Kody, Corby and Addison

A load of dirt equals...

2012-02-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

a great workout!!

We have been wanting to put flower beds in our backyard for a while now, but didn't have the money and just never made took initiative to do so. This spring I was for sure planning on doing so and had already talked to my mom about coming to help me and we had already set a weekend for it. Well, a few weeks back I get a call from my dad telling me that my Uncle Mike was working near by us digging a retention pond for someone and had some topsoil that he could give us! Yes GIVE us! All we had to pay was a delivery fee for a guy to deliver it to us which ended up only being $60. I was like yes please!! My dad even called a place close to us to see what a dump truck load of topsoil would be and he quoted him a little over $300. This was a total blessing for us! The only catch was that it had to be delivered like within the day or so. So Kody and I started digging flowerbeds to get ready for the dirt. The next day, Monday, the dirt came! This picture dosen't do it justice...it was a lot of dirt! It took up half our drive way! Our main goal was to get the dirt off our drive way and into our backyard. I worked at it a little each day taking a break on Wednesday when it poured down rain and boy oh boy was it a workout! If you want to burn a lot of calories, try shoveling dirt into a wheelbarrow and pushing it to the back yard and dumping it! whew! My parents had already planned on coming that weekend, so they came prepared with their wheelbarrow and shovel in tow! They helped us get all of the dirt to the backyard and helped us prepare the flowerbeds so that we can just plant in the spring! They were such an amazing help and couldn't have done it without them! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I can not wait to plant flowers in early March so that our backyard will actually be something pretty to look at! Can't wait! So stayed tuned for the final result! Who would have ever thought that I would be so excited about a load of dirt??? I guess this means I am growing up! haha!!

Here are a few pictures of that weekend!

runs for cookies

2012-01-25T14:07:00.000-08:00

I stumbled upon this encouraging blog called www.runsforcookies.com. It is about a woman that lost half her body weight dropping from 250 to 125 in a little over a year. She did it all on her own by counting calories and exercising. It's encouraging to know that there are still people out there that take it upon their selves to lose their own weight instead of relying on medication, surgeries, or diet supplements. I just wish the weight would come off as quickly as it comes on! Wouldn't that be nice. But, I've always heard the slower the weight comes off, the more likely it is to stay off!

For me losing weight is a constant battle, but I am determined to get healthy and stay healthy. Exercising is a piece of cake for me; it's the eating right that always seems to get me! I feel that Kody and I have been doing a great job with our workouts and have made great efforts to change our eating habits. I want this to be a lifestyle change, which I feel that we are making! Not saying that we still don't cave in and eat the junk, because we do. It's just less often than we used to and less of it too! I've found that if I don't buy the junk, then I won't eat the junk! Amazing isn't it! haha!

My sister-in-law, Katy told us about this app that she is using called my fitness pal. It tells you how many calories you can have a day and you log all of your food onto it. It has definitely helped keep us in check with what we are eating and how many calories are in foods! Wow! Hopefully we will stick with it and have great results!

Here's to a year of change! Hopefully that means a change in pants sizes! hehe :-)

We finally have a crawler

2012-01-21T18:54:00.001-08:00

Addison finally started crawling on all fours today! I have a feeling that my days of being able to leave her in the living room while I go about my business are over! Oh well! Let the fun begin!

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9 months

2012-01-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

At 9 months Addie:

- weighs 19lbs 6 oz (70%)
-is 27 1/4 inches long (34%)

-prefers table food over bottles
-has eaten pasta, mac and cheese, a meatball, mixed vegetables, green beans (doesn't care for them), mashed potatoes, cheese, shredded pieces of chicken, ground meat, french fries and frozen yogurt! She LOVED frozen yogurt! These are the ones that I can remember.
-can go from the crawling/tummy position to the sitting position
-is really starting to get around, but not in the crawling position. More like the sit and reach and scoot kinda way. She also moves around on her belly, just not on all fours!
-says the /b/, /p/, and /ma/ sound.
-is starting to pull up on things pretty well
-will "clap" when she is holding two of her toys that will make noise when she does it.
-loves to stand
-has started to roll to her back as soon as I put her on her belly in her crib!
-does not like to be rocked :-(

It's getting a little difficult to take pictures of Addie holding her month sign!

:-)

eating pasta!

Love this pic!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-15T12:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe 2011 has come and gone and 2012 is here! 2011 is by far one of the best years that Kody and I have ever had! Our world changed in the matter of a few seconds when we welcomed our precious daughter into this world! She has turned our world upside down and we couldn't be happier! Kody and I have grown so much as a couple and now parents and have learned the true meaning of sacrifice! We are looking forward to this new year and all of the adventures that it may bring!

Happy New Year!

Addie's first Christmas!

2011-12-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

We had an amazing first Christmas with Addison! She is such a joy and has the best smiles that just melt my heart! This girl is a trooper...Saying that her sleep schedule was kicked to the curb over the Christmas weekend is an understatement. We started out our Christmas by attending our candle light service at our church. Kody had to play the keyboard, so we weren't able to skip out on it and go to our home church. The service was amazing and had so many special parts to it including a kids live nativity scene. So sweet! I decided to keep Addie in the service with me instead of putting her in the nursery, so that she could see her daddy play. She loves music so I figured she would enjoy it. She did pretty good! We left church right when it was over, which was a little after 7 and drove 2 hours to my aunt and uncles house in Lumberton to try and make our family Christmas party. We ate, did our gift exchange and visited for a while. By this time Addie's sleep has been all messed up. She usually goes to bed around 7. She slept the whole 2 hour drive but we woke her up when we got to the party. We left there around 11. She slept the 20 minutes in the car to my parents house and then was wide awake at their house. We finally got her to sleep around midnight! whew!

We spent Christmas morning at my parents house. We all got so many nice things. It was so fun seeing all the fun toys that Addie got. I think I was more excited about them than she was. Something new to play with! yay! The most exciting surprise of the morning was seeing my dad surprise my mom with a new car! I had no idea that she was getting it! I am so happy for my mom. She has never had a new car and has been driving the same suburban for 15 years! She deserves it more than anyone I know! Good job Dad! We left their house around 3 and headed to Kody's parents house. Kody's brother and sister and their families came in later on that day. Once we got the kiddos to bed, which Addie was the first one out at 7:00 on the dot, (she slept till 7:40 the next morning too!) we had Christmas with the adults. It was nice opening gifts without all of the craziness of the kids. The next morning we had Christmas with the kids.

We are so blessed and had such a great Christmas spending it with all of our family.

Beware: Picture overload! I got a new lens so you know what that means! Pictures, pictures, pictures!! :-)

Christmas eve service

Christmas at my parents

My mom's new car! Toyota Camry. I'm so happy for her!

my dad finding his new weights!

My parents fireplace!

Christmas with the Brooks!

Pictures with my new lens!

pappy and grammy with the grandkids

8 months

2011-12-20T17:32:00.000-08:00

A little late, but my Addie is 8 months old and so much fun! She...

-weighs 17lbs 14 oz (went to doctor for what I thought might have been was an ear infection, but it wasn't! :-) )
-knows the sign for milk and will do it back to us when we do it
-can hold her sippy cup and will pick it up and take a sip
-can push herself up on her knees and will rock, but is not eager to crawl
-will push herself backwards on the floor
-can turn in a circle while sitting on her bottom and can scoot on her bottom
-is very flexible and can grab anything in sight from the sitting position!
-has started reaching for me when I go to pick her up
-has two bottom teeth that started coming in at the same time on December 12th.
-can stand against furniture and hold herself up, but can not pull up
-has tried real mashed potatoes, refried beans, and potato salad and a pickle. (Those are the ones that I can think of).

Addie visits Santa

2011-12-05T20:20:00.001-08:00

I was so excited to have Addie's picture taken with Santa but I was not looking forward to paying a ton of money to do so. It's ridiculous how much they charge! So, I am even more excited to say that I had her pictures taken for FREE! whoohoo! He may not have had the real beard, but it works for me! A neighborhood close by had "Santa" at one of their model home offices as a promotion type thing. So, we along with our friends, Sam and Kyle, headed over there to take advantage of the opportunity. When we got there no one else was there. We even beat the photographer, so we were able to use our own cameras and get some pretty cute pictures and as many as we wanted. Addie did really well especially since she had not had a nap and had fallen asleep in the car from church to there.

Addie pulling on Santa's beard!

Addie and her friend Bryson!

Bryson telling Santa what he wants for Christmas and Addie enjoying her wrapped candy cane!

Thanksgiving!

2011-12-05T15:22:00.001-08:00

side note: Our computer crashed again a week ago. This is the second time this has happened in 4 1/2 years! So, make sure you back you computer up because you never know when it could happen to you!!

We had such an amazing Thanksgiving this year and have so much to be thankful for! We are so thankful that the Lord heard our prayers and knew our desire to have a child and am so thankful that He blessed us with Addison! She has brought so much joy into our life and I could not imagine life without her!

My family was unable to come for Thanksgiving day this year, so my mom and sister came for a few days earlier in the week. We had a lot of fun decorating and shopping!

All of Kody's family came for Thanksgiving this year! We had so much fun hanging out, shopping and of course eating!

Addie "talking"

2011-11-19T09:59:00.001-08:00

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Addison and the fan

2011-11-19T08:42:00.001-08:00

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7 Months old!!

2011-11-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

At 7 months Addison...

- takes 2 naps a day
-goes to bed around 7:30-8:00, but is waking up around 6:00 am! boo!!!
-drinks four bottles a day and has baby food 3 times a day
-eats everything I put in her mouth
-can now hold her bottle all by herself
-freaks out if she sees an empty bottle and thinks it's time to eat.
-loves to touch my face as well as anyone else's that is holding her
-wants nothing to do with crawling but if I put her on all fours she will hold herself up and rock.
-loves books
-giggles and smiles a lot!
-loves the Will.i.am. Sesame Street video! Smiles every time she see it!
-"talks" ALL the time!
-grabs everything within reaching distance.
-puts everything in her mouth!-

Amy meets the babies!!

2011-11-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

My good friend Amy came to Houston so we rounded up the girls, the ones that live in Houston, and got together at our friend Amber's house. We all try to have a girls weekend once a year and never have the kids, so we never get to see each others kiddos. This was Amy's first time to meet Addison, Ali's little boy and Amber's new baby girl. We had a lot of fun catching up even though it was only for a few hours!

Amy meeting Addison!

All the kids minus Amber's oldest!

The future youth group of Second Baptist!

2011-11-08T06:11:00.000-08:00

It is so fun watching these kiddos grow up together. Two of them were born in January, a week apart from each other and then Addison and Ambree were born in April about 2 1/2 weeks apart. They are all so close in age and growing so fast!

Friends from church!

Our little Pumpkin!!

2011-11-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

Addison had a great Halloween and enjoyed wearing her pumpkin costume! Isn't she just precious!

Her friends from church!

Slade and Addison at North Ends Fall Festival.

Happy Fall

2011-10-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to the pumpkin patch at a church nearby. We had fun taking pictures of Addison with all of the pumpkins! I just love this time of year and am so excited for the "cold" front coming in tomorrow! The holidays are always so much fun, but this year is going to be exceptionally special because of our princess!

6 months old

2011-10-11T14:15:00.000-07:00

I know I say this every month, but I can not believe that Addison is 6 months old and that we have had her half a year now! Wow! Time is flying by! She is really at a fun age now and her personality is really starting to show!

Addie...
-weighs 15 pounds 14 oz (45%)
-is 25 1/2 inches long (32%)
-can now sit all by herself. Such a big girl!
-is not sleeping well and is waking up in the middle of the night or waking up way too early! I really hope it's because of teething! I'm almost positive it is! :-/
-still has no teeth, but is slobbering and chewing on everything like crazy!
-had her first cold about 3 weeks ago. Boy was that NOT fun!
-has been taking 3 naps a day but I just started moving her to two naps. I think she is ready.
-is eating every 3-4 hours but I try to push her to 4 hours most days.
-has been eating baby food twice a day but I just started feeding her lunch as well. She has had sweet peas, green beans, carrots, pears, prunes and sweet potatoes. She seems to like them all!
-loves baby mum mums!
-is starting to learn sign language. We have started signing the sign for "more" while feeding her and are starting to sign "milk" when I remember too! Hopefully she will catch on!
-now sits up in her baby bath tub during bath time. She likes to splash the water around.
-is making all kinds of noises! It's so fun to hear her "talk"
-can take her paci out of her mouth and put it back in all by herself!
-can roll from back to tummy but never really rolled from tummy to back. Her Doctor said that since she is sitting, not to worry about it. She just skipped right over that milestone!

Here are a few pictures of our sweet girl!

Addison with her "twin" Slade! Slade and Addison were born on the same day and are only 2 1/2 hours apart! They got to spend their 1/2 birthday together! Lots of fun! :-)

This is another dress that was mine that my mom had saved for me! I tried to get Addison to pose just like my picture but this was the best I could get!

Parent-Child Commitment weekend

2011-10-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was Parent-Child Commitment (baby dedications service) at church. We stood before our church family and promised to raise Addison in a Godly home so that she may come to know the Lord at a young age! It was a very sweet time for our family. There were 20 other families that participated in this service as well! Lots of family came to church with us to support us and celebrate with us!

Addison and Levi both sitting so well!

They are having a deep conversation! haha

Addie and Pawpaw all ready for church!

Parent-Child Commitment

Our sweet family! Addie was so tired and wouldn't smile!

Addie and Grammy

Addie and Pappy

Addie with Nonnie and Pawpaw

Addie with Aunt Cassi and Uncle Dustin

Aunt Cassi and Addison

Catching up

2011-10-04T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here are some first and pics from the past month. I can't believe that in 3 days my baby girl will be 6 months old!

First time in a swing. We will have to try it again when she is a little older. She showed no emotion! haha!

She is now rolling over from back to tummy!

She is now eating baby food. This was her first time trying peas! She didn't know what to think, but now she eats them all up!

A little blurry but I lover her expression! She is such a big girl sitting all by herself!

Addie and her "big eyes"

:-)

5 months

2011-09-14T15:52:00.000-07:00

Addison...

- sleeping from 8-7:30ish
-is no longer swaddled at night!
-eats every 3-4 hours. Sometimes it's 3 hours and sometimes it's 4. It depends on how long she naps!
-takes 3 naps a day.
-eats oatmeal every evening and just started eating it in the morning too!
-likes to stick her hands in her month after every bite of oatmeal!
-eats a 6 oz bottle of formula for her last feeding every night instead of nursing.
-grabs her feet a lot and can roll to her sides.
-still does not roll from tummy to back but rolled from back to tummy twice today!
-still is not fond of tummy time but will tolerate it if I entertain her.
-can sit on her own but always leans forward and has trouble keeping her body up.
-is wearing size 2 diapers.
-gets the biggest smile on her face when daddy gets home from work.
-is cutting a tooth, but it still has not broke through yet.
-is ticklish on her thighs.
-will take her paci out of her mouth and stick it back in!
-had a baby mum-mum for the first time which is a rice cake for babies. She cries every time she finishes it because she wants more! :-/ Not sure about this one! I don't give it to her very often!
-is growing way too fast and I am enjoying every minute with her!

hobbies, goals, interest and challenges...

2011-08-30T14:37:00.000-07:00

The things I'm about to write about fall somewhere amongst these four words. Hobbies, Goals, Interest and Challenges! Since I've decided to stay home with Addison, I have more time to focus on other things. Some that I've always enjoyed, some that I've always wanted to do and some that I just need to do.

1. I love photography and always have! Now that I'm home and I have a beautiful girl to photograph, my interest in it has grown immensely! It seems like now days, everyone that picks up a camera thinks they are a photographer and I may very well be one of those people, but I love it and hope to learn more and more! I guess you can say taking pictures is my creative outlet! I may never be a professional photographer and am not trying to be one at the moment, but at least Addison will have lots of great photos!

This past weekend, I had the privilege of doing my first "photo shoot" for my friend Amber! It was a lot of fun and I got some good practice. She is expecting a precious little girl in October, so I also did a few maternity shots for her as well. Here are a few of the many pictures that I took for them!

2. Couponing!!!! I've always wanted to learn how to coupon, but when I was working it was just too much work and I never found time to learn! I am still learning and don't ever plan to be an extreme couponist, but I do want to save us some money, especially when it comes to groceries! In the past, if we needed it or wanted it, we bought it! For the most part, I never paid attention to how much anything cost. Losing my salary, really opened my eyes to how much we were spending on groceries and other unnecessary things. I have started getting the Sunday paper and collecting coupons. So far, I only coupon at CVS and Randall's. I haven't been super successful yet, but I have had a few good buys. Or so I think! Hopefully I will have some great deals to share in the future. I have learned that if you search online, there is a coupon or promo code for just about everything! So before you buy something look for a deal first!

This was my first "successful" grocery run at Randall's. Well, the best I have done so far. I got all of this for $27.62 and saved $21.83. That was 44% total savings. Ideally, I would like to save at least 50% but I think this is a good start.

3. Becoming HEALTHY! This is probably the most important and most challenging thing that I am facing! Before Addison, I needed to lose weight, but always had trouble focusing and and being disciplined. I am still having trouble, but I think I am off to a good start! Kody and I have invested in a treadmill. With it being so hot outside, it is impossible to get out and run with Addison and our workout facility in our neighborhood doesn't have childcare, so this seemed to be the best choice for us! So far it has been great! I have been running everyday during one of Addison's naps. I can definitely tell that I feel better, but I still have a long ways to go! I am also trying to change my eating habits. I don't want to go on a diet because I HATE that word, but I do want to change my lifestyle. I'm trying to eat more fruits and vegetables and cut out sugars and processed foods. This is the most challenging thing for me because I love food. But I know it will be totally worth it! Not only do I want to be healthy for myself, fit into my clothes and feel better about myself, but I want to be healthy for Addison. Kody and I are doing this together so I have lots of support. Hopefully before long this will no longer be a struggle and challenge, but will become the way of living for me.

"Do you not know that your body is a temple fo the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Life is just so hard for a baby!

2011-08-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

Kody and I find it funny that this is the way that Addison sleeps anytime that she's taking a nap! Her hands aren't just above her head but the are tucked up under her head like some "man" relaxing in a recliner might do! Addison has really been taking some good naps lately which makes me so happy! For a while she was a cat napper, only taking 30-40 minute naps. But the last few days she has taken a good 2 hour nap along with some shorter naps! She even surprised me this morning and took a 2 hour and 45 minute nap. I sure wish I would of known that was in the schedule today because I could of really gotten a lot done if I knew she were going to sleep that long. Oh well! Now she is down for nap #2, which is usually her longer nap, so we will see how long this one last!

Napping in the church nursery!

A shout out to...

2011-08-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

my parents! So, every time my parents come visit I feel like we have projects for them to help us with because they are both so talented and my dad can build and make anything! For a while now I have been wanting shelves built in our attic closet and a few weekends ago my dad and Kody made that happen! This room is part of our attic but is closed in with AC. It is a very nice room but has been very cluttered and messy due to no shelving! With me staying home, I now have a whole classroom that I am having to store too, which has been in my dining room since June. It is now all in that closet and so organized! It is amazing! I am so excited with how it turned out! I LOVE it!! Thank you Dad and Kody for building the shelves and Mom for helping me clean and organize all of our mess! You are both amazing!!

My own personal Children's library! The is the little office area right before you enter the attic closet! I eventually want to get the desk out of there and put in a child size table and maybe a bean bag for Addison to read books, work puzzles and play in!

I wish I had a "before" picture, but I don't. So imagine a very cluttered room with no shelves and that what this room looked like before. I'm not through organizing yet, but ta da! To the far left I have my gift bags, paper, etc and then all of my seasonal stuff.

A teachers heaven! A place to store all of my "stuff"! :-)

And then all of this is my teacher stuff or my "classroom" all packed up! I love that I can just walk in here and find what I need if I need it! I love all of my teacher stuff and even if I don't go back to teaching any time soon I can still use it to teach Addison and prepare her for Kindergarten many, many years from now! I have also thought about tutoring Kindergarten students or struggling readers in the future too. We will see! Now sure how that will play out having a little one, but I like the idea!

It's so crazy that I'm not teaching this year, but I am at total peace with it and am so excited to be staying home with my little girl! She is so amazing and I can't imagine a more rewarding job!

4 Months already??

2011-08-15T07:26:00.000-07:00

At four months Addison...
-is 13 lbs 14 oz and 24.5 inches long
-ran fever for the first time as a reaction from her shots
-is now sleeping in her crib in her own room!
- is sleeping through the night till 7:30 a.m.
-still likes to be swaddled but usually manages to get your left arm out
-sleeps with your arms behind your head when taking naps.
-had rice cereal for the first time but does not like it at all!
-is now having regular bowel movements! YAY! haha
-is still not rolling over yet. The video was a fluke!
-has lots of tummy time and holds her head up really well.
-grabs everything and always seems to find my hair no matter what!
-still loves her paci
-loves music and any toy that sings or lights up.
-likes her jumperoo, but can't touch the floor yet so there is a blanket underneath it.
-LOVES going to church and spending time with Mrs. Camille.
-no longer likes to be held in the cradle position! :-(
-will fall asleep with her head on your chest!
-will just chill in her crib in the morning with a few whimpers until someone comes and gets her.
-sometimes does not nurse well, but will take a bottle instantly!
-is eating formula more often
-still eating every 3 hours, but only 5 times a day!
-may be starting to teeth, but not sure!
-is the most amazing daughter in the whole world! (Just a little biased!) :-)

Addie's first bible

2011-07-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, July 24th, Addison received her first bible at church. The presenting of the bibles was short and sweet but it was a special time for us. She received a new testament bible that has her name printed on the front of it! Our church has two different ceremonies for babies. The bible presentation, which happens once a month and then the baby dedication that only happens twice a year. That will take place in October.

The lighting was really bright, so the pictures didn't turn out that well, but you get the idea! You can't see Addison in either one of the pictures, but I am holding her! I promise! :-)

Our pastor, Stephen, presenting us with Addison's bible.

One of our other pastors, Matt, praying over us. Kody is actually whispering to me that he is about to go back on stage.

I took a few pictures of Addison with her new bible! She is such a big girl sitting in her bumbo!

If you look closely you can see some drool hanging from her chin! haha :-)

Beach Vacation

2011-07-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Warning: Picture overload!

This past week we went to the beach with Kody's family. We had so much fun hanging out with everyone and just relaxing at the beach. It was definitely a house full with 8 adults and 5 kids, but it was so much fun! We mostly went down to the beach in the morning time, so that it wasn't quite so hot and then we would come back to the cabin for lunch and naps. The evenings we would just hang out around the cabin. We went to Galveston one day too which was a lot of fun.

Addison and Levi's first time at the beach! They are 4 days apart!

Addie getting her tan on! haha...not really. We had the babies under a tent in the shade! Addison mostly slept!

Handsome Levi....I just love this picture!

Grayson and Tiffany

I just love her lips!

Levi checking out his muscles!

Taylor and Brooks

Grayson

Taylor

Brooks

Taylor and Addie in their matching dresses!

One of our many family pictures! The wind was very strong...hence my beautiful hair! haha

Grammy and Pappy with the grandkids

Stu, Katy, Brooks and Levi

Justin, Tiffany, Taylor and Grayson

I just love her smile! Such a happy girl!

Grayson and Brooks chillin' at the beach!

Our cabin for the week! It was so nice!

Levi and Addison....One of her many faces!

3 Months

2011-07-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late but here are some things Addie is doing at 3 months, along with likes and dislikes!

Still sleeping well at night as long as she's swaddled.
No swaddle = up every few hours!
Loves laying on her playmat. Will grab the rings hanging from it and smile at herself in the mirror.
Talks to herself and to us all the time now! I love hearing her coo!
Has started making a "buzzing" sounds with her lips! Sooo Funny! But when we do it back to her she looks scared!
Has found her hands and constantly sucks on them.
Slobbers a lot!
Started taking formula a few times a week. Has to be warm on she will spit it out.
Still loves her paci!
Always gets tired 1-1.5 hours after eating, but doesn't always take good naps. Sometimes they are short and sometimes they are long!
She holds her head up very well now and has started sitting in her bumbo.
She hasn't rolled over since her video debut, but sometimes looks like she tries.
Likes to hold in her poop for a very long time.
Dislikes the evening time. Still gets kinda fussy.
Hates her nose to be cleaned out by that suction thing. (not sure what it's called)
Loves people and is a very happy baby!

Happy 4th of July

2011-07-06T16:21:00.001-07:00

Saving it...just for me!

2011-07-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

So I never thought I would be one of those moms talking about my child's poopy diapers, but here I am....about to do it! hehe! It's just one of those stories! So Addison has decided to try and make an appearance in the Guinness book of World records for going the longest time without going #2. Or so that's what I think she was trying to do! So on Father's day, it had been four days since she had a dirty diaper, I was a bit worried, but she didn't seem in pain or anything. That afternoon, it finally came...all four days of it. Kody was there and was able to help me. Thankfully I was already in the process of changing her, so it didn't get everywhere. After that day, days and days went by and still no poop. I finally called her doc at day 7 and I told her she wasn't extra fussy, her tummy wasn't hard and she didn't seem to be in pain or anything. Doc said she could just be absorbing it all and may not have extra waste. She told me I could put some prune juice in her bottle (YUCK!) and see if that helps. So I did and still noting. ugghh! Day 8, 9, 10, 11, 12....still nothing! Who goes 12 days without going! That has to be painful! So day 13 comes and she finally has a dirty diaper, (YAY!) but it is definitely not 2 weeks worth. So Sunday comes, which is day 14th. (July 3rd) I got her ready for church and feed her so that we can get to church a little early. At the end of feeding her, I hear her go to the restroom! I'm all excited that she went. So I go and change her, wait a sec to see if she's finished, nothing more comes, so I put the new diaper on, put her bloomers on and pick her up. As soon as I pick her up I hear her going again! My thoughts were like "REALLY???" So I put her down, put a new diaper under her and wait! This one was a doozy! YA'LL, she filled FOUR diapers! I was a crazy person trying to keep it from getting everywhere. Everytime she would stop and I would think she was finished, I would put a new diaper under her and she would go some more. Not a little but a lot! I stood there for 15 mins. watching her go to the restroom and cleaning her up! I definitely needed more hands. Needless to say we were not early to church! BUT I did keep her cute outfit from getting dirty! :-) I'm just hoping this is not going to be a recurring event! So far, Sundays for her have not only been a day of rest but a day of relief! HAHA! If this happens again, I'm definitely calling her doctor, because this is so not normal! So that's my story and hopefully the last about her saving it all up for an explosion!

We have a roller!

2011-06-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had Addie on the floor for tummy time and I noticed that it looked like she was trying to roll over. So I grabbed my flip camera just in case and lo and behold, she did it! I am so glad that I caught it on video! Of course I'm sure it was a fluke that she did it and she hasn't done it since, but I'm sure it will start happening again sooner than later! *Excuse the annoying voice on the video* :-)

First swim!

2011-06-29T15:46:00.000-07:00

After the reunion on Saturday, we decided to put Addie in the pool for the first time. She loved it and was so content the entire time she was in the water! Check out the video at the bottom of this post!

Family reunion

2011-06-29T15:21:00.000-07:00

We had a family reunion this past weekend at my parents house. I haven't been to a family reunion in a really long time, but since my dad was hosting it, we figured we would go. There were tons of people there which most of them I did not know. There were a few people that I hadn't seen in a long time that I got to catch up with, so that was fun.

My parents have been working really hard to get ready for the reunion. They dug their pond out to be a little bigger and added a fountain in it which looks really neat. My dad also built this deck over the pond which is awesome. He did such a good job! Here are some pictures of their yard! I wish it was like this when I lived there! :-)

deck

garden and fire pit

pool

patio

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-22T10:40:00.000-07:00

Words can't express what a great father Kody is to our sweet Addison! I just love watching him hold and love on her! Thank you Kody for being such an amazing Daddy to Addison and for being my partner in this new journey called parenthood! We love you!

Do we look alike??

2011-06-22T10:39:00.000-07:00

My mom saved this dress that I wore at 2 months old and thought it would be neat to get a picture of Addison wearing it! I thought it was a great idea! So what do you think? Do we look alike?

2 months old!

2011-06-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that my baby girl is 2 months old! She is growing and changing so much and I am enjoying every single moment with her! She is now sleeping through the night and has been consistently since she was 6 weeks old. I usually put her down around 10 and she sleeps to about 6. That makes for one happy mommy! :-) She is starting to smile which melts our hearts! She has also started making bubbles in her mouth especially when its getting close to eating time. Addie also loves her swing and pacifier but can only stand tummy time for a short time. She is holding her head up really well too!

I took Addison to the doctor today for her 2 month check up where she also had to get some shots! :-( We have one healthy and chunky baby! She now weighs 12 lbs! She went from the 26th% to the 80th% in weight! Her doctor says that she is just perfect and doing great! :-) She surprisingly did well with her shots too. She cried of course but as soon as I picked her up she stopped and was okay. She has definitely slept a lot today since her shots!

Here are her stats:

Height: 23 inches (75%)

Weight: 12 lbs (80%)

Head circumference: 14 3/4 (18%)

First Sunday in Nursery

2011-06-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

May 29th (7weeks old) was Addison's first time to go to our church Nursery. I was a little nervous but I knew she was going to be in good hands. She did really well! :-) Didn't she look cute!

Photo shoot at 8 weeks

2011-06-05T15:30:00.000-07:00

I finally got a new lens for my camera and I am so excited about it! I have always loved photography and now that I have Addison I finally have someone to take pictures of! :-) I am by no means great at taking pictures, but I hope to become better. I am learning more and more about my camera and learning how to shoot in manual mode. These are some pictures that I took in our backyard just playing around and having fun! I can't believe she is 8 weeks old! Yikes!

For the most part she loves bath time!

I love this! Daddy daughter time!

Memorial day weekend

2011-06-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

Over Memorial Day weekend we went to my parent's house to celebrate my dad's birthday. We had such a great time hanging out with family.

Addie slept thru most of the family party! She was one tired girl! She is 7 weeks.

Addison and me with the two Mawmaws!

Happy Birthday dad!

Addison with her Pappy and Pawpaw!

Addison with Aunt Cassi and Uncle Dustin

Addison with Aunt Kendall

Family picture

Trip to Dallas

2011-05-23T13:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we drove to Dallas to celebrate our nephew, Brooks' birthday as well as Kody and his twins sister, Katy's birthday. This was Addison's first long road trip. I was kinda nervous of how she would do but she surprisingly did really well. She slept for the first 2 hours on the way there but then got fussy after I fed her and cried on and off until we got there. We got to meet our new nephew, Levi, who was born 4 days after Addison. He is so precious! We had such a great time being with family and celebrating birthdays! She was awesome on the way home and slept just about the whole time. We are so proud of our sweet girl!

Addison and Levi

meeting Aunt Katy for the first time

All of the grandkids

Brooks turned 3

Newborn Pictures

2011-05-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

When Addison was 9 days old, a friend of ours, Marissa Miller, came over and took Addison's newborn pictures. She did such a good job and the pictures turned out wonderful! Here are a few of them, but if you would like to see all of them then click here.

Mother's Day

2011-05-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

I had such a great first Mother's day! This time last year I was longing for a child and now she is here! God is so faithful! That morning, Addison and I ventured off to church for the second time. She did so good again! The rest of our day was very low key and relaxing! Kody took over Addison duty and let me take a nice long nap which was really nice. We also introduced her to a bottle for the first time. She took it so well and I was amazed at how fast she drank it all up! Have I told you how amazing my husband is lately? Well he is! For Mother's day he made me this really sweet and thoughtful card and bought me a massage, facial and pedicure at this day spa. I made an appointment for the following Saturday and oh was it so wonderful! I was there for 3 hours just being pampered! It was a wonderful gift!

Addison taking her first bottle

Pawpaw and Nonnie's

2011-05-13T18:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Addison had her first trip to Pawpaw and Nonnie's house in Sour Lake. She loves riding in the car and did so good on the way there and back. She did get real fussy while we were in the drive-thru line at Chick-fil-a, but as soon as we got on the freeway she was silent! :-) We had such a great time at their house and she slept really well too! I didn't remember to get a picture until she was already in her car seat and I didn't want to take her out so that's why she's chillin' in her seat!

While we were at my parents house, my best friend from high school came over with her little man, Slade. Addison and Slade were born on the same day only 2.5 hours apart. Slade was born at 6:28 am and Addison was born at 9:00 am. This was the first time for us to see each others babies and for Addison and Slade to meet. He is such a cutie and it will be really neat watching them grow up together. I just wish we lived closer.

Sarah and Slade

1 month old

2011-05-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

Just some cuteness!!!

2011-05-09T12:12:00.000-07:00

haha...so I can't help but to laugh at these pictures. I found this great website called http://www.girlscrochetheadbands.com/. It has really cute bows, headbands, flower clips, beanies and even tutus for REALLY cheap. I got a ton of stuff for $19 and they even gave me 2 extra headbands and a bow for when she gets older. I will definitely be ordering more products from them in the future. So back to the pictures. I got the order in the mail and couldn't wait to put the tutu and pink flower headband on her and take some picture. I was excited but as you can see she was not. Since I had it on her I had to take a quick picture. I will have to attempt taking some cute pictures another time, but for now these will do and hopefully put a smile on your face!

First time...

2011-05-09T11:51:00.000-07:00

...to go to church. May 1st, I ventured off to church by myself with Addison. Because Kody is on the worship team, he leaves the house real early to get to church by 7ish. She did so good that morning and was in such a good mood, so that made it easy for me to get us ready. Since she was only 3 weeks old, I didn't want people touching her or breathing on her so I wore something called a Moby wrap to put her in. It is this really long piece of material that you wrap around your body and she lays in it right up against your chest. She did really good in it, but I did leave towards the end of the service to go up in the balcony because she started to make some loud noises.

Her little onesie says Jesus loves me!

Addison's new friends

2011-05-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

On April 26th, our friends Heath and Sarah came over with their kids, Caleb, Elizabeth and Joanna. Joanna was born at the end of January and is exactly 3 months old in this picture and Addison was 3 weeks old here. I already know that Joanna and Addison are going to be great friends! This was their first "play date"!

They are already telling "secrets".

On April 30, our friends Sam and Kyle came over and brought their little boy Bryson. Bryson is exactly one week older than Joanna (in the pictures above). This was Addison and Bryson's first "date".

I guess Addison got a little bored!

Bryson must have told a joke or said something funny!

Easter

2011-05-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

We had a very low key Easter. It was weird for me not going to church, but I was just not ready to get out with Addison yet. So Addison and I worshiped our Lord and Savior at home!

Such a sweet picture of Addison and Daddy!

Cousins

2011-04-26T20:15:00.000-07:00

Kody's sister, Katy, gave birth to Levi Thomas on April, 11th, only 4 days after Addison was born! I am so excited that Addison will have a cousin so close in age! Katy's due date was the 17th, which was 10 days before mine. She was having to have a c-section and decided to have it on the 11th thinking that it would be far enough from my due date so that there wouldn't be any chance of them coming on the same day and adding stress and craziness to her parent's life. Who would have thought that Addison would decide to come 3 weeks early being very close to Levi's birthday??!! God had her birthday picked out and it was the most perfect day! I'm glad that she came before Levi so that Kody's parents could go to Dallas and not worry about her deciding to come or not! It all worked out perfectly! I can't wait to meet Levi! I just wished we all lived closer together!

I tried to post a picture of Levi but it wouldn't let me for some reason! I can't wait to get pictures of Levi and Addison together! :-) Happy two week old birthday Levi!

Life at home= complete!

2011-04-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that our sweet baby is two weeks old today! Oh my goodness...where is the time going! It feels like yesterday, I was in the hospital having her! Our life is finally complete now that we have our Addison with us! It is so amazing how natural being parents has become to Kody and me! Addison has stolen our hearts and has actually been a very easy baby so far. She sleeps a lot during the day and is feeding every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Her nights are becoming better, but are still very unpredictable. Every night has been a little better though. Last night she slept 4 1/2 hours, I fed her and then she slept for another 2. I was so proud of her. This has happened quite a few times now! I'm such a proud mama! :-)

Last Saturday, April 16th, our friend Marissa from church came to the house and took Addison's newborn pictures! She got so many precious shots! I can't wait to get the cd of pictures and see them all! There will be a post dedicated to just her newborn pictures when I get them...so stayed tuned!

We went to the doctor April 12th for a check up and to make sure her jaundice was getting better. She had a little bit of jaundice and had to do some light therapy in the hospital, but it wasn't anything serious. They did another test and everything came back normal! Yay!! When she was born she weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and when we left the hospital she was 6 lbs 12 oz.

Her stats at 5 days old: 6 lbs 13 oz- 19%
                                     20 inches- 61%
                                     head- 12 3/4- 3%

We went back to the doctor today, April 21st for her two week check up. She did so good!

Stats: 7 lbs 9 oz- 26%
          20 1/2 inches - 59%
          head- 13- 2%

We also found out that apparently she broke her collar bone on the left side during delivery. Her pediatrician said that it is very common for babies to break it going through the birth canal. She said that she is fine and that there is nothing we can do but let it heal. She has not been fussy and is moving her left arm just fine, so I'm not worried.

first visit to the doctor

1 week old

Visitors at hospital and home

2011-04-18T15:53:00.000-07:00

Visitors while in the hospital

Sarah, Heath and Joanna

Amber

Shana

Sam and Kyle

Aunt Kim

Colby

Finally home

Our little family of three

Amber, Alana and Ali came over and brought us dinner!

Mawmaw Dot meeting her first great-granddaughter for the first time!

4 generations

Aunt Kendall

Proud Nonnie and Pawpaw

Christy

Kenzie

Mawmaw Vick meeting Addison for the first time

Uncle John

Proud Grammy

Proud Pappy

The birth story

2011-04-17T19:07:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, our precious angel from God is finally here! Let me start with the story and then we will get to the good stuff...pictures!!

Wednesday night we went to bed, not realizing that it would be our last night as a family of two! Over the past few days I had been having Braxton-Hicks contractions like crazy, but nothing consistent or painful. Well Thursday morning, April 7th at 4:18 to be exact, I woke up with a contraction like I had never felt before. It was in my lower abdomen and then went straight to my back. I got out of bed quickly to go to the restroom and as soon as I stood up my water broke. I got to the restroom quickly and yelled for Kody. I told him I thought my water had broke but I wasn't sure because it wasn't what I expected it to be like. So I brushed my teeth and washed my face all while timing contractions. My doctor had told me on Tuesday that if they were 10 minutes apart to go to the hospital. Well we started timing them and they were like 5 and 6 minutes apart and started getting really intense. We decided rather quickly that we should go to the hospital. Thankfully our bags were already packed and in the car. We got to the hospital a little after 5 am and went straight to the birthing floor. They got me in a room quickly and checked me. My water had indeed broke and I was already 5 cm. They started my IV, had me signing papers all while I was having pretty intense contractions. They knew I wanted an epidural, but before I could have one I had to have so much fluids from the IV first. Around 6ish they checked me again and I was already 7 cm. At 7 am my doctor got there and checked me and I was 8 cm. At that time the anesthesiologist came in and gave me my epidural. I'm so glad he did because they were really starting to get intense. Especially in my back! The epidural really helped take away the pain in my back! An hour later at 8 am, my doctor checked me again and told me that I was 10 cm and ready to push! I pushed for an hour and Addison joined us to make us a family of three at 9:00 am! I am so thankful that I had such a good experience giving birth and that God blessed us with such an amazing daughter! I still can't believe that she was 3 weeks early, but God knew and picked the exact day that she was supposed to be born! Addison was 7 lbs 5 oz and 20 inches long. She was the perfect size and is the most beautiful baby I have ever laid eyes on! I am so in love with her!

To add to such an amazing day...while I was at the hospital and in labor, probably around 7ish, Kody gets a text from my friend Sarah saying that she had her baby at 6:28 am that morning! As soon as I heard that I started crying! Sarah and I have been best friends since high school. Her due date was April 22 and mine was April 27. What are the odds that we would both go in labor on the same day??? She was 2 weeks early and I was 3! Isn't that crazy?? It was so neat sharing our pregnancy experience together and now we got to become mommies on the same day!

We delivered at the new Methodist West hospital off of I-10. They delivered their first babies on Valentine's day! Since it is a new hospital, everything was so new and nice and they are not very busy yet. Needless to say, I was the only patient on the birthing floor until the last night I was there! Everyone was so nice and friendly and very helpful! They took such good care of both Addison and me.

We got to come home on Saturday, April 9th! Kody took off work the whole first week so that he could be home with us and to help me with Addison. He is such an amazing daddy and has done such a good job taking care of her! It is so amazing to me how God has prepared us to be parents and how natural it has been to us! God is so good!

There is so much that I could write about, but I will save it for other post! Here are some pictures of our beautiful daughter!

meeting our baby for the first time

Daddy holding Addison for the first time

Our first picture of our new family of three!

Addison and Pawpaw

Addison and Nonnie

Addison and Pappy

Addison and Grammy

Addison and Aunt Kendall

Addison and Uncle Dustin

Addison and Aunt Cassi

Addison and Aunt Tiffany and Uncle Justin

There are too many pictures to put in one post, so more pictures to come...

37 weeks

2011-04-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yay! I'm considered full term now! I went to the doctor yesterday and I am 3 cm and 100% effaced! Isn't that crazy! My doctor said that it looks like I may do well with labor! Great news for me to hear! I guess we will see if she is right. So, she could come any time now! We are so excited and can't wait to meet her! I have a friend that told me that she was in labor for 4 or 5 hours before she was at the point to where I am now! So I guess that is a good thing for me! :-) My doctor told me that if she has not come by next Tuesday, that we can schedule a day to induce! So, we will meet our sweet Addison by next week for sure! Awww! Our lives are about to turn upside down and we can't be more thrilled!

I went back to work on Monday and boy oh boy has it been a toll on my body! I'm making it though, swollen feet and all! I can't imagine going 3 more weeks like this! Everyday, I wake up with anticipation of could today be the day???? So far today is a no, but the days not over yet! :-)

That's all for now! Maybe my next post will be of our sweet Addison's arrival! :-)

36 weeks

2011-03-31T16:00:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor yesterday and everything is looking good. I am still 2 cm dilated. I am released to go back to work on Monday, which makes me happy. Although it has been nice sitting around and relaxing, I'm kinda tired of it and I don't want to use of all of my days before she comes! My doctor wants me to continue taking the medicine through the weekend and then I can stop on Monday. She said I will be almost 37 weeks then, so I will be good to go! I'm curious to see if my contractions will start back up when I get off of it. I have a feeling that they will. I guess we will wait and see! So now it will be a waiting game. She could decide to come as soon as I get off the medicine or she could hold out until my due date! Who knows! Now the race is on...Will she come before her cousin, Levi, or after?? Levi is scheduled to be here on April 11th, so as long as she listens to me and doesn't come on that day we will be good. My sis-in-law lives in Dallas, so it's not like we are really close in distance to each other. I'm not sure what my In-laws will do if that's the situations! Let's just pray that doesn't happen!!

My plans are not His plans!

2011-03-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here I am 34 weeks and 6 days pregnant, my parents and sister just left the day before for Hawaii and my doctor is telling me that I need to check into Labor and Delivery to be monitored, stop contractions and most likely will be put on bed rest! What??? Tonight?? But I'm not ready to go on bed rest! I'm not ready to stop teaching! I'm not prepared for a sub yet! This was not in my plans! I was planning on to stop teaching on April 21st and here it is March 22nd. And to top things off my parents were on vacation! YIKES!

Okay..let me back up a bit. Monday, the day before all of this I was at school. It was our first day back after spring break! I had made it through the day pretty good, no problems just a little tired. Well, around 1:30 I decided to call my doctor because I thought I may be leaking amniotic fluid. Wasn't sure but I knew something wasn't right. My doctor told me to go ahead and go to labor and delivery to get checked out just to be on the safe side. So I left work and headed to the hospital. I wasn't really worried or freaking out, but just wanted to make sure my baby was okay! Thankfully, Kody's office is right next door to the hospital, so he was able to get there very quickly! So, I get up to the birthing floor and they put me in a triage room with a small bed and hook me up to some monitors. One monitor was to monitor Addison's heartbeat, the other was to check for contractions. I wasn't hooked up long when the nurse told me I was having contractions. My reactions was, "I am??" I had no clue...at that moment anyways! They checked and I was not leaking amniotic fluid, so that was GREAT! They did an ultrasound and baby looked great and her heart beat was strong! Yay! She did check me and told me that I was about 1 cm dilated, but I knew that was pretty normal for how far along I was, so I didn't freak. It just made me realize that my body is starting to prepare for delivery! This whole time that I am laying down, my lower back was killing me and I could not get comfortable. I just figured it was because I was laying on my back and on a really uncomfortable bed. The nurse kept asking me if I were feeling the contractions and I told her that I was feeling a tightening in my stomach, but they weren't really painful. She said my contractions were about 5 mins apart and she didn't want me to leave until they were farther apart. We ended up staying for 4 1/2 hours! I was so ready to be released so that my back would stop hurting. I had a scheduled doctor's appointment the next day, so she just told me to follow up with my doctor. So, when I get home, I finally realize that it was not the bed that was making my back hurt, that I was indeed having back labor. My stomach would tighten and then it would immediately go straight to my back. Great! Kody started timing them and at first they were about 7 minutes apart but thankfully they got farther apart. I had some throughout the night and then continued to have some while at school.

So, I go to my doctor appointment at 3:30, really not expecting much. I wasn't supposed to get checked or have an ultrasound until my next appointment, but since I was having contractions she wanted to go ahead and check me. She told me that I was now 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced! That really shocked me! I was not expecting to hear that. She also told me that she wanted me to have another ultrasound here and then head back over to labor and delivery! So I have my ultrasound, everything looks good and then I head over to the hospital. I walk up to the birthing center and get checked in. Thankfully this time they put me in a birthing room with a nice comfy bed. I'm a little nervous at this point and not sure what to think! I get all hooked up to monitors, they give me an IV of fluids to hydrate me and then give me 3 shots of Brethine over an hour and a half period to stop the contractions. Around 9:00 that night I finally get released and am told that I will be on bed rest until my next doctor appointment and that I have to take Brethine in the pill form every 6 hours. I was glad to go home!

My sweet in-laws were on spring break, so they came while I was at the hospital and stayed with us for a few days! It was really nice having the company and they helped out so much around the house! Thank you so much Wanda and Phil for your help!

I know the Lord has a plan through all of this and am very thankful that little Addison listened and stayed put until my parents made it home! I am just so thankful that she is doing great and I am trying to enjoy the rest because I know that will come to a halt once she is here!

""For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord."
Isaiah 55:8

"Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21

Celebrating...

2011-03-20T18:28:00.000-07:00

our anniversary! On March 11th, we celebrated our 5 year anniversary! It is crazy to think that Kody and I have been married for 5 years and together for almost 10! Time flies by when you're having fun! I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband and I know he is going to be an incredible father! I love this man more and more everyday! Since we have been married, we have taken some kind of trip to celebrate our anniversary, rather it be over spring break or over the summer. Considering we are expecting and trying to save some money we decided to do something that I have been wanting to do since we bought our home. We planted two trees in our backyard! I thought it would be a neat thing to do, because they were planted on our 5 year anniversary and the year of Addison's birth. We will always know how long we've had them! We, or actually Kody, planted a Live Oak and an Orange tree. It will be a while before they are big, but it will be fun to watch them grow! I am excited to finally have something, besides grass in our backyard. I really want to do some landscaping, but that will have to wait a while!

If you look really close, you can see the oak tree on the left side of the yard and the orange tree on the right.

Here is a close up of the Orange tree that will one day produce us many Clementines, hopefully!

Close up of the Live Oak tree!

As promised....

2011-03-20T18:01:00.000-07:00

Here are some updated pictures of Addison's nursery.

View from doorway

34 weeks

2011-03-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. I am now 34 1/2 weeks! Yikes! Addison is going to be here before we know it! We can't wait to finally meet her! I am still feeling good but am definitely feeling very pregnant! I'm getting around a lot slower, work is wearing me out, and I am waking up at all hours of the night to go to the restroom! I was very grateful for this past week being spring break! I feel like I was pretty productive, but at the same time got lots of needed rest! Back to work I go until Addison decides to make her appearance! :-)

Cypress Baby Shower

2011-03-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Some of my really great friends from church threw me a shower here in Cypress on March 5th. Everything was so wonderful! My mom, sister and mother-in-law, Wanda, were able to come to the shower too!

The beautiful cake!

Unfortunately, I did not think to take pictures of all of my friends that attended my shower and didn't think to take a picture with my hostess until two of them had already left. Here is a picture of three of them though!

Jan, Shana, me and Sam. Sarah and Megan had already left. Thank you ladies for making my shower so wonderful!

After the shower, my mom and Wanda helped me organize all of our new goodies in Addison's nursery. We also had fun taking some pictures!

More pictures of the nursery to come soon!

North End Baby Shower

2011-03-18T15:21:00.000-07:00

On February 26th, ladies from my home church threw me a baby shower. It was so nice and so much fun! We got so many great things for Addison!

Thank you to all of my hostess for my making my shower so wonderful!

My sister-in-law, Cassi, made this name frame for Addison! I love it!

Me and Sarah due only 6 days apart!

I love this pic of me with my nephew, Brooks and niece, Taylor!

My cousin Christy with her girls Cami and Kenzi

Some of the goodies we received for Addison!

Cassi and me!

Me and my sister-in-law, Katy. We are only 10 days apart, but Levi will make his appearance on

April 11th. Can't wait to meet him and am excited that Addison will have a cousin so close in age!

My mawmaw and me

Family

My mom's gift to Addison!!!

2011-02-19T15:15:00.000-08:00

My mom has a God given talent of painting! She always gives God the glory for what she is capable of doing! It is so neat to watch how she has used her talent and how amazing she is without ever taking a class! I was so excited to have mom finally paint a mural for me! She did such an amazing job and I absolutely love it! It was everything I could of imagined! Thank you Mom for painting in Addison's nursery! I love you! :-)

Sarah's baby shower

2011-02-17T20:18:00.000-08:00

Sarah and I at Sarah's baby shower!

The canvas my mom painted for Sarah to match baby Buser's bedding!

Our annual girl's weekend!

2011-02-17T20:08:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, I had my annual weekend get-together with my high school girl friends. Since both Sarah and I are expecting, they threw a baby shower for us! It was so sweet and so much fun! I have the best friends! Both of our mom's were able to come, as well as my mother-in-law and some of the other girl's moms. We had such a great weekend, hanging out, talking, eating and just catching up with one another! This is something I look forward to every year!

Snow In Houston

2011-02-04T06:04:00.000-08:00

I saw this on a friends blog and thought it was really funny! Thanks Jayne!

Addison is definitely showing

2011-01-23T11:50:00.000-08:00

Addison's bedding and crib

2011-01-17T15:22:00.000-08:00

We finally got Addison's crib, dresser/changing table, glider and bedding! We are so excited about it. I haven't taken pictures of the dresser or glider yet, so here is a pic of the crib and her quilt. My mom is going to paint a mural in the nursery sometime in February, so stay tuned for updated pictures of her room! I can't wait until it is finished! :-)

Prego pics

2011-01-17T13:10:00.001-08:00

So far I have been really lucky. Everything has been going really good throughout my pregnancy and Addison is doing great! I feel her everyday now which is awesome! I love feeling her kick and move!

Some friends from church. Me (due 4/27), Shana (due 4/19) and Sam (due 1/20)

Christmas

2011-01-17T11:59:00.001-08:00

I can not believe that Christmas has already come and gone! We spent Christmas eve and morning with my family and then went to Kody's parents house and spent the evening with them as well as the next day. It's hard to believe that next year's Christmas we will have an 8 month old! awww...I can't wait! :-)

The Wilkerson grandkids with Mamaw Dot

I just love my niece and nephews!

Brooks and Taylor

Grayson

Brooks

Brooks and Pappy

Uncle Doc with Grayson

Presenting....Mr. and Mrs. Wilkerson

2010-12-21T07:40:00.001-08:00

Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Dustin Wilkerson! It is so weird that my brother is now married. He doesn't seem old enough, even though he is a year older than I was when I got married! I am so excited though! I absolutely love Cassi and am ecstatic that she is now my sister-in-law! There is no one more perfect for my brother than Cassi! It has been so neat over the years to watch them grow up and grow and mature as a couple. They started dating when she was just 14 and my brother was 16. Their wedding was absolutely perfect in every way! Cassi was gorgeous!!!! My mom out did herself with the decorations as usual and everything just came together and ran so smoothly. God was the center of this day and I pray continues to be the center of their marriage.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-21T06:58:00.001-08:00

Drumroll.........................

2010-11-29T16:04:00.000-08:00

We are having a baby GIRL!!!! We are so excited and thankful for our healthy baby girl. We found out on November 16th, but decided to keep it a secret from our entire family until Thanksgiving! We wanted to surprise everyone at the same time. In the mean time we told lie after lie about when we were finding out! We told everyone that we were finding out the week after Thanksgiving! It was so awful and hard to keep it a secret, but I am sooo glad that we did. We got our entire ultrasound on a dvd, so once both of our families were at our house for Thanksgiving we put it in and let the surprise begin. About a minute into the ultrasound, the tech types the word FEMALE and puts an arrow on the screen. Everyone started cheering with excitement!

We then gave our moms a picture album with our baby girls name in it!
Addison Malaine Brooks

We had such a great Thanksgiving and were so glad that we were able to share this moment with both of our families!

17 weeks

1st picture at 6 weeks

8 weeks

17 weeks

The time has come...

2010-10-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

Where our wait is over! Baby Brooks is on the way and will prayfully be here in April! These last few months have been a whirl wind for me. Fertility treatments, then waiting, school starting, finding out I'm pregnant and then trying not to worry about the pregnancy and trusting that everything will be okay. Wheww....I'm exhausted! To start from the beginning, we decided to do an IUI at the beginning of August. If you don't know what an IUI is, you can look it up, but basically it is artificial insemination. On August 16th we found out that it worked!!! We were so excited! August 16th also happened to be the day that I started back to school for in-service. It was so hard to sit in those meetings all day and not tell anyone my exciting news. I went to my fertility doctor right away for a blood test and then had to go back 36 hours later for another to make sure my levels were doubling like they should. Everything looked great! I had my first ultrasound at 6 weeks and got to hear the heartbeat! It was the most incredible thing I have ever heard or seen! Kody and I were in awe! I went back two weeks later and had another ultrasound. Kody was not able to go to this one, but it was so amazing how much the baby had grown in just two weeks! It actually looked like a baby and I could even see the babies arms. The heartbeat was strong and loud too! It was hard not to cry! My doctor told me that everything is looking great and that I was now released to my regular OB. That was such exciting news! Praise the Lord! I went to my regular OB at 10 weeks. It was so crazy actually going there for a pregnancy visit! I did not have an ultrasound but she was able to find the heartbeat using the doppler, which gave me lots of relief, just to know that our baby is okay! Right now I am 11 weeks and 3 days! Kody and I can not express how thankful we are for all of you that have been praying for us! We have felt all of your prayers and we know that God's hands have been over us the entire time. His timing is so perfect! I just think the waiting has made this time just so much sweeter for us! Please continue to pray for us and for our baby to be healthy and whole! Also please continue to pray for those that are still in a time of waiting. I have several friends that are and I know their pain! Pray that God will answer their cry and hearts desire! My dear friends, God's timing is perfect and continue to cling to Him and His truths! He has not forgotten about you! He hears you!

Thank you for sharing with us in this exciting time in our lives! We give God all of the glory!!

World travelers.....

2010-07-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

..Or so we have been called lately! We have definitely had our fair share of travels in the last two and a half weeks. We've been to Alabama, Tennessee and Washington State all within that time frame. We've really enjoyed our trips, but are glad to be home for a while! Enjoy the post below about our trips.

Seattle

2010-07-22T18:41:00.000-07:00

Aug. 14th, only 6 days after being home from Pigeon Forge, we left for Seattle. Kody had a conference there and I decided to tag along. We got there on a Wednesday and Kody's conference was all day on Thursday. So I just stayed in the hotel room all day and watched tv, read, and played on the internet. It was a very relaxing day! That evening, his conference hosted a dinner at this restaurant on a marina. The food was wonderful and FREE and the views were beautiful!

A beautiful view of Mt. Rainier

Since his conference was only one day long, we decided to stay a few days longer and do some sightseeing. The next day we went on a whale watching cruise. We rode a boat for 4 hours to Friday Harbor which was on the San Juan Islands. Once we got there, we stayed on the boat to go whale watching. We looked for 2 hours and didn't see a one! We were soooo disappointed!! The views were beautiful though and we did see some bald Eagles and dolphins. We then came back to Friday Harbor and ate lunch and walked around the town for a couple of hours. Then, we had a long 4 hour boat ride back to Seattle. It made for a long day and would have been worth it if we would have seen whales! Oh well!

Our last day there we decided to do some shopping and walk around the beautiful city of Seattle. They have a neat public market called Pike's Peak which has vendors selling fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, fish, and other things. It is also the home to the original Starbucks! It was very crowded, but a neat place to visit!

That evening we decided that we couldn't go to Seattle without visiting the Space Needle!

We had a great trip and really enjoyed the cooler temperatures.

A wedding and a vacation all rolled up into one!

2010-07-22T14:58:00.000-07:00

June 30th Kody and I left for Anniston, Alabama for Andrew and Lauren's wedding. We drove 6 hours that night and stopped in LA at a hotel that Kody's parents had stopped at. The next morning we drove the rest of the way to Anniston. We stayed at this really neat bed and breakfast along with several other North Enders. Andrew and Lauren's wedding was beautiful! Congratulations you guys!

July 4th we left Anniston and headed for Pigeon Forge, Tennessee for vacation with Kody's parents. It took us about 4 hours to get there so it was not too bad. Pigeon Forge is where Kody and I went on our honeymoon, so it was really neat to go back. That evening we drove down to Gatlinburg for a firework show.

Phil and Wanda on the skylift!

The next day we went to Dollywood!

Kody and Phil on the rollercoaster.....can you spot them?

We also went to the Dixie Stampede which is a dinner and show!

We drove into the smokey mountain national park and crossed over into North Carolina. It was absolutely beautiful

We had such a great time vacationing with Kody parents. This was our first road trip vacation and I must say that we survived! :-) The morning we left we decided to drive the whole way home without stopping. It took us 16 hours and driving through 6 states to get home! We were so thankful to get home!

I love the smell of...

2010-06-15T13:12:00.000-07:00

Scentsy!!!

I am now an independent Scentsy consultant! I absolutely love this product and I love the way it makes my home smell! Scentsy is a wickless scented candle that uses a 25 watt bulb and a warmer to melt the wax. There are over 80 scents and lots of nice Warmers, Plug-Ins, and sprays. If you would like to host a party, please let me know! It's a great way to earn free products, get products 1/2 price and have fun with your friends! If you want to learn more about Scentsy and see the products you can visit my web page at www.corbybrooks.scentsy.us. Please let me know if you would like to order something or host a party!

corbyb311@hotmail.com

Summer has begun!

2010-06-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

The first week of Summer, I headed off to Orange Beach, Alabama for Beach Retreat with the youth group from our church. Yes, "I". Kody was unable to go this year because he couldn't get off of work. I didn't want to go at first without him, but I realized it was something I needed to do! We both went last year as leaders and Kody played in the worship band, so we were both really bummed that he couldn't go this year. You can read about last years BR here. It was a huge step of faith for me to go because Kody is my security and I absolutely hate being away from him! It ended up being an amazing week and God really moved in a lot of these teenagers lives.

The students were not allowed to get in the ocean due to the oil spill and a chemical that was put in the water. As the week went on, we saw more and more oil on the beach. It is so sad! Orange beach did a great job of cleaning what washed up on the beach every morning, so vacationers would not have to worry about it.

Update

2010-05-17T18:07:00.000-07:00

Just in case some of you are curious, I thought I would update you on my fertility appointments. I have been to my specialist twice in the last couple of months. The first appointment was really informational. He really explained a lot about what was going on with my body and what steps we may need to take in the future. I then had to go have blood work. I'm surprised I have any blood left. They took 10 tubes of blood! And YIKES was the bill big. Thank goodness for insurance. This past week, we went back for a follow up on my blood work. My doctor said that the test screamed PCOS, which brings some relief because it is the most common ovulation disorder and the most treated. There is hope! I also found out that my blood type is A positive. I have always wanted to know that, so I am glad that I now know. I am also immune to chicken pox, fifths disease, but not to CMV. I also tested negative for CF.

I am very content and happy with my life and we absolutely love being able to be spontaneous. We love going to the movies whenever we want, traveling, staying up late and sleeping in, but we have reached this point in our marriage where we are ready to make sacrifices. We are ready for God to give us a child to take care of and love. We are ready to have a little family!

We trust in the Lord and hold tight to His promises. Continue to pray for us that we have patience through out this process and that we will seek the Lord for guidance and strength!

The weather man was wrong again!

2010-04-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

The weather man has predicted thunderstorms and rain for the last two weekends now and both Saturdays ended up being beautiful! I am very grateful for their false predictions. I'm sure it rained somewhere, but it didn't rain in Cypress.

Last weekend, my brother, his girlfriend, and my sister came to visit. They came in early on Friday and we had a great time laughing , hanging out and playing a very silly, but fun game called Ninja! Kody and I learned it from our youth kids, so we decided to introduce it to them! We laughed so hard and had a great time! Saturday, my brother took a test to get his air rescue license. He said it was one of the hardest test he has ever taken and he passed with like a 92 or something. I am so proud of him and all that he has accomplished. We were suppose to have a dodgeball tournament for our youth group at a YMCA, but because of the predicted thunderstorms they has to postpone it. I had company, so I didn't mind.

This weekend my parents came to visit! I invited them to go garage selling with us in our neighborhood. It was the first time that our neighborhood has ever been allowed to have a community garage sell before, so I knew it was going to be huge! And it was! Over 400 homes participated! But again, the weather man was predicting rain Friday night and Saturday morning. But to our amazement, not a drop of rain was seen. Not even a cloud in the sky on Saturday! It was the perfect day to go garage selling! We had such a great time and were very successful! We found a chase lounge, a love seat and an end table for our game room. We also were so excited to have found a hammock! I have been looking for one and knew how much they cost to buy new. The people were moving to downtown Houston to a one bedroom apartment and were getting rid of almost all of their furniture. We got a great deal and it is perfect! I also got some children's books and Kody got an auxiliary cable. My parents and sister also racked up with some great deals! We had such a great time! I didn't know it could be so much fun!

The lounge chair and end table

Love seat

Our new hammock!

Bluebonnets

2010-04-25T13:44:00.000-07:00

About three weeks ago, our friends invited us to go take pictures in the bluebonnets with them. We were able to get some great bluebonnet pics and help take pictures of them and their kids as well. Here are just a few!

Caleb and Elizabeth

Heath and Sarah with their kids in the background! I love this pic!

Friends

2010-04-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

Some friends come and some friends go, but friends like these last a lifetime!

Back in March, I had a girls weekend with my high school girlfriends. We had so much fun talking, playing games and hanging out. I have been friends with some of these girls since the 3rd grade and even though we don't all live in the same town anymore or see each other very often, we have still remained close friends. I love these girls so much and am so lucky to have each one of them in my life. Thanks for a great weekend girls!

While I'm waiting....

2010-04-03T14:47:00.000-07:00

I will serve You! While I'm waiting, I will worship You Lord! This song, "While I'm Waiting," by John Waller speaks to me in such a powerful way. It describes me at this point in my life right now. While I am waiting for God to answer my cry and heart's desire, I will continue to serve Him, love Him and worship Him!

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7

For the past week or so I have really felt God telling me that it's okay to share the struggles that Kody and I have been facing for over a year and a half now and to ask for prayer. So here it goes. For the past 19 months we have been on the journey of infertility. September of 2008 we decided for me to get off of birth control and to start trying. In January of 2009 I had blood work and discovered that I may have something called PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome). So in February I had an ovary ultra sound that confirmed me having PCOS. Basically, having PCOS means that I don't ovulate on my own. Since then, I have had more blood work, an HSG procedure, which checks my fallopian tubes, and I have been on a fertility drug called Clomid. September of 2009 is when I started 50 mg of Clomid. I did another 50 mg in October and then I did another 3 months of 100 mg. In March my doctor wanted to do one more month of Clomid but at 150 mg and have me also take Metformin which works well with Clomid. Needless to say I am tired of taking medicine!

With all of this said and much prayer, we have decided to seek a fertility specialist. We are very excited about this next step in our journey and have heard great things about our doctor. We have an appointment on April 13th. We trust in God and know that his plans are perfect. Please pray for us as we continue this process and that the Lord will answer our heart's desire to have a child.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." Hebrews 10:23

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

The best entertainment...

2010-03-15T20:45:00.000-07:00

...I have been to in a long time! This past Monday, Kody and I went to a Magic show by Warren Gibson. Our Senior Pastor, Ed Young, goes to Maui every year and has become really good friends with this magician. He asked him to come to our church and put on some shows for the adult leaders in the church. These tickets are typically around $100 a ticket to see him on Maui but we got to go for $10 a ticket plus dinner! Kody and I were picked to sit in the seats right in front of him along with 3 other couples. Needless to say we got picked on a lot and got to help out in a lot of his tricks. His tricks were amazing and I still do not know how he did any of them. He was so entertaining and hilarious! I would definitely pay the full $100 to see him again! I just wish he wasn't on Maui! So, if you ever go to Maui, he is a definite must see!

Here is one trick that he did. He had me pick a card out of the deck, show the audience and then put it back in the deck. He had me shuffle the cards and then he did some fancy shuffling with them. He then pulled out an ace of hearts and asked me if that was my card. I said it was not and he looked really confused. So he ripped up the card and then asked me to hold out my left hand. He stuck the ripped up card in my hand and told me to make a fist and turn my hand palm down. He then told me to reach into my hand with my right hand and pull out the card. When I did, it was my correct card, the 4 of spades, all ripped up. No CLUE!!!! Then he put the ripped up 4 of spades back in my hand and had me make a fist again. He then gave me two pieces of invisible magic tape (which was pretend) and had me stick them into my fist with the card. He then had me pull the card back out of my fist and it was my card folded up in one piece. I was shocked! The way the card was folded felt like it was in pieces so I know he must of stuck it in my hand like that but how and when he switched out the card is amazing in itself. He was so quick! That is just one of the amazing tricks that he did! The last trick ended with a $100 bill inside of a lemon that was whole! That's a whole other story that is mind boggling! Let's just say he AMAZED us as well as cracked us up the entire night!

Our good friends, Heath and Sarah. They were also picked to be right in front of him!

The card that was folded up in my hand at the end of the trick!

We ARE still here!

2010-03-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I have gone this long with out blogging, but there really has not been a lot going on around here! We are doing great! I got a new car in February! A Toyota RAV4 which I absolutely love! It's so much fun to drive. Kody and I also celebrated our 4 year anniversary on March 11th. It is so hard to believe that we have been married for 4 years! These past four years have been absolutely wonderful and rewarding! I can't wait to spend 50+ more years together! We celebrated our anniversary by eating at The Melting Pot! It was a neat place to eat. We didn't care so much for the appetizer or the entree, but we LOVED the chocolate fondue dessert! YUM!!! Next time we will just go for dessert! It was AMAZING! As we were getting ready to leave Kody told me that he had one more thing that he needed to do. He told me that he was his father's son and that he had a surprise for me! He pulled out a little box and inside it was a diamond band to go on the other side of my wedding ring. It is so beautiful and so perfect! I was so shocked because we had already agreed that we weren't going to do gifts this year! I'm usually pretty good about picking up on little things that Kody may be doing for me, but not this one! I had no clue! Now my ring is complete! :-)

I am on Spring Break this week which is well needed! We started out the weekend by going to Dallas! We stayed with Justin and Tiffany and got to spend a lot of time with Taylor and Grayson which was wonderful! All of us and Katy went to Six Flags on Saturday which was so much fun! I had not been to a theme park in so long! I still love roller coasters, but I don't think my body can handle them like I used to. Needless to say, I got a little nauseated after one of the rides. I hate that feeling! The weather was absolutely perfect and we all had so much fun! We came home on Sunday and now I just plan to relax and enjoy the rest of my week! That is pretty much all that has been going on in a nutshell! Here are a few pictures!

My new car!

A few pics from our trip to Dallas! I got a few pics of Grayson and a few of Brooks but not one single pic of Taylor. I'm not sure how I let that happen.

Our future pianist....Grayson!!!

Brooks!!!

Calling all picture lovers.....

2010-01-04T08:00:00.000-08:00

or anyone with a computer! Do you have your computer backed up to an external hard drive?? Do you have your pictures backed up on an online website? If not, I recommend you do! Our macbook crashed a couple of weeks ago and they could not retrieve anything from it. I am so thankful that we had our computer backed up on an external hard drive and we didn't lose anything! I was kind of worried though b/c I couldn't remember the last time that we had backed it up. Thankfully the only pictures that weren't backed up were still on my camera! I don't know about you, but I don't ever print my pictures anymore. This got me thinking though. What if something were to happen to my computer and the external hard drive...I know a far out scenario, but you never know. I couldn't imagine losing all of my pictures. So I decided to upload them to Shutterfly. Shutterfly, Kodak and many more websites offer unlimited photo storage for free. Therefore, you would still have your pictures if something were to happen to your computer. I know I'm a little paranoid, but our computer crashing really got me thinking!

On another note, I was looking on www.thecutestblogontheblock.com and I saw where you can make your blogs that you have posted into a book and have it printed. It's kind of a neat idea if you want to check it out.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I pray that God will bless you all in this New Year!

Surprise Trip

2009-12-28T07:51:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, Kody tells me that we are going on a trip the weekend before Christmas and that he is not going to tell me where we are going. Well that only lasted about a week because I kept bugging him. I wanted to know, but then I didn't. Well he ended up telling me that we were going to Washington D.C.. I have always wanted to visit, so I was excited! A couple of days before we were to leave we saw that D.C. was supposed to get snow. That was exciting news! Our flight left Friday night and we landed while it was snowing around 11:00. We stayed at the Hyatt on Capitol Hill which was really nice. Saturday morning we woke up to snow. A lot of snow and it was still coming down. We were ready for a day of sightseeing, or so we thought! We headed towards the Capitol and actually got to tour it. We were the last tour for the day and it was only 11:00 a.m. We even got to sit in on the Senate that was in session. By the time we walked out of the Capitol they had already closed the Capitol due to the snow storm. Come to find out, everything was closed. So we walked over to Union Station to see if we could find something to eat. Luckily the food court was still open. We then walked around union station to see if any of the shops were open. Because we are from Texas and not used to the snow, who would of thought that you needed special shoes for the snow?? It never crossed our minds that we would be walking in that much snow and our feet were freezing in our tennis shoes! Most stores were already closed, but we found this women's shoe store that another lady had talked them into opening back up. So I founds some boots that would hopefully keep my feet warm. The rest of the day we spent in the hotel watching movies, sleeping and relaxing because everything was shut down.

Capitol

Union Station

Look how deep the snow is! Thanks honey! :-)

Our Hotel

The next day was beautiful, but boy was there a lot of snow! Apparently, we got a little over 2 ft! We found out that everything was going to remain closed today as well which was a bummer, so Kody and I headed to go see the White House, Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It was such a beautiful walk, but it was sure cold tromping through all of that snow! Some of the sidewalks were clear and some were not, so It was kind of tricky figuring out where to walk. By time we decided to head back to the hotel our feet were soaking wet and REALLY cold! My new boots kept my feet dry for a little while, but not long enough!

Fords Theatre

The White House

Washington Monument

Kody was a trooper posing for my pictures! He wanted to do a snow angel, but I told him to think about the consequences he may suffer afterwards! :-) So he didn't!

Lincoln Memorial- We couldn't go up the steps because they had it blocked off!

The reflecting pool was frozen over!

Sunday night we decided to take the metro over to the area by the White House, where we ate at this really nice restaurant and then walked to go see the White House at night! We then walked to Macy's which was four stories tall!

Our friend Melanie that we knew from Beaumont now lives in D.C., so we met her for lunch on Monday and then she brought us to the airport! Thanks Melanie! It was really good to see her!

We were so thankful that our flight was only a few minutes delayed and we made it home safe and sound! We heard that some of the people that had their flights cancelled on Saturday were not going to get a flight until Christmas eve! whew! I'm glad that wasn't us! We had a great time despite most things being closed! The snow was beautiful, but it was REALLY great to get home to where the temperatures were not in the 20's!!

It finally snowed....really, really snowed!

2009-12-10T18:22:00.000-08:00

Last Friday it actually snowed! It was so amazing to see it snow this much in Houston! I think I was just as excited as my students were! It started sleeting/snowing around 8:00. It did this off and on all morning. Needless to say, it was really hard to teach, much less get the kids to focus when all we had to do was look out the window and see snow! Then around 12:00 it really came down and started sticking to the ground! We had so much fun taking our kids out to play in the snow! Here are some pictures of our winter wonderland!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-10T18:07:00.000-08:00

Our kitchen got a....

2009-11-08T16:10:00.000-08:00

MAKEOVER!!! My parents and sister came to visit us this past weekend and my mom worked her magic. She painted and glazed our kitchen cabinets. Dad, Kody and I helped kilz and paint them and then mom did all of the glazing! I absolutely love them! They turned out so great! Thank you mom and dad for all of your hard work!

Before

after

before

after

Trick-or-treat!

2009-11-04T19:58:00.001-08:00

Our really good friends Heath and Sarah, brought their kids over to trick-or-treat before they headed out into their neighborhood. Caleb is in 2nd grade and Elizabeth is 4. We absolutely love these two!

We let them pick their favorite candies!

Being silly