Just a spoon full of sugar

Galveston 2011

2011-07-20T14:02:00.002-05:00

The beach!!

We are blessed to have some family that has an amazing beach house in Galveston. And better yet, they let their friends and family ~~take over~~ borrow it :)

We love the beach house. It's easy with kids because we can really spread out and relax, cook meals there and its such an easy drive. Since Layla was just 3 months we needed easy. And the best part was is eating breakfast on the back porch while feeling the ocean breeze. Heaven!!

First family of 5 beach picture!! Emma and Layla's first trip to the beach. Grace went when she was about 7 months old so this was her second trip!

This is pretty much how Layla spent everyday at the beach... sleeping. I don't know what it was about the beach but she zonked for hours every day. It must have been the sound of the ocean. It practically lulled me to sleep everyday too! My sweet friend let us borrow this great tent like thing for kids to protect her from the sun. Totally recommend for anyone heading to the beach with little ones.

We were also thrilled that we had lots of visitors while we were there. My parents joined us for a weekend... so nice to have an extra set of hands. Our good friends, Matt and Meagan, and their twins, Ryan and Quinn also joined us for a day. So fun!! Can't wait till all these little guys get bigger... friends for sure!

My 3 girlies... shopping in downtown Galveston. Gotta get some tshirts!

Last day at the beach!!

My Layla bug in her sailor outfit... how cute is this?!!

My Emmy enjoying ice cream!

And my Gracie! Getting so big!!

Can't wait till next year!!

Layla is 4 months!!

2011-07-10T09:56:00.024-05:00

Happy 4 months baby girl!

Your 4 months stats:

Height: 25.25 inches (85%)

Weight: 15lbs 13.5 inches!! (91%)

Head: 16.5 inches (76%)

I love when your monthly birthdays are on a Sunday! So fun to show off your church clothes :)

You have been looking at those toes for weeks now and finally this month you were able to reach out and grab them! You were so happy!!

Have I told you how much you love the bath? You love it! I think once you are big enough to sit you will love splashing in the tub with your big sisters!

You have really started to get on a schedule this month. Taking about 3 naps and sometimes still cat napping here and there. Sort of how it goes when you have 2 big sisters that like to be on the go! And look at this sweet face!

And I had to show off your sweet bloomers! Love them Hailey... although she will probably need a bigger size in a matter of no time!

This month you have been working on rolling. You have only rolled from your belly to your back a few times. But your doctor just says your laid back... and I agree. I sort of like that I can still put you in one place and you will still be there when I get back :)

You big sisters love to show you how to roll... will try to post a video of that soon! It's really cute!

Happy 4 months baby girl!

And I couldn't leave out the big sisters! This is a normal scene in our house...

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T15:50:00.005-05:00

summer is rough

2011-06-24T08:54:00.004-05:00

To get ready for Kindergarten we aren't giving a nap anymore. Unlike most 5 year olds she could still nap if I wanted her to. So summer has been busy and long. And one afternoon I found her coloring and asleep!!

Vacation Bible Camp 2011

2011-06-15T08:35:00.000-05:00

Vacation Bible Camp was busy busy!! I was on our planning team again this year. Let me tell you that being on the planning team is strictly volunteer and with 2 preschoolers and an infant it was BUSY! But after a busy couple weeks, Vacation Bible Camp was here and I could relax a bit and have fun!

This was also the first time Layla went to the church nursery. Thankfully she was blessed to be in bitty baby class with only 4 other babies. They also had 2 nursery workers and a youth volunteer that was fabulous! She did great. And I think she loved it despite the look on her face the first morning.

Looks like she is saying... "Your leaving me here... ".

The girls and I had a great week!! Here we are ready to go!

Emma and three of her church buddies. These girls are tight! They also all go to preschool together.

And Grace with her girlfriend! These two are good friends!

God was wild about us that week!! What a blast we had!

Layla is 3 months!

2011-06-10T08:04:00.000-05:00

Miss Layla Kate is 3 months!! Apparently she was thrilled about this :)

During this photo shoot all she wanted to do was look at her toes. Love when the discover new things.

Layla always a sister watching over her...

a friend for the road...

a cuddle partner...

and a playmate to watch. This baby is nearly Layla's size!

Layla is also know to fall asleep in some pretty odd ways.

During tummy time...

While cuddling with a certain big sister..

or while swinging away.

And as you can see she loves her paci!

But mostly she is just a happy baby!

We couldn't be more blessed with our third baby girl!!

Happy 3 months Layla!

Emma's last day of the guppies

2011-05-24T20:44:00.000-05:00

Emma had a fun last day of school too!

They made ice cream sundaes - 3 year old style! Basically the parents helped so we didn't have a mound of sprinkles with their scoop of ice cream! haha!

All the class cuties. Yup all girls!! This is a tight group of girls! And don't you love the aprons that the teachers helped the girls make! Each had all their friends hand prints on them. So cute!

Emma and her 2 sweet teachers! She loved them so much. She's going to get a rude awakening when they aren't her teachers next year!!

And another flashback... emma's first day in the fall. Amazing the change in just 9 short months!

Grace's preschool graduation & last day

2011-05-24T15:39:00.002-05:00

My biggest baby girl is officially a preschool graduate.

How did that happen?? She has blossomed into a five year old ready for Kindergarten. Her preschool puts on just about the cutest preschool graduation I've ever seen.

Adam and I were able to get a babysitter so we could devote our attention to Grace that night.

She is walking in with her class here. She was so excited!!

We couldn't be more proud of our baby girl!!

For fun I thought I would post a picture of her very first day of preschool. She was just 2 1/2 here. What a little cutie!! I miss those little curls!

Oh and I have couple pics of her last day of school. Here is her entire class. She really was blessed to make some good friendships!

And of course Grace with her caterpillar teachers. She and I both LOVED them! Exactly the kind of teachers she needed to prepare her for big girl school!

2 months

2011-05-12T15:04:00.000-05:00

My sweet little Layla bug is growing so fast!

She already celebrated her 2 month birthday.

Layla's 2 month stats were:

length - 23.5 inches (82%)

weight - 12lbs 11ozs (91%)

My big girl!!

This month Layla has really come to life! She has lost that newborn all curled up look and now just looks like a baby. You smile a lot, but mostly for your sisters and your daddy (of course!). You love your swing most days and are a great sleeper. You are a champ nurser, but have taken a handful of bottles pretty well. Honestly I think you are a typical third baby... laid back.

Thank you baby girl for being apart of our family. It wouldn't be complete without you!!

And look at that light hair... well lighter than her sisters ever was.

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-11T16:24:00.008-05:00

Mother's Day festivities start early when you have children in preschool. The week before our preschool does the cutest things.

Emma's Muffin's with mom was first. Them made these precious "flower" picture pots so we knew where to sit at the table.

Emma told her teacher a little bit about her mommy. I'm 5! Did you know that?? (sorry i forgot to turn it!)

Emma's 3 year old friends - the guppy class!

Later that day I got to have tea with Grace and her class!!

She also told her teacher a little about me. Although I'm pretty sure cleaning dishes is NOT my favorite thing to do. Love that my children think I'm a mom at 12 :)

Grace's table all set for tea with mommy. How cute is this?!

The teachers even made a bulletin board with pictures of all the moms!

The actual mother's day was good too. Although Adam had to leave town that evening for business it was still a nice day with my family!

Layla's baptism

2011-05-10T19:46:00.000-05:00

Layla was baptized at just 2 months old on Mother's Day! Forgive the pictures... these were the best we got. Our camera was not happy that day!

Pastor John and Pastor Dena and little Miss Layla.

Our family.

And our little (BIG!) family! Emma was having a rough day. Layla was a dream however during the baptism and the service. We are so blessed to have 3 precious little girls to fill our lives with!

Easter 2011

2011-05-02T15:32:00.004-05:00

We had a lot of firsts this Easter. Our first Holiday as a family of 5. Layla's first Easter. Our first road trip with 3 kids. And lots of first smiles.

Our Easter festivities started the weekend before this year. Our neighborhood hosts a fun Easter event each year. This year the Easter bunny was there, bounce houses, face painting (see Grace's face), egg hunting, and even a petting zoo (those poor animals being chased by a lot of kids!).

Layla even got to get out... she slept the entire time! She loves her ERGO and so do I!

The girls also had Easter parties and egg hunts at their preschool but getting there was good enough of me. Having my camera would have been by pure miracle!

For Easter weekend we headed to East Texas to spend the weekend with Adam's family. It's always so nice and quiet and relaxing there. No quick trips to Target or anything like that since nothing is really close by. But its a great excuse to stay in your cozy clothes all day and watch movies and enjoy family. And thankfully the drive wasn't bad. Layla slept the whole way both there and back... fitting every thing we needed for the weekend in car was another story :)

The Easter bunny came...

Layla and her basket...

The girls with their baskets.... Emma and Grace had a lot of questions. Emma wanted to know how the bunny was going to get there - by walking or driving... he hopped of course! And Grace wanted to know how he knew where we were since we weren't home... God tells him where we are at!

Pop pop and Layla were tired from all the action...

And a little egg dying too place.

But most of all Layla really started smiling at 5-6 weeks old! I LOVE when babies can start interacting more. What a sweet smile from our littlest sis!
And I don't have a picture of the girls in their Easter dresses... we actually didn't make it to church! Had every intention it just didn't happen. Thankfully the bluebonnet pics below they were wearing their dresses. :)

Happy late Easter to your family!!

1st day to church

2011-04-29T09:39:00.004-05:00

Layla enjoyed her first Sunday at church a couple weeks ago. She did fabulously making it through both Sunday School and church service.

Each of my girls have worn the same dress for their first Sunday at church. It was just a dress that someone gave to Grace. Nothing terrible special but somehow has turned into a dress we will keep. I dug through some old pics and found a picture of each girl in the dress on their first Sunday to church... all around a month old. And as you can see they definitly all look alike... but different too!

Layla

Emma

Grace

Not sure what happened to the tights. I loved those!

bluebonnets 2011

2011-04-12T19:15:00.003-05:00

This is probably my favorite time of the year. It's so beautiful with all the flowers and trees blooming. It is also a perfect time for a newborn... not too hot and not too cold. We ventured out to a nearby bluebonnet field and snapped a few pics.

My 3 girls! Grace is such a pro with Layla.

Me and all my girls!!

Daddy and his littlest girl Until next year...

Layla is 1 month!

2011-04-10T12:29:00.001-05:00

Layla is 1 month old today!

Honestly I'm not really sure how the weeks have gone so quickly. But here I am sitting down for a monthly shot into Layla's new short life.

We haven't done or gone many places this month but we have done a lot of this... sleeping. At least Layla that is. I've only managed to get a handful of naps. Naps are sort of non-existent for mommies that have other children. Layla had her first bath. She wasn't too happy about it.

We had lots of visitors this past month but one of the most special visits was from Layla's great grand mother. :)

The big sisters are always constantly asking to hold Layla. They LOVE her... sometimes a little too much.

While I do think Layla loves her sisters, she does sleep best when she is out of their reach. And to no surprise she sleeps wherever - the car seat, the swing, or the last place I set her down. Although she does love to snuggle. I spend almost every night once the big girls go to sleep just holding Layla. I can't manage to put her down. We have also posed for a lot of pictures.

And made new friends. (Lila is only 2 weeks older than Layla)

Oh and Layla loves her pacifier!

Layla also took her first bottle. And has had several since.

And is already out growing many of her itty bitty clothes... here she is in her "little sister" onesie that is already too small!!

And did I mention how much her big sisters adore her.

And finally she got to enjoy a real bath, which Layla loved! (the little fish washcloth on her body is the coolest thing!... perfect for her little body to keep warm!)

Happy ONE month Layla-bug!

Layla's 1 month stats:

Weight - 10 pounds 13 ounces (89%)

Length - 22 inches (81%)

Layla is right where she should be. She has grown over 2 pounds in the last month. The pediatrician joked that I must make chocolate milk.

Layla is a champ at breastfeeding. And thankfully she also takes the bottle with no issues (remember Emma never took a bottle!!)

She loves tummy time. In fact she normally falls asleep during it.

We just love her to pieces!!

Layla Kate Dugan arrived!!

2011-04-04T15:05:00.005-05:00

Okay so it only took me 3 weeks and 4 days to sit down to write this post. Pathetic. Really the transition hasn't been all that bad, but sitting at the computer just doesn't happen. I really wish I had all the fabulous pictures I've taken on my phone because my phone is about the only thing I've been playing on these days. Amen for the iphone so I can get some stuff done while nursing. Anyway, so back to our third precious edition!!

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Layla Kate Dugan was born on March 10, 2010 just 5 days before her due date. I had been contracting every 10 minutes for about a day so I called my OB and asked what I needed to do to move things along. She told me to head into her office and she would see how far along I was. I had just been there 2 days prior and was 3 centimeters (for the 3rd week). I went and fully expected to be sent back home, but I wasn't! She said I was nearly 5 centimeters and in early labor! YAY! It couldn't have been a more perfect day too. Both girls were at preschool and Adam was working from home. So Adam and I made arrangements for the girls and packed up and headed to the hospital.

They started me on a low dose of pitocin (to get my contractions closer together) around 1pm. My OB broke my water at 2:30. I tried to go natural but by 4pm I was in a lot of pain and was still just a 5! SO I asked for the epidural... so much for being superwoman :) After I go the epidural I felt good for about 4o minutes and then I was in terrible pain. Pain I had never had with any of my girls. I thought my epidural wasn't working. It was actually that I was ready to push. Wow that was fast! They told me not to sneeze or laugh (they weren't kidding) because they needed to get the doctor there. Once everything was set and she was there I pushed through one contraction and Layla was here! I could hardly believe it... fast just like Emma. She was born at 5:10pm just 4 hours after they started things at the hospital.

My last pregnant picture EVER! :)

Layla weighted in at 8 pounds and 7.5 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. No wonder I was so uncomfortable...I had a small giraffe in my tummy!!

Her first close up... her very short hair looks sort of curly?!

Finally in mom's arms. I can't believe I'm posting this because I look so puffy from all that fluid they were pumping in me!!

The girls cam while I was still in the delivery room (after Layla was born) and they got to snuggle her and even got to see her first bath. That was so fun. I didn't get to see Grace or Emma's first bath.

Such proud girls.

Emma's turn, but big sister Grace helping as always.

They unwrap her and notice her belly button... they weren't too sure about it!

The newest family of 5!

Emma isn't the baby anymore :)

Adam and his third baby girl!

The proud big sisters!!

Snug as a bug in a rug. She loves to the swaddled!

My long and lean girl!

Snuggle time!

Ready to go home! Let the fun begin :)

Layla Kate

2011-03-15T22:12:00.001-05:00

My third precious baby girl was born on March 10th and already 5 days after her birth she has stollen our hearts forever. I hope to post some pictures and her birth story soon but just wanted to tell you she is here. ;)

Emma's THREE!!

2011-03-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Whenever I sit down to reflect on another year gone by, it just simply amazes me how quickly children really do grow.

My sweet Emma turns 3 today. How in the world is that even possible? I can still remember the day she was born so well. I remember what a sweet and calm and good baby she was.

At three Emma is a busy bee. She always wants to do, have, be whatever her sister does, has or is. :) She also knows how to stand her ground when she doesn't get her way. Emma loves loves loves school. She is pretty sad on the 1 day that Grace goes to school and she doesn't. She loves to do anything hands-on from painting and coloring to digging in the dirt.

Emma is also more of my girly girl... she loves to have her finger and toe nails painted and definitely has an opinion about what she wears each day (and night for that matter). She is sometimes even more particular about her panties :)

She is by far my social butterfly. She is always amazing me with the words she says and the things she knows that I had no clue she did. She counted to 20 the other day and I was shocked. No clue she could do that!

This may sound silly but I really feel like she was meant to be a middle sister. I see her as always finding ways to stand out as her own person... and not just the sister squeezed between her older and younger sister. We'll see if I'm right.

Here is my sweet Emmy year by year. (Take note of her shirt... it was Grace's shirt when she was 3... and I'm pretty sure you will see the 1 year one next year on Layla!)

1 week old

One

Two

Three

Third year stats:

weight - 32 lbs

height - 37 inches

Happy 3rd Birthday baby girl!!

a 5th and 3rd birthday party...

2011-02-28T07:29:00.001-06:00

Since my girls birthdays are just a couple weeks apart and since both their birthdays are so very close to my due date we decided to make things easy this year and do a joint birthday outside the house. I highly recommend it.

It was the first year I've ever had a party not at the house. SOOOOO nice!

Grace and Emma had said they wanted a gymnastics party, but since we had lots of little friends coming we decided it would be easier to do at a bounce house place.

The party theme was castles... inspired mainly by the fact that the only thing Grace asked for was a castle cake. She had been talking about her castle cake since Christmas so I went with it.

Since transporting a castle cake sounded like a challenge to me, I made the cake for her real birthday. I know why bakeries charge so much for cakes...

Here is the final product. Don't look too close :)

So back to the party... here are the girls before we left!
The girls were line leaders for the day...

Having fun down the slides...

All their little friends. Yes all girls.

We have been blessed to know a lot of little girls around the same ages as our girls!
To carry out the castle theme.... I found these cute little cupcake toppers! Pink and purple per the request of 2 little ladies...

Singing happy birthday! Grace got a little embarrassed... oh the life of girls!

And when we got home the girls had a blast opening all their gifts.

They aren't spoiled at all...

Overall the party was fun, the girls had a blast and having a party outside your home is totally worth the money... especially when the mommy is 9 months pregnant :)

37 weeks and 2 days

2011-02-24T11:34:00.001-06:00

Well I made a little progress in a week. I'm now 3 centimeters. I probably should be more excited but you see my good friend who is due 2 days before me is headed to hospital to have her baby girl today. I can't help but feel a little jealous. So excited for her but just wishing I could join her.

I know Layla will be here very soon. I'm just anxious to meet her and to not be pregnant anymore. :) hopefully my next post will be that she is here! But more than likely it will be post about my baby girl that turns 3 next week!!

36 weeks and 4 days pregnant

2011-02-19T04:42:00.005-06:00

So it's 4am and I thought I would post a little update.

I had an ultrasound 2 days ago and little Miss Layla was measuring 6 pounds 11 ounces and 19.5 inches long. Perfect and on track to be about an 8 pound baby if I go to full term.

That said... I'm already 2 centimeters dilated. I was never dilated this far with Grace (until I was in labor) and with Emma I was about 38 weeks when I was dilated to a 2.

The doctor was asking me questions like how far I live from the hospital and she went over all the reasons I need to call her and go to the hospital.

And while yes I'm so excited to meet Layla and feel more comfortable, I feel like I have 10,000 to do. This week alone I have the girls birthday party, a dentist appointment for them, their 3 & 5 year well visits, haircuts for them and of course I even have friends coming over next weekend to hang out.

So clearly I don't have time to have a baby yet. The worst part is my following week is even busier. My big brother and his family are coming into town and we are celebrating my dad's 60th birthday!

(This also doesn't include the FIVE children's birthday parties we have been invited to before my due date. I think nearly every one of our friends have children born in February and March... and now I'm adding another to that list!)

Honestly, I've never thought for one minute that I would deliver. Based on my track record I like to cook my babies past their date.

So I made plans.

This said... I would happily cancel any and ALL plans if it meant I get to meet my precious new baby girl. :)

ps.... yes its 4am... not sleeping much these days. Tired but just can't sleep. It's fabulous :)

My 5 year old Valentine

2011-02-14T11:16:00.006-06:00

How can this girl be five??!!

Grace is such a blessing to have in our lives. She is a such a happy little girl and is usually in a good mood.

Grace loves playing with her friends and loves going to school even more.

She loves dolls. Really I thought dolls were for little little girls, but this girl loves to be a little mommy. She has recently gotten into her American Girl look alike. Thankfully she doesn't know hers isn't real. Her doll is named "Sally". Although most of her dolls or babies are named Sally.
She is also quite goofy. She has started to pose more and more when I try to snap a picture. Here is a little proof:

And some more...

And like I said she is just a happy girl.

And she loves her sister dearly... it is so fun to see these two. While yes they do argue and fight, they really truly love each other and watch out for one another. I hope they welcome their new sister with open arms. **************************
Other things Grace is up to: (more for me)

*She can count to 30 alone and can count to 100 with help. She needs helps starting at each new ten.

*She can write about 10 words from memory. But she is very good at writing her name and Emma's name. She is also pretty neat with her writing. Her teachers tell me she takes her time and is always working hard to finsh her work perfectly.

*She has made amazing strides in her speech class. Most people are surprised to know she is in speech but it has been great to her. She has made so much progress and is ready for Kindergarten.

*She knows how add most single digit numbers (like 2+5). Maybe bound to be a math person like her daddy? Definitely doesn't get it from me!!

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And for fun I always love to look at how much kids change and grow in such a short time...

Grace at 1 week

Grace at 1

Grace at 2
Grace at 3

Grace at 4
Grace at 5! (same shirt as last year...)
Happy Birthday sweet girl!! We love you and proud to have you as our daughter.

January 2011

2011-02-01T12:33:00.004-06:00

I know it say it often but really this past month flew by. I sort of figured it might go slow being pregnant and all, but this morning when I woke up (to a snow day!) I realized it was February.

Really when you have young children the days just somehow turn into weeks and months and somehow years.

Our January was busy. So busy that I rarely brought my camera (no surprise!). We had 6 birthday parties, 3 baby showers (1 for Miss Layla and 2 for friends), a trip to East Texas, a few doctors visits (for me and the girls), preschool registration (sort of a huge deal around here), and of course we took part in a Sibling class at the hospital where Layla is going to be born.

Oh and one weekend we even had the pleasure of having the class monkey, George, come to our house. George had a busy weekend when he came to visit. 2 birthday parties and a trip to the hospital. He even got his own seat :) Also, notice Grace moved up to a booster seat. Now this might be no big deal in your house, but I liked big Britax car seat. It is the safest seat for her. But all her friends have been getting boosters and honestly she has been begging me for one. So as a Christmas present I asked my in-laws to get her one. She loves the pink trim the most. She has been telling everyone about her new seat. What a silly girl.... so excited about a new seat! I can't believe Kindergarten is just months away.

The girls LOVED the Sibling class at the hospital. Each girl made a sign to hang on the baby's crib with their picture that says "I'm a Big Sister". Emma was hilarious on this day. Most of the kids in the class were 4 or 5. Emma was by far the youngest, but that didn't stop her from answering all the questions. She was VERY into it!

Grace was a little more reserved, but was really taking it all in. I think she enjoyed the hospital tour the most. Although they both were quite confused when we didn't leave with the baby. I guess they thought we were going there to get the baby :)

With Miss Layla's arrival only 6 weeks away (can you believe I'm already 34 weeks!), some of my close friends insisted on throwing me a shower. To be honest, I've always kind of thought that showers for anything but your first baby weren't really okay. I didn't have a shower with Emma, but I really didn't need a whole lot besides diapers and wipes. But with this baby, we really had gotten rid of some key items (like our car seat!) both because they were worn out after 2 kids and because we weren't sure we were going to have another... so I was okay with it. Of course I told them to send out an evite and have a small shower with punch and cake. They didn't listen!

The shower was amazing. Every detail had been thought out. It was perfect. Miss Layla was spoiled rotten! And this is why I learned that having showers for your second, third, etc baby are more than okay. Each baby is special. Miss Layla has a lifetime ahead of hand-me-downs so it was wonderful to have some wonderful new treasures for just for her.

Here are all my SIX hostesses! Yes 6! I feel so blessed to have each of these women in my life. They really blew me out of the water with their love for baby Layla.

I wont bore you with a 50 pictures from the shower, but I do have a couple just to show you how perfect everything was.

All the guests enjoyed "mamatinis"... basically a martini minus the rum :) They were so cute and fun.

And of course a sweet cake with Layla's initials. The cake was strawberry and so yummy!

And I guess that about wraps up January. I'm hoping to post some belly shots sometime next week! You would have thought after I got dressed cute for the baby shower I would have done that... but no. Hope you had a wonderful January as well! Now off to do laundry and enjoy the rest of the day (probably week) indoors... high isn't suppose to be above 20 degrees until Friday!! Brrrrrr....

Test from the iPhone

2010-12-29T17:20:00.001-06:00

Adam got me the new iPhone 4 for Christmas. I feel so spoiled! Would you believe that is the first phone we have ever paid for?! We have always gone for the free ones. It is such an awesome phone.... So cool that I can even blog from it. Maybe I will blog more. No promises :)

baby practice

2010-12-28T14:19:00.002-06:00

The girls love babies. They love baby dolls and real babies too. Lately it seems like all they talk about... guess they are excited. Wonder if that excitement will be the same once Layla is here??

Here the girls are cuddling while watching a show. Grace told me to take a picture and said that they were practicing holding the baby. Notice Emma has her pinkie finger in the baby's mouth.

On a shopping trip to Target this year we bought a couple small baby dolls to give as Christmas gifts. Grace put the baby under her shirt and said "I've got a baby in my tummy"... and so it began. There are babies in a lot of tummies in our house. Besides mommy baby, Emma has a baby in her tummy often.

11 weeks (or maybe a little sooner) Miss Layla will be here!! Oh and her room is officially pink!! Painting is done.

Christmas 2010

2010-12-28T13:48:00.003-06:00

What a busy Christmas season we have had. December was filled with parties and programs, 2 cookie decorating parties with friends, book exchanges, light looking and even a couple events for the adults :)

Here are a few pics from Christmas eve and Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve we headed to church and managed to take a couple pics after.

The girls loving on eachother. I promise they aren't always so lovey but for some reason when we are in public they are BFF's... its sort of funny.
One of our last pictures as a family of 4. Hard to believe that Miss Layla will be here in 11 weeks or less. (don't you like my festive black for Christmas... sliming is what I was hoping for!)

Christmas morning the girls woke us up around 7:30 and told us that Santa had come. Here are the girls posing. We were pretty simple this year since the girls just got new beds and bedding (another post) so a doll for everyone it was... including Miss Layla who Santa was sweet not to forget and brought a little plush doll for (in the middle on the floor).

The biggest hit of the day was unicorn pillow pets from their Aunt Tricia and Uncle Todd. They have been dragging them around the house everywhere too.. who knew that was the toy of the year!

Hope you and your family had a very Merry Christmas!

A name...

2010-12-24T08:49:00.002-06:00

Baby girl #3 has a name....

This was really the very first name I suggested to Adam totally thinking he wouldn't go for it, but he liked it so it was added to the list. A very short list I might add. This time was much harder because we wanted something that went well with Grace and Emma and we wanted a name that a friend or family member didn't already name their child. We mentioned our top 2 names to the girls and somehow Layla just sort of stuck. The girls have been calling her by her name for sometime now, but we just weren't quite ready to write it on paper.

We are thrilled to bring Miss Layla into our family in just about 11 weeks!

Santa 2010 (and years past)

2010-12-23T08:57:00.000-06:00

Another good picture with Santa. Both girls were really excited to see Santa this year. Emma wasn't too sure what to think though once she sat in his lap. This was the only picture we could get of her looking at the camera... she just kept starting at him. Grace told Santa she wanted playdou for Christmas and Emma wouldn't say anything so Grace told Santa that Emma wanted a baby (news to me!).

Here was the infamous picture with Santa and for fun all the past years. I love that we can visit the same Santa year after year. :)

2010

2009
2008

2007 2006

my third sweet baby girl update... 27 weeks

2010-12-17T06:55:00.000-06:00

I can't even believe I'm 27 weeks and 3 days.

Last week I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed that we had done NOTHING to prepare for this sweet baby girl growing inside me. So in a weeks time this is what we have done...

1. moved all Grace's old furniture out of her room and set up the baby crib. (We actually moved Grace and Emma into a room together a couple months ago and they are doing great and love being with their sister.... most of the time... I'll post pictures of their room soon... when its finished!)

2. Ordered an infant car seat and stroller. Early this year (before I was preggo) I sold my old car seat and stroller mainly b/c it was going to expire (yes car seats expire after 5 years) and really I thought IF we had another baby it would be a long time from now. My parents graciously offered to buy a new car seat for the baby and we were lucky to find a great deal!

3. Bought paint. Yes we only bought the paint. A very very pale shade of pink. Hopefully we (meaning Adam) will get a chance to paint sometime this month. I'm so excited about the pink. Grace's nursery was yellow and Emma's was green, so its fun to actually have a pink girly nursery! :)

4. Registered at the hospital. I actually had not thought about this, but my OB told me at my appointment this week to go ahead and get registered. And the hospital I'm delivering at has online registration. So easy and fast!

5. I think we may have decided on a name for our precious third baby girl.... not quite ready to write it down and make official, but we can't manage to think of anything that would be better. I'll let you know soon.

***********************************************

On another note, I've been meaning to make a note of all the things the girls have been saying these last couple months. They are so excited and its so cute to see their excitement. When I was pregnant with Emma, Grace was still so little so this is all very new.

Things Grace says:

- We were at shoe store a couple months ago and when we were checking out she told the cashier "my mommy has a baby in her tummy"... that was the first (of now many) times she has told a stranger about the baby. This has now turned into telling random people at even more random times about the baby growing in my belly.

- She always comes up to my belly and asks if the baby is kicking. She puts both hands on my belly and starts rubbing. It's super cute that is always asking but sometimes she wont get her hands off me.

- Every time we cuddle she is so concerned about hurting the baby. The other day I was laying on the couch and she wanted to lay with me... only there isn't so much room anymore. So she told the baby to move. HAHA! ... if it were only that easy.

Things Emma says:

- She loves to pull my shirt up and poke on my belly button and ask if the baby is coming out. She wants the baby to be here now.

- Emma has been asking if my tummy hurts. I guess it all stretched out just doesn't look comfy.

I guess that's about it for now. I just can't believe how quickly this pregnancy is going. I have to to do yucky glucose test this next week and I also start going to the OB every 2 weeks! I've still been feeling pretty good minus a few aches and pains and weird ailments that I'll save you from hearing about. Let's just say that with each pregnancy it truly is harder on your body... probably doesn't help that I'm trying to keep up with my 2 big girls! :)

The 3-day

2010-11-12T13:44:00.002-06:00

I don't think I can completely describe the 3-day accurately. While the blisters and pains I had during the walk are slowly fading, I will never forget the laughs, the tears, and the overwhelming support that we had while we journeyed through those 3-days.

It was over 6 months ago that I took the plunge and signed up to walk 60 miles in the course of 3-days. I also committed to raising $2300. But I knew those challenges were nothing compared to what someone has to go through when they are diagnosed with breast cancer. I know Christee would have much rather walked a mear 60 miles than loose her battle and her life.

What a learned is that everyone deserves a lifetime and that is why I walked. That is why I raised money.

I also walked for my daughters. Some people thought I was crazy to walk while 22 weeks pregnant, but I thought I was crazy not to. I had the pleasure of walking next to women that were clearly going through treatments, twice my age or size and yet they pushed on (many passed me!). If they could do it, then surely I could.

So without going into the details, I thought I would share a few pictures. 3 amazing days with some pretty amazing women that I'm lucky to call my friends. I'm blessed beyond words. Thank you for thoughts, prayers, donations, phone calls, emails and texts. Each one meant so much to me and will not be forgotten.

My team and I at the opening ceremony... ready to walk! Yes it was still dark!

A perfect sign for me :)

And my team at the finish... all 60 miles completed!!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-01T16:19:00.003-05:00

If you go to Disney world the same month as Halloween and you have little girls, you have no choice but to be Disney Princesses! :)

Thankfully I think I had 2 pretty cute princesses!

The week we got back from Disney World Grace said she wanted to Belle. Probably b/c we had just gotten Beauty and the Beast that had been released from the Disney vault.

I love this picture of Grace. She is looking so grown up these days!

And my silly girl Emma... I never got a fabulous picture of her all night, but this one will do. She was a beautiful Cinderella! The blue dress really brought out her blue eyes.

For the 3rd year in a row we got together with some neighbors for a little pre-trick or treating dinner and then made a loop around the neighborhood! The girls had a blast... however they were a little scared some of the costumes. Really I'm quite surprised some parents let their kids dress up so scary... maybe that is the girl mom in me talking?! :)

Hope you and your family had a fabulous Halloween filled with fun!

Baby #3 is a.....

2010-11-01T15:21:00.004-05:00

GIRL!!!

First off, I feel terrible that I've known for nearly 2 weeks. I guess this is just how things will go with baby #3... things will always be late. But since it was our last baby we decided to do something a little different to announce the gender.

We had our doctor not tell us the sex and had her write down the sex of the baby and put it an envelope. I then gave the envelope to my good friend Melissa. She was so sweet to make us a cake with pink or blue inside.

We then had a bunch of our friends and family come over. We told them to wear blue if they thought we were having a boy and pink if they thought we were having a girl.

As you can see it was pretty split... maybe with a few extra blues?

The Big Sisters had a blast too....

And it was time to cut into our cake...

Our PINK cake that is...

see our reaction!

I'm laughing and I think Adam is thinking about 3 weddings... haha!

We couldn't be more thrilled about a 3rd daughter. We know girls, we love girls and what could be more special than 2 sisters for each of my girls.

We got to peak in on the baby again today to do a full anatomy ultrasound and the baby was perfect in every way. She was measuring 3 days a little small but nothing out of the normal. She weighted in at approximatly 14 oz and is about 9.5 inches long. Hard to believe that in 19 weeks she will be here!!

Thanks for sharing in our joy and excitement as we prepare for our 3rd blessing!!

Disney World 2010

2010-10-18T14:41:00.010-05:00

Here they are finally... Disney World pictures. What an amazing family vacation filled with lots of memories. Two weeks later the girls are still talking about it! The girls were pretty good the whole trip ... only a couple meltdowns! As you can see by the pictures they loved every minute of it! We were lucky to bring my mom along which was a super help and also gave Adam and I a night out to dinner alone in Downtown Disney! Enjoy the pictures... I broke it up into the different parks. Enjoy!

Magic Kingdom!

The family in front of the castle - yes its pink! They actually changed the color of it all the time! So fun!

Our first character picture - Donald dressed up for something??

Buzz Lightyear ride - Grace loved it!

On our way out for a nap we caught a parade! Emma was so tired and hot as you can see. Thankfully it rained shortly after this and cooled things off!

The girls watching the parade.

Another day and castle photo :)

Disney grounds were beautiful! It is amazing how much property there is and it is all beautifully landscaped and maintained!

Grace being silly!

And Pinocchio. It's funny how excited the girls got when they saw a character... even ones they didn't know!

Dinner at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary!

On our way to dinner we stopped at the entrance of Magic Kingdom to snap some pictures. It was all decorated for Fall/Halloween!

Grace and Minnie - my favorite picture of her!

Emma and Minnie - we have lots of pictures of like this with Emma just staring at the character. She was in love!

Grace was showing Minnie her Minnie - it was really cute!

Mickey!

Pluto!
Goofy was so funny!

Hollywood Studios!

Grace (aka the tour guide). Only in Disney do they have kid maps and parent maps!

Mr. Potato head at the Toy Story ride... he sang and danced!!

Toy Story Ride... so fun! Wished we could have done it more than once... but it was a super hot ride so we only wanted to wait once :) It was actually our ride we waited for the longest - maybe 15 minutes. Super nice to go during "value season"... can't imagine what the busy season is like!

Lunch at the 50's diner!

Dessert at the 50's diner... this was huge! The picture doesn't do it justice!

Animal Kingdom!

All of us in front of The Tree of Life. It really was so beautiful and lush at AK.

Chip and Dale!

The Lion King show! This was my favorite show... lots of acrobatics and great music!!

The girls and Pluto and goofy!

Epcot and Princess dinner!
daddy and his princesses waiting for fireworks

Ariel

Snow White

Cinderella - Emma loved her!!

Sleeping Beauty

Princess Emma sleeping on the way to dinner! She was too excited to take a nap this day.

Princess Grace

Daisy Duck

Can't wait till we get to go back... maybe in a few years with the new baby!!

First day of preschool 2010-2011

2010-10-06T13:41:00.003-05:00

The girls started preschool just after Labor Day. (only took me a month to blog about it!)

Emma is a guppie this year! (Their school has an animal name for each class). This is Emma's first year to go 2 days a week. She loves it! A lot of the girls (there are 8 girls and no boys in her class!!) go to our church as well so she already has a lot of friends. I'm so happy that she loves her school. She is busy working on learning her colors and shapes and numbers.

Grace started her last year of pre-k in the caterpillar class. She is going 3 days a week and is still going to speech 2 mornings a week. I can hardly believe my baby girl will be headin' to Kindergarten next year. I'm already sad about it and its still 10 months away! Grace is busy working hard on learning her letters and sounds better and site words to learn to read. She eats it all up! She loves to learn and loves to be challenged... she even asks for homework. We'll see if she has the same attitude towards school next year.

The girls taking a stop for a picture! I wanted to take one outside but it was pouring down rain :) Hopefully to be a great year!!

Mexico 2010

2010-10-06T13:35:00.002-05:00

Adam and I were invited to go on trip to Playa back in August. And since we were going to be celebrating 10 years since we starting dating in September we thought it might be fun to do a get-a-away! It was wonderful to get away on an adult only trip. It was the first time Adam and I had left both girls and gone for 5 whole days! (the girls did great too spending time with both sets of grandparents!)

Although I was about 8-9 weeks pregnant when we went (which wasn't quite planned) it really worked out okay. Besides the food, the trip was a blast. We relaxed by the pool and on the beach a lot... which was very much needed! One day we even went to this place that we went zip-lining. What a blast!
I wish I had a picture of the whole group. There were 10 of us total. But I'll just leave you with one of Adam and I! :)

#3

2010-09-14T02:00:00.000-05:00

It always seems that when I have the most to write, I write the least. The last few months have been a bit of blur.

Christee was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer July 4th weekend (more on Christee later when I can write about that) and just days later our life changed even more... I was suddenly having these terrible food aversions and lots of trips to the bathroom.

Know what I'm talking about now?

Yup, you guessed right. :)

Adam and I are expecting baby #3.

A little brother or sister for Grace and Emma is due to arrive on March 15, 2011.

Surprised?

So were we!

We are both super excited and have learned in this short time that God sometimes gives you gifts you weren't even sure you wanted. So yes we have talked a lot about whether some day we might have another baby, but it was far off in the future... not now, not this year. But God reminded us that he is in control.

So we are over the moon excited to bring another baby (our last baby) into this family. Grace is super excited and has requested a "tiny baby brother, that is cute". Well we are just hoping for a healthy baby. Boy or girl we will be excited. Emma still isn't sure... she is already exhibiting signs of being of middle child. HA!

As far as the pregnancy to date... I'm 14 weeks. My 2nd trimester already. I can't believe it has taken me this long to write an official post but in true nature of a third baby - better late than never :)

I've felt okay. I feel a lot like the way I did when I was pregnant with Grace. Sick about every other day, nausea daily, tired, but overall just normal pregnancy symptoms. I always wished I was one of those that didn't have the sickness part in the beginning but I have with all 3. Maybe that means its another girl? I'm just thankful that I'm not as sick as I was with Emma. That girl made me so sick! I even lost 10 pounds the first 6 weeks. Thankfully this time I've only lost a few pounds, but hopefully the sickness this time will be ending soon.

We are feeling very blessed with this precious new Dugan baby growing inside me. Thank you for sharing in our newest joy!

Here is a picture from our last doctors appointment at 11 weeks. (legs on the left, head on the right) :)

Emma can petal!

2010-08-06T07:52:00.002-05:00

Finally Emma learned to petal her bike! She is so proud!

We don't normally ride bikes inside the house but its 105 degrees outside so we are hybernating in the air conditioning!!! Looking forward to fall already!

the lake 2010

2010-08-06T07:43:00.004-05:00

We were invited back to our friends lake house this summer. We had a blast last year but this year Emma joined us.

The girls and their daddy enjoyed some fishing! Got to get the girls their own poles - they loved it!!
Emma ready for a jet ski ride!

Mommy and her big girl!

Grace ready for some boat time! (My favorite picture... she is such a little model with that little smile!)

And all the girls!

Riley, Emma, Syndey and Grace

(I loved this picture b/c Grace is being such the oldest and telling Sydney what not to do!ha!)

Thanks for a great weekend!!

July

2010-07-28T15:35:00.003-05:00

Would you believe that I haven't taken a single picture since the 4th of July? And even then I only took 1. Pathetic. I use to be the mom that took about 100 pictures a week and had to pick and choose what I was going to blog about because I certainly couldn't blog about every picture I took.

In the last month we have been busy. Too busy apparently to grab my camera. Maybe we haven't been that busy, but perhaps its just really that I've forgotten to grab it.

We haven't done anything terribly exciting. A couple BBQ's, a few days in Little Rock, a few days at the pool and time around house. And all the while we went, my camera stayed in its little spot untouched.

So for August I promise to be better and remember to pick up my camera on our way out the door.

going south...

2010-07-06T13:25:00.003-05:00

We went south to visit family! Adam had to work in Austin for a week so the girls and I and my mom decided to join him for the week. We stayed with my brother and sister-in-law and their kiddos!

Here is all the cousins - Kaitlynn, Kameron, Kaleb and my girls

My mom towing all the little ones at the Blue Hole - such a fun natural spring!
Kaitlynn and Christee lounging...

Emma enjoyed her first movie - Toy Story 3! As long as their was a steady flow of popcorn she was happy.

Grace loved going on rides in the golf cart (no she never drove!)

And Emma rode on the 4-wheeler with Uncle Paul.

We even got to enjoy a little adult time with all the brothers and sister-in-laws at the Roger Creager concert at the Nutty Brown. What a fun place - just hidden in the hill country!

Unfortunately Christee isn't doing well. She was having migraines while we were there and days after we left she was admitted to the hospital. She has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Breast Cancer. Here is a link to her caring bridge site where Paul posted an update.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/Christee

Please pray for her and the family!!

VBC

2010-07-06T12:35:00.003-05:00

What a week! Our church's VBC (Vacation Bible Camp) was a couple weeks ago and what fun. I was on this years planning team and on a team in charge of decorations! And we don't disappoint! During the week I did preschool crafts so I got to go to Grace's class and see her do crafts. Emma isn't old enough so she got to hang out in the nursery with her friends. She also got to come sing and dance in the santuary at the end. What a fun and exhausting week :)

Emma and her class! Emma is being held by the girl in the black shirt (those are youth volunteers that are awesome... and they were teamed up with some adults!)

Grace and her class! Her teachers wore yellow everyday - they were the Yellow Righteous Rats.

I caught Grace in the halls one day as the line leader. She LOVES being the line leader!!

The 3 Day

2010-06-11T14:03:00.003-05:00

I don't think I've gotten the opportunity to tell everyone about something super exciting I'm doing this fall.

As most of you know, my sweet sister-in-law, Christee, was diagnosed with Stage 3C breast cancer last September. Since then I feel like the word "CANCER" has been way more apart of my life than I care to admit. It's everywhere. Maybe since its so close I notice things more or hear more stories. At any rate, its scary. Cancer that is. Super scary stuff.

So this year I knew I needed to do something about it. At my annual visit I had my OB teach me how to do a self-exam. Yes I've been taught before, but hey I just wanted to make sure I was doing everything right. So like clockwork I'm doing my own exams. In addition, I've also been running (as you all know). Since my last half marathon in April I wasn't sure what was next. I had been thinking about doing this walk called The 3 Day. One of my running partners also has a sister who is in remission and she was planning to do it this year. It just sounded so cool, so I was in.

I signed up on her team originally and then started telling friends and family what I had gotten myself into. 3 days of walking - 60 miles total. That's a lot of walking. And it was amazing how supportive and excited everyone was. I was floored. I had friends that wanted to join me in the walk. So after a lot of thought, I formed my own team. Somehow I went from being a bystander to being a team captain. How did that happen?

I couldn't be more thrilled.

One of the major components of signing up for this event is that you are required to raise $2300. Yes required. And yes each individual person has to raise the money - not each team. With 1 single email I have already raised more than that. I've raised $3,050! I was surprised at the giving hearts of so many people. It is amazing to see that there are other people that feel as passionate about this as I do. I couldn't feel more blessed to be surrounded by great friends and family who are beside me in this journey.

So in November, me and my 6 other team-mates will be walking 60 miles, camping out under the stars, and praying that we are one step closer to finding a cure for breast cancer.

************

If you want to help or join the team let me know! Since I've been so blessed to already reach my goal, I'm asking that if you want to donate that you please give to one of my team-mates. If you go to my website HERE you will see a link on the left side labeled "Cure 4 Cleavage" and that will bring you to my team. Just pick someone who hasn't yet reached $2300. Thank you so much for your generosity!!

an ouchie

2010-06-04T15:39:00.002-05:00

Emma loves her some band aides. I was busy folding laundry and hadn't heard from her in a while so I went to find her with band aides up and down her legs. See for yourself!

piggies

2010-06-04T15:18:00.002-05:00

You can't really tell from the pictures but Emma's hair is now long enough for some pig-tails. I love it!! Finally her hair is growing!!

Even though she is getting bigger she is till my sweet silly girl.

changes

2010-06-03T15:06:00.000-05:00

The last couple weeks have been busy with changes.

Little Miss Emma is not so little anymore.

We took down her crib (very sad moment for me!) and put up her new big girl bed. What a non-event! Grace was much more of a transition, but Emma was a pro. She was so ready for a big girl bed. 1 week later its like she has always slept in a bed.

We have also been potty trained. I had planned on training her this summer but later this summer (when I was up for it)... well apparently Emma was ready for that change before I was too. She literally begged me to wear panties one morning and we were going to be home for a few hours so I said okay. And she stayed dried. I was floored. So we decided that day to do it! In the last couple weeks she has only had a few accidents. So proud of her! I can't believe she is only 2 years and 3 months. My girl big :)
And yes she is eating bread while sitting on the potty :)

outside the lines

2010-05-31T15:02:00.000-05:00

Somehow Emma missed the paper all together. Amen for WASHABLE markers!

my little fish

2010-05-29T14:32:00.000-05:00

Grace took swim lessons again this summer. She LOVES to swim. She has already improved so much since last year.

This is the best video to show her ability but I forgot my camera the whole second week. But you the idea... she's swimming. Maybe I'll get a video of her later this summer to compare. She is learning so quickly!!

Grace's last day

2010-05-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Grace's last day as a "monkey" was a fun one!

The kiddos had a fun "beach" party filled with water slides, Popsicles, bubbles, sidewalk chalk and who knows what else.

Then they dried off and got changed and headed inside for Chick-fil-a, make your own sundaes, and decorating a new summer visor.

Gracie and her teachers - Ms. Susan and Ms. LaLinda

I can't believe that my big girl only has one more year of preschool then she heads to Kindergarten. So sad ... and its still a year away!

our Ohio friends

2010-05-19T14:16:00.000-05:00

When Adam and I lived in Oklahoma we really made some amazing friends.

Rob and Kelly were pretty much our friends to have up there. They had also just moved to OK (Adma and Rob worked together) and they had also gotten married just months before us. We have some really great memories with them.

Crazy that 7 years after we met them we now have little families and still keep in touch.

It's been 3 years since we have seen them. We went to visit them last and even sqeezed in a trip to Chicago. This time they made the DRIVE to visit us! We wished they could have stayed longer. My girls are still asking about Hannah and Conner. :)

Here are our 4 beauitful children.

Emma(2), Grace (4), Hannah (nearly 5) and Conner (3.5)

Kelly and I.

The boys

While they were here we enjoyed getting to enjoy the outdoors.

We went to a Rough Riders game,

visited the Fort Worth zoo,

played puzzles

and jumped on the trampoline and had a BBQ and just enjoyed eachothers company. I wished they lived closer. Thanks for a fun visit!!

Emma's first last day

2010-05-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

Emma had her first last day of preschool.

To celebrate they had a precious little indoor picnic and she even got a certificate of completion and a sandbucket filled with summer fun. I don't know how I didn't get a picture of her with her teachers??

Adam and I were both able to go to the party which was a fun surprise.

Muffins with Mom

2010-05-09T21:31:00.000-05:00

The girl's preschool does a fun little celebration for Mother's Day each year. We get to enjoy a little breakfast with kids while they shower us with precious gifts that they have made.

Grace's class made these adorable bags!

Her teachers also packed a "snack pack" with juice boxes and popcorn that we could use later for a little special mommy and me time.

Emma's was fun too. I guess she was feeling this picture...

And here is all her classmates. Such cuties! They also made these cute keepsake plates with their hand and footprints making the shape of an angel ... I'll have to take a picture!

I'm a very blessed mama to have 2 precious little girls to spoil me so much :)

Freebirds Friday

2010-05-07T21:53:00.001-05:00

You're probably thinking, "what is Freebirds Friday"... well its just something my neighbors and I came up with. An Aggie knows how delicious Freebirds Burritos are... so as a fundraiser one of my neighbors thought it would be fun to go and get burritos for nearly the whole street. She just charged a small fee :)

Here are some of the pictures from the night. I know I've said it before but we really are blessed to live in such a great place. We enjoy all our neighbors company and are lucky to call them friends.

The girls - Riley, Ava and Emma

Little Cade and Emma

Leslie and Sydney

Messy Lila The girls again with their Popsicles!

And the newest generation on the block... all the babies... the 3 on the right were born within days of each other! How fun is that.

And the guys doing what they do best...

Thanks for a fun evening!

Spring 2010

2010-05-07T14:34:00.007-05:00

Spring is here and in full force. And since I have about 10,000 photos of this Spring so far I thought I would do a post in pictures. We have been busy but enjoying every minute. Enjoy some pictures...

The girls before we headed out one day for a play date! I just love coordinating clothes :)
A park play date with Reagan. Reagan is 2 weeks older than Emma and has baby brother/sister on the way! Can't wait!

What afternoon is more complete than lunch at Chick-fil-a. Even Marvin, Grace's class monkey, loves it!

Super hero dress-up is always fun. (tough girl!)

Big hugs are a dime a dozen (some days...)

Happy faces are given out freely.

by this one too...

And a few "cheese" faces too...

Car rides happen often.

Tire swing rides are by far one of the biggest hits

lunch outside is always acceptable...And play dates at the splash ground top the list too...

Well for some... Emma wouldn't get wet!

I just love these girls to pieces! And I'm pretty sure most days they love each other too.

soccer

2010-04-25T15:19:00.003-05:00

Grace started soccer! OH MY... it is so stinkin' cute!! Of course being the good mom I am, I completely forgot the camera at the game. I'm so mad at myself. Thankfully there are still plenty of games left.

The game was precious though. Grace scored a goal and was so excited!

The entire day/game I just kept thinking about this new season of life.... the season where you pack up your entire house (you know - drinks/snacks/chairs/etc) to go to a 40 minute game.

I grew up going to games. I played soccer until high school but my brother (who was much better than myself) played A LOT... we even went to out of state soccer tournaments multiple times. It was apart of my life, my weekends, my week nights. I still remember going to games. It's pretty much the one sport I know well.

So I'm super excited about this season of life starting. It's fun that my girls are getting old enough to do stuff like this. So many more years of games/dances/whatever to look forward to!!

my 2nd half

2010-04-24T15:07:00.003-05:00

I finished my second half marathon nearly 2 weeks ago. (Yes I'm a terrible blogger these days!).

Hailey came into town to run it too with one of my running partners. It was her first and she kicked some butt! Here we are posing for a picture before we left at 5:45am. Somehow we were able to look kind of cute and perky... which if you would have known the night we had before you would think it wouldn't have been possible. (No it wasn't a big party of a night, it was kids up crying and unhappy!)

Despite being up all night with kiddos, I actually felt pretty good and ready to run. Up until mile 9, I was on a 9.5/min pace, but around mile 9 there were a few hills and I was getting tired. Slowed down but still finished in 2 hours and 14 minutes. Just over a 10/minute mile. I was thrilled!

The race started just outside of the Cowboys Stadium but finished inside (on the 50 yard line!). Super cool finish!! Everyone got to see us finish on the big jumbo screen!

Hailey's friend, Maggie, also ran a 5K that morning but waited around to see us finish!!

And of course a trip to Cowboys Stadium wouldn't be complete without Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders!! This one was really for the guys :)

Easter 2010

2010-04-05T15:13:00.007-05:00

We couldn't have asked for a better Easter. We had a nice weekend at home. The Easter bunny visited, we went to church to learn about why we celebrated Easter and we hung out at my parent house in the afternoon and even took a dip in the pool.

The week before Easter was also filled with fun activities.

Grace's preschool class had an Easter party and egg hunt. Her class is already to go (Grace is on the far right!)

Emma came along too so we took a picture with Max (from Max and Ruby)
Grace and her loot!

What party would be complete without a little pizza. Aren't they so cute!

Emma had a turn hunting earlier that week.

Here is her class ready for an indoor egg hunt - Emma LOVES the "Bye Bye Buggie"!! (Emma is on the top left and the little girl on the bottom left is sad because she saw her mom and didn't want to her to leave. :(

She wasn't quite sure what to do at first. But she figured it out pretty quick. :)

Hope you and your family had a blessed Easter!

Happy Birthday to you...

2010-03-29T13:29:00.003-05:00

We have had a lot of birthdays the last few months.

We started with my little brother Todd's, then Grace's, then my big brother Bryan, then my sister-in-law Becky, then her's and finally Adam's 30th birthday this past weekend... plus several of her friends birthday in February and March! So of course what would our 2 year olds favorite song be... HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I hear her singing in her crib and in the car. It's so cute. I caught this video a few weeks ago and am finally posting :) Enjoy!

Emma's first day of school

2010-03-23T16:03:00.004-05:00

Yes you read that right. Emma started Mother's Day Out today! WOO HOO!!!

I couldn't be more thrilled. And I'm pretty sure Emma likes it too. :)

She will only be going one day a week and only for 5 hours but its the first time in four years that I have had 5 hours all to myself guaranteed! So fun!!

Oh and Emma got a little hair cut. Her first real one. Hailey visited last week and cut her hair into a little "bob". It's super cute! Here is a little profile picture of her new hairdo!

treadmill and 13.1 miles

2010-03-15T17:20:00.008-05:00

I wasn't sure what to call it. Our new toy. No. Our new machine to help us burn a little fat. Maybe. Or our new piece of equipment that make me wonder why I ever started running.

Seriously I have a love/hate relationship with our new treadmill.

I love that when Adam is working late, or out of town, or when its dark outside, or when its too cold or hot outside, or when the girls are napping... I have the option to go run. It can be a real bummer if you actually want to run and you can't. As I've said before I run without my children. And since I'm a stay at home mom, being without my children doesn't happen too often.

I hate the treadmill because it just stinks. Really. Running in the same room, the same direction for 30-45 minutes or possibly longer just stinks. I love being outside. Being able to look around and see whats going on while rocking out to my music.

I've also been training to do my second half marathon on April 11th. I'm up to 10 miles, but training for this one just hasn't felt the same. But I think I can get through it and be fine. Still have to officially sign up, but for some reason I'm in no hurry to do that! :)

2

2010-03-05T21:34:00.005-06:00

My baby girl is two years old today. 2 really? It is so true that the second child grows faster than the first.

My sweet Emmy is turning into such a sweet little girl. Not sure I can call her my baby anymore as she truly is a little toddler. She is a little lady that knows what she wants (and what she doesn't) and gives a little sass when she doesn't get her way. Oh the drama. But if I think this is drama I can only imagine the drama that will be in my house in about 10 years (or sooner).

Really though Emma is everything I could hope for in a daughter. She loves to learn and is dying to go to school like her big sister does. If you ask her how old she is, Emma quickly replies with "3"... we are working on that. She loves to sing and the last several days has been singing "Happy Birthday" over and over. It's quite cute. Emma also loves to color and any other art activity I will allow her to do. She loves to be outside most. Loves playing with sidewalk chalk or riding her scooter or jumping on the trampoline. She just likes to do. She still doesn't like tv. Honestly I didn't know kids like this existed. She has no interest in anything (trust me we have tried) on tv. Thankfully she does love books and playing pretend so I can usually occupy her when I need to shower or go to the bathroom... you know all those type of things.

Emma also loves the doctor. She can say the name of everyone in the office and I think they love it. Her stats at her 2 year visit:

Weight - 26.5 lbs (50%)

Length - 34 inches (50%)

Head - 19.5 inches (93%)

So she is pretty average. That said she was only in the 25% at 18 months for her weight so the pediatrician thought she might have a growing spurt soon. I guess kids go out and then grow up. But average isn't so bad. :)

For Emma's birthday we decided to just have a fun day. No big party just a family day and a few neighbors over for pizza and cake. It was so nice.

The day started with pancakes by daddy. Emma & Grace's favorite.

Then we headed to the Fort Worth zoo.

We ran into our neighbors and good friend, Riley. It also was her 2nd birthday. What a fun way to enjoy your birthday and a beautiful 60 degree Spring day.
Emma loved all the animals.
But I think this turtle was a hit for all of us. He just hung out near the glass for a while looking at us.

A shot of the girls. Seriously need to work on not saying "cheese"...

Emma's favorite part was walking... she is almost getting too big for her stroller :(

And the afternoon ended with a train ride.

We came home and took baths and a quick nap and it was time to open presents. Emma's big gift was a nice tricycle. She is already getting the hang of it.

Emma's yummy cake I made. I'm really starting to get the hang out it. I didn't have a lot of time so I just did some polka dots.

Ready to blow out candles.

Trying to blow them out... thankfully she got a little help from her sister.

What a perfect day for a two year old! Happy Birthday sweet Emmy.

I love these girls

2010-03-03T14:09:00.002-06:00

What sweet sisters!

Limbs for Life Annual Benefit

2010-02-28T19:56:00.003-06:00

As many of you probably already know, my uncle was hit by a car about 11 years ago while he was running (on the sidewalk) and the result was the loss of one of his legs. After he lost his leg he became very involved with an organization called Limbs for Life. It's a super cool organization that raises money to buy prosthetics for those that can't afford them. Maybe their insurance wont pay for it or maybe they don't have insurance... whatever the case, they help those folks out. They help those people to have a life again. A life they couldn't have without the help of Limbs for Life.

So last night was their annual benefit. Every year they do a fun theme to get everyone excited and just for fun really. This year the theme was the Roaring 20's. SO FUN!! Everyone was dressed up in their flapper best! Adam and I all ready to go...

We were greeted at the entrance by a 1920's Ford... super cool!! Adam and I and a greeter!

I just had to take a picture of this Porsche. A couple donated it (YES - donated!). It's worth $120,000 and a lucky person who bought a raffle ticket snagged it!

And a picture of my Aunt Marion and I. What was most fun about the benefit was that a lot of my family was there. Makes for a fun family affair!
I wish I could tell you how much money was raised last night, but historically they raise enough money for about 150 people to receive a prosthetic. VERY COOL!! Can't wait for next year!!

four

2010-02-17T14:15:00.006-06:00

Seriously, four.

How can my itty bitty baby girl be four years old.

Where did the years go?

It's so true when other parents say that time really does fly. It does. And sometimes, I'll be honest, I'm so happy when the time flies. But most days it makes me sad to see the years going right past me. It is exciting that Grace is getting so big and able to do so much for herself, yet she still needs us. I don't know what I'll do when she doesn't need me anymore.... hopefully she will always need me.

Grace wanted a party for her big four year old birthday so we did. We chose a Valentine theme since after all her birthday is on Valentine's Day. And it was perfect.

We had all the decorations made from hearts. I made a wreath from cupcake liners that turned out super cute and made a banner. We also made some crayon hearts which we hung in the windows.

We filled goodie bags with some heart sunglasses, fruit snacks, a heart bracelet and a lollipop and tied a little Valentine on top. We also decorated a Christmas tree with hearts and tulle and I put out a picture of Grace on her 1st Valentine's Day.

All the party go-ers! Yes we did an all girl thing this year. We wanted to keep it small and intimate.
And the cake - made by me. (This cake is much larger than it looks...we are still eating on it!)

When the guests arrived we started with heart shaped pancakes and fruit. Not sure but I don't have a picture of the pancakes. Adam worked so hard on them!

After we had full tummies we played some games.
We pinned the lips on Ms. Valentine and we did a Heart Hunt.We also made a cute Heart picture frame.

Thankfully all the moms helped out!

And of course we ate some cake.
And ended with a little dress up. What else is a girl to do?!

It was a fun party!!

Happy 4th Birthday Grace!!

Happy Birthday Grace!!

2010-02-14T15:09:00.003-06:00

Hours old

OneTwo

Three

"my music"

2010-01-30T08:00:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine told me about this great kids CD that her girls love so Santa got it for Grace for Christmas. My girls LOVE it!! They are constantly asking for "my music". Thankfully the songs aren't terribly annoying so I can tolerate them. The best thing about the music is that they are learning too! There are counting sounds, letter sound songs, opposites songs, manners, months, math, etc. Even Emma loves the songs and tries to sing along. I think Grace knows practically all the words to most the songs. So if you are looking for a cute gift for Valentines day or something to throw into the Easter basket in a couple months this is a GREAT one!!

"Sounds Like Fun" by Discovery Toys. It was actually first made in the early 80's so some of you may have heard it before. Here is a link to where I ordered it from but I saw it listed on ebay as well. Not cheap at $15, but well worth the money!! You can also search youtube for some videos of the songs.

And for your viewing pleasure a video of the girls singing the Alphabet sounds song. This was from last week when Emma wasn't feeling very well just in case you notice she looks sleepy!

oh my...

2010-01-29T08:00:00.001-06:00

I was in my bedroom putting laundry away (for maybe 5 minutes) and I come back into the living room to find 3 packages (that were previously unopened) of wipes torn out of their packages and thrown all around my living room. This was one of those "oh no they didn't" moments. I told them to go stand in time-out and boy did they know what they had done wasn't okay because they marched to time out and put their little faces in the corner without saying one complaint. Can you tell they have done this before? So after I took a picture or two I gave each of them a bag and told them to clean it up. I put the salvageable wipes (some were torn to shreds) into a ziplock baggie and we will be using every one of those. I can't waste wipes!! I thought about taking money out of their piggy banks but I it was kind of funny so hopefully they learned their lessons. It could have been much worse!

Wipes.... all over... my house....Time out....
My two little cleaners....

GRACE

2010-01-27T21:48:00.002-06:00

And she writes her name. We have been working on this ALL YEAR so its a thrill to finally see her do it all on her own! I think she is pretty darn proud too.

a little random today

2010-01-14T15:19:00.005-06:00

First off, I just wanted to update on my sweet sister-in-law, Christee. She is doing great and believe it or not she is done with chemo. Unfortunately she still has a big road ahead. She is scheduled to have her double mastectomy next Thursday, January 21st. About 2 weeks after the surgery she will start 7 weeks of radiation and then a few months after the radiation is complete she will undergo reconstructive surgery.

Please send prayers her way for a smooth surgery and quick recovery both physically and mentally. I can't even imagine how she must feel, but I hope she feels all the love that is coming to her! We are heading to Austin this weekend to hang out with her and get her mind off next week.

*****************************

Next, bedtime and nap time have gotten a bit better.

Crying has been reduced and Emma isn't grabbing onto everything possible to keep me from bringing her into her crib. Honestly, I thought she might learn how to get out of her crib during all this because trust me she definitely wanted out! We didn't really change a whole lot, just tried to keep it consistent and let her cry. We knew she was tired.

Now the problem is that she just chats away in her crib. I mean for like an hour sometimes?! We have tried keeping her later, putting her down earlier, etc and no matter what she just hangs out in her bed talking to her babies. It's actually sort of cute. We are totally not ready to move her to a big girl bed so we'll keep working on her. I don't think it has helped any that she is getting in all 4 of her eye teeth right now and she has a bit of a cough/cold. Maybe things will get back to normal once all that passes?

Thank you for all your sweet advice. I guess I just needed to vent more than anything.

*****************************

And yet reason why you should coupon... I got all this for $12.37 (thanks to some great coupons and good sales!). It would have cost me over $70!! What is frustrating is I had additional coupon for $2.50 off that I meant to use. Oh well I can use it next time. Oh and I only went to Kroger for all this!!(5 crescent rolls, 2 cinnamon rolls, 2 biscuits, 2 hot chocolates, 1 softsoap, 1 Dannon 6pk yogurt, 4 bags Nabisco snacks, 2 boxes oatmeal, 1 taco seasoning, 1 pkg strawberries, 1 package blueberries, 1 avocado, 1 bunch cilantro, 2 cans corn, 1 can black beans, 2 packets tuna, 1 V8 fusions, 1 Gatorade, 1 can tomatoes chopped, and 8 packs of Rolaids - don't really need Rolaids its just that I made .80 cents on every 2 I bought so it helped my bill - if you know someone that needs Rolaids let me know!!)

*****************************

Grace and Emma got some new dress up stuff for Christmas from their Aunt Tricia and Uncle Todd. The girls LOVE all the jewelry it came with.

Emma has every piece of jewelry on that she can wear, while holding a purse and pushing her baby. Such a little mommy in the making. :)

Grace posing for a cute picture with wild hair!

sleep

2010-01-08T13:24:00.000-06:00

I've always thought that I was pretty good at getting my kids on a good little routine for sleep.

Grace has always been a pretty good sleeper. However she did wake up once a night until she was a good 8 months old, she would get up, eat and drift back off to sleep. I always thought the breast milk didn't fill her up as much. But after that she was a pro. Even today she sleeps a good 10 hours at night (if not more) and usually a hour to hour and half nap. Yes she is nearly 4 and still takes a nap. Honestly, she does okay without it, but after a couple days she is wreck so she gets a nap unless its a school day.

Emma on the other hand was a fantastic sleeper really from day one. I remember in the hospital her going 4-5 hours at night. Pretty much unheard of - or least it seems most of my friends weren't so lucky. She dropped down to one waking within a couple weeks and was sleeping through the night (9pm-6am) by 2 months. Oh and she had several daytime good naps. She really has been a good sleeper and for the most part is still, but we are having a problem. She is having a hard time settling to go to sleep for naps and bedtime. I know she is tired, but has been fighting us terribly. She cries when we put her in her crib and that has been lasting for a good 15+ minutes and then she will play for another 15+ minutes and then this is followed by a 3-4 hour nap during the day or 11 hours at night. I've tried talking about and for the most part our days are much alike.

So my question - any ideas? At night our routine is bath (every other night), pjs, hang out, brush teeth, books, etc. 95% of the time its the same. During the day she always goes down shortly after lunch for nap. We eat, clean up and usually read a book or something quiet for 15 minutes or so and then I lay her down. This has only been lasting for the last month or so. Could it be just a phase. I'm starting to worry because we are planning to transition her into a big girl bed this Spring/early Summer sometime so I want this to be a thing of the past or bedtime will really be bad.

OH and I should add that Adam and I were rocking her when this all first started to get her to relax or calm down but it didn't help and honestly I think it was starting to make it worse. So the last few days we have just been saying "its night night time and we love you".

Any recommendations? Really hoping its just a phase.

It's crazy for me to think that we moved Grace to a big girl bed at this age. She was 22 months when we moved here (yes we have been here 2 years!). I could not imagine Emma in a bed. SCARY!!

New Year

2010-01-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

Welcome 2010. We had a rough end of the year with the death of my granny so we thought a couple days away would be nice. We went to see Adam's parents for a night and then left the girls for an additional night and we headed to visit our friends, Joey and Hailey, in Arkansas. It was a breath of fresh air to get to hang out with them. I miss them and wished they lived closer, but at least we can drive - only 5 hours!

Miss Presley was ready to party - or maybe just eat the sunglasses.

Adam and I's self photo.

And Hailey and I lookin' cute!

It wasn't anything too wild and crazy, but I did stay up till 3am. That is like a world record for me!! Thanks for a fun time Hailey and Joey.

here

2010-01-06T16:30:00.003-06:00

Yes I'm here. Wow what a busy, fun, exhausting, relaxing and exciting last few weeks we have had. I can't tell you how many people have asked me if I'm not blogging anymore! Really I had no idea that anyone was actually still reading. I know I have been terrible. Honestly no excuses - life has just gotten in the way and blogging hasn't been on the agenda. Someone also told me that "blogging was so last year"... really? I do really enjoy blogging. I love looking back at the silly things I wrote about my girls or my life or the lack thereof. But mostly I enjoy reading about other friends and family and their lives. So yes I'm still here. And ready to give some updates!!

So here they are... (Tiffany style) ... either click on the link below or keep scrolling. Enjoy.

granny

2009-12-30T16:03:00.000-06:00

My sweet Granny went to be with our Heavenly Father on December 29th. At the young age of 78. She has been sick for a long time so honestly I'm really happy that doesn't have to live the way she was anymore. She rest her heart and lungs and watch us from above.

I can't help but remember so many wonderful things about her.

Every year for my birthday (without fail) I would get a card from a granny. Growing up I would receive a card with money in it. The amount was always based upon how old I was. At 10 I got 10 bucks. I always looked forward to it. This lasted until I was 21 when I graduated from the money program and just got a sweet loving card. After all, she did have 15 grandchildren and 3 great-grand children. We got expensive!

In the last few years we have turned into email buddies. I always knew she was just an email away. She LOVED my blog. She is one of the main reasons I blog. If I would miss days or weeks of no blogging you better believe my granny would email me and ask if everything was okay. I was usually sure to post something quickly after that.

She would also email me with great parenting advice. Shoot when she was my age she already 5 kids so she has been around the block a few times. She always made things sounds easy.

I'm just thankful that I've known her my whole life. She was an amazing mother of 8 children. I can't even fathom being a mother of 8. It really takes a special woman to do that!

Here are two of my favorite pictures.

Grace when she was itty bitty and Granny Brooks.

Four Generations: Granny, my dad, me and Grace. Sadly we never took one with Emma.

I was also thankful that last Monday night (the night before she passed) I was able to whisper in her ear how much I loved her and hold her hand while she rested. She was ready to go. I pray that when my time comes I can go as peacefully as she did.

Love you granny!

Christmas-time fun

2009-12-27T15:14:00.000-06:00

Grace had a precious Christmas program this year. But wouldn't you know I pulled out my video camera only for the battery to die within 3 seconds of it being on. I was lucky I at least had my camera. Unfortunately we didn't really have a fabulous view despite the fact that we were sitting close. So the best picture was of Grace after the performance. She did so great. Huge improvement from last year. From my memory I believe last year she just hung out and watched all the bigger kids sing their little hearts out, but this year she actually sang all the songs and did most the hand motions. I can't wait until next year. I promise to be more prepared!

We have enjoyed a cold and snowy winter so far. It has snowed 3 times this December. We even got enough snow this last time that a few of our neighbors built snowmen. Emma was battling a cold so we stayed indoors and watched from our front window.
Still can't believe all the snow we got!

We also had a lot of fun doing other Christmas stuff.

One morning we baked cookies - which turned into an entire afternoon of icing and decorating. I think its sure to be an annual thing.

And to go with the theme of the month I forgot my camera for most everything else we enjoyed. We made a gingerbread house which turned into a bit of a disaster. We will attempt it again next year! We also headed to Northpark mall in Dallas and visited the trains. So cool. The girls loved it and I think Adam loved it even more. :) One night we headed to the Frisco fire department and walked around their little town were the girls got to drive a sleigh, get a Rudolph nose painted on, get a temporary tattoo, try on firemen gear and even drive the fire truck. So cool that they do that. We also enjoyed a couple nights of driving around looking at lights and lots of Christmas movies. I think at one point Adam has 10+ Christmas kids movies recorded. Grace loved everyone. Emma on the other hand still doesn't like tv.

What did you do with your family throughout the Christmas season?

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T14:16:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas usually starts on Christmas Eve. For years now we get together with my mom's side of the family for a big dinner. We don't do gift exchanges anymore since there are 40+ people in the family but its always a nice night of family, food and fun.

Here are all the little girls (my cousins) and my girls.

Grace and Emma and Audrey and Lexi. The big girls are 8 months apart (Lexi being older) and the little girls are just 2 days apart!

A cute snapshot of Daddy and his favorite hip-rider saying "cheese".

December seemed to skip past me and before we knew it we had the video camera and were recording as Grace walked down the stairs Christmas morning. There really is something cool about being up BEFORE your kids and being able to see their eyes light up when the see Santa visited them. I'm sure we only have a couple more years that our girls will be up before us, but it sure was nice to enjoy that this year.

The girls big gift was a trampoline from Adam's parents and boy do they love it. Too bad the weather has been SUPER cold otherwise we might be out enjoying it more. Hopefully warmer weather is to come.

Here is Adam lovingly putting the tramp together on Christmas Eve in a wet cold snow. I helped for bit, but then went inside to dry off by the fire. Oh how I love a fire on a cold day.

And here is the tramp on Christmas morning. Would you believe it snowed 3 times in December. This was the first white Christmas that Dallas has had since 1927! It was beautiful. Bummer we had to wait to enjoy the tramp. Plus Adam still had to add the safety sides. OH and did I mention we put it together wrong and Adam and had to take it all apart again! Ooops! Read ALL the directions when putting one of these together!

Santa brought Grace her beloved paints (aka watercolors) and a fun marble game, plus some fun stocking goodies - you know new undies and socks, new sunglasses, etc :)

Santa brought Emma lots of baby doll stuff. This girl really is my little mommy rocking all her babies to sleep and "shooshing" in their ears.

The girls also got a few things from us as well. Spoiled - never! :)

By 9am we were at my parents house opening gifts and enjoying a yummy breakfast. My parents got all the grand kids cute little chairs. The girls LOVE these chairs and drag them all over the house!

And finally a cute family shot. What more do I need on Christmas than a little family like this!This seriously is probably one of the only pictures of all 4 of us where everyone is smiling. Too bad Emma isn't looking at the camera, but it is cute none the less!

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well.

Christmas cards

2009-12-20T16:25:00.000-06:00

My super cool neighbor took pictures of the girls this year for our Christmas cards and we are totally going to have him do it every year! The girls had a blast and we fell in love with all the pictures!!

"The one" - this is just so their personality. Smily and serious!

Christmas cuteness

2009-12-18T07:40:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to get a few things down on paper before I forget them...

*After we finished decorating the house Grace informed me that I forgot to decorate her room. I felt so sad so I ran out to Walmart and got her little tree with lots of pink decorations! She loves it!

*After finishing the whole house and her room Grace said "Santa's gonna love it" - she was being VERY serious!

*Emma proclaims anytime she sees Santa. Yelling "Santa!" and followed by a "Ho Ho Ho". She has got it down!

*We have a house in our neighborhood that decorates their house like something out of Christmas Vacation... wow! It has everything from Santa and his reindeer, to lights, to carollers and even a full nativity. The girls love it. Really that is an understatement. If I drive past it too fast Grace will yell at me - "I didn't get to see baby Jesus!" Unfortunately for me this house is on the way in and out of the neighborhood so there is no avoiding it. So if you are neighbor and reading this - sorry if you get behind me, we have to take note of every piece of yard art before moving on.

check

2009-12-13T15:01:00.004-06:00

Well I can finally check off that I have completed a half marathon. 13.1 miles done. And it couldn't feel better!

The entire race/run was amazing. It blew me away at the number of volunteers and police officers and spectators that were out there cheering for the runners. Pretty much the entire race there were people holding signs and cheering on strangers.

Mile 12 was a bit tough because I was pretty tired but somehow pushed through it. My chip time was 2 hours 24 minutes and 47 seconds. Just under an 11 minute mile. I was really just hoping for under 2:30, so I was happy with that. But would really like to be closer to a 10 minute mile since I know I can do that!

Thank you for all the encouragement and support during this training. I couldn't have done it without it!!! And to my sweet husband for coming home early, going into work late, and helping with the girls to make my training my possible. I couldn't have done this without you baby! Love you!

And yes I'm hooked - thinking my next race will be the Dallas Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon - March 14th. No desire yet to run a full marathon... but not ruled out either! :)

5 days...

2009-12-07T21:32:00.003-06:00

Sunday is the big day. 13.1 miles here I come.

More later. We've been busy with Christmas shopping, running, planning Christmas parties, going to parties, etc. So much to update no time now.

I will update next week after the race. For now I'm tring to have a quiet week and rest for the big run!

Have a great week!!

ps... I'm done Christmas shopping!! Lots to wrap, but I'm done!!

Santa 2009

2009-11-30T15:18:00.004-06:00

Surprisingly both girls were excited to see Santa this year. Grace was very excited and even told Santa she wanted some new paints for Christmas. Specifically watercolor paints. Hopefully she will be a good girl the next month and maybe Santa can afford a $3 set of watercolors. :)

Emma wasn't too sure what to think. She wasn't upset and that is what I was most happy about. I was expecting how Grace felt about Santa in 2006 & 2007. But we couldn't get a smile out of her either. Maybe next year? (Sorry for the poor picture quality - I had to scan in all these pictures b/c I'm too cheap to purchase the disk.)

Santa 2009

Santa 2008

Santa 2007

Santa 2006

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm most thankful for my two little turkeys!

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

Christmas dresses

2009-11-24T14:52:00.003-06:00

I was having a hard time finding dresses I really liked for Christmas. Really I was having a hard time finding one that I would spend the money on.

Emma has THREE hand-me-down dresses from Grace and a couple other little girls so I couldn't go out and buy one when I had THREE. Plus I bought the girls dresses a little big last year so they still fit! But of course I wanted something new :)

I decided to make the girls some pillowcase dresses. Really it doesn't get much easier than this. I basically just followed this video a friend found on youtube (thanks Tiffany!) and 2 hours later I had 2 dresses!

Oh and the best part is that they BOTH only cost me $12 bucks! I even have about half a yard of fabric left over. I just love this fabric. Still Christmasy (totally not a word) yet not red and green.

The fabric up close -

Visitors!

2009-11-24T07:00:00.000-06:00

The Lada ladies came to visit us last minute. They are getting new flooring in their house and as you can imagine 3 little kids and a big mess don't mix well. So they decided to head to Dallas for a few days. Grace and Emma were so excited! Surprisingly the girls played very well together with only a few disagreements.

Emma, Avery, Grace and Molly - all watching a little tv before bedtime.

We even ventured out for one morning with all 5 girls. We even saw Santa - well sort of - no one wanted to get any closer than this. So we waved!
And everyone got haircuts. Hailey paid for her room and board by cutting Grace's and I hair and she even convinced me to trim a little off Emma's hair! She did great and sat very still! Hailey we will be due for haircuts again in another 2 months :)
And sweet Miss Presley. Somehow this was the only picture I snapped of her. She is such a laid back 3rd child. She never cries unless she is hungry and falls asleep wherever, as you can see in the picture below.
Thanks for visiting Ladas! We hope to see you again soon.

Grace's Thanksgiving feast

2009-11-23T18:37:00.004-06:00

Grace had her Thanksgiving feast at her school last week. They prepared a special lunch and even got dressed up. Her class were little Indians and the other 3 year old class were Pilgrims. It was super cute. But I think the cutest was seeing all the kiddos say their prayers of Thanks before lunch. I just had to snap a picture.

My little turkey!

yum!

Prayers before eating.

My little Indian.

3 - 0

2009-11-20T15:34:00.000-06:00

I officially turned the BIG 3-0 this past weekend. Do I look older? Don't answer that!

It was the best birthday I think I've ever had. We had some friends over for fajitas and margartias and it couldn't have been more perfect.

Even the weather was perfect - which in November in Texas is totally unpredictable. It was maybe in the 60's and clear. We ate and drank and really just hung out and caught up. The best part was is that all my friends came childless. If you have kids you know how big it is to have a night out without your little ones. It's huge! My girls went to my parents house (THANK YOU) and everyone else got babysitters. Thank you everyone for booking those babysitters to come and help me celebrate my birthday. It was so wonderful to chat and hang out and not have little children running and screaming and pulling at my pant leg. :)

So here are a few of the pictures from the night. Enjoy.

Ashley and I - one of my college roomies and my maid-of-honor! Love this girl!

Notice my awesome "30" glass! So cool. Thanks Melissa!

All my mommy friends plus a more!

Some of my sweet neighbors and friends. A few of the girls had already left to rescue their sitters.

And even Lola our neighbors sweet lab joined the party for some lovings. :)

Thanks again everyone for the sweet birthday wishes. It was a birthday to remember!!

My 12 Aggies

2009-11-18T14:55:00.002-06:00

If you have a few minutes or 9 to be exact watch this video. I was a sophomore at Texas A&M when Bonfire fell. I wont ever forget that day or the days that followed. It fell in the middle of the night - 2:42 to be exact - and I was there looking at it at 6:30am. Standing and praying with 3 of my friends. I wont ever forget. 12 Aggies lost.

It's November

2009-11-11T14:05:00.004-06:00

It's nearly halfway through November... how did it get to be the end of the year already.

It makes me happy because I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas and all the friend, family and festivities that surround this time of year.

In the same breath it makes me sad because it means just after the Holidays my girls have a birthday.

Two and Four. Funny because when I see them like this I just think of them as babies. My babies forever!

Yes I'm totally that mom that starts thinking about their birthdays way in advance. Not sure why because I really don't do anything about it till after the Holidays. But I guess I just love thinking about and planning their special days.

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This weekend I will celebrate my 30th birthday. Normally I dread birthdays. It's not that I don't like getting older. In fact I'm glad I'm getting old. So much to look forward to. I think I just build it up to this amazing day and for some reason always feel let down. Again, I'm just weird around my birthday. Ask Adam, he knows what I am talking about.

SO.... for my 30th birthday I was determined to have a good day. So we are having a few friends over and having my favorite - fajitas and ritas. What else could make a birthday better? :)

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Lately we have been busy enjoying the beautiful weather. We have had some BEAUTIFUL weather here - highs in the 70's and clear sunny skies. It makes up for the very wet October we had. But really I'm ready for some sweater and scarf weather. I have so many cute scarfs that I'm dying to pull out!

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We have also been trying out some new hair styles for Grace. I've said it before but her hair is CRAZY. While I love her little ringlets, they are hard to manage.

So lately we have been doing lots of pig tails. Today Grace asked for braids. Well I can't do french braids (please someone help me, but I just can't get it tight enough), so I came up with next best solution - piggies with braids. Hard to see it in the picture, but she is so cute.

This is definitely my new favorite picture of Grace.

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And lastly, my littlest girl is so funny. She had just eaten some yogurt (that was red) and got it all over her face. I just thought it was cute and then she did this little head tilt thing. Grace has been doing it a lot for pictures so I'm pretty sure she thought it was the cool thing to do! HA! Already trying to be like her big sis.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T18:38:00.004-06:00

Breaking news:

Our great friends, Meagan and Matt, are pregnant with TWINS!!!! I think I've talked about them a time or two, but we are thrilled for them! After all they have been through to get here, God has blessed them twice! Go tell them congrats here!

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Our Halloween was a blast.

We got our ballerina (per request) and our Aggie cheerleader ready and we were off for some fun!

First we headed to dinner at a neighbors 2nd Annual Halloween party. We ate yummy chili dogs and lots of other fixings and took lots of pictures.

Here are some of the kiddos. Maybe half? Have I said before that I love our neighborhood? :)

After some chit chatting and a full belly we were off to trick or treat.

First stop was back at our house to put out candy. Yup we just put out the whole bowl. But it was nice b/c we all got to go.

Grace knew just what to do. The funniest thing though is that when she went to each house she would say "Trick or treating" instead of "trick or treat". It was really cute b/c she kept doing it.

And Emma learned VERY quickly. Seriously what 19 month old baby knows what to do. Emma was happiest once she got a sucker. I was surprised b/c she walked the entire time. Turning into such a big girl. :(

And we ended the night at another neighbors house. They turned their garage into a fun Halloween tiki bar. With adult beverages and all - the witches brew was super yummy.

How was your Halloween?

signed up

2009-11-01T19:26:00.002-06:00

I officially signed up for the half marathon.

I paid my money ($75!) - so its done.

Now that the easy part is done. I only have the hard part left... to run it!

6 weeks from today - December 13th!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T16:35:00.003-05:00

Click below to see pictures from past years...

Halloween 2008

Halloween 2007

Halloween 2006

I will post pictures of them in their costumes tomorrow!! Have a wonderful evening trick or treating with your little ones or giving out candy to ones that visit your house!

October

2009-10-26T13:11:00.008-05:00

October... so far

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We have had a LOT of rain. I mean a LOT!

In between the rain we were able to get out a bit and enjoy some slightly cooler weather.

Emma loves her little car. Actually loves still loves it too - so we are learning to share. It's going okay...

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We had 3 different trips to the pumpkin patch cancelled b/c of the silly rain. But finally early last week we were able to go. It was a bit chilly and super windy, but we still had fun!

The girls....

Me with the girls...
Waiting for our turn at the hayride - its it beautiful looking out onto the patch.

Enjoying the ride.

Enjoying the pumpkins. Emma had to carry her own - at least there were several that were her size!

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We also made it down to Austin again this month to hang out with the Dugan clan. Christee is doing great! It's kind of a day by day thing, but really she is very inspiring and very prayerful that she will beat it! If you want to keep up with her - here is her caring bridge page.

It also happened to be Kaitlynn's Homecoming. Here she is posing with her fabulous mum before school. A fun southern tradition!

Here Kaitlynn is again ready to perform at half-time!

The other kiddos at the football game. It was the first football we have taken the girls to and they did great! We stayed until after half-time!

Grace, Kaleb and Kameron

And just hangin' out. This is the island or really the table that we all hang out around most the day! I just love that Emma has to pose when I pull the camera out!

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And then last night we went to our church's trunk or treat. So fun!

Grace was a princess for the night.

And after the Aggies win on Saturday over Tech, Emma had to be an Aggie cheerleader!! Here she is enjoying everyone bouncing her!

And finally a little sisterly love. I told Grace to hold onto her sister to make sure she didn't fall out and she wrapped her arm around her and shockingly Emma let her!

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OH and we can't forget the baby news. My parents were the ones to send Emma the baby. Thank you gigi and papa! Emma loves it. Here she is with another one of her many babies. Such a sweet mommy to rock and 'shhhh' her baby!

Tune in this weekend for Halloween pictures!!

who did it?

2009-10-22T15:48:00.003-05:00

We got a sweet little package in the mail on Tuesday.

Someone sent Emma a new baby.

SO SWEET!!!

The only problem is we have no clue who to thank.

There was no packing slip or anything.

So if you sent Emma a new baby doll (the same one she has except with perfect little arms) please let us know. She is so happy, but now she wants both babies. At least now I have one I can wash and one she can have.

Thank you Thank you! xoxo

emma's baby

2009-10-15T12:28:00.005-05:00

We try to keep "baby" in Emma's crib.

But sometimes the baby escapes the crib and comes along with us.

Emma has become pretty attached to baby. If she could have her way baby would come everywhere us. You know the nasty grocery store carts, church, Grace's school, speech, etc. Thankfully I can usually persuade my 19 month old that baby would rather stay in the car. And in those cases she usually asks to bring her lovey in. (Which I usually let her - oh and yes you caught me - she has a baby AND a lovey she has to carry around everywhere we go - as if I don't have anything else to carry-thankfully we do have 6 loveys in case one goes missing or is in the wash!)

The problem - baby was on the verge of loosing an arm. So naturally I headed to Toys R Us where baby came from and of course no babies like the baby we have. They only have the boy bear that is the same kind/brand, but of course its blue and a bear so it wouldn't work.

So today I decided to repair baby. I though it would easy. WAY wrong. You see the arms are made of ribbon that has frayed a bit. So sewing it back was no fun. I could hardly squeeze it under the foot to sew it. But for now baby is repaired.

And I'm on a mission to go to every Toys R Us and look everywhere online and buy us another baby - or two. You know just in case it happens again.

And so everyone can make fun of my sewing job - here is the beloved baby. I was able to bribe Emma with another baby while her baby was being washed and repaired.

Run Lisa Run

2009-10-12T14:18:00.002-05:00

Last October I began running. No goal more than just to run a few 5K's, burn a few calories and just be in shape. I was pretty good at keeping at it. I would run some weeks several times a week, then Adam would be out of town or it would raining and that pretty much threw running out the window.

I've been thinking for quite a while that I really wanted to making running apart of my lifestyle. You know every week run 15 miles give or take a few. Then a little over a month ago I decided to take the plunge with encouragement from a couple friends, my brother and my aunt to train for a half marathon.

13.1 miles is a long distance.

WAY longer than I had ever run before.

But I thought that training for a half marathon doesn't mean I have to run it. Well now that I've been 'training' for a month, there is no turning back.

I still haven't signed up yet, maybe this week, but I'm planning to run my first half marathon on December 13th.

Less than a month after I turn the BIG 3-0.

Perfect.

I'm only up to 6 miles for my long runs on the weekends. But it hasn't been too bad.

So that's the plan.

My only goal is to finish.

No timing myself.

No trying to beat someone else.

I just want to finish and I want to run the whole thing.

Simple right?

I heart hooded towels

2009-10-07T14:47:00.003-05:00

I have more pictures that I can possibly count of my girls after bath in their hooded towels. We got maybe 3 or 4 when Grace was born that have now been passed down to Emma and I love them. I know Emma is getting taller and is almost in need of a bigger towel but until then you get to see more shots of her all wrapped up. My little bug!

cousin Jackson

2009-10-04T14:38:00.004-05:00

My big brother and his little boy Jackson were in town this past weekend. Becky came into town too, but was only able to stay for a day because of work. So I didn't get a lot pictures and the ones I did get weren't fabulous. Hopefully we can get a cute cousin picture at Christmas when they come for a week!!

All 3 Brooks' cousins - Grace not being cooporative.

Jackson and Emma busy chatting away

Jackson not sure about Grace's bear hug

And busy playing doctor!

(For anyone who knew Todd, my little brother, as a little boy -doesn't Jackson look so much like him?)

bitter sweet

2009-09-29T14:18:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we made a quick trip down to Austin.

My sister-in-law, Christee, starts Chemo this week and we wanted to hang out with her before things got started.

We did find out that it is Stage IIIC - which is MUCH better than Stage IV, but we still need lots of prayer!! Also, since she is going loose her hair very quickly she decided she would rather have a celebration and shave her head vs. it coming out in clumps one day too soon. So we had a party!! It was super fun and great to meet all their friends. She has an awesome support system down in Austin and thankfully Adam's other brother lives there too! We wished we were closer, but we are planning to make trips down there more often. Here are a few shots of the fun.

Some before pictures -

The Dugan clan -

Todd & Tricia, Paul & Christee, Adam and I

Before

Kaitlynn helping cut her mom's hair.

A little mohawk!

bald and beautiful!

Christee sporting her one of her many new scarfs - doesn't she look so cute?!!

footies

2009-09-25T14:18:00.000-05:00

I love when the weather turns cooler and I can finally put my littlest daughter in little footie pj's. There is just something about them that makes me feel like I have still have a baby. One last winter of footie pj's then on to separates - otherwise potty training would be even more difficult.

ps. I can't thank you enough for the prayers for Christee. Please keep praying! This is going to be a long hard battle, but we know she can beat it with God by her side!!

prayers

2009-09-23T14:08:00.002-05:00

I have a big request. My sister-in-law (Adam's brothers wife) Christee, has a big road ahead of her. Last week she was diagnosed with Stage 3 (possibly Stage 4) breast cancer. She is only in her 30's and has 3 kids and has much to live for - so we need all the prayers we can get. This week please pray for Christee and her family and the news they have been given. Please pray that it is not stage 4 as the chance of survival at the point goes way down.

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers!!

rain rain

2009-09-17T10:46:00.004-05:00

It's rained for 6 days straight now.

And while I normally love a rainy day to enjoy the indoors, I might very well go crazy.

Adam's out of town so getting out with two small children in the rain is tough. The girls are going stir crazy. We normally spend at least an hour or two outside a day.

Plus its putting a damper on my running schedule.

The only positive about all this rain is my super cute new shoes I have to wear. They are AWESOME - and green :) You totally need to try out Privo's if you haven't already. Thanks Hailey for telling me about them! I love 'em!!

Oh and I have to add that I got them on Amazon for $31 - tax, shipping and all!! Bargan since they retail for $80+!

Hoping for nicer weather this weekend so we go to the Balloon Festival!

Emma's half birthday!

2009-09-13T15:25:00.000-05:00

Emma is now our big girl at 18 months!

At least that is what she thinks.

Honestly, I really wonder/fear what kind of pre-teen she is going to be?!

Emma is definitely our strong-willed child that knows what she wants and isn't stopping till she gets it. However in the same breath, she is sweet and kind and always ready to blow a kiss or give a high five!

She loves to do anything that means we are going - loves to go shopping (for a bit), loves to go the park, loves to go for rides in the car or a stroll around the neighborhood, she loves to go to the pediatrician, and loves to hang out and play with friends at their houses of course (new toys!). She just loves to be on the go.

Emma is really into pretend these days - playing with her baby dolls and putting them "night, night" or feeding them their bottles or even taking them for a stroller ride around the house - she loves it! She also loves playing house and with her little kitchen.

She is a great little sleeper - typically sleeping from 8:30pm-7:30am and usually takes a 3 hours nap after lunch.

Emma loves books as well. Well, she really just loves to pull every single one off the shelf and thumb through them. She has gotten into bedtime story time most. We all cuddle up in Grace's bed and read a couple books every night. She loves being in her sister's big bed. I suspect that we might have to move her to a big girl bed before we know it. She just loves it!

She also went pee-pee on the potty for the first time over the weekend!! I pulled out one of our little potty's and started putting her on the potty before bath time. Grace actually did the same thing about this age, but we have no plans to potty train till sometime next Spring/Summer - after she is 2.

Emma is also a little shatter box. I don't know exactly how many words she says but its a lot. I would say a good guess is that she is saying around 100 words. She tries to repeat nearly everything we ask her to and some things we don't. :)

Oh and I've almost forgotten - I think her hair might be starting to get curly. It's just doing this cute little flip up thing in the back and I love it. Maybe it will be curly like Gracie's hair?? Or maybe just a little body. Can't wait to see!

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Emma's 18 month stats:
Height - 32 inches (61%)
Weight - 22.2 lbs (18%)
Head - 19 inches (90%)

Emma actually lost weight from 15-18 months... just seeming to get taller and leaner. Thankfully she only lost a few ounces (which could have been b/c of what she ate) so the doctor wasn't worried at all.

The doctor did say she is way ahead with her language development. He said its pretty common for kids with siblings, but its super exciting for us. :)

Happy half birthday baby girl!! Until then stay little - your daddy and I just love this age!