Werk

Yes, we make our 9 month old daughter mow the lawn.





Just kidding- baby girl knows how to walk holding on to her lawn mower!

So proud of her and daddy!

Traditions

I love traditions.  My family had a lot of traditions growing up.  I went to A&M and they LOVE traditions. 

As I was musing over this holiday season, I told the hubby that I want to have some traditions for just our little family.  Here are some of my ideas…

-          ... drink a holiday drink at Starbucks

-          ... put up Christmas decorations

-          ... bake a happy birthday cake for baby Jesus

-          ... make homemade watercolors (Christmas themed) and let Emma finger paint

-          ... eat downtown Fort Worth for my birthday and go see the Christmas tree

-          ... attend the Holiday at the Levitt event

-          ... bake holiday cookies

-          ... attend the pajama party story time at the library

-          ... possibly take pictures with Santa + fur brothers

-          ... look at Christmas lights

Any other activities I should consider?

Thankful

As we return from Thanksgiving break- my heart is full of thankfulness.  We had a great time at both of our Thanksgivings- one in Fort Worth with Wes’s family and then in Port Aransas for Thanksgiving with my family. 

I am thankful for a sweet, loving, smart, beautiful, healthy baby girl who has made all of our hearts a little fuller. 

I am thankful for my (cute) husband who supports me in all of my endeavors.

I am thankful for my family.  I heart having three sisters and a mom and dad who think I am awesome, ok well at least funny. 

I am thankful for my fur babies who taught me great lessons before having my real baby. 

I am thankful for Wes’s family.  They love me like I am their own daughter/sister. 

I am thankful for having a job that motivates me and most importantly that I love. 

I am thankful for the home that Wes and I have created together. 

I am thankful that one day I will get to meet my two sweet unborn babies in heaven. 

Some of the other (not as meaningful) things I am thankful for: coffee, diet coke, my couch, pictures of Emma, Mexican food + margaritas, naps, oreos, good books, girly clothes, baby giggles, watching Emma discover new things, family outings, date nights with my hubby, birthdays, holidays, Christmas cups at Starbucks, breastfeeding, traveling, my iPad, pumpkin bread, and many many other blessings I have not mentioned.  

Loving Lately

… celebrating Emma’s first Thanksgiving with Wes’s family

… that my big presentation at work is over

… work thanksgivings

… mom’s pumpkin bread

… anticipation of heading to Port Aransas

… Gloria’s margaritas (truly my favorite margarita)

… seeing a movie on a weeknight

… coffee with pumpkin creamer

… dressing Emma like the baby Gap model and getting her 9 month pictures taken

… that my night training classes are done (for now)

... the Big Bang Theory (funniest show on television)

… unexpected lunches with Austin and Amy

… making a colorful cake for Brent’s birthday

… Los Lupes for Brent’s birthday breakfast

… that Emma’s second tooth popped through! 

… watching Emma play with her toys and shake her hands wildly

… that Emma has been out of my tummy as long as she has been in

… unexpected surprises

"How Do We Treat Girls"

Emma and I have spent more time out of church than in church lately.

Baby girl does not like to be confined.

Last Saturday night I decided to try out the cry room- Emma could crawl around and I could listen to the Mass. Win win.

Soon Emma found herself crawling around the main vestibule in the back and drew quite the audience of little kids. These two boys were crawling in circles around her.

Her daddy would have died. Flirting at such a young age.

The crawling soon turned into running circles around my baby girl. Eventually one if the boys ran dangerously close to Emma. The dad motioned for the boy to come over and he promptly asked the little boy (who was around 2 or 3)- "how do we treat girls".

The little boy responded "like princesses".

I almost died.

It was one of the cutest things I have ever seen.

Then the little boy got on the ground and started crawling with Emma again.

Wordless Wednesday

"Not so sure about that mask, daddy"

Letter to Emma: Befuddled

Little Bah Boo,

Just when I think I have you figured out, you throw me a curveball.  Its like you want to keep me on my parenting toes.

The last four nights, you will not take your bottle in your room at night.  We start our bedtime routine downstairs.  We change your dipe.  I put you in your p-jammers.  We say night night and kiss daddy.  Then I take you upstairs with your bottle.  You refuse it.  And start to cry (sometimes hysterically).  I don't know what to do, but I do know you are hungry.  So I bring you downstairs, feed you your bottle, tell daddy we love him, then we go back upstairs.

This would be ok, but you don't go right to sleep.  You make mommy stand up and rock you FOR EVER. So I bounce you up and down, while you fight it and I sing to you.

I start out singing:
I love my bah boo
I love my bah boo
I especially love it
when you giggle and coo

which after five rounds turns to:
I love my bah boo
I love my bah boo
I especially love it
when she goes night night
night night
night night
without a fight

If you are still flinging your 16 pound body around, I will start out with rounds and round of shhhh shhhh shhh shhhh shhhhhs shhhhhhh shhhhhh shhhhhh shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

All while silently praying you will go to sleep.

Please take your bottle in your room.  I decorated that room just for you.  It is a good room.  A pretty room.  Definitely a room that is fit to have a bottle in.

Don't make nighttime all kinds of work. You confuse me some days.

It is one of my most cherished (and sometimes hated) parts of the day.

No matter what, I still love you to pieces.

I maybe could just love it a little more if you took your bottle in your very own bedroom.

All my love,
Mommy