weather and sickness, it had to be postponed twice! In the end there were 11 kiddos and 7 adults able to attend. It was ~~insane~~ a blast!!

The kids decorated and baked cookies….

Played….

Ate lunch….

Posed for a few pictures….

And even attempted a group shot….

Trains!

2011-03-06T14:53:00.000-06:00

2.12.11

Bug went on a “special adventure” to see Elmo with my parents, so JP and I were able to spend a morning alone with Chubby. We had an absolute blast! He really had fun, too! It sure was easy having 2 parents to 1 kid! But we missed Bugger and were excited to have her back home!

We headed south to Rosenberg and visited the Railroad Museum and Another Time Soda Fountain. Both were seriously awe-some. The soda shop hand makes their drinks, so you have to stir your DP when it arrives. It was heavenly.

Photoshoot shmotoshoot

2011-03-05T14:31:00.000-06:00

2.10.11

Ha! This is what I got. I do feel like I “captured” Chubby’s personality and silliness at this age!

My heart is overflowing just looking at these pictures. God is so good to us. They are healthy, and smile so much. We have so much joy and laughter abounds. Blessed.

Can you guess?

2011-03-04T14:20:00.001-06:00

2.9.11

Can you guess what Bug is “pretending” to be doing in these pictures? (Chubby and “big sister” are participating, too.)

Silly bug

2011-03-03T14:10:00.000-06:00

2.8.11

And I can’t leave out Chubby!

Sunday Fun

2011-03-02T20:02:00.000-06:00

2.6.11

One of our favorite things is playing outside after naps and before evening worship. The kids love any extra second we can spend outside.

Chubby loves to play in the area under the slide. I think he may believe we are unable to see him down there.

I’m sure I caught her mid-sentence. It’s hard not to these days!

Her sweet, gentle curls are my fav.

Baby Shower

2011-02-09T14:42:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I helped host a shower for a good friend. She is having boy #2 and the name is a secret. It was so much fun!!

I spoke too soon

2011-02-08T14:36:00.001-06:00

Chubby started walking on Thursday, February 3. He is taking anywhere from 2 to 25 steps at a time. He thinks it is hilarious when we clap for him. He may be a little confused since we have been cheering for Bug so much as she potty trained. He looks like he will just move onto running any day now.

Soon he’ll be walking

2011-01-31T14:31:00.001-06:00

Brother and Sister on the Swings!!

2011-01-30T21:33:00.000-06:00

This girl honestly loves nothing more than being a big sister.

And he sure loves being the little brother.

The weather has been absolutely beautiful this week! We have taken multiple walks around the neighborhood each day, followed by swinging and sliding in the back yard. It has been a great blessing to get out for some fresh air and Vitamin D!

Maybe this one should have been titled "Where's Chubby!"

2011-01-29T09:24:00.000-06:00

Where's Chubby?

2011-01-28T10:45:00.002-06:00

There he is!!

Chubby loves to play peek-a-boo with everything he touches!

Saturday morning together

2011-01-27T16:38:00.000-06:00

1.22.11

Tears

2011-01-26T16:30:00.000-06:00

Yes, it’s true, tears are occasionally shed in our house, despite what I have lead you to believe. Here is a little proof.

Yes…..I do!

2011-01-25T20:37:00.000-06:00

As we were enjoying P-dub’s latest stew recipe, Bug kept saying, “I am eating po-ta-toes!” She was annunciating very well and JP said, “Bug, you have great pronunciation.”

She looked up at him and said, “Yes……..I do,” and acted as if she knew exactly what he was talking about.

It never gets old.

Photographer

2011-01-25T11:23:00.000-06:00

1.20.11

I don’t even know what she’s doing

2011-01-24T23:54:00.000-06:00

Eleven

2011-01-23T23:47:00.001-06:00

1.18.11
It just can’t be. My boy is eleven months old. I want time to go in slooooow motion! That is not going to happen, so I am trying to soak up every last second and pretending he is still a baby.

Chubby, you are so fun! You are laid back and love to explore. You pretty much get into everything. You look right at me, shake your head no and grin, when you know you’re getting into something you shouldn’t, then reach right for it. I have my work cut out for me!
You love to “Shake your sillies out” and participate in any song sister sings. You know most of the motions to the “Wheels on the Bus” and just clap and flail your arms when you hear a new song or music.

You have 6 teeth and are on the verge of 8. It feels like you have been teething for about 8 months! You still don’t LOVE solid food, but we are making progress. Some of your favorite foods are cheerios, avocado, beans, bananas, chicken, apples, and anything that comes off of mommy or daddy’s plate! You still love to nurse.
You are SO close to walking. You can stand alone for a long time, probably 20+ seconds. You took one step on January 13. At this point, you know that crawling is way faster for you, so you choose to crawl, mostly to keep up with sister!
On our home scale, you weigh over 23 pounds, so I am interested to see what you weigh next month at your check-up! You are one solid kiddo! You’re wearing size 4 diapers and mostly 12-18 month clothes. You pretty much live in your pediped shoes. No lie.

You are super attached to mommy. If you need something you crawl around saying “Mama” over and over again. I cannot resist. It makes daddy a little jealous, but I know you’ll have your days of loving him so much, too!
You still love to snuggle. I usually rock or sway you to sleep each night. You have been sleeping about 12 hours at night and napping for about 45 minutes. That is 12 hours solid without waking to eat! I’ll take it! That makes one rested mommy! Now I know since I put it in writing, you’ll soon start waking 2 or 3 times a night now. Ha!

You are a joy and a blessing. I love you with every ounce of me. I pray you l grow up to be a young man who loves the Lord deeply and your life honors Him. I still cannot believe you were born 11 months ago and we will soon celebrate one year. I love you, booboo!!

Chubby loves cars

2011-01-22T21:40:00.000-06:00

A photo a day….

2011-01-21T21:26:00.001-06:00

I would love to post a photo a day, though, so here goes nothing! Let’s see if I can do it!

(These are all straight out of the camera…..maybe I’ll even start editing as I go, too!)

January (so far)

2011-01-20T22:03:00.000-06:00

How January is half way over, I do not know! We are getting back into a groove at home. The kids are growing like little weeds and both learning so much. Our time each day at home together has been such a blessing these past few weeks. The three of us have really had a lot of fun together! I am so thankful for these sweet blessings. I love them more than they will ever know. Here are a few January activities….

Our current favorite activities include our weekly time at the library when we shake our sillies out, and riding the carousel at the mall on a cold day! Chubby is on the verge of walking. He took his first step alone on Thursday, January 13. He is up to 6 teeth and is working on 2 more. (He cut 4 over Christmas.) Bug “talks” on the phone allllllllll day. Anything and everything can be used as a phone. Overhearing her conversations is always precious.

December (part 2)

2011-01-19T21:32:00.000-06:00

CHRISTMAS!

Our Christmas this year started December 18th and continued on through December 31. Needless to say, Bugger may be disappointed next time we go to OK and she does not get to open presents at each new place we visit! Here are some snapshots along the way!

December (part 1)

2011-01-18T13:46:00.000-06:00

December was fast and furious!

Bug with her “month” bear on December 2, 31 months old.

We kicked off the Christmas season at the Moody Gardens Festival of Lights.

Bug was intrigued by the man playing with fire.

Attempted family Christmas photo. HA!

Bug’s first day in Sunday School (12.5.10). Her first memory verse was, “Glory to God in he highest!” Luke 2:14a

Look at that smile.

Suga’s baby shower! Love you suuug!

Gingerbread house construction

Eli is 10 months old!?!?!

Christmas starts on the 18th when daddy opens his RC helicopter! :)

November (part 2)

2011-01-17T12:22:00.000-06:00

(Thanksgiving)

The bears at Buc-ee’s are still the highlight of our road trips to and from OK.

Sullins Cousins!

November (part 1)

2011-01-16T12:16:00.000-06:00

So, the only way I’ll catch up is by quick month summaries….here we go!

November started with a fun mommies’ and babies’ shopping and lunch day while the big girls played together with a fabulous sitter.

Then my college roomies came to Houston for the weekend. We had SO much fun spending time with each other. The weekend went by WAY too fast!

The weather was awesome and we spent time almost every day outside. Bug and Chubby had matching turkey shirts this year, but taking a great picture of them together in their shirts was quite challenging!

There was an abundance of inside fun, too! The house continues to be a big hit!

All of the fun lead to a very tired Bug!

Bug-isms

2011-01-15T22:15:00.001-06:00

Bug comes up with some pretty hysterical thoughts. She keeps me on my toes and laughing a lot!

Bug,urgently from the back seat, “MOMMY, MY NOSE IS MOVING!” She was touching the tip of her nose and in a complete panic that it moved!

She met a new friend over Thanksgiving named Hudson, and called him Headphones for some unknown reason.

Her favorite movie right now is Elf. One day we were listening to Pandora while playing and “Baby It’s Cold Outside” came on and she said, “Mommy, ELF!!”

Driving down the highway one day she said, “Mommy! Look! That car does not have a roof!” It was a convertible, but she just could not figure out why a car would be missing a roof, despite my best efforts to explain.

Over Thanksgiving we were hanging out and I walked into the room and JP said to Eli, “Look, it’s your favorite person!” Abigail was off playing by herself but spoke up and said, “Geemaw?!?!”

We are working on letters of the alphabet right now. We have some cut out of construction paper and we talk about them throughout the day. One evening JP came home and was asking Bug about her letter of the day. She was holding a D, and confidently said, “This is B for Puppy!!” We obviously have more work to do!

all boy

2010-12-10T16:50:00.001-06:00

I am so incredibly behind on blogging. We visited Dewberry Farm today and the pictures of Chubby say it all. He is all boy. He jumped right into the sand box and could not get enough. He loved every second of it!

Splash Pad

2010-10-31T16:24:00.000-05:00

10.20.10

The babies absolutely adored our morning at the splash pad!

Yes, Chubby is wearing a onesie. I did not anticipate it still being 90 degrees in late October and did not plan on needing a swim suit. He quickly outgrew his suit from the summer….. I shall plan better next year!

The big kids were much too busy to be photographed…..

8

2010-10-30T16:22:00.001-05:00

10.18.10

You have started clapping. You lovelovelove to play patty cake! You cackle uncontrollably every time.
You still have just 2 teeth, but there are 4 on the near horizon.
You now say, “ma ma ma ma,” when you are hungry. Yes, I know you most likely have no clue what “mama” is, but it is so fun to hear you say it over and over.

You are all over the place! Baby-proofing with a 2 year old’s “help” is nearly impossible.
You roll your tongue all the time.
You have started to SCREAM when you do not get your way. Might as well start young?
You fall asleep in the car every.single.time we go somewhere. You are usually asleep before we make it to 99.
You are so easy going, 98% of the time.
You can pull up to a standing position on anything and everything. I am in denial.
You adore your big sister. You go crazy each morning when we go in her room after she wakes up. You are so forgiving when she is “accidentally” rough with you.
You have started to really “cheese” when you smile and when you see the camera.
Crawling is taking a toll on your skin. We keep you lotioned and wearing long sleeves and long pants as much as possible. Otherwise, you would be one big eczema rug burn. Not fun.

You are a little more into solids, but still not a big fan. You’ll eat sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, applesauce, and pears. You only eat one of these once a day. You are starting to enjoy eating puffs.
You weighed 20 pounds 14.5 ounces at the doctor last week.
You are such a boy! I love that you are so different from Bug and you do so many things in your own “boy” way.
You have started to “ignore” me when I am getting you out of your car seat. You pretend like you do not hear me talking to you, then all of the sudden you crack up and sometimes laugh so hard you get the hiccups!
You still take most naps in the swing. You will not nap more than 20 minutes in your bed at this point. I went back and checked the weight limit on the swing and we still have a few pounds to go!! I am hoping you get sick of the swing before you outgrow it!
You are sleeping like a ROCKSTAR at night. Ah, it makes all the difference. I feel like a new person getting more than a couple of hours of sleep at a time!! WOOHOO!!!! Now I just hope you keep it up!!

We love you sweet, sweet boy!!

****You started cruising along the furniture on 10.24. This should not be allowed.

Rodeo!

2010-10-29T16:03:00.000-05:00

10.8.10

We made our way to a REAL rodeo this year! (JP says the Houston rodeo is not a “real” rodeo.) It was quite different from the HLS&R I am used to, but it was a lot of fun!! Bug thought the bull riding was fascinating. She still talks about the cowboys getting bucked off. She almost couldn’t handle watching them fall off. She would say “OUCH!” every time!

Smiles all around!! I love this picture!!

Listening to Daddy explain bull riding.

We stayed for a little bit of the Easton Corbin concert afterwards. Bug would not let JP take his hands off of her ears because it was too loud, but she did not want to leave!! And Chubby slept through the insanely loud concert.

Dewberry!!

2010-10-28T15:54:00.000-05:00

10.6.10

What a fun place for kids! Bug loved exploring and seeing just how dirty she could get! We only lasted about 4 hours, so we’ll have to return to see the rest of the farm!

Bug could not get enough of this game. She pushed the duck down the pipe at least 25 times…….

She ran as fast as her little legs would carry her every single time, as if her life depended on it!

Bug loved all of the animals. She was a little unsure at first, but warmed up rather quickly. She was most interested in the horses and wanted to share her peach with them. Too cute!

Chubby did SO well! He took it all in and enjoyed the nice(er) weather!

He really enjoyed the swing, but that didn’t last very long……

At the park

2010-10-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

10.5.10

It may still be 90 degrees in our area, but we are desperate to play outside!! There have been a few cooler days (mid 80’s) mixed in, but it is still very, very warm!! We can hardly wait to reach high's in the 70’s!

He loves the park swing, too!

Sweet best buddies on the tire swing

Thank You!

2010-10-26T15:25:00.000-05:00

10.3.10

Thank you to Buckaroo’s mommy for our cute Big Sister and Little Brother shirts!!

One last game

2010-10-25T15:21:00.001-05:00

10.1.10

We were able to enjoy the Astros one last time before the season concluded. The kids loved every second of it! Bug is still talking about the train, almost a month later!

Bug was completely enthralled and watched most of the game without any extra incentives!

I think Chubby slept through innings 3 through 6…..

7 Months

2010-09-27T15:37:00.000-05:00

9.18.10 (Pictures taken 9.23.10)

Say it ain’t so. There is no way our days have 24 hours in them! Someone is stealing our time. Or we are having way too much fun. Whatever it is, I am in disbelief that you are 7 months old, Chubby!

You are a teething machine. You cut your first tooth on 9.9 and your second on 9.16. I caught you chewing on the leg of the couch yesterday. I am pretty certain that we may both lose our minds over the effects of teething. You are not able to sleep much and are a drooly, fussy mess alllllll day long. It’s okay though, it just means you want to be held even more! I will not complain.

Your smile melts my heart. And pretty much everyone else’s.

You started “army” crawling 9.10.10, and get a little closer to “real” crawling every day. You have all kinds of crazy moves. My favorite is when you get up on your hands and tip toes when your bottom straight up in the air.

You have continued to grow. Shocking. You are pushing your way into 18 month clothes. What? I’m pretending it isn’t so. You still do not love solids, but we’re not in a huge rush.

And just for fun, here are Bug and Chubby, both at 7 months.

(I think Bug may win the “Chubby” award…..)

Best Friends

2010-09-27T14:56:00.000-05:00

9.27.10

Million Dollar (Gummy) Smile

2010-09-26T15:17:00.000-05:00

9.20.10

Potato Head

2010-09-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

9.19.10

SBF Day

2010-09-25T15:09:00.001-05:00

9.19.10
My SBF, Rachel, and I met up for a way too short visit while she was visiting family. The day flew by way too fast. It was a tremendous blessing to hang out. We laughed, cried, and enjoyed each other company for the day. We love you Rach! Can’t wait to see you again! (Hopefully soon-ish?)

Carouself

2010-09-24T15:05:00.000-05:00

9.18.10

Bug finally decided she was ready to take the plunge and ride the “Carouself.” (I am unsure where the f comes from.) She was terrified in the past when we offered to take her for a ride. She loved every second of going in circles. The first thing she said when she got off was, “Abigail ride again?!?”