Just thankful for this season

I tend to forget how therapeutic my blog can really be. Seems the past couple of years have been a wonderful blur, not wonderful in that everything has been perfect, but wonderful in a sense that my life has been challenged and tested, but the Lord has been faithful to me. My boys are growing up so big, and the love between me and my husband has changed into something more beautiful than I could have hoped. It's not always perfect, and my life is usually pretty messy, but I'm learning that no matter what God's good and sovereign hand allows to come upon me, it's for my ultimate good and refining and for His glory. Life is about seeking God and knowing Him!

Colt is 3 months old! (4.14.2011)

Weight: a hefty 18 lbs!
Height:26 inches
Sleep: He usually wakes up about 2x a night now to nurse (just depending). Typically falls asleep around 10pm and is up ready to go by 7am. He's been dealing with a cough the last couple of 3 weeks, and that sometimes wakes him up too.
Eating: Still eating every couple of hours during the day and a couple of times during the night.

The weather has finally been warming up, so we're able to spend more time outside now. Colt enjoys takeing walks in his stroller and sitting in his bouncy outside on the sidewalk. He's beginning to engage more with us now too. If we smile at him he always smiles back and bats his long eyelashes and his baby blues just sparkle. I love it!! Unfortunately, he's been sick off and on the past month. We had to give him breathing treatments fairly consistently for about 2 weeks, but those have tapered off now. He mainly has a few coughing spells at night, but again it has gotten a lot better. The doctor determined it was from those oh so lovely allergies! My poor baby! But he's a trooper, he rarely cries, only if he's uncomfortable or hungry. Fix it, and he's a happy baby.
He's already traveled to Louisiana and Mississippi in the past month. Louisiana to see Gigi and Papaw, and Mississippi for a wedding. Colt has been such a blessing to us, so thankful that God gave him to us.


My chunky monkey


My two handsome boys. Adam and I are so blessed!


enjoying some playtime in his baby bed


Enjoying a stroll at the park with Bruh Bruh (that's what Dallas wants Colt to call him)

Spring 2011

Ahhhh....Spring time in beautiful East Texas! The temperatures are in the mid 70's, the morning air is crisp and refreshing, skies are clear and blue, and my favorite part, all the beautiful flowers that are now in bloom. Here are a few of my favorites that I see each day on the drive to my office and from around town

2 Months Old

Colt turned 2 months old on March 14th! Here are the stats:

Weight: 16.2 lbs (99 %ile)
Height:25 1/2 inches (99 %ile)
Sleep: The longest he has slept at one time is 5 hours, but in a typical night goes to bed around 10pm, wakes around 1am, 4am, and 7am. Fortunately, he nurses and goes right back to sleep.
Eating: typically nurses every 2 hours during the day and every 4 hours at night.

He has started smiling and cooing a lot more lately. It's so precious to watch. He enjoys a warm bath and likes for me to massage his legs and arms with lotion aftwards. He's focusing better and moves his head from side to side to follow us. He's even noticed kitty echo walking by a few times. He's holding his head more steady and can grasp his hands and fingers much tighter. He used to not like his carseat at all, but now will tolerate it as we go from one place to another in the car or truck. He also began sleeping in his own bed last week. He began daycare last week. He goes 1/2 days 3 days a week. I always prayed that if God ever blessed us with another baby I would get to spend more time with it, because with Dallas I began working full time when he was 2 1/2 months old. We took him to daycare @ 7am and picked him up about 5 30 M-F. It was torture for me! Well, God answered my prayers with Colt. Since I have my own practice I get to set my office hours. He goes to daycare Mon, Wed, and Thurs. Tues and Friday we get to spend together, and I'm so thankful for that time.


Dallas and Colt. That's the best I could get with both of them this time. I'll try to get a picture of them together each month to see how much each of them change.


Don't you just love this one? I call him my ice cream cone 'cause he's such a treat. I've started to call Dallas cheesecake 'cause he's so sweet :)


Here's Colt in his crib for the first night. His outfit says,"Pinch me, I'm cute." I try to every chance I get!

Valentine's Day 2011

Valentine's day this year was super sweet (and I mean that literally)! Adam said something would be delivered on V-Day, so not sure what I was expecting.
I picked up Dallas from school and when we returned home there was a big box at our door step. Dallas wanted to tear into it right away, but I wanted to wait until Adam got home.
After Adam got home we tore into the box and found this!!





Unfortunately, I took these pics after most of the candy was eaten! haha I realized this would be a SWEET post (sorry for the pun) so I put the boxes back together and snapped a few shots.
Before the candy was eaten, each box was filled with various goodies all from the Popcorn Factory.

Thank you my loves, your gifts were a treat!

Reminiscing

Reminiscing
rem·i·nisce
Indulge in enjoyable recollection of past events

I'm sitting here thinking of what to write for my next post and find myself going through old posts that I've made. I love looking at all the pictures and videos of Dallas. I can't help but to smile when I watch this video of Dallas singing Jingle Bells at age 3 or this one when he was a baby. I can't believe he used to be so little!! Where has the time gone? I'm so glad I took the time to write various posts about him, like this one and posts pics of him like this one! It encourages me to keep current posts and pictures updated of Colt. I'm so proud of my sweet boy! I really miss him being little, but love seeing him grow and learn. Maybe I'm too sentimental, but I'll never have these years back with Dallas and just want to remember every second!

1 Month Old

Wow!! Today our little Coltie Pie is 1 month old! He's been such a fun baby to have, and we are so blessed. Each month until he turns 1 year I'm going to take a picture of him in this little rocking chair. This was mine when I was little, so it carries a sentimintal meaning to me. I tried taking them of Dallas in it, but never stayed very consistent. Speaking of my sweet Dallas Grant, things have gotten a lot better around here. He's enjoying his little brother a lot and hugs and kisses him whenever he gets the chance!
I'm not sure of how much he weighs currently, but guessing Colt is around 11 lbs. He has already grown out of newborns clothes and diapers 2 weeks ago, and well into 0-3 months. I know he's only a month old, but I've already noticed him coming into his own little personality. It's funny to watch his face change from a smile, to a frown, then back to a smile again. He makes funny faces when he's awake and asleep. He doesn't cry a lot, and when he does it's only for an obvious reason, hunger, cold, uncomfortable where he's sitting etc... I've given him a lot of nicknames here and there, but I think I'm going to call him cuddle bug. He loves for me and his daddy to hold him, and will fall asleep in no time if he's lying on my chest.
I'm enjoying every second with him, and looking forward to seeing what the next month has in store for him!



Colt - 1 Month Old (2.14.2011)



Colt and Big Brother Dallas

Colt's Newborn Photoshoot

Soon after Colt was born my dear friend, Olivia, offered to take some newborn pictures of him. Of course I was thrilled and immediately said yes! So yesterday, Colt and I finally headed over to her house to capture all his sweetness. He was awake for a while after we got there, but he finally fell asleep, and she could work her magic! I am so impressed by her talent, and started crying when she sent me the proofs yesterday. All the pictures turned out absolutley precious and I'll cherish them always. Thank you so much, Olivia!!

Family Night

For the past 4 or 5 months, Adam, Dallas, and I have been spending each Friday night together for family night. Most nights we make some sort of fun dinner (mostly homemade pizzas) and play games. Lately Dallas' favorite games are Slamwich, Battleship, Tip It, and Blokus. Tonight we went to Sonic, then headed to Green Acres park for a walk and bike ride. Here are a few pics from tonight. We really cherish our time together and have a lot of fun. I thank God everyday for our family and the blessing it brings to my life.


On the move


One quick picture with mommy


Can you see his license plate? It reads, "Boys Rule." Fitting, don't you think?


First fall


Second tumble


I'm not hurt, ready to try again!!


Finishing up the trail

Dallas' First Day of Kindergarten - ETCA - 8.18.2010

I can't express how proud I am of Dallas and how well he did today. I was curious how the morning would go, but when I went to his room to wake him up he raised right up and said, "I want some cornflakes!" He ate a good breakfast and got dressed with ease. (I hope every morning is this easy!) We took some pictures and then headed off to school. He's been at ETCA for 3 years now, and we're so happy he's able to start kindergarten there. His school is like a big family. With the exception of a few students, I know all the kids in his class and their parents. It's such a blessing to have him in such a loving and nurturing environment. We are so blessed! A couple of years ago, his school bought some land and this year his campus finally got to move to the new location. Although everyone is really busy getting their classroom ready and the office's in order, I think this has been a good change overall. His classroom is bright and exactly what you think a kindergarten class should look like. His teacher, Ms. Tesseyman, is friendly and I think Dallas will do great in her class. Every year I'm going to take a picture of Dallas on his first day of each grade. This morning we walked him to his classroom and he walked right in like he'd known the place for forever. I'm so excited for him and can't wait to see all he learns this year!

Finally a Post!

Yes I'm alive! I'm sure I've lost many readers! I'm so sorry! I actually blame my lack of blogging on Facebook! I tend to post most of my updates and thoughts on there, and really haven't taken the time to even log onto my blog.
Well...lots to update:

Last post was July 31st.
-Dallas is growing like a weed. He's in Pre-K 4 this year. We decided to wait a year to start kindergarten. I think it's been a really good choice. He's doing so great...even spelling some new words.
-We had a our 7 year anniversary on Aug 31st. We celebrated by going to Las Vegas for 3 days. Had a really great time, but boy! It was H-O-T!!!! Spent the first day at Hoover Dam, and then went to various casinos and hotels to see the sights. You could actually spend days and days in Vegas and never gamble, because there is SO much to do! We went to Cesears Place and the shops there, rode on a gondola at the Venitian, ate an amazing breakfast at the Bellagio and watched the fountains that night (quite spectacular), and ate like a queen everywhere we went.
-I've become a distributor for Advocare. I'm wanting to use any extra money I make to help pay off debt (meaning school loans!). Both Adam and I love the products and really feel like it was from the Lord to start this business for that purpose. I think it's a tool He's put into our hands. I'm so thankful! Check out my website: www.advocare.com/09093590 ask me how to get started, I'd love to share the products with you!!!!!
-I'm going to start helping out at church playing the piano with the praise and worship team. Not really a permanent fixture, per say, just to help fill in when help is needed. I'm excited about it, excited to start playing again.
-We recently went out to Adam's parents house in LA, just for the night, and had a great visit. We spent Halloween night there, and visited. No trick-or-treaters at his Mema's house so we got all the candy, Dallas loved it!
-Saturday will be 1 year since I learned my mother passed away. This has been quite a year. I can think about my mother now and smile, remembering all the good times we had. I have been a bit teary-eyed though the past week, just thinking about her. She will be remembered, our family has been so supportive of one another through this. I wouldn't have made it without all of them!

Well...in a nutshell that has been our past 3 months.
Gearing up and getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas...can't wait!

Happy 5th Birthday Dallas!

Today, Dallas is 5 years old! At 2:09pm 7.31.2004, God blessed us with our son. What can his Daddy and I say about him except how much we love him and how proud of him we are. He's truely a joy, and we are both so thankful that God gave him to us.
We both continue to pray God's greatest blessing on his life and that God will continually draw Dallas' heart to Himself.



Every year, I've taken a picture of him on his b-day. I took this one of him this morning.