What a Difference a Year Makes......

Who could forget lasts years picture?  It will be one of those that JD and I pull out to show all of Aubree's friends when she is in high school!  Obviously Aubree had a change of heart when it came to Santa Clause this year.  Everyone convinced her that she had to sit in Santa's lap so that she could show her little brother how it was done.  She did great!  She even told Santa what she and her little brother wanted for Christmas.  She was really impressed when Santa told her that he knew Ed, her elf from Elf on the Shelf!  We couldn't have asked for a better Santa visit!  Jacob did great also.  Not a single tear.  He looked him over once and decided he was ok and it was all smiles from then on!

My "Characters" on Halloween

 Aubree & Jacob had a great time this Halloween trick-or-treating around the neighborhood as Minnie and Charlie Brown.  Aubree is still a little scared of some of the more gruesome costumes out there (can you blame her!) but other than that she had a blast.  She would ask, "are these people nice?" at every house we would stop at.  She didn't want any surprises popping up from behind the closed doors of the houses.  Some we had to pass up simply because of decorations outside!  She really didn't have anything to worry about though,  I'm sure one of the 8 adults in Aubree's posse would have surely come to her rescue!

Fall Photos

So they say its fall already but I'm having a hard time believing it!  We still have our AC running non-stop!  I do have some pumpkin marshmallow in the scentsy just to make it feel a little more fallish (is that a word?).  Regardless of the outside temp,  there were still pumpkins to take pictures with.  Cant pass up a good photo opportunity!

Loves To Dance

This girl loves to dance!  In addition to the swim classes that I made mandatory (she loves swim lessons too), Aubree takes ballet and floor gymnastics once a week.  She would go everyday if I would let her! Tuesdays are her favorite day of the week now that she gets to go to ballet.  The kids are all 3 and 4 so you can image the amount of patience that the teacher has!  No matter what they do though, it has to be the cutest thing I have ever seen.  They could all just stand around in their ballet shoes, leotards, and tutu's and it would still be cute.  In last weeks class, I sat in and attempted to take some pictures.  Lets just say these kids aren't still for even a moment.  I didn't even get one good picture of Ava!  Here's the couple I actually liked.

Aubree's Birthday Bash Weekend

Aubree officially turned 3 last Friday, October 12th.  It's so bittersweet because we get to see her become this beautiful little girl who has officially lost all of her baby fat but at the same time we miss seeing her as a baby.  She is not a baby and is quick to remind us that she is indeed a "big girl."  So, since she is old enough to voice her opinion, she chose where she wanted her birthday party despite mommy's objections.  Chuck E. Cheese was the party spot.  She told us for about 5 straight months that her party was going to be there even though she hates the Chuck E Cheese that walks around in the costume (go figure!)!  We did as she pleased and needles to say, there were smiles, laughs, and more than a few tears!  In the end, Aubree loved her party and as soon as we got in the car it was all worth it when she told JD and I "thank you for my party at Chuck E Cheese" in that little, teeny voice that just melts our hearts.  She may be 3 going on 14 but she will always be our baby girl!

Actual birthday began with presents as soon as she woke up!

First stop, mud pie with Ava.  They painted magic wands!

Second stop on Aubree's day of fun, Jumpalooza with Ava

Last stop, birthday pizza with friends and family.  Nap time was 

cut short this day so there were some tears at cake time!

Day 2 was the actual party day at Chuck E Cheese! What a great

end to 2 fun filled birthday celebration days!

It's Finally Begun!

We finally started building our house!!  It seems like it has taken forever to arrive at this point but boy does it feel good.  We are busting at the seams in our now house now, especially with the arrival of Jacob!  Our target completion date is by the end of March with an end goal of having Jacobs first birthday there.  I am going to document the build in pictures so I will try and keep up with my posts so that we can share our excitement!  Here's what we have so far......

The kids had to leave their mark!

R & R in Napa Valley

Although we love being with the kiddos, who doesn't love a little getaway every once in a while?  Our little getaway was in California with a couple of great friends, Clay and Faith.  These guys have lived in Singapore for over 4 years but are finally back in the states.  We decided to catch up with them before we were too deep into our house building and because the 4 of us love wine, what better place than Napa and Sonoma Valley?  We had such a great time relaxing, catching up, eating wonderful food, and best of all, tasting great wine!

First stop in Napa, Frogs Leap.

Clay and JD put up with me taking their pictures in the vineyard

pretty well.  I tried not to make it too painful for them!

Clay and Faith 

This was taken outside of Twomey.  This place had some 

of the best views of Sonoma.

This was taken at a random barn we spotted on the side of the road on 

our way to a winery in Sonoma.  I just had to stop because aside from the awesome 

views, you just don't see places like this often.

Can't go to a vineyard and not take pictures with some grapes!

Life size Jenga at a winery!

Tasting at B Cellars......one of our 6 stops!

Relaxing while at a tasting

Faith snapped a picture of me taking JD's pic next to this awesome barn

5 Months

These days go by so fast!  I feel like I take his picture weekly rather than monthly!  I am so far behind that yet again, Jacob is almost a full month older than this post!  As each month goes by, more and more of his personality develops and it is so fun to see the similarities and differences between Jacob and his big sister.  It's so funny how a baby boy is already so much "boy" at the age of 5 months.  Just today we were sitting at the dinner table and Jacob was in his chair banging his spoon just to hear himself.  We all just watched and laughed as cereal slung around a little and was all over his face.  I looked at JD and said "he is such a boy."  Even when he is playing, he is constantly shaking anything that makes noise.  Maybe he is going to love music like Aubree!

4 Months

Well, almost 5 already because I'm so behind!  2 kiddos sure can keep a girl busy! One thing is for sure, this boy is getting bigger by the minute!  At his 4 month visit he weighed 14.6 lbs which was surprisingly only in the fiftieth percentile and his head measured off the charts at over 100th percentile!  Must be all those brains!!  ; )

Somehow I managed to snap a picture of him without

his hands in his mouth!  I'm thinking he's an early teether.

Cotton Fields.....Finally!

For 2 years now, I have wanted pictures in a cotton field.  Since there aren't exactly cotton fields in Humble and with the season being so incredible short, this took a little work.  With the help of my granny to keep me updated, I finally found what I was looking for.  Here are a few I wanted to share just because!

Sea World!

Sea World has become our go to easy vacation spot.  Aubree loves it there!  We have been 3 times in the last year but prior to that, I had not been in over 15 years.  Now they have Bay of Play which is the Sesame Street area with rides, water play, and shows for the smaller kids.  It's great for toddlers and they even have cabanas to rent by the day which I totally recommend!!! You get your own area with table and chairs, fridge, towels, and private locker.  Its great!  This May they also opened Aquatica water park.  We decided to check that out on this last visit and we absolutely loved it!  Jacob stayed at the hotel with NaNa and Grandpa and JD, Aubree, and I hit up the parks.  The only downside was that it was extremely crowded but we managed.  Aubree didn't mind one bit the other 1000 people that were in the lazy river with us!  She could have floated around and around all day.  We can't wait for our Jakey Jake to be big enough to go with us to enjoy in the fun!!!!

 The park provides these vests in different sizes for the kids

At the Bay of Play Sesame Street show

All Because 2 People Fell in Love!

3 Months

This little guy is getting so big!  Aubree even stopped asking to hold him because he doesn't fit in her lap on the boppy anymore!  The smile he has in this picture is how he looks all the time.  He smiles constantly, especially at Aubree!  He discovered his voice a few weeks ago and he just loves to talk to us.  He and I have had some pretty lengthy conversations over the past few weeks ; ) We all just love this little man to pieces!!!

Back to the Daily Grind

A few weeks ago I re-joined the work force after a great 3 months at home with my kiddos!  The thought of returning to work was harder than actually returning to work.  This time around I knew what to expect and how my crazy schedule would be handled.  So far it's been a smooth transition but not a day goes by that I don't wish I could spend a little more time at home rather than at work.  One thing that makes it easier is visits from the family!  Jacob made his first pharmacy appearance my first week back.  Nothing beats a surprise visit from the husband and kids! 

Just Wanted to Share

When Jacob was little bitty we had a photographer come take some newborn/family photos.  A few of them were on his birth announcement but I never got to share some of the others that I really loved.  

Just for fun, here they are.....

And of course this is the one that ended up poster size in my living room!

Happy Fathers Day!

Well, let me start off by saying that this is my first ever post....Yes, you read correctly, Daddy is typing this one.  Look out Mommy...now you have some competition!

Father's Day was amazing!  It really is such a blessing being a father.  There is nothing quite like having your little girl run to the door when you get home from work, arms spread wide, ready for a hug, shouting, "Daddy!"  Then there are those moments when you're holding your baby boy, and he smiles just at the sound of your voice.  Of course, there are many moments in between that make everything else seem insignificant.  Problems and stresses of the everyday world seem to just melt away when you are blessed with such a wonderful family like I am.

This Father's Day we spent the day at the pool at Gigi & Paw Paw's house.  As you can see below, Daddy and the kids were well prepared with our stylish sunglasses!  Even little Jacob got in on the action!  Aubree and Daddy spent the day swimming and playing in the pool while Mommy and Jacob sat soaking their feet.  I was also given a really cool Texas A&M pen holder to take to work.  It's got Aubree's hand print and Jacob's foot print!  It also has little footballs made with Aubree's thumb print, or as she likes to call it, her "gig em!"

While it is nice having a day where dads are recognized, it is not necessary.  Every day is a gift, and each day is special.  I just thank the Lord for blessing me with such a wonderful wife and my two beautiful children.  I truly am the luckiest man & father in the world!

2 Months

My sweet little boy is already 2 months old.  I absolutely love watching him grow before my eyes.  It's funny how things change with the second child because with Aubree we wanted her to stay little forever.  Then time goes by and we've seen how much fun she is and her huge personality (this girl makes us laugh on a daily basis!) and now we can't wait for Jacob to get bigger.  Sometimes I wish he'd slow down just a tad but I'm dealing with it : )  They can't stay little forever!

 P.S.  Can I just add that I am loving all the "mommy" stuff they have for boys!

I finally get my turn to rock!  Take that daddy!!

Mothers Day

So I've been sitting here at my computer trying to think of something to write that would express how I feel about being a mom but.......it's just not happening.  All I have are these simple words that really don't even do it justice:

Love

Joy

Happiness

Fun

Pride

Fear

Amazing

Delight

I love being a mom!