Easter in West Texas

Since Easter was forever ago, and I've done a million and one things since then.....I can hardly remember what even went on over the weekend.  The day that we flew to Midland for Easter weekend was the day of Anna Grace's MRI of her brain.  Not a fun day.  They had a hard time getting an IV started on our poor baby girl, so she had to be stuck 3 times.  Since this is an area I really excel in as a nurse it came very close to me having to start her IV.  {insert crying emoji}  Luckily, one of my co-workers was able to help us out!  A few weeks later, I'm sad to say, I did have to poke our baby girl for some blood work that was needed.  I will say that we were happy to have the MRI behind us, and a long weekend in Midland ahead of us!  It was good timing to be in Midland with my family (aka help with the kiddos), so I could get phone calls made and emails sent regarding baby girl's health issues.

The Saturday before Easter we had the BEST time at the country club meeting the Easter bunny, doing face painting, eating lunch, watching a balloon artist and doing an egg hunt!  Watching William run after those eggs will be a memory I smile about for the rest of my life.    

Going to church on Easter Sunday, where I grew up, was just what my heart needed.  We are so very thankful for our children and the wonderful life God has given us.  To think that Jesus gave his life for us brings me to tears.  That we get to watch these sweet little people grow and learn is more than I could've ever asked for.  I always read things about people over using the hashtag #blessed.  But, it's the only way to put it.  Even when things have been scary with Anna Grace, and her future uncertain, we are so blessed to have her and William, just the way they are.  There really is nothing better than spending Easter with the people you love.

A New Year

We said goodbye to 2015 with a super fun night at home, just the four of us.  2015 was such an awesome year.  It was the year we found out we were pregnant and going to have a baby girl, William turned 3, we had the best trip to the beach since we had William, we celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary on the same day we welcomed Anna Grace into the world, William saw snow for the first time, and we became a family of four!  It was an awesome year that will be hard to beat.    

We spent New Year's Eve cooking a yummy steak dinner and doing fireworks in the front yard.  William had the best time!  The fireworks were such a hit that we had some friends over the next night to do more.  I've never heard William say "again" so many times.
I pray that 2016 holds as many specials moments as 2015 did!

Christmas In Midland

I should be embarrassed that I'm still talking about Christmas, with it being nearly Spring!!!  What can I say, these little cutie pies keep me busy.  To be 100% honest it's not even that.....over the last 6 months I've gotten back into a couple of my favorite TV shows (Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor).  One day, I decided with all the running around I do (taking care of everyone else) that I deserved some ME time.  So there.  I watch trashy TV.  And. I. Love. It. 

Back to Christmas.....the week before Christmas Gordon's mom came into town to celebrate with us, since they were spending the next week in Chicago.  William had a blast with his mimi, Uncle G and Aunt Em.  His aunt and uncle know him too well.  They got him an awesome soccer goal for the back yard.  I swear they buy him better gifts than we do.  :) 

We got to spend Christmas in Midland this year.  Anna Grace didn't know what was going on but William was so much fun!  He was so excited about Santa bringing him a big truck, a firetruck and bunchums.  On Christmas morning we all gathered around the tree in our comfy PJs, with our coffee, and opened gifts.  William would pick up one and say, "This one says my name?"  If he saw a "W" any where on the package it was claimed his.  :)  After church that day, we were able to play outside and enjoy the nice warm temperatures (nearly 80 degrees!). 

After opening presents we headed to church for my favorite service of the year.  We've made it a point to constantly remind William that Christmas isn't about Santa, but about baby Jesus being born.  Every night when the Christmas lights came on William would proudly say, "It's baby Jesus' birthday!"  Yes sweet boy, HE is the reason for the season. 

Church with my sweet family of four | Playing with his toys after church | Family :)

These two! | Decorating cookies | He is so in love with "Fifi"

Tummy time and play time | This look of concern washes over his face when she cries | Cookies!

We had such a fun Christmas in Midland!  Gordon and I got to get out one night to see some friends.  We took William to a movie.  The cousins got to play together.  We got to see GG and Pop.  It snowed!  Gordon surprised me with an awesome Christmas gift.  Little lady went to her mama's favorite restaurant, Luigi's, for the first time.  It is a Christmas I'll remember forever!  There is nothing better than being "home" for Christmas with your favorite people, family. 

Snow Days

On our last scheduled day in Midland, over Christmas, we woke up to snow flurries!  By 10am our flight back home had been canceled and we found out we wouldn't be able to fly out until the next day at 7pm.  This gave us lots of time to enjoy the SNOW!  My mom woke up sick that morning.  :(  We made sure to take lots of pictures and videos to send her.

Since we knew we'd be trapped in the house for the next 40 hours Gordon and I decided to take William to an early movie.  The boys had already seen The Good Dinosaur, but William would never turn down going to "the big movies".  Baby girl went with us too and took a nice little nap.  By the time we got out of the movie a couple of inches of snow had fallen and it was COLD!

To say William had fun playing in the snow is an understatement.  He was in heaven.  His gloves were a bit big but he didn't mind at all.  Thankfully, Nana had bought some snow boots the day before, so is was all set to play!  Gordon played with him on the first day and I did day 2.  This kiddo is going to love skiing when we take him next year.  Not once did he complain about the cold.  He just played and played and played.  He really loved breaking up the big pieces of ice on the sidewalk and thought throwing snowballs was hilarious.  

These were two days I'll never forget.  It was so pretty, quiet and peaceful outside, and William was so happy.  It doesn't get any better than that!  We had spiced apple cider, made snow ice cream and did lots of snuggling by the fire.  Now when it's foggy and/or cold outside William says, "The snow is coming!"  HAHA, I wish we got snow this far south.

Getting Ready For Christmas

I am just dying looking at all of these adorable Christmas pictures!  There is just so much cuteness going on!!!  Christmas is by far my favorite time of the year.  I love decorating our home, listening to Christmas music on the way to work, teaching our kiddos what the true meaning of Christmas is and spending extra time with friends and family.  

William was really anxious about going to see Santa.  He was clinging onto Gordon for dear life.  But, as soon as we set him on Santa's lap he gave a big smile and told Santa just what he wanted for Christmas.  #mycuprunnethover  What was on William's wish list this year?  Bunchums, a big truck and a firetruck.

I mean, could this little girl get any cuter?!?  We are all SO in love with her sweet, calm little personality.

My Christmas babies at 8 months and 3 months

Sometime at the beginning of December, before I went back to work, William spent the day with his Uncle G and Aunt Em.  They had a fun day at the tree farm while this mama and daddy went on a day date to the movies.  Little Anna Grace stayed with a sitter for the first time and did great.  :)  That night we had dinner over at Emily and Grant's.  Just when William thought our fun night was over....the smores came out!  He had a blast....and was a little too into the fire for this mama.  haha.

Looking back at these pictures makes me so happy!!  There is definitely a reason for taking a million pictures every month.  :)

Baby's First Trip To Midland

Our little Anna Grace got to visit my hometown for the first time at the beginning of December.  After a fun filled weekend in Texarkana for Thanksgiving we made our way to West Texas!  Anna Grace got to meet her great grandparents (Pop and GG), and we had a small sip and see to celebrate the new babies that joined us in 2015.  I hadn't been home since the beginning of the summer, so it was nice to be back.  I made sure to hit all my favorite restaurants while we were there!

Hanging with Pop | My babies with GG | Dustin and Brecken got to meet AG too!



The best nana and papa | About to board the plane with these 2 babies (AG was strapped on me) | We love bath time

Celebrating the grandbabies | Favorite Things Bunco with my BFF the night I got back in town

The flight home couldn't have gone any better.  Anna Grace did fabulous and William was super helpful and patient with the entire process.  I honestly couldn't do all the going if these kiddos weren't so great.  I'm a lucky mama!  I will say it was nice to have a girls night out when I got home that evening.  Going to Favorite Things Bunco Night put me in the holiday spirit....next up, a million and one Christmas pictures! 





Thanksgiving 2015

Well, Anna Grace's first Thanksgiving is in the books!  I took approximately 1,000 pictures of William on his first Thanksgiving....not so much with baby girl.  All of these pictures were taken with my trusty iPhone.  There's a few reasons not many pictures were taken.  #1 baby girl wasn't in a photogenic stage.  She really just wanted to be held, swaddled or have a paci in her mouth (if it was up to her she'd have all three at once).  #2 It rained the last two days we were in town.  #3 watching two kids in someone else's house comes with challenges.  I was doing good to pump, feed, change diapers and get everyone bathed and dressed everyday (not to mention keeping up with myself).  :)  Regardless, I caught some pretty sweet moments!
The boys hunted a lot while we hung around the house.  William, Anna Grace and I got some good walks in and one day we even made it to a park with their baby cousin, Katherine.  Gordon and I did sneak away for lunch one day and had dinner with some friends one night (Anna Grace tagged along for this trip out of the house).  I'll admit, I have a hard time leaving my tiny babies with other people. :)  It was a relaxing weekend spent with some of our favorite people!

This is what Anna Grace thinks of Thanksgiving | William and Daddy heading to the movies | Love this silly boy | My little turkeys | Feeding baby sister | Playing with Aunt Em | Boy time! | Fun at the park | Family of Four | Lazy mornings | Kids were both sleeping during Thanksgiving lunch! | Sweet baby smiles

I'm sure next Thanksgiving will be even crazier!  3 walking and talking toddlers and 8 adults under one roof.....that's how memories are made, folks!!

Anna Grace 3 months old

Baby girl had an adventurous month 2-3.  We traveled to Texarkana for Thanksgiving where we spent 5 nights in a house full of family!  From there, we drove to Dallas and stayed the night at The Gaylord Texan Hotel.  The next morning we headed to Midland.  This was Anna Grace's first trip to West Texas, followed by her first flight home several days later.  :)  Busy.  We were really busy! 

10 weeks old

Love these two!

12 weeks, right before Mama headed back to work

Weight:  Around 12 pounds

Eating:  She is still eating about the same, and let me tell you, baby girl loves her mama's milk!  She usually eats 4 oz every 2-3 hours while she is awake.   Her last bottle is around 8 or 9 pm before going to bed and she doesn't eat again until 5 or 6 am.  Some nights she sleeps until it's time to eat, but a lot of nights wakes up around 3 am and is really restless.  Her best nap is still around 12-3p.  

Development:  We are getting more smiles these days!  At 11 weeks she started to get more active, kicking her feet and looking at fans.  Around this time she was still okay with tummy time.  She loves chewing on her hands (which makes me thinks she really would rather suck her thumb than her paci).     

This sweet baby girl loves to cuddle!  The two of us have had some really sweet days just laying around cuddling with the glow of Christmas lights in the house.  I know that these will forever be some of my favorite memories.  As I type this, Anna Grace is nearly 4 months old!  Looking back, I've decided that month 2-3 is one of the harder ones....they aren't sleeping all the time like newborns but you can't really entertain them with rattles etc yet.  Thank goodness for our Baby K'tan.

3.5 months old (we were a little late)

Halloween Fun

We had a super fun month celebrating fall and Halloween!  Here are a few of my favorite pictures.

Silly skeleton | Her crying makes him a little nervous | In their orange PJs

Super man and his little lady | My little pumpkins | Trick or treating FUN!

Lovin' on his baby sister | Superman! | Our family of four

We spent our Halloween trick or treating with William's friends from "town".  Teddy's mama (and my sorority sister) does a fabulous job hosting a pre-trick or treating party!  We always have the best night with this crew.  This year was by far the most fun.  The kids finally understand what is going on and were so much fun to watch!  Before walking up to one of the houses William told me it was "spooky" {in a super spooookyyy voice}.  That kid sure does keep me laughing!

The day before Halloween we made a visit to the zoo with Mimi for Zoo Boo!  As always, William had a blast!  The elephants were still #1 on his list followed by the fish, the carousel, the lion and the black bears who were eating pumpkins.  We even fit some pumpkin decorating and pizza eating in between all of that!

I'd say this was our most successful Halloween yet!  The only thing that could make next year better would be temperatures below 90 degrees outside....it was HOT this year.  I will admit, I'm pretty excited about dressing baby girl up next year!

Houston Texans Game

I'll admit that I was raised a Dallas Cowboy fan, and a part of me will always like them the best.  With that being said, after living in Houston for 10+ years I have really grown to love "our teams"!  And come on, who doesn't LOVE J.J. Watt?!?!?  Just seeing him out there, in all his cuteness, is worth watching the Texans.

So, a few weeks ago we made our way into town to watch some football!  Our original plan was to take William to the game and make it a family affair....long story short, he ended up having a fun afternoon with his Uncle G and Aunt Em while we had some adult time (with baby girl).  Anna Grace had a great time at her first professional game.  She made things super easy, being a good girl, and being in a suite we were able to bring in her stroller and all the baby stuff we needed.

It's a #suite life

I think baby girl brought the Texans good luck!  They won this game and haven't lost a game since.  :)  Sometimes it's hard to make ourselves do these kind of fun things, but it's always well worth the time and energy it takes.  We had a fun day with some great friends.

The Week Houston Flooded

We had just made it back home, from our trip to East Texas, when the weather got crazy!  Soon after putting William to bed the lighting and thunder began....and it didn't stop until after 4am.  My phone alarmed all night long, "Flash Flood Warning".  I was more worried about William waking up from all the noise outside.  I had no idea what we'd wake up to!  Luckily, William slept through the entire storm. :)  Gordon had to be at a job site early in the morning so he was out the door by 6am....without ever turning on the TV to see what he was about to drive into....WATER!  Long story short, many of the school districts shut down, which meant daycare shut too.  Gordon was stuck in town, unable to make it to his job site, so William and I had an unexpected day together at home!    
As the week went on we got one surprise after another.  I came home to a sick little boy after "moms night out" with my good friend Rachel.  After a traumatizing doctor's appointment the next day, the little guy was diagnosed with a sinus infection.  We didn't get to see our usual doctor that day.  :(  Poor little William is still talking about how the doctor hurt his ear {she did in fact scrape the inside of his ear, making it bleed, when she was trying to get a little piece of wax out}.  Luckily, 48 hours later, just in time for the weekend, he was feeling 100% better!

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Back home Memorial Day evening...before the rain | Lots of cuddling on the couch when he was sick

Little Gym Fun |  Heading to get a snocone | Can't forget any of your toys at the pool!

That weekend, we finally took the plunge and started potty training!  For the past 9 months I could get William to randomly pee pee on the potty, but most of the time he would tell me, "No, it scares me!"  He was still waking up most mornings with a wet diaper and not acting too upset about having a wet diaper during the day.  Regardless, we decided it was time!  The first day was obviously the hardest (but not as bad as I expected).  At one point Gordon compared it to having a new puppy.  LOL.  On Sunday, we went to church, out to lunch and to get William's hair cut....all the trips to the bathroom were harder on this preggo mama than him!  {I may have toppled over at one point....William giggled and said, "What happened, Mama?"  Oh nothing sweetie, my center of gravity is just a bit off!}   Luckily, I didn't have to work on Monday so we had some extra time to perfect his potty skills.  His first week of big boy pants at school didn't go to well.  :(  But, the next week he did fabulous!  Since then he hasn't had a single accident and wakes up in the morning with a dry pull up 95% of the time.  WAY TO GO WILLIAM!  We are so proud of how well he's done.  He made a scary task seem like a piece of cake.  

Here's to hoping our next little one is easy to potty train too!!!!!  

Easter 2015

For the first time in probably 8 years we spent Easter in Midland.  We had an extra good reason for heading to West Texas this year.....baby Brecken had been born just 2 weeks before!  As always, we had a great time visiting with family, eating at my favorite restaurants and just relaxing.

William painted Easter eggs for the first time this year.  We had a blast, and of course, William had lots of opinions regarding what colors the eggs were.  #toomuchlikehismama

As you can see, this little boy is all or nothing with the camera!  He will either cheese it up or refuse to look at the camera.  Luckily, William was in a great mood on Easter.  Even without a nap he stayed cheerful.

It's hard to believe that we will soon be a family of four!  It's even harder to believe that Easter was my due date for the last pregnancy.  Time is just flying right by.  I still can't wrap my head around having a newborn in our home again.  ;)  It's exciting and scary all at the same time.  

Kisses for Brecken | Sweet baby | Grandsons and Cousins | 

Giving GG a check up | Walking into church | We are growing...family of 8.5 now!

We were pleasantly surprised when William handled me holding Brecken like a champ.  Over Thanksgiving, anytime I held baby Katherine William would have a complete meltdown.  Four months later, he could have cared less who I was holding and what the baby was doing.

We are so blessed to have all of these people that love us in our lives, to have our health and have the opportunity to spend time together.  Easter is the perfect day to remember just why we have all of these blessings.....Jesus!  

Houston Rodeo Carnival

This year, we decided to fight the crowd and take William to the Houston Rodeo's Carnival.  William's been to the actual rodeo but never to the carnival.  He was in heaven!  As soon as he saw all the rides he started saying on repeat, "I ride that!"  Unfortunately, most of the rides require you to be 36'' and our little buddy was just a hair under that.  He was able to ride some of the simpler car rides.

Our first stop in Houston that morning was Barnaby's.  This was our favorite breakfast place when we lived in town.  Our waitress even remembered us!  After filling our bellies we headed to the carnival.  We did beat some of the crowd since we got to the carnival around 10:00.  First up was a camel ride!!!  William kept saying, "We're up high!"  After the camel ride we headed to the pony rides.  We were a little nervous that he wouldn't want to get on the pony alone....but he did great!  As soon as I put him on the pony he asked if he could touch his fur.  He loved how soft the pony was.  Although, the little guy was disappointed he couldn't ride many things he still had a blast on the trucks and motorcycle (which went surprisingly fast).  Before heading home we had my favorite, dip 'n dots, and cheese popcorn!  YUM.  

We had such a fun family day!  Our 12 week check up was the next morning and I'd been super anxious about the appointment.  This was just the day I needed.  FUN, FUN, FUN!    

Cowboys Football

I am happy to say that, at 32 years old, I finally attended a Dallas Cowboy game!  It was William's first Cowboy game too.  We have all been to the fabulous stadium before and were happy to be back for a day of fun with my family.  

William was nearly speechless about all the activity going on in the stadium before the game started.  The cheerleaders, the fireworks and all the people kept our little guy well entertained!  He is a big fan of what he calls "soccerball".  

{Taking it all in with Daddy}

{Watching the cheerleaders during the pregame show.}

{Our little family}

{He was mesmerized....by the football and those yummy carmel pretzels.}

{William's favorite meal!}

{Passed out at half time. #suitelife}

{Standing by some of my favorite players.  Thanks Dad for the fun day!}

{Everyone looking sad about the Cowboys score.}

{Hanging with Skye and Uncle D}

Birmingham

The day after Christmas we made our first trip back to Birmingham since Ashley and Brandon got married 4 years ago!  It was obviously William's first trip to Alabama.  Lucky for us, William slept on the flight there and on the way back.  Every flight with him is different.  You just never know what you're gonna get.  :)
We had a great time with the Gooding side of the family.  We finally got to see Ashley and Brandon's "new" home.  The word beautiful doesn't do it justice.  I'm so envious of their great outdoor space.  Houston just doesn't compare. 
Ashley was prepared for the little mans arrival....she had lots of fun toys to keep him entertained during our long weekend in Birmingham.  During our stay Brandon did lots of grilling (YUMMM), the boys went duck hunting one day, we did some shopping and had a mini birthday celebration for Grant.  You can't beat a relaxing weekend away from home with family. 

• The Gooding guys
• Mesmerized by the leaf blower!
• Hanging with his mimi
• My little hunters
• Giving hugs (note the deer in his right hand....he's obsessed)
• The boys staying busy cooking on the Green Egg
• He loves anything that looks like a vacuum!
• Grant's 30th birthday celebration
• Sister In Laws!

Birmingham is such a beautiful city.  Hopefully we'll make it back to visit sooner than later!

Wreck 'Em Tech

Well, this picture pretty much sums up William's experience at his first football game!  EXCITED!  Tech may have lost but we made so many great memories.  William is a lucky little boy.  His first football game was at the Cowboys Stadium, in a suite, watching our favorite Red Raiders.  Priceless. 

I have to brag on my fabulous parents for a minute....they really are the best!  When William got super sick last week my sweet mom didn't even think twice about coming to help us out.  She is such a life saver, she's so good with William and we all love her so much.  Then there's my daddy.  I hinted that this would be a fun game to go to (and a good meeting point for all of us) and the next day he had the suite arranged.  They spoil all of us.  BIG hug to both of them for always being so thoughtful, helpful and loving us so much.  The three of us are blessed to be able to call them ours.

Thankfully, William was feeling much better by Saturday!  We got to see Uncle D, Aunt Skye and a few of my high school friends. William had so much fun running around, playing with his Uncle D and of course watching all the action on the field.  He thought it was hilarious when we were cheering during the touchdowns.  By halftime baby boy was getting sleepy so we laid his trusty nap mat in the closet....yes, the closet (it's big and quiet)....put some toddler Pandora on and baby boy passed out!  He slept the entire second half! 

• Ready to eat some yummy mac 'n cheese
• Fascinated!
• Our little family
• Checking things out....Aunt Skye taking some pics
• Hanging with Uncle D
• Dustin and Skye
• With my momma and her sweet friend, Rhonda.
• My honey

We may have lost the football game but we had a wonderful night and we still love our RED RAIDERS.  We will always be fans and cheer on Texas Tech.  Win or Lose.  It's our Alma Mater.  It's where I met my husband and who's now child's father.  :)   Wreck 'Em Tech!!

We Love Breakfast

This moving stuff is really putting me behind in the blogging world!!  BOO.

I may be behind in that part of my life but overall Gordon and I have tried to keep things as normal as possible for the little guy.  To be honest, staying in a semi routine helps us all!  We even stayed up late on Friday night for date night.  One of my sweet friends is moving to Dubai next month so we went to her going away party and then headed to the movies to see Captain Phillips.  We both really liked it (G says it ended a bit differently in real life).  I cried of course.  I knew what the outcome was since the movie is based on a true story from 2009.  I was so glad the Captain survived but sad about the pirates.  What they did wasn't right but I feel so sad for the life many of those people live over there.  A large part of the hematology department at TCH are sickle cell patients.....and many of these children are from Nigeria and surrounding areas.  They come to America with their parents for medical treatment.  My heart breaks for the parents and children that aren't lucky enough to come here.  But, that's all an entirely different post for another day.  :) 

Back to moving......

One of the things we will miss the most about living "inside the loop" are the restaurants.  Especially our favorite breakfast spots.  Here are a few of our favorites!

Rustika Café- Located off of 59 and Buffalo Speedway.  Gordon and I started coming here when he first moved to Houston in 2008.  A patient of mine at M.D. Anderson recommended Rustika.  They have to die for banana crepes and they make the most beautiful (and yummy) cakes.  Here are a few of the cakes they made for us..... here (30th bday cake), here (gender reveal), here (baptism).



Rustika before church

 

Barnaby's-  This is our #1 favorite spot.  They have several locations (I'm praying they open one in Katy soon).  We go to the Barnaby's on Shepherd for breakfast and the Galleria location for lunch.  Everyone at Barnaby's knows us.  Even the customers.  They know William's name and he makes sure to wave hi and bye to everyone every weekend.  Thinking about not going every Saturday morning makes me sad.  :(  I love everything on their menu!  Our favorites are the Annie's Burrito, Bob's Healthy Plate, the home fries and the blueberry pancake.  If you're in Houston you must go.  Make sure to get the fresh squeezed OJ too.   

Even the toast at Barnaby's is super yummy!

Backstreet Café- Located in River Oaks off of Shepherd.  This is one of our "before baby" places.  It's in an adorable, cozy house that's shaded by big beautiful trees.  I could sit outside and drink mimosas here ALL. DAY. LONG.  The Lobster Sliders on the Brunch menu are delicious. 
Beck's Prime- Looking for something quick and fun?  Head to the Beck's Prime at Memorial Park! We love grabbing a breakfast taco before going on a walk and/or hitting golf balls.  Baby boy loves watching all the people and running around in the grass.  If you're looking for a good burger this is your place! 

Doesn't get much better than playing with sticks at breakfast

Empire Café-  Off of Westheimer between Shepherd and Montrose.  I love all the outdoor seating they have.  Their specialty eggs benedict is fabulous and they have some of the yummiest French Toast I've ever had. 

Love the cookie your coffee comes with. 

 As you can see, I'm already going into Houston withdraw!!!!