The Bergquist Fam

5x7 Folded Card

2011-04-23T23:06:00.003-05:00

Happy Day Mint Mother's Day 5x7 folded card

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Holiday Pictures

2011-03-21T14:15:00.010-05:00

Here was our attempt at holiday pictures for Christmas cards...the lighting isn't great, and there are shadows...but the kids smiled so great!

Thanksgiving 2010

2011-03-09T08:31:00.010-06:00

For Thanksgiving this year my family came here for the weekend. On Thursday we went down to Beeville for the day to celebrate with extended family at Aunt Gladys' home. We had lots of fun seeing everyone! Here is Dad with his Aunt GladysAll the kids with their Great Great Aunt Gladys

Random pics of everyone else during the weekend

The pictures you get...

2011-03-09T08:24:00.005-06:00

When your camera gets left with my brother...silly boy! He's always taken goofy pictures!

When you PLAY too HARD...

2011-03-09T07:52:00.002-06:00

These pictures say it all...

Sister Weekend

2011-02-11T13:40:00.006-06:00

My sister Laura and I have the same birthday 6 years apart. As a kid, it really bothered me...but as we've gotten older the more and more I love it! I can't think of anyone better to share my special day with! This year for our birthday we got to "get away" for a weekend. We got a hotel stay from our brother Stephen, we got $$$ from our parents for pedicures & shopping, and a certificate for dinner from my wonderful hubby Dave. It was great! We went to Austin and had a great time! We went down town and explored- we saw the Capitol building, the bridge with the bats (when they weren't there cause the idea of that many bats kinda freaked us out), and even ventured down 6th street. I got a really fun shirt in a souvenir shop that says Austin where the weird things are, it has the creature from the where the wild things are, only he has bat wings, longhorns, and a guitar. Leaving down town we got a bit lost getting back to our hotel, so that was an adventure...but in the end we made it. Oh and since Laura is in massage school she needed to get in a practice massage...I LOVED it! Between the time with her, the sleeping through the night, the massage, the pedicure, the shopping, and the great food I felt thoroughly spoiled and relaxed! Our Toes, mine are the green ones...A super YUMMY chocolaty dessert.One of the many cool guitars in down town Austin.

The Capitol Building.

Addy's Birthday

2011-02-08T15:34:00.011-06:00

Addy turned 6 on November 8th. I can't believe it, she is growing up so fast!

I made a slide show with her new 6 year pictures, but slide.com and/or blogger is being LAME and I keep getting a message saying tag is broken in the code... so if you want to see it click here: http://www.slide.com/r/CoZNG2Jt3T-G0Dc5eJPtuQ7dUH4RUDNn?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

This year we had her party at a great little place called Wee World. We figured it would be best to have the party somewhere other than home just in case the house had a showing. It was our first time to do a party at a location, and I must say it was quite nice! I didn't have to clean and decorate, I didn't have to plan party games, and there wasn't much "clean up" at the end. The best part was the lovely ladies at Wee World that agreed to a barter. I made them an awesome baby gift basket for a promotional give away, and they gave me 2 hours use of the party room. Gotta love the barter system!!!

Addy LOVED having her party there! She played and played and played! She loved having her friends there! She had a princess crown cake, and all the girls got sparkly pink cr0wns. Thanks to everyone who helped make her day so special!

Katelyn in the castle. Addy & Marianne doing presents.

Charlotte in the log cabin.

November...

2011-02-02T08:10:00.006-06:00

WOW! I got through a whole month, now I'm only 3 months behind! HAHA! First big happening in November was my birthday. I turned 29 this year, the funny thing is all week I thought I was turning 30... yep I forgot my age! HAHA! I'm very scattered brain these days. But it made it that more exciting when it was pointed out to me that I was only 29! Dave got me an external hard drive, which I REALLY wanted! I am a picture person, and well I had locked up the memory on our family computer with all my pictures. Of course I didn't want to delete them, and so I needed somewhere to move them to, so our computer could function once again. He also got me Letters to Juliet- which I love! Thanks honey! A very good friend (Jenae) offered to watch the kids so we could go on a birthday date. It was the best date we had in a LONG time! I wanted to do something out of the norm for us... so we headed down town! We went on the river boat tour, browsed a few shops, got some silly souvenirs (think pink cowboy hat with tiara, and coon skin cap), then walked a few blocks to a nice place for dinner. We had never been to the place but had found it on restaurant.com you know me, I had to have a coupon :o). The place was deserted... they told us to pick our seats anywhere in the 2 rooms, or on the patio. We chose the patio, but the patio light was out, and it was dark... just when we thought we'd have to move in the waiter came with a candle! So we had a private candle lit dinner on the patio! It was awesome! The food was yummy, and I really LOVED the one-on-one time with my hubby! After dinner we set out to find our car...HAHA we were so turned around, and walked the wrong way many times and finally an hour and a half later found it. Getting lost/turned around just added to the night! More time to walk holding hands, and to talk! It really was the best birthday present of all!!! Thanks for taking me out Dave!!!

Halloween

2011-02-01T14:20:00.002-06:00

Halloween was pretty simple this year. We attended the church trunk or treat party the night before. Then on Halloween I took the big kids trick or treating on our street. Dave & Elly stayed home to pass out candy. We had Addy as Princess Belle (Goodwill find! Actual Disney store costume in perfect condition!!!) Jimmy as Spider Man (one of the many costumes from his dress up bag) and Timmy as a Dinosaur, although if you asked him he'd say he was a dragon (also a Goodwill find! Also a Disney store costume in perfect condition!). The kids of course got TONS of candy, and LOVED it!

Elly's Birthday

2011-01-31T14:13:00.007-06:00

The day before her birthday, I took Elly up to her old "home" the NICU at NCBH. We brought cupcakes, and a card to celebrate her birthday and say thanks to the awesome staff that helped us sooo much! Everyone was so surprised by how much our Little Elly had grown. Her actual birthday was on a Wednesday, so the kids and I had a small cake with Elly here at home to celebrate.Round 2, and she's still not so sure about this cake thing.Here she is all clean after her bath. She is wearing the pjs Grandma & Grandpa gave her, and playing with the doll Nana Kaye, and Papa Jim gave her.

Elly's Birthday Party

2011-01-31T08:56:00.007-06:00

On October 27th Elly turned 1! We celebrated the weekend before with a family party in Bryan at Grandma & Grandpa's house. We had a LARGE turnout, in fact I think it was our biggest 1st Birthday celebration ever. We had the 6 of us (of course), Grandma, Grandpa, Nana Kaye, Papa Jim, Uncle Stephen, Aunt Laura, Doug, Lesley, Nana Cindy, Papa David, Stanley, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Robert, Benjamin, Aunt Marianne, Uncle Bradford, Uncle Tim, and Aunt Christy. Elly wasn't too sure what to think of her cake, or of everyone watching her eat it.She mostly just poked at it, and didn't actually eat much.

Present time

Thanks to all our family for celebrating this big day with us!

Since we were all together we exchanged gifts with Papa Jim's (Nov 3), Aunt Laura (Nov 5), Addy (Nov 8), and me (Nov 5). Followed by an evening out to eat at Johnnys (YUM!).

Happy Birthday Everyone!

Wee World

2011-01-26T21:29:00.007-06:00

This post I am taking a "time out" from catching up to post about one of my favorite things! Anyone who knows me, knows I love to shop, but you also know that I love a bargain, and will not pay full price for anything (unless of course it's a NEED like medical care). You will also note that I have 4 kids, which is generally a hindrance when it comes to shopping... ENTER Wee World! This is the best place for Mom's who love to shop!

1. It has a play area, and I'm not talking some dinky little corner with a toy... I mean a play area! It's got a full size castle with a tower- complete with princess dresses for the little princess in your life, and even a knight in shining armor costume for your boys! This is my favorite area, but it also has a boat, fishing gear, a log cabin, numbers, letters, educational, imagination, creative play stuff! My kids ages 7, 6, and 3 all love it! On our first visit we stayed over 2 hours and they played non-stop, they were entranced!

(that's Addy looking out the window from the tallest tower of the make-believe castle)

2. It's a trick... the kids come along happily because they are going to play... really YOU are going to SHOP! The above said play area is visible from all angles of the store! That's right you sign them in, send them off for an adventure, and then you begin your own! So you get shopping time, without the hassle and most commonly used, "MOM I'm tired, I'm bored, are we done yet? when are we leaving?" Could it get any better??? (YES it actually does!)

3. This is where I get excited, going back to my desire to find a bargain- it's a Resale shop! But don't let this fool you, it's unlike so many resale stores- they have standards! Yes they personally inspect every item to make sure it's in good shape and ready to go! Everything is around 1/2 of retail prices! Then on top of that- they have "hidden" bargains! Many of the items on the racks have been stamped 1/2 off! There is a great joy in finding a cute dress, pulling it from the rack, and then spotting the little airplane stamp! Makes you just wanna yell "SCORE!" or do a happy dance!

4. On the other side of the play area, is the beloved parent's lounge...those are two words you hardly hear together as a parent! And that's exactly what it's for! Once your done shopping, no need to rush the kids, they are having fun, they are entertained, it's time for you to take a break! This room looks right at the play area, so again your kids are in sight, and safe, and you can kick back! Seriously curl up in a chair, or sink into the cozy couch with a book, your headphones, or whatever sounds nice to you, it is your space to lounge! I love it! I've been there alone and really just zoned on the couch. I've been with a friend, and loved the opportunity to have my kids entertained and be able to carry on an adult conversation!

5. It's a perfect way to "turn around" stuff you are done with. They are after all a resale shop. What I love is they give you multiple options! You can choose to accept 40% store credit of what they think they can sell your stuff for. You can choose to consign for 90 days and receive 50% of what sold in cash. Or you can consign, and receive 60% of sales in store credit. I like this last option the best, because it gives me shopping money for future shops, literally turning my stuff around into new stuff.

6. You can rent the space for parties! For a VERY reasonable amount too, next to having the party at home, it's probably one of the cheapest options in town for a party place. We had Addy's party here in November. She LOVED it! The other kids LOVED it! In fact one of our guests is now having her party there in February, and Addy can't wait! And most importantly I LOVED it! For the simple ease of it! I didn't have to decorate, or clean, or plan party games, or anything! I brought cake and punch, table cloth, plates and cups, served the girls, threw it away, and watched them play! By far the easiest party I've done in my years of kid parties!

Which brings me to this... by now you may be wondering, "why is Liz blogging about this..." well truth is I do LOVE it, and I wanted you all my blogging buddies to know about it! So that if you are in the San Antonio, or even South Austin area you too could check it out. But also, it is for selfish reasons... Wee World is doing a blog contest, and this is my entry. All I've said is true, and many of you have probably heard me speak of this awesome place! But now it is in writing! If any of this sparked your interest I suggest you check out their website at http://www.weeworldresale.com/ and if you like what you see may I also suggest you click the like on Facebook button :o) this is a great way to get updates on the store, hear about promotions and contests, and stay connected.

Play Date with Friends

2011-01-25T10:22:00.002-06:00

In late October we went to B/CS for a weekend, while there we were able to have a play date with our dear friends. It was a great day to be at the park and enjoy each others company. I loved catching up with Heather. I love that no matter how long it's been since our last visit we are always able to pick right back up! And the best part about play dates with this family is everyone has a friend! Our families match up perfectly-

Jimmy and Jake are only a few weeks apart Addy and Brenna are less than 2 months apartTimmy and Justin are close (don't remember the time)and Elly and Lauren are only months apart. In fact we even having matching cars (I thought that was kinda funny).

Visit from Uncle Stephen

2011-01-25T10:15:00.004-06:00

During October my brother, Stephen, came for a week to help get some work done on the house. Which was much appreciated! Also, the kids loved having their Uncle around to play with. It was during this week that Elly fell in love... She was entranced with Stephen and would follow him around. She especially loved playing guitar with him. I am so grateful to have such a great brother! Thanks Stephen!

Extended Family

2011-01-20T14:17:00.004-06:00

In October we went to our baby cousin, Jamie's 1st Birthday party. Her and Elly are only a few weeks apart. The only difference is Jamie was supposed to be born in October and Elly not 'til February...so of course there was a considerable size difference between the two. Both adorable though!!! It was nice to go and visit with extended family, that we don't see very often. Here is Elly with her Great Great Aunt Cris:Here are the big kids with cousins Austin and Isaiah: Here the kids are giving Baby Jamie her gifts:

Sea World in October

2011-01-20T13:55:00.005-06:00

(this was the closed we got to a "pumpkin patch" this year, so it's our fall picture, even if the kids are dressed for June...haha it's HOT here!)

One Saturday in October we had opportunity to spend the day with Larissa and Cody at Sea World. Larissa and I go back to college days, and I love spending time with her! When Jimmy was little she babysat him a lot and he would loving refer to her as Ms Ralissa... too cute! Anyways, we loved our time with them!!! And can I just say it is so much easier to be at Sea World with 4 kids in tow when there are 4 adults. It was real neat to see the place decorated for Halloween, to see the shows, and of course do all the rides.the kids on something "exciting!"

Jimmy, Cody, Timmy, & Larissa on the Log Ride

The whole crew (minus me) waiting for Azul to start...

Thanks Larissa & Cody!

So much to say! Part 1- with many parts to follow...

2011-01-19T21:37:00.005-06:00

Dear blogging world, it's been awhile... too long! I enjoy blogging, it's the closest thing I have to a journal, but when push comes to shove it gets bumped to the bottom of the totem pole. So, here I am wanting to catch up but feeling overwhelmed knowing I've gotten nearly 4 months behind. I'm not going to make non-realistic goals on posting everyday or anything, but I hope that with a few posts here and there I can catch up and get back to maintaining. Wish me luck!!!

So, September 27th Dave began his new job... good news is He LOVES it! It's his dream job! bad news is it is 2 hours away, which means he lives in a hotel Mon-Fri, and we get him on the weekends. Which also means I have become a "single" mom of 4 kids. NOT EASY!!! I have a new respect for single moms of the world, I don't know how you do it! We are rapidly approaching 4 months (see a time connection to lack of posts, its no coincidence) of life like this, and it isn't getting any easier. We spent the first 2 weeks of October working like mad to get the house ready to list. We did new carpet, new paint, packing/boxing up to de-clutter, had a garage sale to de-junk, lots of deep cleaning, yard work, you name- we did it! And then it was finally ready, and let me just say... WOW! my house looks nice!!! I think so anyways. I do miss a few things though, 1. family pictures, I am a picture person and having to remove all "personal" things for listing was not exciting and 2. the baby gates!!! AHhhh! to this one, Elly is an accomplished crawler and moves fast! She can make it up the stairs okay, but it really scares me and I only let her do it if someone is right behind her. She is far from ready to get down them, and it doesn't help my fear that there is tile at the bottom of the stairs- no padding for crashes. So now anytime we move up or down I "reposition" a love seat to act as a gate. Much more complicated than locking and unlocking a baby gate would be...sigh...but it works. So the house has been listed for like I said 4 months, and has only had 3 showings, which is rather disappointing...in fact down right depressing. We've been assured that the market has been in a slump, and with it being the holidays there hasn't been much movement anywhere... maybe so, actually probably so, seeing as all 3 showings have been in the past few weeks, not months... but let me just say it doesn't make it any easier. Day in and out, keeping up with this! I've never been a "neat freak" not that my house was a disaster, but it has always had the "lived in" feel... and this change to cleaning every day is not my idea of fun, in fact I would say it is rather exhausting! The good news, all 3 viewings have had positive feedback. #1 loved it, only to find out they didn't qualify for it, #2 liked it, but weren't "serious" buyers, just looking, and #3 liked it, but decided to go with something larger. So one of these days someone will come along and it will be the perfect fit for them... at least that is what I keep telling myself. We are told that they are expecting a lot of movement in the market February and March...so here is hoping! I think with that I will call it a post- this was a good synopsis on the whole house situation. No pictures this post, but here is a link to our listing if you want to see my house all clean and pretty... http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/10107-Cedarcliff_San-Antonio_TX_78245_M78618-23564

Happy Birthday Elly!

2010-10-27T14:00:00.005-05:00

I'm a bit behind and have missed a few posts, but I'll catch up on those later. Today it's all about Elly! My little Elliana has come so far in the last year! She is doing better than any of us could have even imagined! We love you Elly and thank GOD you are here with us!!!

howdy partner

2010-10-07T14:11:00.003-05:00

found this cute woody shirt today for only $3 & we completed the look with a hat from the dollar store... i love it!!! timmy said "i look handsome....i'm woody!"

Jimmy & Addy

2010-10-06T08:36:00.002-05:00

These two have such fun personalities and ways about them, and they are SO DIFFERENT! This week at school they are celebrating higher education. So for today, Wednesday they were supposed to dress up as what they wanted to be when they grow up... Here is our conversations from yesterday afternoon...

Mom, "Addy, tomorrow you can dress up at school. What do you want to be when you grow up?"
Addy, "A Princess!"
Mom, " It's fun to play dress up and be a pretend princess, but what about for real? what do you want to be? You could be a doctor, or a vet, or a teacher, or a police woman..."
Addy, " I'm GOING to be a Princess when I grow up!!!"
Mom, "No, not really...that is just for play. How about... (another list of professions...)"
Addy, "FINE!!! I'll be a ballerina when I grow up!"
Mom, "Well that is something you could do, and that sounds great, BUT I don't think your ballet clothes are appropriate for school. What would be your second choice?"
Addy (now in a whiny/cry voice), " I just don't know! I only want to be a princess and a ballerina..."
She leaves the room crying... great... one failed attempt...

Now to try Jimmy...
Mom, "Jimmy, tomorrow you can dress up at school, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Jimmy, no actual words, but a deep look of concern on his face...so I continue
Mom, "You could be a doctor, or a police man, or a fire fighter, or a scientist... "
Jimmy, "I really just don't want to be any of those things."
Mom, "Ok, what do you want to be, and maybe we can make it happen."
Jimmy, no verbal response, but a stressed out look on the verge of tears.
Mom, "What about if you were your NASA t-shirt. You really like going there, and people who work at NASA are really good at math just like you."
Jimmy (tears have begun), "Can't I just be me??? I don't want to be all those other things, I really just want to be me when I grow up."
Mom (giving hugs), "Yes, of course you can be you!"
Another conversation ended in tears... great... two failed attempts.

What gets me, is though both conversations ended in tears... they were such different kinds of tears. Addy was the little miss attitude this is how it's gonna be tantrum tears. Jimmy was the soft hearted, deep, for real serious tears. It amazes me that children with the same surroundings and upbringing can be so different. Just goes to show we are all our own, very much individuals in all we do!

tired?

2010-10-04T11:52:00.002-05:00

I love the way that babies can fall asleep anywhere when they are truly tired! This weekend we had Elly jumping nearby while we were doing some cleaning, packing, packing, etc... and she zonked! So cute!

Best Buds

2010-10-04T11:42:00.003-05:00

These two love to play together all day!!! Timmy is so excited when Elly wakes up each morning. He greets her with hugs, and kisses, and made up silly songs. She smiles and giggles right back at him. This past week Timmy got strep (HOW??? He doesn't go anywhere!) and the doctor told him to stay away from Elly for 2 days while the medicine kicked in...He was devestated!!! He wanted so badly to be near her, it was cute and sad all in one. I love that these two have such a special bond! I wonder how long that will last ;o)

The House

2010-09-30T23:50:00.019-05:00

*Disclaimer*

I really need HELP! Feel free to leave comments/recommendations on what works or doesn't. Constructive criticism is GOOD! I want to sell the house!

So with the new job, comes a move. Before the move comes the cleaning, preparing and listing of the house for sale. The number one thing we've read and been told is to remove all photos, and decorate neutral. To anyone who really knows me, you realize what a daunting task this is to me! I LOVE pictures, and 90% of the things hung on my walls are pictures of family and friends. SO the sad day has come to remove all these, well I'm getting there, I've removed about 3/4 so far. The problem is we don't want "bare" walls either. So I've been shopping, sales of course and picked out a few things here and there... so it is coming along. But I really do feel lost in the decorators world. Trying not to spend too much, I've also experimented with things on hand... here is an example... This very ugly retro wall hanging I got when my Mom was clearing out years ago with the intent to do something, well until last week I never got around to it. I always, liked the shape of it, but not the colors. So having heard/seen the wonders of spray paint I went to work, and for $2 I now have a neutral wall hanging. No it's not my favorite, but it works... I think anyway. Before and After shots...

We'd been needing/wanting to get a nice clock, and I found this one at Ross for $20... I think they fill the wall okay together...

For the half bath, I got sconces and a framed phrase/saying for all under $10, thanks to Factory-2-You. Love that store by the way. I've never used sconces before, but I think I like them.

For the dining room table I made the flower arrangement with flowers on clearance at Michaels, rocks from dollar tree, and an existing vase, and ribbon...total cost was around $7. Ignore all the junk on the table :).We did a rearrangement of the living room furniture to make it look more "open" and added these two framed items also from Factory 2 You. This isn't the best picture, but gives you the general idea. One frame is Faith, and the other is Love. This is all so much a work in progress! There is so much to do before we can even list the house. We need to replace all the carpets, we are hoping to get quotes on that this weekend. We need to paint almost all the upstairs because it has the original house paint from '03 that is really scuffed up. We need to fix baseboards, and trim, and we really need to deep clean. We need to box up as much as possible to make it look "open" as they say, and not cluttered... Speaking of look what I found at Michaels in the clearance bin, designer packing tape. Marked down to 50 cents a roll. Now we can pack in style :o)

So throughout the day I find myself bouncing between tasks, whatever is the most conducive to the current moment and needs of the kiddos. So I've packed some, I've decorated some, I've cleaned some, and I've done a lot of the everyday dishes, laundry, cooking, scouts, dance class, doctor appointments, and just life stuff... Eventually it will all come together, I'm sure of it. Although, sooner than later would be better. I miss seeing Dave everyday, and the kids are having a hard time too.

So now a direct question for anyone and everyone...where to put these 2 lamps. I originally bought them thinking I would spray paint them brown and use them in the bedroom on either side of the bed... they were only $7.50 at Kirklands!Which could still work...Snapshot of the room, they would be on either side on our little tables.But after putting them together and seeing the colors... It has me thinking, maybe they should be other places just as they are... For example the family room just got a new rug that these green and white shades appear in. And the couch needs to be balanced on the wall. Maybe I should get an accent table, or two and put them on one or both sides of the couch. Anna's Linens had accent tables for $10... so it's a possiblity. Here is the wall in question, and the new rug with it's colors.

Lastly I realized the green is very close to the green walls in the living room. But would that be too much green? I don't know. There is also a couch that could use accent tables and lamps to balance things out. The existing brown lamp could be moved elsewhere in the house.
And with that I am signing off. I will be regretting this late night in the morning!!!

Big Day!

2010-09-27T23:21:00.002-05:00

Two things big today...

1. Dave started his new job, and thinks it's great. Now to just get this house ready to sell and then things will really be great.

2. Elly turned 11 months today! It's so crazy to think of all that has happened in the past year. Here she is at her photo shoot today...

Circus

2010-09-17T08:33:00.006-05:00

Last weekend, we took the kids to the Circus. It was a fun outing! We tried to take pictures, but they didn't come out so well with the low light in the coliseum. Timmy says his favorite part was watching the motorcycles drive on the tightrope, with girls hanging on bottom. Addy, well she cried off and on throughout saying she was so bored and wanted to go home...grr she was being a punk that day. Jimmy really enjoyed the whole thing, although the whole day before he was being a downer saying he didn't want to go. Elly amazingly fell asleep for part of it, it was so loud I don't know how she managed that. Dave, and I really just enjoyed being out of the house together!

random pictures

2010-09-17T08:10:00.005-05:00

Elly fell asleep mid-bite on her teething biscut.
Elly looking cute in her robe after a bath.

Elly have so much fun jumping in the johnny jumper.

3 of the kids attacking/wrestling/who knows? with Dave.

Timmy with a pink bumbo helment.

Sea World

2010-09-17T07:32:00.001-05:00

End of August we spent a day at Sea World enjoying all the water features the park had to offer. It was a super fun day!!!

First Day of School

2010-09-17T07:23:00.005-05:00

August 23rd was the first day of school! I can't believe we have a 2nd grader and a Kindergartner this year! They were both so excited to start and have been loving school so far. The house has been so much quieter with just the little two at home. It has been nice to have one on one time with Timmy, I haven't really ever had that. We've been working on letter and number recognition. Some days he's into, others he just wants to play though. Oh well!

The Magic Time Machine

2010-09-12T21:27:00.003-05:00

While the kids were in Dallas...we got to go on a fun double date +1 (Elly). Laura & Doug came down to pick up our old washer & dryer. Laura had been telling Doug about The Magic Time Machine, so we went. We had Indiana Jones for a waiter, Dora the explorer told us a hilarious joke, and saw many other characters. Dave got sang to for a late bday, and best of all Dave was pulled in by the staff to "perform" a happy bday song and dance to another group in our section...my little buttercup...it was loads of laughs!!!

Another Trip, Houston this time

2010-09-12T21:14:00.006-05:00

August was the month of travels! After Dallas, and after Bryan, but still before school started we took one last road trip for the summer. We had a lot of fun just hanging out with Mom, Dad, Laura, & Doug. We played, we did a bunch of swimming, saw some family friends, and just had a really good time. Oh and sometime in early August Elly's oxygen changed from all the time to just at night... so she was finally cord free during the day, allowing her to go swimming for the first time! She really liked the water!

Tummy Time

2010-09-12T21:09:00.002-05:00

While at Mom & Dad's we put this mat down for Elly to have tummy time, and Willie the cat thought he'd join in on the fun! Elly didn't seem to mind as they played together for quite awhile.

Safari

2010-09-12T20:45:00.015-05:00

While in Houston Dad took us to a Safari Park. We rode a tram and saw all sorts of animals. We had buckets of feed that they would come and eat. At the end there was a petting zoo, and horse rides for the kids. It was a one of a kind, super fun outing! Thanks Daddy!

Forgot One

2010-09-10T14:07:00.006-05:00

Before the small road trip to Bryan we did one to the Dallas area. Our nephew was being blessed and we were able to go be there for it. It was really fun to see so much family! In the last year we have become an Aunt and Uncle to our two cute nephews, but with all that has been happening we haven't been able to see them much. So this weekend trip was a great opportunity to really play with these little guys! At the end of the weekend the kids weren't ready to leave, and since it was still summer the 3 oldest ones stayed and played a little longer with Nana & Papa.

Jennifer, Robert, and Benjamin

4 Generation Picture, Liz, Elly, Dave, Timmy, Nana
Cindy, Papa David, Jimmy, Grandma, Addy, and Grandpa

The kids and their cousins:Timmy,

Stanley, Addy, Elly, Jimmy, and Benjamin

Playing with the babies

small road trip

2010-09-09T13:06:00.002-05:00

Early August I was picking up the 3 older kids (they had been with Nana Cindy & Papa David), on my way through Austin I picked up my brother Stephen who came along for the ride. We met up with the kids and headed to B/CS to see family. We enjoyed a fun dinner out at Fritellas, one of my fave local spots, with Stephen, Laura, Lesley, & Doug. We had lots of fun spending time with Grandma & Grandpa. We went to the splash pad park which has always been a favorite. Funny thing, when we pulled up Jimmy said, "that's not it! this place is too small! it's not what I remember!" HA HA I told him it was the same, that he had just gotten bigger since last summer. Either way it didn't stop him from getting out there and having fun! We also stopped in on some friends for a play date, thanks Heather we loved seeing you guys! It was a last minute unplanned trip, so we didn't get to see everyone we would have liked too, but there will always be another time.

Catching Up... River 2010

2010-09-09T07:23:00.003-05:00

Life has been BUSY! So lets see if I can start to catch up!

Late July we took our annual family trip to the Frio River for a stay at Cold Springs camp. We enjoyed tubing, fishing, swimming, great food, and spending time with family and friends. Jimmy & Addy went out for the whole week and stayed with Nana Kaye & Papa Jim. The rest of us joined them on Friday for the weekend. It was Elly's first time, but she was still on oxygen so no water fun for her just yet. She spent most days playing, snuggling, and napping with her Nana.

Elly at 9 & 10 months

2010-09-08T13:17:00.000-05:00

Elly

2010-07-23T12:34:00.003-05:00

Elly has recently discovered her feet and can be found like this throughout the day. She loved to pull them up and play with her toes. She has also become a pro a yanking off her oxygen cords, her poor face is getting so red and irritated from it...

She went in this last week for a sleep study to monitor and test her off of the oxygen. She seemed to do well but we don't get the results from the doctor for a few weeks still. We are really hoping it will be the end of the oxygen. This is her all wired up for the testing...and amazingly enough with all that junk on her she was still able to sleep... on a side note these cute pink penguin pjs she is wearing (at almost 9 months) were Addy's coming home clothes from the hospital at 3 days old.

Swim Lessons

2010-07-22T18:07:00.005-05:00

Jimmy and Addy took swim lessons at a city pool for the last 2 weeks and loved it!!! Jimmy keeps asking if he can be on a swim team now. Timmy wasn't old enough for lessons, but they let him play in the kiddie pool so he was happy.

Dave's Birthday!

2010-07-22T17:59:00.004-05:00

On July 12th Dave turned 30! Lucky boy got 3 birthday cakes. We did one a week early when extended family was here for Elly's blessing. We surprised him with cupcakes on his birthday at work when we met him lunch. And of course the real cake the night of his birthday! He got a guitar and all the accesories for his gift, and the kids have gotten a kick out of watching him learn to play. Happy Birthday Dave, we love you!

June & now July

2010-07-08T10:35:00.025-05:00

Man oh man where did June go?? Well here's a summary... The kids finished up school the first week, Addy was so excited to hace a pre-k graduation. Jimmy graduated from Tiger to Wolf in cub scouts. We spent a week in Houston and had lots of fun with family. We did the beach, lots of swimming in the pool, Dave & Jimmy did Nasa, and I got some shopping in. Good times! Dave started working again, which is good...but we sure do miss him! It was so nice having him at home with us. Jimmy, Addy, and Timmy spent a week in Dallas with their grandparents and had lots of fun there too! Many parks, splash pad, picnic, went to see Papa's airplane, and so much more! Back at home Elly turned 8 months! Wow! Where has the time gone? She has developed such a fun personality! She is definately a Daddy's girl, and very much spoiled. Also, we painted the front living room a nice mellow green, California Avacado to be specific...

and I love it! My sister came and we took a day trip to Beeville to visit our Great Aunt.

The weekend of the 4th we had both families here for Elly's blessing. It was a very nice, and special day! We really enjoyed having so much family here with us. The night of the 4th we did a few small fireworks out back, and watched the big ones from Sea World. All and all it's a been busy, fun month!

Family Time

2010-06-21T09:21:00.008-05:00

Earlier this month we had the opportunity to go spend a week at my parents house. It was great to relax and visit. In addition to that both my brother and sister were able to come for a few days while we were there too. It was so great to all be together! It had been almost two years since we had all been together. So while we were together we got new family pictures done. The SiblingsThe Whole GangMom & DadThe KiddosThe Kiddos AgainUsLaura & Doug

Good Clean Fun

2010-06-03T08:04:00.002-05:00

The backyard kiddie pool was a little icky from sitting with water too long. SO I dumped it and rinsed the sides, but it still wasn't "clean". SO rather than scrubbing and working on this hot day...I filled the pool with bubble bath and had the kids get in to swish and squirm and play like all kids do. They thought it was the coolest biggest bubble bath ever, and had no clue they were actually cleaning! End result was happy kids and a very clean pool!

Wall Art

2010-06-01T08:16:00.002-05:00

So not the greatest picture, I think my camera lens may be dirty...but you get the idea... I saw this on Robyn's site http://bobobbin.blogspot.com/2010/03/scrabble-anyone.html a while back and have really wanted to make one. Finally found a used board on craigslist for $5! and got to work. The longest part was getting all the names arranged and alligned, and actually it was Dave who finally got them on there. Then we decided we wanted the Families are Forever to pop a little, so I rubbed them with some paint. Then covered a piece of scrap wood with some coordinating fabric and voila! Oh and then we decided to add the "name plate" at the bottom too. Lots of fun to make!

Elliana

2010-05-28T18:57:00.000-05:00

Laugh Out Loud Funny!

2010-05-28T07:51:00.007-05:00

Sorry to all FB buddies who this is a duplicate for, it was just too funny I had to put it both places! Disclaimer, Dave is the one doing it, but truthfully it was all my idea! And it was sooo FUNNY! We had some really chilly melted ice water in the cooler one day...so I thought, hey let's go dump it out in the pool with the kids. The kids didn't know it was cold...

Picture 1 Addy thinks that sounds like a fun idea.Picture 2 she is getting excited...Picture 3 she is feeling the shock of cold...Picture 4 She is thinking OH MY! that was cold...Picture 5 (zoom in on 4 so we can see her facial expression) Oh if looks could kill!!! HAHAHA!Hope you all got a laugh! We sure did! I love my girl!

7 Months

2010-05-27T13:04:00.005-05:00

Today my baby girl is 7 months old. I cannot believe it! We have had her home for 3 1/2 months now, and she is growing each day! I have loved watching her develop...and am happy to say I finally got her to giggle for me this week! She has been activiely working on her back to belly roll, and begun reaching for toys and things. She loves to watch the older kids run and play. She is now weighing in at 11.5 lbs so she has come a long way from the original 1.6! I just finished up a photo book last night of her and her hospital days (the first 3 1/2 months) and I became so emotional going through these old pictures. She is such a fighter, and such a miracle! I am so grateful to have her!

Life in Pictures

2010-05-17T08:03:00.016-05:00

Saying good-bye to friends...we miss you guys!!!

Addy's first day of preschool...she loves it by the way! Uncle Stephen moved back to Texas!!! He came for a visit, it was our first time to see him in almost 2 years! Addy crowned Elly a princess, and Jimmy took a picture. Update on her, she is still on O2, it was lowered but not removed. She will be retested in July. Stats from her 6 mo check up: 9lb 14oz, 22 1/2 in. YUMMY pecan rolls! My mother's day gift from Dave. I had this recipe I'd been wanting to try for awhile. SO I got to sleep way in, and he made this yummy treat for me! Thanks sweetie! The kids had early release a week ago, so I took them to Sea World for the afternoon. They loved it! This is in the 4d theatre where we saw the Pirate show. Here is outside the sea lion show. We also rode Journey to Atlantis 3 times, and got soaked. Fun, and tiring all in one. Timmy has been really into washing up after going to the bathroom. But when I hear the water for too long, I know it's time to check on him...he's flooded the sink a few times. I guess I should be happy he's washing up. Is there such thing as a clean mess? If so I guess this is it.Our big pool from the last 2 summers sadly died...so we got this small one for afternoon entertainment. So far so good! The kids have gone out nearly everyday. Dave and I were in need of a "date night" so we told the kids they could have a movie night upstairs in our room with a movie on the computer. A few hours later this is what we found. Can you spot all 3 of them? Elly got clearance to go on trips to see family, so long as everyone was healthy. So we headed up to see the Great-Grandparents for the weekend. It was lots of fun for all! Elly's first trip, and my first time to leave town in 6 months! A friend of mine has rented out a booth space at a children's store and said I was welcome to put stuff in it too. So here is a Pooh rag quilt I made and paired with the stuffed animals for a gift set. I don't know if it will sell, but I had fun making it. The best part is I made it all from stuff I already had, I didn't have to buy anything. The kids school had teacher appreciation week and the kids were supposed to bring something different everyday. On the last day they were supposed to bring a sweet treat. So I re-did these tins we had from some store bought treats with scrap book paper and mod podge. They came our really great! The pictures don't do justice. We filled them with home made chocolate covered toffee. And now the teachers have personalized tins to keep and re-use for whatever. No pics for the last tid-bit of info. Dave has been interviewing a lot! It seems there are many opportunities on our horizon. No definite plans yet, but in the mean time we have really enjoyed the time together as a family!

Elly's Smile & Laugh

2010-05-10T16:01:00.003-05:00

Turn the music off at the bottom of the blog, and listen to the sweetest sound!

pictures

2010-04-24T15:41:00.000-05:00

Stuff...

2010-04-20T22:11:00.011-05:00

* Elly rolled on Friday April 16th from belly to back for the first time, then many times following (see video!). Had a sleep study done to test her off of O2...we get the results next week. There may be an end in sight to the oxygen and monitors! Oh and she has been smiling a bunch too!

* Timmy is having surgery today, ear tubes again. Luckily it's nothing major. He has been very bored with the week of rain we had that has kept him indoors. He was very happy to venture out yesterday!* Addy got registered for Kinder in the fall, and will be starting pre-k tomorrow. Silly I know there are only like 6 weeks left of school, but she's gonna LOVE every minute of it! Hey unemployment has some benefits!* Jimmy lost another tooth, the tooth fairy is going broke! He built his Fiesta float for school, he went with a Star Wars theme (big surprise). He LOVES reading books to Elly.

* Dave has had many interviews, mostly in far off places, but hasn't had to leave. Yea for phone interviews. This week he got strep. How? Who knows? We are 95% home bound...luckily no one else has caught it.

* Me, I've been doing boring things like paper work, Doctor appointments and such. Most importantly enjoying time with my wonderful family!

We all needed a break from these four walls and went out on a Sunday stroll together. It was VERY nice to all get out as a family! I've got a nice slideshow from it, but either blogger or slide are not cooperating at the moment, so I will try that later.

Just like Dad

2010-04-07T08:56:00.004-05:00

Timmy has been Dave's little mini-me lately. His current obsession is his wallet. Dave got a new one, and gave the old one to Timmy. So Timmy carries it around all day showing anyone who will look, and telling them he's like Daddy. This morning he went into our closet and came out with Dave's boots...he said he needed to try them on. Once he had them on, he insisted they fit and that he was just like Daddy. So cute!

Easter & Random Stuff

2010-04-05T08:38:00.017-05:00

Our Easter was rather low key this year. Jimmy & Addy were up early and anxious, so I waited with them in the game room trying to keep them entertained until Timmy, Addy, & Daddy were awake. In their terminology " FINALLY" we went down stairs to see what the Easter Bunny had brought. They each had their baskets full of fun! They all had chocolate bunnies, Easter pez, chalk, and a few special eggs, then they got individual stuff. Jimmy got a star wars lego set, Addy got a barbie game for the plug and play piano, and Timmy got some hot wheels. Elly got a purple bunny & an Easter book in hers. The best part from my perspective was we already had it all! All I bought this year was the chocolate bunnies (88 cents each), 1 big pack of sidewalk chalk ($1) and 3 bags of candy at the dollar store to fill the eggs. All the basket fillers were items I had previously bought on clearance of 75-90% off. And the bunny Elly got, actually an old one of Addy's she has long since forgotten redressed in some outgrown preemie clothing. Cheap you say? I think I prefer the term resourceful! After the hunt we enjoyed some homemade pizza, and a carrot cake from scratch (yummy). In the afternoon the kids and I made confetti eggs for some smashing fun. And that was our Easter.

Recently we had 3 birthday parties to attend in one day. The kids of course LOVED it! I mean a day full of cake and friends, it's like a dream come true. So anyways, I tried my hand at being crafty for a few of the gifts. One was for a handsome little 1 year old boy for which I made some personalized blocks:

So I got the idea from a magazine, and of course mine didn't look near as good as those in the magazine. But they were still fun. You can't tell in the picture but the fabrics besides being different colors also had some different textures, and the blocks make noise! They have little shakers in them. Another party was for a 5 year old girl, and I made her 3 bows, a bow holder, and some bracelets. But I didn't get pictures of those. I had fun making all the stuff.

Other things... Being in the house all day with the exception of getting Jimmy from school in the afternoon, is getting old! So just about every evening I escape for awhile to do anything. Some evenings it is running errands, others it is just working in the yard on little projects. Just something to get myself out. And thankfully Dave has been very helpful and supportive in me getting out...

So I've never loved the entry area by the front door, last year we put in a simple rectangle bed, and it was better, but I still wasn't loving it. So one of my outdoor projects has been tackling this. I reshaped the bed, so it has some curves and I can definitely say it's looking better. I wanted some nice bricks to line it, but landscape bricks are pricey, and soon to be jobless I couldn't justify the cost. So I went to work with what we had already and here is what I came up with:I used the random pieces of black edging we had in the garage, and then I lined it with bricks from our yard. As any of you locals know the yards here seem to grow rocks! We've been making a pile in the backyard of rocks for the past 3 years and so I put them to use. It's not perfect, but I thought it looked a lot better than just the black plastic. I scattered many packets of flower seeds that we had, and am hoping that they fill the area with pretty colors.

This is our peach tree, 3 years ago it looked like this... a stick in the mud, literally. Now it is this full size tree in our yard, and for the first time it is bearing fruit. I am so excited to have fresh peaches! I just hope we are here to enjoy them...

I've been struggling lately with our unknown future. With the thought of knowing we may have to leave this place that I have come to love so much. I am one who doesn't do well with change. I like having a plan, and sticking to the plan. Right now, change is eminent, and there is no plan. I like feeling settled, and right now I don't feel it. I don't know how others do it, for example Military families who are moved every 2 or so years around the country, some even out of the country. We have been blessed in the fact that Dave has had several interviews already, and many have seemed promising. The problem is an internal struggle. The ones that would keep us here are not family friendly, in that they have LONG stressful hours. The ones that would be family friendly take us from here, far from here, far from extended family, far from everything I've ever known...and that scares me. I apologize if this is too much info, or if it seems I am whining...but this blog is my personal journal, therefore I putting my thoughts and feelings down. Part of me thinks I shouldn't worry about it, and live in the now. Enjoy what we have! But it's always there in my mind weighing me down and I don't think I'll be at ease until things are settled once again.

Chunky Monkey

2010-03-26T16:20:00.005-05:00

Here's a peek at those super cute chunky cheeks! They are usually hidden by plastic tubing and medical tape. I snapped this picture during a tube switch...it's amazing to me how different she looks without the tubes on going between the two pictures. As for updates on the little lady, she is 8lbs 2oz now, and will be 5 months tomorrow. She went to the pulminologist today, and all went well, but she is still on the O2. The plan is to do a sleep study in April and monitor all her stats, and go from there...maybe, just maybe there is an end in sight. A mom can hope anyways!

The Toothless Wonder

2010-03-26T16:17:00.002-05:00

Jimmy lost his 2nd top front tooth earlier this week and is having fun talking.

Bluebonnets 2010

2010-03-23T13:58:00.003-05:00

We "bent" the rules slightly and took Elly out for a family outdoor photo shoot in the Texas Bluebonnets. I love Bluebonnet pictures!

Life as we know it...

2010-03-12T22:01:00.015-06:00

So it's been nearly 2 1/2 months and so much has happened in our lives. There have been many times I've wanted to update the blog, but due to the craziness of life something had to give... (actually many somethings have gone by the wayside) but the something I've missed has been the blogging world. Not only have I not updated, I've hardly had a chance to read blogs, which was a favorite past time of mine. So here is some wishful hoping that we can work blogging back into life.

Biggest news, Elly came home on February 6th. This was significant as it was actually her due date. It also came as a surprise, since we had been told a few weeks later as the expected going home due to the fact that she was a micro. I was so excited to bring her home, but also so terrified at the same time! For months she had her own trained staff caring for her 24/7 and she was coming home to us, untrained, dividing time with other kids, and needing to work sleep in. She came home on oxygen, and a pulse ox monitor. This was not ideal but is worth it to have her home. The pulminologist (lung specialist) said she is still on it not because she "needs" assistance breathing now, but to strengthen her lungs for the long run. "We want her to have lungs for a life time" to quote the guy. Which I appreciate, but given the option I would happily ditch. The reason being she is not nearly as portable as a typical newborn. Always attached on the face and the foot to wires. All the pictures of her beautiful face cluttered with nasal tubing and medical tape. Plus the pulse ox monitor is obnoxiously loud when it alarms, which is often. Most of the time it alarms is because it has lost it's signal, very rarely has there actually been a problem. It was also recommended by the doctors we keep her home until June...which means we have been home bound for the most part. Other than Dave to work, and Jimmy to school, the rest of us rarely go out, and when we do there is lots of scrubbing before we come into contact with Elly. Right now as we have just hit one month of having her home June is seeming far off! They say it is a safeguard due to her lack of immune system and fragile lungs, and it being RSV season, that even a simple cold would be detrimental. So here we sit at home. We do get to go out to doctor appointments though, fun I know! But hey, I get her all dressed up for those! I figure she has all these cute clothes and it's her only outings might as well look like she is headed for a photo shoot. Another big chunk of time has been devoted to pumping. The months she spent in the hospital I dreamed of the day she came home and I could ditch the machine to just feed her, like cutting out the middle man. But those dreams were crushed, how sad. While she has been gaining weight it was not as much as the doctors wanted to see, so they agreed she needed extra calories, and that her intake needed to be monitored to ensure she was getting enough. So that translates to pumping, and fattening up the breast milk with preemie formula, then feeding it to her in these little bottles with ml lines. So instead of saying she eats 2 oz, or whatever it's measured in ml so we know more accurately how much she is taking. It has been time consuming to say the least, but it seems to be paying off as she is now gaining at a steady pace. She has kept us busy with her appointments. Up until last week she had home health coming twice a week to check her, she has a pulminologist that sees her once a month, she has a retinal specialist that sees her every two weeks, she has her regular pedi that sees her for newborn checks, she has easter seals that come to work with her and track her developmentally, and more that I'm forgetting. But the important thing is that she is here at home with us and that is great! The other kids have been so fun to watch as they interact with her. Timmy especially is getting a kick out of being a big brother. He will go up to her at least once an hour and say "I love you Elly, you so cutie cutie" it's adorable to watch!!! So that is Elly recapped, now on to the rest of us!
Jimmy had a birthday on February 14th and turned 7! I can't believe it, my baby is growing up so fast! He lost his 3rd tooth and proudly displays a toothless grin at the moment. He was accepted into the gifted and talented program at his school in January and has really enjoyed that. He is still doing the cub scout thing and recently earned some more badges. His favorite past time continues to be Wii, and has almost completed lego star wars that he got for Christmas. He has gotten really good at reading, and is so excited to be on spring break this week. Overall just a great kid!

Addy has been her regular charming, quirky, silly self. One of the first things she did when Elly came home was set up a tea party for the two of them. She loves teasing her brothers, and is quite good at it. She has been very interested in reading also and sounding out everything she sees. She keeps asking when she can start school. She loves the cat calendar she got from Nana and proudly tells me the day first thing each morning. She is also our night owl, the hardest kid by far to get to bed each night. It is amazing the number of things she can think of as excuses to come out and stay awake. A very entertaining little girl!

Timmy had a birthday on March 7th and turned 3! Any time I asked him what he wanted for his birthday his only response was "cake, green cake" SO that is what he got, a green cake (green mint chip ice cream cake on a brownie base...YUMMY!) and we hung green balloons, and green streamers and he was happy. If you haven't guessed his favorite color is green. He has recently finished potty training (YEA!) and we have been lucky to only have a handful of accidents. He still drags his beloved green blankie everywhere he goes, and is just a happy boy!

On to Dave...Dave has been unhappy at work for awhile, add the family stress we have had, then add sleepless nights that come with having a newborn in the home... and well lets just say he reached his breaking point. He had a melt down to put it simply. Through the marvels of modern medicine and a good solid week to let that medicine work into his system I am happy to say we have Dave back. This past Thursday his company announced a 20% cut in employees due to lack of funding...and he was in that 20%...so now we have this new info to figure out. His last day will be April 9th with his current employer. On a lighter note he has also been active in scouts with Jimmy and recently did dutch oven cooking for their pack's blue and gold. Since Elly has come we've had to cut soccer out, so he doesn't get out to the park as often with the kids anymore. Which also means he hasn't gone fishing as much. He did have the week Elly came home off and was able to take the older kids out fishing one day, and golfing another which they all enjoyed.

Which covers all but me, I have found myself lately repeating in my head "inspira, expira" not sure if it's spelled right, but it means breathe in, breathe out in latin. I took latin in high school and we learned all sorts of sayings. That is just one that stuck with my friends and I. So here I am, grateful that my doctor was proactive at Elly's delivery in starting me on some meds to help balance the stress, and reminding myself to just breathe. It seems there have been many mountains placed in our path lately and every time I think we are making progress something new comes along. I guess that is just life, and it happens to everyone, I just wish it were more spread out. It seems I don't have time to adjust to one thing before another hits. I know that we have been blessed and seen many miracles recently amid the stress, so I really have no right to complain... so here I will just continue along remembering to breathe and take it as it comes.

Other happenings worth mentioning, some friends threw us a baby shower when Elly came home. We received LOTS of diapers (that I am extremely grateful, especially now that we are soon to be jobless) and many cute outfits and blankets. We are truly blessed to have the greatest group of friends!!! Also my Mom, and sister came and spent a week here at the house with us. We all loved it! It was so great to have help around the house, and with the kids, and to just spend time together! And since we can't take Elly out and I've really been wanting to get family pictures they helped set up here at the house and snapped a bunch for us. Thanks guys!!!

So until next time, this is life as we know it...

A Long Overdue Update

2009-12-30T08:51:00.014-06:00

It's been a month since I've posted any sort of real update...the problem is there just isn't enough hours in the day. Everything from before still needs to get done, plus I lose 3-4 hours between driving and Elly's visits, and another 3 or so hours is lost each day to pumping. By the end of the day I'm just exhausted, it's funny I thought I was tired before!

So here's the scoop...Elly is officially 2 months now. She hit 3 lbs on Christmas Eve and is 3 lbs 6 oz to date! It's amazing to see really! A 2 pound gain over 2 months on a regular person is not noticeable, but on such a small one it is so noticeable! She has been moved to a simple nasal canelia (spelling?) for her breathing. This has made holding her so much easier and nicer. It also means she doesn't have to wear all the head gear and has been able to wear some cute hats that were given to her. She has currently had her O's in the 20's between 21 & 25 depending on the day. This is GREAT progress, because it has been as high as 100 in the past! Also the normal air that we breathe is at 20, so she is really not getting too much assistance. She has had some more alert times lately, and we've been able to get a good look at her eyes. They are a beautiful deep blue. I still haven't been able to capture a great picture of them though because she opens them wide when it is dim, but then the pictures don't come out well because of lighting. If we turn on the lights for better pictures she squints up, and usually closes her eyes. We have been able to help give her a bath, which was fun. They filled her "tub" (those hospital basins they give you to throw up in) with warm water and a few drops of soap and used one of the oxygen tubes to make it bubble up, it was like a baby spa. I swear she was grinning in there with that ahhh look on her face. On the 23rd Santa visited the NICU which was fun. On Christmas we took her picture in her stocking, yes she fit with plenty of room to spare. Also on Christmas she got her first hold from someone other than me or Dave, they let my Mom hold her. Mom says that was the best Christmas gift. And that in a nutshell is the Elly news.

The other 3 have been keeping me busy, especially with the winter break and Jimmy being home from school. We've done projects, and played games, and kept up with things around the house. We have really wanted to do some play dates with friends, but Timmy has a cold and so we are steering clear of others for the time being. Due to the cold he has also been extra clingy which has made regular tasks difficult and drawn out. I think the best project so far has been the re purposing of their Halloween pumpkin patch pumpkins. They had been playing with them out front and stacked the up and called it frosty...so we made their imagination reality by painting and accessorizing the pumpkins...all from things we had around the house...

Mom, Dad, Laura, and Doug came here for Christmas and we really enjoyed their visit! The kids got their traditional Christmas Eve gift of new PJ's to wear...The "BIG" present this year was sea world passes for everyone. It made shopping real easy on us! We gave it to them early since Dave had the 2 days before Christmas off. They were definitely surprised! My favorite part is that it's a gift they can use year round without adding extra "stuff" around the house. We went for a few hours on the 23rd, and 24th. We saw the Christmas shows, and rode a few rides. Timmy loved the log ride and would of loved to do that all day. My fave was Christmas on Sesame street show. It took me back, I love Sesame street! And the costumes were soo good! I really just wanted to run up and hug cookie monster! I'm such a kid !

Before Mom and Dad left we went downtown one evening for dinner at one of Dad's fave spots, Schilo's Deli. It was yummy, and lots of fun! The kids loved the homemade root beer!

Over all we have had a busy, but good month. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, and wish you all a Happy New Year!

Elf Kids

2009-12-20T20:59:00.002-06:00

Just a quick photo of my kids turned Elf thanks to Jill and some photo software. Check out those ears!!! Gave us all a laugh! Updates and pictures of Elly coming soon...just too tired tonight!

Addy at 5

2009-12-01T17:45:00.001-06:00

Update

2009-11-29T19:32:00.005-06:00

I can't believe so much time has gone by, Elly was one month on Friday! It seems the month went by fast, although the days seemed very long. Elly is doing well, she is currently up to 1lb 15oz, and is off the ventilator. The best part of her being off the ventilator is that she can make noise now. With the tubes how they have been, her vocal chords have been "temporarily paralyzed" but now that the tube is gone...we can hear her. She isn't loud yet, but even the little squeeks are nice. Oh and she has the cutest little sneeze ever! It makes me laugh. We have been able to start holding her, which has been nice. Although holding her, isn't what I tradtionally think of as holding a baby. You get positioned in a chair, then a RN and a RT work together to get her on your chest, then they tape all her tubes and wires in place, then they wrap you and her in a warm blanket, then you hold very still for the next 1-3 hours. The length of the hold depends on how she is adjusting to the change. She is so small it's hard to see her on you, so they give you a hand held mirror to use to see her. I got this video while she was awake during a hands on time. I love looking in her little eyes, although she is asleep most of the time, so I don't get to do it very often. The kids love this video because at the end she does a spastic strech, and they think she is waving to them. They are so excited to meet her. Today while we were decortating the Christmas tree, they were concerned she wouldn't have a tree. So we pulled out a little tree and they decorated it for her, it is now on the counter by her bedside. It will be nice when they finally get to meet her, only approximately 10 more weeks to go...it seems so LONG!

Elly's Eyes

2009-11-16T14:07:00.003-06:00

When Elly was born her eyes were still fused, which the doctors said was normal. So over the past 3 weeks, we've been asking the nurses everyday if they had opened yet. Most responses have been a no, there have been 2 maybes, but nothing definite. We have been there when she is awake, and she moves around and makes facial expressions, but still no eyes open. Well today when I went to see her (Thanks Jerusha & Patrick for keeping the other 2) her nurse rushed up to me and said they were open! Of course the time I was there today was sleep time, so I still haven't seen them, but I will soon! In the meantime I've got this picture, thanks to an awesome nurse! She snapped it on her phone this morning while Elly was awake so she could show us.

New Elly Pictures

2009-11-14T12:05:00.002-06:00

Last night Dave & I were able to go visit Elly together (Thanks Emily & Sam!!!) and it was really nice. We hadn't been in there together in about a week. While we were there her RT (respiratory therapist) for the night asked if we had done the wedding ring pictures yet. We hadn't even thought of it, so she got us set up. Here is the result. Pretty cool idea I think. I never thought of my fingers as being BIG but seeing my girl wear my ring as a loose bracelet puts a whole new perspective on things. Crazy stuff!!!

Birthdays...

2009-11-11T13:43:00.006-06:00

Last week we celebrated lots of Birthdays. We had a small family thing on Sunday the 1st celebrating Papa Jim's, Aunt Laura, Mine, and Addy's birthday. Lots of family fun! Nana & Papa got Addy a Cinderella cake and Dad made a Chocolate Sheet cake for the rest of us. It was all yummy, and we had cake all week long.

Thursday the 5th was my actual birthday, and Dave came home and surprised me with Roses, and a chocolate cake. YUMMY! Then some friends came over to babysit so we could go see Elly together. It was really great because we got to be there during her hands on time, and got some great pictures.

Saturday the 7th we celebrated Addy's birthday. The one thing she had been asking for all year had been a friend party with "LOTS of girls and a Pinata". So last minute thrown together we made it happen. Thanks to all our friends who helped out, and who came. We appreciate you all!

Song

2009-11-03T08:50:00.002-06:00

This is my new favorite song, of course it makes me cry every time I hear it...but I love it! Thanks for finding it Mom & Dad! Click the link below and choose song 15, Elliana's Song.
http://www.rhapsody.com/watermark/tracks.html

Oh and blogger never let me video go through, maybe it was too long...but anyone on facebook can view it there on my profile.

Elliana Faith

2009-11-01T19:32:00.007-06:00

Introducing:
Elliana "Elly" Faith
Born October 27, 2009
(Due February 6, 2010)
1 pound 6 ounces

12 & 3/4 inches

3:07 pm

Our very little girl came as a quite a surprise Tuesday afternoon as I was just going in for a rountine OB check up. Her heart rate was low, and so I was sent to labor & delivery. At the time I thought it was just for monitoring and not concerned. But within a few minutes I was being prepped for an emergency c-section. Her heart rate was having severe drops, and I was told whatever was going on inside, was not good, and that she stood a better chance on the outside. Once in the OR they got to her, and we found out what was causing her distress. She had the cord wrapped around her neck 4 times tightlty. We were told that if she hadn't been taken then, that she probably wouldn't have made it much longer with the cord how it was. So we consider it a miracle, and blessing in disguise that all events lined up as they did. Of course like any pregnancy we wish she could have made it full and to term to grow and develop, but are just grateful at this point that she is here and recieving the best care possible. She is what the doctors refer to as a micro-premie. Things are positive at this point and she is doing very well. We have heard many success stories of babies that have been born at this stage and are very comforted by this. The doctors have warned us there will be good days and bad days, but so far we have had more good than bad. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all our family and friends. We are so thankful that we have been able to have family members come and be with the other kids at the house and keep things as normal as possible for them. We are truly blessed to have each of you in our lives. We have felt the love, support, and prayers for our family over the past 6 days. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts.

Here's one more picture to show perspective...that is Dave's Aggie ring on her arm.

I've been trying to put a video clip, but I'm having blogger issues. Will try again tomorrow.

Again...

2009-10-24T21:45:00.026-05:00

It seems these blog posts are falling on my priority list, because now almost 3 weeks have gone by...I guess it's mostly me, when I get a free 5 minutes these days I'm quick to hit the bed or couch instead of hopping on the computer to update things. This preggo thing is wearing me out, and I'm only past 25 weeks...so much more to go! Oh well, it will be worth it! So enough about me, here's what we've been up to...

First off, we have been having some really nice weather. Of course, it has been unpredictable and will go from nice have your windows open to hurry shut everything and the AC is crankin all within 24 hours. But hey that's Texas for you. We have taken advantage of the cool days, and spent a lot more time in our back yard. The kids have probably played on the swingset and tramp more these past 3 weeks than all summer combined! One day they decided to have jumping contest and see who could jump the most, and Jimmy even "kept score" Sorry this picture is blurry but is says James 230, Addy 475, and Timmy 83. Jimmy went first and thought he had it in the bag, so when he started to feel a bit worn stopped. He was definately shocked when Addy not only beat him but doubled him! She was determined that day! Timmy of course just wanted to be like them and joined in.

Once again we've been busy with soccer, practice every Thursday and games every other Saturday. We had games on the 10th, and again today on the 24th. Today was really nice weather and we enjoyed being out there. I haven't downloaded today's pictures yet, but here are a few from the 10th of my little soccer stars...
Here's Timmy (on the right) jumping up in the air, he was so excited he kicked the game ball, you can see it right behind the other kid.
Here's Addy chasing after the game ball...

Here's Jimmy running with the game ball...
Jimmy is doing really well in school, he's actually just been recommended for the GT program. I didn't even know they had it so young. Anyways, he's supposed to be tested next month to see if he'll go into the program. He is doing really well, and has been happy to report every Friday that he got a 100 on his spelling test. Jimmy (& Dave) have still been going strong with the community cub scout troop, with a meeting/activity once a week. They also spent most of Saturday the 17th in front of Sam's selling popcorn (the boy scout fundraiser). They seem to really be enjoying themselves and making new friends.

Addy has still been doing preschool lessons and enjoying them. She starts her drama class this coming Friday, so we will see what she thinks of that. She has also been very interested in wanting to learn how to play "Mary had a little lamb" on the piano. So we've set things up with a friend to try out piano lessons starting this coming week too! She of course is thrilled! She has also been into "trying" to read and spell. Her favorite show right now is word world and she loves to sound words out "bit by bit" just like the song on word world. This week she found these goofy fake nails in the Halloween box and wanted to give them a try...they didn't even last 5 minutes. But hey she had fun!

Timmy has been a busy body! He went to his first friend birthday party and thought that was FUN! He got pirate stuff and played pirate all weekend with all of us. He made Dave wear the hat cause it was a bit big for him... he also carried around his pirate box of treasure all weekend.
He has also been interested in using the potty here lately, as you can see he's sporting underwear in the one picture. That has been an adventure, but he's getting better each day. It's a lot of energy on my part, but I keep reminding myself once he's done we'll save on pull-ups!

As with the other 2 kids he gave up naps in the early 2's but every once in awhile when he has a busy day I'll find him crashed like this, and I take a moment to enjoy the calm.

Since the last post I've taken Timmy & Addy to 3 very FUN playgroups.

The first was a visit to a local firestation to meet the firemen and check out the trucks. They really enjoyed this one! I think the best part was getting to hear a call come in and seeing the firemen load up and drive away on the truck with lights and siren going. Timmy was being shy and wouldn't get in the group picture. But apparently he was listening to what the firemen said. Since then any time we have heard or seen a fire truck he gets all excited and in his choppy 2 year old speech says, "fireman help people! keep them safe! no get hurt!" It's pretty cute, if I do say so.Following the fire station we went to a friends house nearby to make fire hats.

The next week was a Halloween party at a park with trick or treating, story time, craft, and face painting! They both loved this! Addy couldn't make up her mind on what she wanted to be...it started as a simple ballerina, then it was a fairy ballerina, then it was a fairy ballerina princess, then she said a fairy ballerina princess cat... at that I had to draw the line no cat. So here she is as a fairy ballerina princess... Timmy didn't really seem to care what he was, and since we have a ton of dress up clothes there were options. We went with pirate since it was a hot day.
he had a hat, but didn't really keep it on...They both really got a kick out of the face painting. Addy got a fairy face, and Timmy got a spider on his hand. He became rather attached to it too. When he took a bath later that day he cried for half an hour that his spider was gone. I guess he thought it was gonna stick around. I tried explaining the whole soap and water thing but it wasn't calming him down any.

This week's playgroup actually got cancelled but I took them anyways. It was a story time at a local pumpkin patch. They had lots of fun, there was singing, and a story, and tons of pumpkins! They definately weren't camera shy this day! I think they touched or sat on every pumpkin there, and all along the way said cheese, take our picture!

And that has been the last 3 weeks in a nut shell!

What's going on...

2009-10-06T22:13:00.003-05:00

So it's been 2 weeks and I figure I should do another post. It would be easy to say not much is going on, so there hasn't been much to post about. On the other hand so much has been going on it seems I just haven't had a chance to do a post. Between soccer practices, and games, and cub scouts, preschool, and a quick road trip, and a visit from family, and other regular activities it seems the last 2 weeks have just gone by! We have literally had something going on every afternoon/evening for the last 2 weeks. Although now it's all jumbled in my head, and unfortunately there aren't many pictures. So here's a quick synopsis...

Soccer this fall has been a HUGE success! We had our largest number yet sign up. So here we are with 38 soccer kids, and 4 age groups! We have had our weekly practices, and 1 game day so far. Game days are long for us, since Dave is the coach we are there for all 4 games. We have a 2 yr old, 3-4 yr old, 5-6 yr old, and 7+ team. I must say my favorite to watch is the 2 yr olds. I get such a kick out of those little ones running in circles after the ball! Timmy really gets excited to get out there and be a "BIG" kid. Addy has been more active in playing this season too, which has been exciting. And Jimmy of course loves it like he always has. For pictures of this check out the soccer blog.

Dave & Jimmy have been very active in the community cub scout troop. Last week their troop went downtown on a tour of an art museum. Then this past weekend they did a cub-n-one scout camp. Jimmy really enjoyed this, he got to shoot a BB gun, and a bow & arrow, and fish, and many other fun activities. Dave was a volunteer activity leader and did a soccer station with the scouts. He did 9 back to back 45 minute sessions and was very sore and tired when it was all said and done. But still said he had a good time. This week they had their regular meeting and activity.

Among all this twice a week a friend and I have started trading preschool with our 2 4 year olds. So far, so good. Addy seems (most days) to enjoy having the lessons. Each day we do a number, a letter, a lesson, a story relating to the lesson, and then an activity or craft. I think it's been good for her to get instruction from some one other than me. I've also got her signed up to start a preschool drama class at the end of the month. I think she will really enjoy it, since her favorite thing is to play pretend. That girl has such an imagination!

This past weekend while Dave & Jimmy were camping I took the other 2 on a day trip back to my home town. It was fun to get away for a little while. My parents were also down there for the weekend so we got to hang out with them for awhile. We also visited with a long time friend and her family. Addy & Timmy really enjoyed playing with her boys. Then we finished off the evening with a visit to my Great Aunt & Uncles. Definitely a FUN day! Addy ended up staying at the hotel with Mom & Dad for a "slumber party" as Mom called it. So that made my trip home very quiet. Timmy was asleep within 10 minutes of leaving. It was a crazy drive back though, first I went through a wicked lighting storm. I really felt like I was standing under a strobe light. Then of course came a few heavy rain patches. Then out of no where I see bright lights, then I realize they were white not red. It clicks in my head that they are head lights and I quickly changed lanes...yeah, some lunatic was driving south on a 2 lane north bound road. Anyways, we finally made it home close to midnight and slept in the next day.

Also this past weekend my sister came to visit. She got here later than me on Saturday night, and then made a day trip to our home town on Sunday. She came back late Sunday night and brought Addy home too. Then she spent most of Monday here with me at the house. It was a laid back but fun day! Thanks for coming Laura & Doug!

Timmy is doing well. He is a sweet boy, and very fascinated with the idea that there is a baby in my belly. He surprises me each day with the things he says. Like, "Legs mom, (he points to his legs) my legs, baby has legs too, baby in your belly, she come soon." Or tonight he was snuggling in my lap while Dave read a story to them and he pulled up his prized green blankie on him and on my belly. He said, "I share with baby, I like her. She need pillow too?" I laughed and told him no she didn't need a pillow. Then he leaned over and hugged my belly and gave it a kiss and said "Love you baby." So sweet!!!

And that in a nutshell has been our 2 weeks. Through it all I've just been trying to keep up with everyone going in every direction. Of course I've still found time to do my favorite thing of bargain shopping. I know all you blog readers are probably sick of hearing it...but here's my latest for you...
Look at what I got first, think hmmm...I wonder how much...then scroll down and see what it cost...I know I'm dork...it's my game of guess how much....

1 RX for Dave of Blood Pressure Med
1 bottle of disinfectant wipes
1 bottle of dishwasher soap
1 box of dryer sheets
1 pair of cute pink & black tennis shoes for Addy
1 bottle of hand soap
1 package of floss
1 box of sandwich bags
1 pack of paper towels
1 pack of toilet paper
1 box of band-aids

Here is a visual for you...

Okay are you ready for it? Do you have your guess???

$6.31 of store credit!!! That's right not only is it cheap I didn't actually spend real money! We had a target card from a rewards thingy that I used to pay for the RX which amazingly was only $2.75...but of course I had a coupon to get a $20 gift card with the purchase of a new RX. So I made store credit by buying the RX. So after all coupons and gift cards...I still have money on my original gift card and was only down $6.31 of store credit!

Alright that's enough I'll stop babbling. Good night to all!!!

The Circus

2009-09-23T13:16:00.002-05:00

Recently (ok about 2 weeks ago, I'm behind) we went to the circus! The greatest part was we won 4 tickets in a local drawing so we only had to buy 1 additional kid ticket. It really was a great treat, and fun family outing! My favorite part was something Jimmy said. The trapeze were up in the air doing their flips, and one guy missed his catch and fell to the net. At that moment Jimmy burst out, "FINALLY someone fell!" I laughed soooo HARD! Gotta love kids! Addy is here while I'm typing, so I asked her what her favorite was, here is her response "the clown with a toy elephant that was really a dog in an elephant costume. OH! and the cotton candy!!! it was sooo YUMMY! oh and Mom when I grow up I want to be in the circus, I want to be a trapeze person. But it's okay if I fall cause there is a net and it will catch me. If it wasn't there I would crack my head open..." Silly Kids!

It's a GIRL!

2009-09-18T11:36:00.002-05:00

The title says it all. For any who may not know, I'm 20 weeks. Today we had an ultrasound and saw the little girl! The whole fam is very excited!

A Beautiful Sight

2009-09-09T16:53:00.000-05:00

This was our view yesterday afternoon..

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-09T16:36:00.003-05:00

We took a break this 3 day weekend and traveled out to my parent's house for a relaxing weekend. Many hours were spent in the pool, and lots of fun was had with family and friends!

they called this "the flying monkey"!

here is a slideshow of some more fun moments...

My Tiger Cub

2009-08-27T09:49:00.002-05:00

Doesn't he look so handsome in his uniform??? Jimmy joined Tiger Cubs this summer and has been working toward earing his first badge. Last night at the pack meeting he was tested and awarded his Bobcat badge. When they gave him his badge they put blue paint on his face which he thought was really cool! He was so excited, it was very fun to watch! He also earned an additional patch for a camping trip he went on this summer with Dave. Now that school has started they will be meeting once a week, and he is looking forward to it!

Fun With Tape

2009-08-27T09:44:00.004-05:00

Saturday night we were at the Davidson's house and a few of the kids got taped! It all started when Levi had a booboo, and Patrick joked he had to tape him up to make it better. Next thing you know Addy, and William were lining up to be taped too! Silly kids! Very Entertaining!

SAS Factory

2009-08-27T09:25:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we had Dave's Grandparents here visiting with us. Friday night they asked us if we had ever been to the SAS Factory. Of course we hadn't, so Saturday morning we headed out for an adventure. I don't think we would of ever thought to go here, why go to a shoe factory? Right. Well, it was really quite a fun outing! Outside they had all sorts of antique cars and carriages, even an old horse drawn hearse. Inside they of course had shoes, but plenty of other things to look at. The kids favorite part was all the fun treats, popcorn, drinks, cookies, honey roasted nuts, candy. Our favorite part was the price of those things...popcorn for 5 cents, drinks for 10 cents, cookies for 15 cents, nuts for 25 cents, candy was fill a bag for $2. They got a kick out of trying the old penny scale and seeing who weighed what. Also inside they had a women sitting among the shoes actually sewing a pair of shoes. This company still makes their shoes by hand, so that was kind of cool to see. They had a sign up saying they do tours to see all stages of the shoe making process during the week. So maybe we'll go back one day to see that too, it looks interesting. So if you need to get out for a few hours and don't want to spend much I recommend this place!

Timmy's ear...

2009-08-20T14:55:00.006-05:00

Yesturday Timmy had some sort of allergic reaction to something that bit or stung him. Although it looked pretty bad, I wasn't too worried because it didn't seem to bother him. He didn't act like he was in pain at all, just played like usual. I gave him ibprofen for the swelling and put benedryl cream on the spot both seemed to help. Of course I couldn't resist taking a few pictures because he did look so funny, his left ear was seriously double in size...check it out:

Normal EarSwollen EarBack View Front View

mr men & little miss

2009-08-20T14:52:00.004-05:00

did you ever read these books as a child? they were among my favorite! i've still got mine and read them to my kids. it's been so fun to see these characters in stores lately as they now have a show on cartoon network. so here are my little munchkins in character... jimmy as mr. strong, addy as little miss chatterbox, and timmy as mr. happy. now if i could only get them to all look at the camera at the same time...

A Christmas Carol Train Tour

2009-08-19T09:36:00.007-05:00

Last Friday we went downtown to the Amtrack station (didn't even know we had an Amtrack station) to take a look at the Christmas Carol train. From what I saw online, this was supposed to be a behind the scenes look at the new movie coming out in November. The pictures made it look lie an indoor display, so I thought it must be a traveling thing that they set up inside the station. It also mentioned there would be snow. I thought HOW FUN a snow machine! So we loaded up, on a VERY HOT day and headed down. Only to see that really everything was set up inside a traveling train, not the inside of the station. But it was too late to turn around as the kids were already excited to explore. SO we got in a LONG line and waited close to an hour to board the Christmas Carol train. Once inside we saw some really cool stuff, but it was still hot as the train wasn't A/C'd. Only a few fans blowing air, and people were packed in like sardines. When we finished the train we were directed to another line to see the sneak preview of the movie in 3-d. Luckily this line was shorter, and once inside this blow up building it was cooler. The movie looks like it will be pretty good too from the sneak preview. Here is the funniest part though, the "snow" was soap suds blowing up in the air out of a fake chimney looking thing. So much for an ice machine. Although we got very hot, and cranky by the end. I think the kids enjoyed the outing.

from the mouth of a 2 year old...

2009-08-17T14:12:00.003-05:00

While on the phone today, I mentioned an upcoming baby shower to the person on the other end. Timmy who was in the room, apparently listening to me talk, got the most concerned look on his face. He said, "Mommy baby NO shower, baby take bath!" Such a literal little man, made me laugh pretty hard though!

Timmy

2009-08-15T14:11:00.005-05:00

I was just going through the pictures on the camera, and loved these of Timmy. They all seem to capture his happy little personality.

Here at the bowling alley anxiously waiting to see his ball hit the pins. He won't roll the ball, instead he kicks it like a soccer ball, and it rolls very slowly down the lane.
Then here, so happy enjoying the bubbles in a bubble bath he so dearly loves.

And here peacefully asleep in the living room after resisting all attemps made by me to take a nap, with his green blankie he can't live without.

River Trip

2009-08-09T17:15:00.002-05:00

In July we took our annual trip out to Cold Springs camp on the Frio. Although the water was low, and tubing was not an option, we still had plenty of water to play and stay cool in. All and all a good trip! And yes, both my boys are wearing pink shoes in the water pictures...that is my fault. I completely forgot about water shoes this year, until the night before while I was packing late at night. So I grabbed the bag of shoes from last summer thinking between those and the kids crocs they'd have something to wear. Well about 1 hour from home I realize Timmy wasn't wearing any shoes, he had left his green crocs at home. So then the only water shoes that fit him were a pair of Addy's old ones. Bright pink with dora. The good news is he loves Dora and didn't seem to mind wearing those most of the trip. Dave, who couldn't come until Friday evening brought his green shoes we had forgotten fixing his problem. Jimmy's water shoes from last year still fit, so he wore those the first day and they literally fell apart. I really should have taken a picture it was so pathetic. So I told him to wear his crocs, but he didn't pack those, he packed his flip flops. So he wore Addy's pink crocs as his water shoes. And that is the story of why my boys were wearing pink shoes.

Bowling

2009-08-06T22:37:00.002-05:00

So once again it's been awhile. We've been in and out of town a few times, and I've also started wasting time on facebook so this poor blog has been neglected. Anyways, on to the post...

In July I found this site: www.kidsbowlfree.com anyways, it's free to sign up all your kids ages 15 and under. Choose your location, for local people it's bandera bowl, and the program runs from May 1st - Oct 31st. Anyways, you get emailed vouchers every Sunday good for 2 games of bowling per kid each day. Only cost is shoe rental, or you can bring your own if you have them. At the end of signing up your kids it gives you the opportunity to purchase a family pass for the adults and any children over 15, this pass is only $24 and covers up to 4 named "adults" doesn't even have to be a relative, could be babysitter, or friends, or whoever. So if you buy the family pass then you get those vouchers added to your email too, same as the kids 2 games per person per day. So not that we go everyday, in fact we've only been once so far. But it is a fun family outing and this program really helps with the cost. So I'd recommend it. The family pass pays for itself after 1 visit with 4 adults, or 2 visits if you are like us and only have you and your hubby signed up. Oh and thats another great thing, you can add the other named adults at any time. SO right now, ours only say Dave and Liz, but we still have 2 slots we can add whenever. The only thing is once you add the names they can't be changed. Ok enough babbling about the deal, check it out if your interested, and have FUN! We sure did!!!

Happy Birthday Dave!

2009-07-14T14:27:00.005-05:00

Dave's birthday was on Sunday so we didn't do much besides go to church and have cake at home...but it was still a fun day! He picked out a cake he wanted and I set out to make it. It's not as pretty as it was in the magazine, but it sure tasted yummy and fruity!

For his gift Dave wanted boots...so last weekend we went boot shopping and he picked some out. The reason for boots you may wonder, to go dancing in. He says nothing slides like boots on a dance floor. So here's to many nights of dancing to come!

Hope you had a Happy Birthday sweetie!!! We Love You!

Cow Day 2009

2009-07-14T14:21:00.006-05:00

Thanks to the McNeil fam, Davidson fam, Dewitt fam, and Parker fam for joining us on cow day! We had tons of fun and hope you guys did too!!!

I wish I would have gotten a group shot of all of us.

Cow Day

2009-07-07T12:32:00.004-05:00

Cow Day 2008 (above)

It's that time of year again...COW DAY! For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, go here: http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#home and click on the cow to learn more about cow appreciation day. Basically you dress like a cow and get a free combo or kids meal. Our family has participated in this silly day for 3 years now and had a blast. The one thing we have learned though is that it is more FUN to be embarrassed in a group than alone. So here is an open invite to anyone in the area who wishes to join us for a goofy evening! We are planning on meeting up at the Chick-fil-a at Alamo Ranch (1604 & Culebra) at 6:30 pm on Friday. We can all be cows together as we enjoy or free dinner. We'll follow it up with desserts and games at our house, just bring a treat to share. Just drop me a comment if you are coming, so we know to look for you!!! Oh and there are costume ideas on the Chick-fil-a website. Last year we taped black construction paper to us, and wore signs printed from the site. Our only problem was the kids pulling their spots off, so this year we are dyeing some plain white t's with black spots. If you want to join in that let me know we'll have extra dye I'm sure. Factory 2 U on Marbach has plain white t's for 99 cents, in the little boy section, and the mens section. Anyways we will be dyeing tomorrow so just give me a call or come by. Hope to see lots of people on Friday!!!

Fun with Cousins

2009-07-05T10:43:00.008-05:00

Sorry...still backtracking. When we got home from Houston on Saturday the 13th, we had cousins arrive a few hours later. We were lucky to have them around for 5 days of fun! Some of the highlights were an all day trip to the zoo including a ride on the zoo train. My kids have been waiting to ride that all year long, so they were very excited. We also played in the pool a bunch. The kids really enjoyed Ryan giving them rides. We did water balloons one day and that was fun. But have you ever noticed how it takes so long to fill and tie the balloons only for them to last a few minutes? It's a bummer really. We went on a lunch time outing to Chuck E Cheese which of course the kids loved. The best part for us is that it was indoors and Air Conditioned. It has been so HOT this summer. We also went to the movies and saw Race to Witch Mountain, which was good. One evening Dave & Ryan took all the kids and went fishing, but they didn't get any pictures. Heather & I enjoyed the kid free time and went shopping for the evening. All & all a very fun 5 days! Thanks for coming to see us guys! We enjoyed it!

Vacation Bible School

2009-07-02T16:51:00.016-05:00

Here I am still trying to catch up on weeks past. The week of June 8th-12th (the whole time we were in Houston) Jimmy and Addy attended Bible School in the evenings. They loved it! It was at the same little church were they went last summer too. They learned some new songs, made fun crafts, and just had a real good time. On Friday night the families were invited to come and watch the kids sing and see what they did all week. Here Jimmy is showing Papa his classroom. The next picture is Addy with one of her teachers. He gave her the class flag to keep. The theme was Boomerang Express and they were the Kangaroos.

We finished off the night with a yummy dinner at Wendy's. That night I packed up and came in prep for coming home on Saturday. We had a great week in Houston, thanks Mom & Dad! A side note about Jimmy, a few days after Bible school ended he informed me that when he grew up he wanted to be a Jesus song writer as one fof his jobs (he has A LOT picked out that he wants to do) and teach kids Jesus songs at Bible school. I thought that was pretty cute.

Saturday we came home, and had house guests a few hours later. We were lucky to have cousins come and spend a few days with us...but more about that in the next post.

Here's a video of Addy's class singing a song for the families. I have one of Jimmy's class, but it was a much longer song and was taking FOREVER to load...

Moody Gardens

2009-07-01T16:42:00.007-05:00

On Thursday Dad took us down to Galveston for a visit to Moody Gardens. Another first for us. The cool thing I found out about this place is that they have a lot to see and do which is what the pass is for. But if you don't have the time or energy or attention span to do it all at once, you can go to specific exhibits. So I definately think we will go back on future trips to Mom & Dad's to see more. The kids, Addy especially are really into dinosaurs right now. So we went to see Dinosaurs Alive! it was an animitronic display of all sorts of dinos. Click here to see more info.

http://moodygardens.com/attractions/dinosaurs_alive/

If you will be in the Galveston area this summer I definately recommend it.

At the end they had a dino with controls for you to try controling.

There was also a sand pit with brushes and things for the kids to "find" dino bones.

Very entertaining.

Dad told Addy he was going to feed her to the T-rex.

We finished up our day with a viewing of UP in 3D, cute show.

Don't they look cool in those glasses???

Thanks for another FUN day Dad WE LOVE YOU!

Time with Mom

2009-06-30T16:01:00.009-05:00

Wednesday we spent time with Mom, doing errands and things around the house. We also took the kids to Chuck E Cheese for a little fun. The picture of Timmy in red boots, is extra funny to me. Mom had these boots up on a shelf as a decoration, they were my sisters that she got from a friend when she was 3 and she would wear them ALL the time with EVERYTHING. It used to bug me so much that Mom let her wear them even when they didn't match, like when she would wear them with her pink little mermaid dress (another favorite) or her church dress. But now as Timmy marched around the house in them saying "my boot" and I thought of my sister and her days of not matching I got it. Timmy has a pair of bright green crocs that hardly match anything, but they are his "green shoes", and to me at this point in life it is not worth the battle. Therefore he wears them with everything just like my sister used to wear these red boots. So next time you see Timmy in Sunday clothes and green crocs, know that yes I do have church shoes for him, but it's not worth it. Thanks for a great day Mom, you are a great example, a great friend,

and just fun to be around. PS sorry I always whined so much about Laura not matching...

Nasa Space Center

2009-06-29T15:04:00.003-05:00

On Tuesday June 9th, my Dad took me and the kids to Nasa. It was very cool. We had never been before. Plus in addition to all the neat Nasa stuff they had a special George Lucas exhibit with all sorts of stuff from his movies. They even had Darth Vader and a storm trooper walking around for photos. Addy was scared of the storm trooper but held Darth Vader's hand. Kind of funny, Jimmy was nervous about Darth Vader though and told Addy he was a bad guy. The kids also got a kick out of the space place play set, it was like 3 stories tall with all sorts of activities. We went on the tram tour and saw historic mission control and some other neat things. All and all a very fun day! THANKS DAD!

Galveston

2009-06-28T20:13:00.006-05:00

After wedding number 2 I went to my parents house.

My sister Laura and her boyfriend Doug came down for 2 days to see us there. On Monday we went to the beach at Galveston and had lots of FUN!

We buried Addy in the sand and drew her a mermaid tail. She thought that was really cool.I don't know what Jimmy is doing here, but it's the only solo picture I got of him.

Timmy had fun playing in the "puddle" we dug a BIG hole and filled it with water.

Thanks for coming with us Laura and Doug we really enjoyed spending time with you guys!

Wedding Number 2

2009-06-26T13:30:00.011-05:00

Larissa & Cody

(Don't they look so happy together?)

The second wedding we went to was in Bastrop. A very good friend, former roommate, and co-worker got married. This was a fun 2 day event for me. I was a bridesmaid and so I went up on Friday for the rehearsal and dinner, and bacherlorette party. Then went to my sisters for the night, and went back on Saturday for the big event. Dave and the kids met me there that evening. The ceremony was very nice, followed by a fun reception. The kids had a blast dancing. Check out Jimmy's moves (HAHAHA):

I bet you never saw anyone dance like that to boot scootin' boogie before! Why Addy started off on the floor, I will never know. I love my silly kiddos!

When it was time to throw the bouquet Addy was out there with ALL the single girls wanting to catch the pretty flowers, BUT she didn't, there were a lot of girls out there. Next they called for ALL the single guys so Jimmy ran out and joined the 2 guys. Not knowing what they were going to throw, only wanting to be a part of this "party game." He made a face when he saw Cody take the garter of her leg, but stood there still watching. Well the garter came right to him, right at his feet (see the white thing on the ground next to his foot?), and the other 2 MEN were not diving or fighting for it. Jimmy stood there a long minute just staring at it, wondering "WHAT THE HECK!" I'm sure. Finally the room of people burst out laughing, it really was a funny site. But my sensitive little man got embarrassed, Addy ran out and picked it up trying to give it to him. He said he didn't want it and for her to have and went to the table and cried. Sad, but very funny too.

Purpose of the Deck

2009-06-24T14:15:00.003-05:00

Memorial day weekend, we built a deck. The reason was to have a mostly level surface to set up our pool on. After 3 failed attmepts last year of setting up the pool on our uneven yard we thought we would give it a try. So far so good. The kids love it! They want to swim everyday. It's not perfect, but it works well enough to serve it's purpose. We figure in the fall it will make a gathering/sitting area for the fire pit. Here is a picture of the kids having fun as it filled.

After the Wedding

2009-06-24T12:57:00.003-05:00

The day after we had lots of time to play and relax with Nana, Papa, and the Aunts & Uncles. My kids love going down to the creek at the back of the property. If you are wondering about their odd attire...Jimmy is EXTRA sensitive to poison ivy, and so to prevent contact with it Nana has gotten all the kids extra long tube socks, one pair for their legs and another for their arms, boots, and BIG shirts to cover their regular clothes up. This trip to the creek was extra exciting. A recent storm had changed the flow, and created a small waterfall on one side of the dam...Jimmy thought this made a great slide. Timmy of course was casting his pole cause he LOVES to fish. Addy waded around like it was a pool. They attempted to skip rocks too. When a small snake was spotted Dave set out to catch it...and he did with the help of his brother-n-laws. They were so proud they brought it up to the house to show everyone. They also caught a small catfish in the process. Very fun day.

Long time NO Blog...

2009-06-23T21:14:00.006-05:00

So I've been out of the blogging loop for nearly a month now. I feel so behind and have so much to post about. A quick summary of the past month. We've been to 2 weddings, spent a week in Houston, had 2 sets of house guests, and have been sick. My goal for the week is to once again back track and get things posted.

The last weekend in May we were in Dallas as Dave's sister Jennifer was getting married. Jennifer looked beautiful, and we were happy to welcome Robert into the family.

The ceremony was beautiful, and their reception was very nice. We enjoyed getting see everyone. All except Dave's 2 brothers were there. We also got to see Dave's Grandparents. Also worth mentioning... Dave's sister Marianne graduated med school the last week of May, so we now have a doctor in the family. And his youngest sister Deserae is pregnant due in September. So for the first time we will be an aunt and uncle, and our kids will have a cousin! Very exciting happenings!!! More to come...

Fresh Berries

2009-05-29T11:38:00.004-05:00

Do you see that berry turning black??? YUMMY! Our blackberry bush has been doing really well. We've been getting a handful of fresh ripe blackberries each day. I love blackberries. As a kid I had an Aunt that made homemade blackberry jelly from fresh berries that was so good! I lovingly nicknamed it messy jelly at a very young age. I am so excited now to be able to go right out back and pick my own fresh blackberries.

Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T14:17:00.002-05:00

Look what we did over Memorial Day weekend:

Mustang Island

2009-05-26T14:07:00.002-05:00

Last week on the 14th we were spontaneous for the first time in forever! We went to Corpus Christi and Mustang Island for a few days. A good friend offered us her hotel room that she couldn't use on a Thursday night, so we quickly packed, Dave took Friday off, and we start driving. We got there checked in and went for a swim in at the hotel. The next morning we slept in, enjoyed the free breakfast and played around. Then we went to lunch at one of my favorite places that I hadn't been in years. Then we went out to Mustang Island state park for the day. After having so much we decided to extend our stay, and reserved a campsite. We made a quick trip into town to HEB for some food, and we were back on the beach setting up a tent. Funny thing too, we got the van stuck in the sand didn't take any pictures, which I'm regretting. But we got it out so all was good! It was way cool to camp on the beach, a first for us, I think we'll do it again.

Jimmy's 2nd tooth

2009-05-22T10:46:00.003-05:00

Jimmy lost his second tooth on Sunday May 10th.

He was very excited to have another visit from the tooth fairy.

Back Tracking...Soccer

2009-05-18T12:38:00.002-05:00

On May 2nd we had our last soccer game for the spring. We played, then presented the kids and assistant coach with awards, then had refreshments and played at the park. It was lots of fun. Unfortunately I (Liz) was the only one from my fam there. So Coach Dave wasn't there for the last game, and my kids weren't there to recieve their awards. Long story made short, Timmy was sick earlier in the week and with the "Local Scare" was tested for swine flu. It was negative, thankfully, but as a precaution the whole family was treated and golly that's pricey medicine! Anyways, everyone was doing well Friday and we were set for Saturday. I did a quick overnight trip to my sisters to come back to Jimmy & Addy now sick. So since I'd been away, and Dave had been with all the kids and the germs. I was sent to run the show. All went well, but I missed having them there. Here's a slideshow of the last game:

Back Tracking...The Zoo with Friends

2009-05-18T10:19:00.005-05:00

We spent a full day at the zoo with our friends Aedan, Caleb, their Dad, and their Grammy. Thanks for coming with us!!!I think everyone had a blast! With the zoo pass, we've been there many times this past year, but it seems each visit is still a new experience to the kids. They LOVE it! We lucked out too, it was a nice overcast day. So it wasn't too hot, and they beach area was open too!