Our Girls Weekend

While daddy went away for the weekend on a men's camping retreat, I enjoyed an exciting weekend with my girl. On Friday after school, I picked up the little miss and headed to Hope Park, our favorite park in Frisco. My favorite moments of the afternoon are pictured above. From walking hand in hand, learning to take a leap of faith, our first attempts at jumping, rocking on the horsey, and taking "delfies" this was surely a fun afternoon with my little lady.

Saturday morning, we monkeyed around the mall with some sweet church friends and their cuties. Sadly the play area was in the process of being cleaned, so the kiddos played on a few of the play machines.

 

{Westin & Auby enjoy story reading with Miss Anna}

After a bit of morning play, we made our way to Barnes and Nobel for story and play time. 

{Auby, Westin, Georgia, & Eva Mae}

From play, story time, legos, a little Thomas the Train action, and lunch at Chick-fil-A, we had such a fun time on this little mall play date. Thanks to Anna, Erin and her mother for joining me and my little lady this morning.

After our play date, we made our way home so Auby could nap. She was not having that. After a few hours of playing in her crib she may have gone down for an hour or so. She's usually a champ, but it really didn't phase her too badly. During her time in the crib, I got a text from Kristin. We decided to meet for dinner at Pasados.

 

I loved our dinner date with our Fantlet friends. I also adored the many kisses, hugs, and peek-a-boos that these two shared during dinner. 

What a perfect night with my little miss and our sweet friends.

On Sunday,  Mommy had an early meeting at church and baby went to childcare.I loved this sweet picture taken by a church friend.This is my cutie in the hallway at church as she moved rooms from early childcare. She had some possessions she did not want to leave behind. Loved that this little snapshot was shared. I love our church family!

What a busy but fun weekend with my little Miss. We of course loved when daddy returned to his girls.

Firstie Fun

With our days quickly coming to a close for this school year, we have enjoyed lots of special firstie fun. Last week was Teacher Appreciation. We are so truly blessed by our Wyatt PTA and for all their supports and efforts this year. 

 

{Me, Hue, and Tanya}

 We were even given time off duty to enjoy a free lunch celebration at Rusy Taco with our team.

This year we will be saying good-bye to our amazing leader. I am so gracious for our principal as she has been a truly amazing example, leader, and friend. She will be missed.

This past week, while the wet and rain rescheduled on Field Day, we did get to hear from the OLC animal gal who brought a few of her furry friends.

 

As a fun celebration and reward for a job well done, our class earned a Z Party!

Last month, our school had the distinct privilege of meeting Mr. David Catrow, a well honored author and illustrator.

 With only a few more weeks of school left and conferences finished, I am thankful for sweet days ahead with my 18 firsties. Until then...

Our Little Lady Around the House

I cannot get over how big our little munchkin is. I know each and every month I say it, but wow how truly time does fly. While each stage has and will continue to have its rewards as well as challenges, I've had so much fun being this little girl's mama. This spunky monkey makes this mama's heart smile so much. So here's to documenting a few of our little treasures at home.

Brushing our teeth has been an acquired activity. We are not a fan and will quickly put up our hands and say as well as show the "all done" motion. She likes to lick the toothpaste, but next to mommy basically using a variety of trial and error methods, as well as a few amazing moments such as this, we are slowly but surely learning to "like" it. She will totally cheese for the camera every once and awhile. :)

Auby absolutely loves shoes. She is in the stage of taking her shoes and socks off but then quickly wants to put them back on. She LOVES walking around in mommy's shoes. If we go outside, she will demand that we all have our shoes on. She's not a fan of dirt on her toes.

 

Everything these days is about color color. When asked everything is also yellow... like this crayon;) She is so much fun. I am so glad that we bought this little table and chairs set. 

  Oh how I love this little girl. She is my kind of couch potato.

 Lazy days and hanging out. Drinking milk and watching Mickey are two of our morning favorites.

 

Sleep tight big girl. May your dreams come true.

Mother's Day 2015

  Here's a little hand print

Just so you can recall.

Exactly how my fingers looked

When I was very small.

MOM

Happy Mother's Day!

My Mother's Day was beautiful but bittersweet. You may have read about it here. I am so thankful for my husband who did everything in his power to make the day a little less hard and make it special for me. I am so thankful for a husband that continues to spoil me with his cooking. On Saturday, he made the most beautiful and delicious apple rose breakfast. I'll have to post the recipe soon. It was amazing. Auby kept saying, "Want it. Want it."

After our family breakfast, we made our way downtown to the Aquarium. Aubrey absolutely LOVED the aquarium. She pointed out lots of different animals. She enjoyed the birds, fishies, and the comingoes. Aubrey enjoyed being picked up, hold you she would say, being put down, and pushing the stroller. She is such a big girl.

{Stroller pushing, black panther spying, flamingo fighting, family cheesing, and octopus swimming}

{I cannot get enough of my munchkin.}

Mother's Day Sunday was a torrential downpour. Tornado sirens woke us from our sleep. As soon as the alarms went off, I ran upstairs to awake the babe of course not knowing the time. It was 7AM which is about her morning wake up. Not exactly the way I had envisioned Mother's Day morning. I did enjoy my snuggles. With horrible storms and flooding, we decided to stay home. It was a perfectly lazy day which I really enjoyed. 

 

This is one of my favorite little moments. I am so in love with this little family. While this has been a truly difficult season in our life, I'm thankful for these sweet reminders. I am so incredibly lucky to be this little girl's mama and married to a man who loves me even through my hardest of days.

This card couldn't be more perfect. Auby is madly in love with her Mickey. So let that be the inspiration. 

If you're happy and you know it thank your MOM!

Momma,

We love you like Mikey loves Minnie.

When we think of you, it makes us do the hot dog dance.

And whenever we need help, we can just say "O toodles" and you will be there.

And that is why you are the best Mama in the World!

Thank you to my two loves for making me feel so very special. I am truly one thankful Mama!

Our Loss: Baby Letters #2

 

April 21st: I am still numb when I really think about it. I still try to find the right words. I never thought this would happen to us. I mean, after it did, I found out how truly common it was. "Missed Abortion?" That term absolutely needs to be removed from medical jargon. Having to sign my D&C paper work and have those two words listed was more than difficult to say the least. How could this happen to us?

As I'm sure you have figured out that we lost the baby. And yes we were only 6 weeks but in my heart, it was our baby. For a month I new you were with my sweet baby. I loved carrying you and talking to you. I was just in awe that you came to us so quickly but was so excited for you to join our little family. I wondered if you would have your daddy's face or if you would resemble mommy. Would you be anything like your big sister. I just couldn't wait to find out. Our Christmas baby. I was so thankful and excited for you.

The doctors and nurses were truly amazing. They all understood how difficult this moment would be. I never realized how in depth the process was. But let me go back. Not that I want to recount these difficult moments, but maybe the words may help. After countless blood tests where our numbers were just not adding up, I came in for a sonogram to make sure I didn't have a tubal pregnancy. The baby sadly was not developing. With a large bleed wrapped around the odd shaped sack, it was only a matter of time before our finished miscarriage would happen. The hardest part was hiding it. I wasn't ready to talk about it and most days don't want to. But then there is a sense of guilt as to why I appear lazy, sad, short tempered, and MIA. I constantly would repeat to myself, if only they knew...
 
So after our D&C this past Monday, I'm left empty but with all the emotions and hormones of one who is expecting. But with that being said, I have found a sense of peace... some days.  Other days I'm angry and bitter. I have found some days better than others. I want to heal. I want to feel whole again. And while I do have some good days, I do totally blame my body, my stress, myself. Of course I know this is wrong, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. One day at a time, right.

May 12th: They say it gets better, and some days it does. When my mind is consumed which it has been to say the least, it doesn't seem as bad. With Auby testing positive for strep the day after my D&C, end of the year testing, conferences, getting a new principal and two new teammates for next year, plus a mysterious potential hand, foot, and mouth situation with Aubs... it has been insane. But I'm still not over it. I just had my appointment to check my levels. We are hoping for it to return negative. Kind of funny to imagine this situation to be anything else. But once we have our levels we can start over and try again. More waiting it seems. But to our sweet baby we lost, until we meet again...and as mommy said before, sweet baby, we are forever yours!

Love,
Your Mommy

Our Loss: Baby Letters #1

"Hope is a scary thing. It's getting your feelings up and having them torn down. I choose faith. Faith that God has an amazing plan for this baby and for us. Regardless the outcome, I put my faith in Him for He is good all the time. There is a reason and a plan." April 15, 2015

When I began to think about this letter dear baby, I definitely had different words in mind. Amazement, shock, excitement, disbelief. My Good Friday was an exceptional one. It was the day I found out that I was carrying you. We knew that in early March we wanted to begin trying to grow our little family. It took us fourteen months before we became expectant with your big sister. So I was a little hesitant to continue waiting. I just couldn't wait for you to join our family sweet baby. I decided to wait a whole day until I told your daddy. That day was the longest day of my life, or so I thought. I remember when I saw that double pink line, my mouth dropped. You took my breath away even then. I knew our little lives would be completely changed, and I couldn't wait to share the news. On Saturday, it was planned that our little family of 3 (really family of 4) would take our Easter pictures. It was expected that Easter Sunday would be cold and rainy (which it was). The pictures were perfection. The weather was gorgeous, and while bluebonnets were not exactly in bloom, we found a perfect place behind your sister's favorite playground and park. This is where I would capture your daddy's sweet response. Inside a few Easter eggs I put little notes for each of us. Here are the reveal pictures.  

 {Our family of 4 reveal}

 {Big sister, Baby #2, and Mama-#2-be}

We were so early pregnant but still in awe of this beautiful miracle. I couldn't wait to share our news, but again needed to wait.

It seems "wait" is the theme of this letter. I never thought it would be. On April 15th, my belly started to cramp and while in class I began to bleed. I mean a lot. I was devastated. I just knew I lost you. What did I do or not do? A doctor appointment was made. Ray took me home. It was just so unbelievable. But the bleeding stopped. When I went to the doctor, I was given a bit of hope. They took a regular pregnancy test and immediately it read positive- pregnant. But it was too early to tell with a sonogram. So after a bit of blood work and a few scheduled appointments, I would know something within a few days. Again more waiting.

So baby, I sit here. I wonder if you are still with me? It is an overwhelmingly exciting and terrifying idea as I left with hope but still have fear. I thought waiting a day to tell your daddy would be the longest wait of my life, but I think this is the hardest. I could never want to offend anyone who has miscarried, lost a child, or who has had this same fear overtake them. I couldn't imagine your loss, or maybe this week I'll find out that I too have a loss. But what I can say sweet baby is that it has been the sweetest experience holding you for the weeks I have. For the time I have been given, I am forever grateful. If you are still with me, I can only pray that you continue to grow big and strong and know that you are forever ours.

We love you dear baby.

Love,
Your Mommy:)

Auby's Month-iversary Series: 19 Months

 
Dear Auby, 
Our sweet girl. You are funny, sweet, loving, cautious, shy, observant, and absolutely loved. This month as Mother's Day draws near, I am reminded just how truly lucky and thankful I am for you. Being a wife and your mommy are both the greatest things that God has blessed me with. You two are my heart. I would do anything for you sweet child and oh believe me I have. We've been through it all little love. These 19 months have been an amazing ride. I can't wait to see what's in store for us next month.

Date: 5/7/2015
Age: Our 19 month old and beautiful babe
Measurements: 24 lbs (per a doctor's visit this month)
Clothing: You wear 18-24 month clothing and wear a size 4 diaper. You arent the run around in your diaper sort of girl even though mommy may prefer that as it would make for easier clean up when you eat. You seem to get cold rather quickly. You are in a size 5 shoe but many size 4 shoe hand me downs fit just fine. A big thanks goes out to our Fantlet twins for our adorable clothing and shoes. You wore your first pair of adorable heels on Easter. I have to say, I'm in love with your baby feet.

 {Kicking up our baby heels}

You love your socks and shoes. While you love taking off your shoes, you also demand wearing them outside. If mommy and daddy have our shoes off, you will question, "mommy shoe" and "daddy shoe?" You love trying to put our shoes on our feet and will even attempt to put on our friend's shoes too. It is super cute. You need a bit of work, but you are definitely getting better with every attempt.

Eating:You love milk. You will tell us you're hungry (hungee) or you want food. You are a hot mess when it comes to eating. More food potentially lands on the floor or in your hair. You are a champ eater most days. From fruits, veggies, pasta, sushi, and sweets, you pretty much will sample anything. Lately you've been telling me no when it comes to eating food. Your current loves are milk, rice, meatball, waffle, fishies, blueberries, strawberries, carrots, beans, cheese, and cookies. You are so cute when you say new words like taco, burrito, queso, pancake, and so forth. You are not always the best at restaurants. There is a good window for us, but we are learning your cues and when we need to pick up the check. Lunch is our best out to eat option.
Teeth: You have 8 teeth, 4 top and 4 bottom.You have your top and bottom molars. Teething was a bit of an issue at the beginning of the month. Your nights were a bit restless and Orajel became our good friend again. We are also struggling with teeth brushing. You find it more fun to try to eat the toothbrush at this point and will quickly do the sign for all done within seconds of me putting the brush to your mouth. The only interest you have is in taking it from me and trying to brush my teeth. Fingers are crossed for you ever liking this whole brushing our teeth concept.
Sleeping:You really are a great sleeper. Your bedtime is between 6:30 and 7:00 but lately it's been more on the 7:30 time frame since work has kept us away and has rearranged our nightly schedule a bit. On weekends you have found that 7AM is your official wake up time. You enjoy sleeping with pillow, two blankies, Fox and Penny, Dotty the giraffee, and Owl. In the morning when you wake up, you request that all the things are removed from your crib and set on the floor before we may even attempt at getting ready. You are still a lover of books. You ensure that a book is read first thing out of bed and right before bed. It still makes this teacher's heart happy; however, I never realized how hard it would be to say "no" to reading one of your book favorites (after the 5th or 6th we are done stalling for the night)

New Activities and Random Tidbits:
- New & Favorite Words: fox, taco, queso, opposites, fork, spoon, love,bilibo (polar bear), efficent (elephant), huggies (hugs), read it, book, tant u (thank you), Fox (questionable ending sounds), mess, dirty, color color,
- Favorite Animal: Fox and Penny
- Favorite Color: you always call any color either yellow or blue
- You love coloring (still switching hands)
- We love going outside to look at bunny hop hops as well as standing on the window sill to look out front
- You like to stroke mama's hair and use it to tickle our faces
- You love to point at things and say "dis" (this)
- You love to say "pane" (plane) when you hear the planes outside. You've now started making airplane arms and will even flap your arms when you see a birdie. 
- You love attempting to put on shoes.
- You can be such a shy little girl, but give you 5 minutes you come out of your shell.
- You are very observant, cautious, and a lot of fun.  
- You love to dance and will shake it to almost any tune.  
- You love to color color. 

 - We are really working on teeth brushing. You love to pretend to brush mommy's teeth.

- You have been closing doors and the microwave for some time now. You truly enjoy helping. 
- When we count, you will mimic 1, 2, and then babble the next few sounds.  
- You will "sing" with us. When we sing, we ask if you want Row Row, ABC (Auby says:), and Jesus Loves Me (as of late you have been requesting Jesus)
- We celebrated Cinco de Mayo with our Fantlet friends.

- Putting hands together to pray and will say Amen
- You have several little jobs at home. You feed Mattie, clean up your toys and books, put dirty clothing in your hamper, wipe your tray and table, clean your face and hands, 
- Mommy is trying to teach you the hand motions to Jesus Loves Me
- We went to our first soccer game as a little family and celebrated Jacob's big goal.

- Our little family traveled to College Station to visit our Zellner family for an afternoon of family fun. 
- Our Waldrup family came for the weekend for some good ole family fun. 
- I love your big wrap around hugs, kisses, 
- You can label your eyes (finally), nose, mouth, tongue, teeth, hair, head, fingers, hand, elbow (our newest), belly, tummy, belly button (you are so going to be an outty or so mommy thinks), toes, and feet. 
- We went to our church's Engage Gloabal Experience where you enjoyed a Boston Creme Pie Donut

- We loved sharing with you all that God is doing in our church.
- You love that you are such a good communicator with us. We are working on not whining at this point and using your words.
- We get good feedback from daycare. You seem to really like your friends and talk about them all the time. We have had a few random biting issues but they are usually tied to teething. I hate that so much :(

Likes: loves her daddy (and mama of course;), twirling your hair when you eat or drink milk, you giggle when mommy takes her hair and tickles your face, Eskimo kisses, Mickey, Elmo, Sophia the First, visiting with friends,
Dislikes: being told no, bare feet outside, taking things away, car seats without the requested book, snack, or lovey, turning off Mickey in the morning, stranger danger,

Our Little Lady