oh how this is my f a v o r i t e part of spring!
sibling picture didn’t really happen this year…
maybe next year it will happen with another little sweet face…
{24 weeks}
we just checked on this patch the other day and it’s already gone! can’t wait to see it bloom again next year. as always, it was beautiful while it lasted!
xxoo
complete opposite, you two are….
yet the best built in friends you could ever find…
your hobbies these days… carrying backpacks {everywhere}, ditching naps, playing on the driveway for hours with bikes and blocks. drawing on each other with chalk, carrying your many stuffed animals from room to room around the house, picking me flowers and sometimes just weeds { thanks sam}.
samuel, your newest phrase is “i uv it!” with your hands raised….
jack, can you slow your growing down a bit… you are more than ready to get this wedding season started.
you two are inseparable, the best way i have learned to punish one or the other is to just have you separated from each other… it’s been working like a charm because you quickly miss each others’ company…
oh man, i could watch you two all day, then again… i realize i am so lucky i get to!
love you boys!
xxoo
easter weekend was not as sunny as we hoped but we made the best of it! we were so blessed to go to the co- cathedral downtown as we have the last 7 + years and see some of our closest friends. god is so good and allowed us to run into some of our favorite priests as well 🙂 it was so good to catch up.
jack, you made your first wish in a fountain. one of those moments i realized, “oh goodness you have never heard of this before!” so you and samuel were excited to pick out a coin from your backpacks and throw it in. afterwards you asked me what you wished for. i’m not too sure you caught on to who was doing the wishing 😉
the next day we enjoyed a little more sunshine the forecasters didn’t predict. we hid some empty eggs in gramps and granny’s backyard to practice hunting 🙂 you guys loved it!
that night before it got too late, we started decorating eggs. i think it was too late for samuel, he fell asleep watching “woof” aka 101 dalmations. jack, after a long day, you were in a daze. you enjoyed dyeing the eggs alot more than coloring them.
alleluia! HE is risen as HE said!
easter sunday morning was filled with excitement over what was in your easter baskets and excitement that we all got out of the house happily dressed in time for mass 🙂
boo the rainy weather, indoor pics just aren’t as springy….
even though i was bummed about the weather, i wanted to run out in the “mist” to catch a pregnancy picture. ha this is oh so natural… i didn’t even think of the background. oh wells we tried! everyone says poor number three….
samuel loved his “mi mi” egg. he did not want to let go of that little minion. sorry buddy it wouldn’t smell too good after a while.
the winlands came by to celebrate with us! they brought eggs for the big kids to hunt. that was a site to see 🙂 teenagers running around the wet backyard all in search of those golden eggs…
jack, you got some good practice in with your new jump rope … while granny and bailey had some good laughs.
after a great sunday afternoon nap, the sun came out and we enjoyed trying to walk off all that easter candy …
it was so nice, daddy was able to schedule some houston meetings on monday so we stayed one more night. the next morning was aunt dana’s birthday. erika and bailey kept the boys for us so we could enjoy a little shopping and a yummy lunch! it worked out so perfectly!
a very happy birthday and many blessings to you, dana, in this next year! thank you for letting me spend the afternoon with you on your actual birthday. i love being able to visit you and granny together, it’s a one stop shop and i always leave with a very full heart and extra laughing lines 😉
xxoo
here i am! i promise i wish i could write up each day we have together, but it might get a little repetitive 😉 and you boys and a very growing baby girl take almost all my energy. i miss staying up late. i miss playing around with all of our pictures. but for now we can just get a big post of like three weeks in one! 🙂 unfortunately it’s not that exciting because by the second week the stomach bug caught our house and clouds filled the sky. this mama almost thought there wasn’t an end in site, or even a glimpse of sunshine.
we have been to houston and back a few times. first trip was to celebrate samuels one whole year in glasses. samuel your doctor could not have been more pleased! she said she wishes all her two year olds loved their glasses as much as you do. you got a slightly different prescription in the right eye. we ordered you a new pair of glasses, as you were definitely ready. the first pair of glasses has seen better days. we don’t know how you saw through all those scratches.
back home, we are still loving every bit of library, especially the story time that you boys attend. you mainly love checking out movies but we still do enjoy a few good books.
our so called spring break week was spent very close to home. we were suppose to see our cousins but the bug got us and got us good. it took a good week plus a few days for everyone to get it and get over it. the only excitement we saw was on st. patrick’s day – which included a trip to the near by sonic and our neighborhood park.
jack it was your first time to swing on your own! you did not want me to push you at all. i was very excited for you.
samuel, sweet thing was just so happy to sit and swing, just a little. it has been so long since we had our swing set, everything is new to you again.
daddy was hard at work on a beautiful weekend. he made two gates for our deck to help keep the kids safe and the animals off 😉 i am so proud of him! now we’ve got some painting to do. 🙂
the bug continued to drag on… so there was a lot of this…
and this when we were feeling a little better…
then finally… after a good nights rest in our own beds, the sun came out and you kids were finally back to your sweet, silly- selves!
since we survived … {and i missed the wonderful halfway- twenty week – pregnancy picture} i was able to get a twenty-two week picture 🙂
oh girl, i am growing. i would love to say it’s you growing sweet girl, but i am feeling it everywhere. i am so scared of this hot summer ahead of us. i may be caught playing in the sprinkler with the boys. they are so excited about you. jack is so interested in what you might look like and what you can hear and feel. i am one lucky mama…
your big brothers are 24/7 entertainment…
and finally to end this extra long “catch up” of a post 🙂 another tee-ball game on a beautiful saturday morning….
and a quick little trip to bc for bailey’s f i f t e e n t h birthday!! so much fun!
it was a fast trip for just mama and samuel ( and anna kate 😉 ) but as soon as we got back, you brothers were inseparable….
and ready for new adventures again! or maybe just library 😉
xxoo
last weekend was your first opening day jack!
we got up early to celebrate your first game day. your team was first in line for the parade for opening day…
even ‘ballepeno’ threw out the first pitch and joined in…
we went back home for the afternoon. the sun was actually out so you and samuel stayed out the whole afternoon. right before your game you took a little power nap. daddy had to wake you up to get ready again!
you were so excited and did such a great job out there! i love watching you focus so hard!
samuel had a fit that you and daddy were out there and he couldn’t be. of course i resorted to letting him play on my phone so his crying would stop. i went to grab a picture of your littlest fan doing his normal thing… and he decided to pretend to be cheering you on instead. this kid is a character…
what a great first game for you. the first of many i’m sure. so proud of you and your dad for trying new things together 🙂 you two are awesome!
xxoo
she is fierce – shakespeare
with these big brothers we will have one fierce little girl ruling the house by
july.30.2015
we are so excited to call her by name!
“do not fear, for i have redeemed you; i have called you by name; you are mine.” – isaiah 43:1
anna kate, you have a house full of love waiting on you! until then keep growing sweet baby girl!
xxoo
jack, you love to celebrate just like your mama. you were so excited to pick out anything red to decorate for st. valentines day. you were spoiled having a few cousins spend the weekend with you. to tell you the truth, just like every time we get together with family, we missed you! you are off to play all weekend and perfectly happy. your valentines day gift was going to academy and getting all your tball gear with daddy. you had a great time and just couldn’t keep your eyes off of the football gear. daddy had to keep telling you “focus jack! we are looking for baseball!” you are a stinker and quite the model for me these days …
oh samuel, busy busy kid. on this st. valentines weekend you were so excited to tell everyone “happy bir-day!” 🙂 you love to celebrate too! we were so excited to get you a copy of 101 dalmatians also known as “woof” for st. valentines day. you also got a stuffed dalmatian too! you’ve been carrying it around all weekend. you are saying all kinds of things lately. joshua and jack were asking you all you could say in the car and laughing hysterically at the way you tried your best to say them.
love you guys like crazy.
xxoo
ohh how can our sweet erika be 17? we made a little trip out to bc to celebrate with her! she is so blessed to have such wonderful friendships. i just love watching her grow up!
oh did the boys love your party, erika! chocolate cake and endless oreos…
we enjoyed a little r&r at gramps and grannys and on the day we packed up to leave we had a surprise visitor …..
yeah i’m pretty sure you four babies were melting our hearts by the minute. thanks for the surprise visit/play date abbie! the boys enjoyed it and it was just enough to have them fall asleep on the trip home 🙂
we are getting more and more settled in to our new home. the weather has really turned the corner this past week and it’s been nothing but sunshiney days! i’m hoping to take pictures of the house soon, but for now i feel like we are guest ready 🙂
last week papaw and nana came to visit. the first day the weather was a little gloomy but the boys wore them out inside the house just as well. the last day the sun came out and it was beautiful. we went out to show them the park and the boys explored their little hearts out. thank you for visiting papaw and nana the boys loved every bit of it!
xxoo
of you boys…
the new house, the new surroundings, the new adventures: through it all, you guys are growing and exploring so much. i have hardly been able to catch up and write down all the new things you two do. we started attending the library time here and it is a great one! you are already excited to go back this week. this is a big deal, as jack never liked going to the one in our old area. could be that this one has a young cute teacher, who is great with the kids. 😉
“p is for pig” oh you two participated so well! the teacher in me was loving every bit of it 🙂
we have loved having visitors since the weather has been so nice! your oldest cousin, michaela, came a few weekends ago so daddy and i could go to the movies. we love that she lives so close! she is a huge help. we also love that she lives near great shopping. {well maybe just mama does} we followed her back and got to meet her new “kitty” then she stayed with us to help jack pick out some new kicks.
this last weekend gramps and granny came to stay with us and we enjoyed making a birthday cake for gramps. {i sure wish i could have been there on his actual birthday but i was really excited to have him at our house} 🙂
we hope you get to visit again soon gramps and granny!
other than having our favorite visitors and exploring outside our neighborhood, when the sun is out we are exploring the backyard. the boys absolutely love it! i know they will make so many memories here.
samuel, you love being outside. you run to the back door saying “oosh! oosh!” meaning “shoes.” you are more than happy to be out there whether someone is there or not. you spend most of the time with maudie. you also love putting leaves between the deck spaces. you are starting to play football with daddy and jack, always on daddy’s team. you have mastered the stairs in the house. you also say “up-tairs!” oh there are so many new words you are saying, i might have to make a new post to share. you love cuddling in the morning with cartoons just like big brother. you and jack are doing a great job sharing a room. mama or daddy still needs to stay in there till you guys fall asleep, but we will work on that. 😉 i keep telling myself, we won’t have to do this one day. so i just enjoy the extra quiet time i get with you while i can.
oh my big boy jack! this football season has made you fall in love. you know every team. you ask daddy who won against who and to look it up on his phone. every evening daddy comes home you challenge him to a football game. daddy said the other day, he is starting to have to really run to catch up to you! it could be your new shoes that make you go so fast 😉 you have the peyton manning “nationwide is on your side” commercial down to a t. you randomly sing parts of it around the house. you love patterns and numbers. you are helping around the house more and more. you are participating at mass more and more too. so much so, you can sometimes be heard singing along with father. we are so proud of you for being a good example for samuel.
you will have to have your own post soon too! but for now these little memories will do. 🙂 you goofy boy.
xxoo
christmas and new years break has come and gone so fast, as always. boy did we soak up every day and create such great memories. we spent the last weekend of advent preparing goodies and getting all packed before our trip out to bc.
daddy even ran out and got us one of the last trees in town. it was perfect!
sunday we headed out to bc and met all of our cousins there. the power wheels gave gramps’ yard another treatment for the winter 🙂
we had a few nights leading up to christmas eve to enjoy everyones company. we also ate a lot of really good food! thank you dana and granny for feeding us all week 🙂
christmas eve mass came and many little children fell asleep 🙂 it was a silent night after all. when we got back home they were ready for a christmas celebration like no other 🙂
sweet emily was even so excited, she shared quite a few smiles that night.
our family pictures are getting a little crazy. not everyone is always happy and not everyone looks at the camera. but they are all so darn cute! i think the outtakes are the best to remember …
emily grace’s very first christmas! it has been so long since we had a little girl in this family. we had to get a picture of granny’s girls ( – camryn and taylor) to remember this…
the kids gave us all a gift to remember! they performed the nativity for us. complete with scenes from the visitation of mary to her cousin elizabeth. little elizabeth was beyond excited to hear the news!
{we may have a little actress on our hands}
our parents made our christmas complete by giving us the first gift….our very own copy of the texas monthly celebrating george strait. no ads, just george. they spoil their girls! oh we still can’t help but smile we when think of our magazine!
after all that excitement 🙂 we let the kids take turns opening their presents! as tradition goes… emily went first 🙂
the adults opened gifts after…
we learned some gifts were not what we thought they were. it’s okay we created the best memories over having the longest laughs.
christmas morning we sang happy birthday to our sweet jesus and enjoyed all the toys santa clause brought….
we said goodbye to our cousins and headed over to papaw and nana’s for christmas day.
boy did these boys get spoiled…
we opened presents and had a yummy lunch. then it was off to play football. almost the entire afternoon!
we had such a special time with our families. we had one more good nights rest before packing up two vehicles worth and heading back home… we have been so blessed at our new home. two of my sisters inlaws are near by so they were able to come by for a visit during their stay…
we were so excited to have them visit and see our new home!
loved having so many loved ones here! right before new years kindle’s family surprised us by staying three nights with us… they along with dana’s family helped ring in the new year with us… it was so perfect!
we came home to sleeping babies and teenagers laughing like crazy…
daddy knows how to pour his toasts evenly….
we had lots of laughs and sad goodbyes…
i still can’t believe our house could hold so many boys… it was the perfect way to end 2014 and a perfect way to start 2015. already looking forward to next december!
xxoo