Thanksgiving 2015

We did two Thanksgiving celebrations this year- one in Cedar Park and one in Milam.

The weekend before THanksgiving, we traveled out to the Austin area to see Bradley's family.  Lincoln loved crawling around on their area rug.  It was a warm day, so we let this guy craw around in just his diaper for a little while.  I think he enjoyed it.



Brad's brother is always happy to see the little people, and they were glad to see him too.



Grandma Susan does such a great job of taking time to do things with the grand babies.  In the midst of getting Thanksgiving dinner ready, she took time to stop and have  a tea party with Emmy.  It's those kinds of moments that my baby girl will treasure forever.



Before we knew it, it was time to eat.  The food was delicious!





These little cuties weren't hard on the eyes either!





Aunt Jessica and Uncle Dan came by to meet Lincoln.  Dan even had a spot of tea with Emmy as well.  When in doubt pinkies out!



The next week, we drove up to my grandmother's house in Milam.  As soon as we got there, Emmy started asking my uncle to take her fishing.  I guess the time payed off.  She caught one of the biggest bass that they've ever caught off the pier in a matter of minutes!  She was on cloud nine and walked around telling everyone about her fish the rest of the weekend.





The next day, we prepared and devoured our Thanksgiving day meal.  It was delicious and so special since I got to see a lot of my relatives that I only see at Christmas.







We went fishing again and Bradley got lucky this time.  He was so lucky that I made him throw all that luck back in the lake for someone else to enjoy!


We left on Saturday and traveled over to see my Uncle Bill in the hospital.  He was not doing well, and my aunt thought that getting to see the babies might cheer him up.  She was pretty excited to meet Lincoln as well.



It was a great holiday, and we enjoyed getting to spend time with so many people that we love and care about.

Our Little Cheerleader

Our local high school cheerleaders held a cheer camp for the little girls of our community.  Emmy had been asking me for months when she would get to cheer with the Ricebirds again, so she was really excited when it was finally the big night.



You can see that they were all a little nervous when it was time to stand in front of the packed stands.

But it didn't take long for them to warm up! 

This is her favorite cheer where they got to yell out one line and the crowd yelled back.  She still says it when we go to the track to walk. 

I sure do love that big smile!

She was a lot more excited to be on top of the pyramid this year.  Now we just need to practice keeping that chin high.  :)

The birds scored a touchdown during their quarter so they got to cheer and yell with the band.

The girls were divided into age groups and her group was all smiles.

And as quickly as it started, it was time to head off the track and back into mom's arms...but not before a few pictures with some of our cheerleaders!

We had to get pictures with her adoring supporters too.  They stayed to watch her cheer before leaving to go to East Texas for opening weekend. 

Keep doing what you enjoy Emmy!  We will always be around to "cheer" you on. ;)

Lincoln-Month Six

You were sick this month!  You had some kind of viral infection that was all in your respiratory track, but the gross part was that it led to discharge from your eyes.  They were bright red and running constantly for days.  You didn't act like it hurt you, but it was pitiful.  The doctor released you to go back to daycare, but Aunt Jeslynn watched you at her house for three days.  Then your sister got strep, and I got whatever you had so we all got to stay home for two days.  Since I never take off, it was glorious.  We just relaxed and rested--two whole days of movies and jammies.  Then one day your eyes cleared up, and you were as good as new.

You weigh 17 pounds and 4 ounces. and are 25.5 inches tall.  We are moving you into 6-9 month clothes now even though the other ones still fit.  There is just too much to wear.  It's a problem that every girl wishes she had, but you are the lucky one Lincoln.  You will wear size two diapers, and they fit perfectly.

You are rolling all over the place.  I will put you down on the floor under your gym, and look over at you a few seconds later and you are long gone.  You grab everything and put it in your mouth.  You say Mama (10/13) (occasionally) Dada (all the time).   You push up on your tummy and hold yourself up for a long time.  You screech and scream if you are hungry or if we are taking too long to get you the food.  You are fine again as soon as you start eating, but the screams will return if the spoon doesn't.  You play with toys on the floor by yourself (especially when you are on your tummy).  You are really interested in the lights and motions on the TV.  It can distract you easily even while eating.  I don't know that you really care what is on (BONUS for Mommy), but anything bright and with sounds is a winner. 

You also got to go trick-or-treating.  I didn't actually get to go since I was working the city-wide trick-or-treat, but Daddy and Grandma Susan said you did a great job.

You traveled: You went to Adalyn's birthday party, National Night Out, the Ray Wedding, the pumpkin patch,Dylan's birthday party, and trick-or-treating!

You like:EATING (we can't feed you fast enough), playing wiht your toys, trying to push up, sitting up, grabbing anything you can get your hands on, feeling everything around you (with your fingers, with your mouth, with your toes), PUMPKINS (you must think they are giant orange amazeballs), your lion, your light up giraffe, staying home with mommy, playing with halloween candy, snuggles, being swaddled, and bath time.

You dislike: having things taken away, not being fed quickly enough, running out of baby food (it takes your stomach a few minutes to catch up), being woken up from a nap, sore gums, the dark, and not being picked up quickly enough.

You eat:green beans, squash, peas, carrots, water, and milk.











Your weekly photos are my favorite.  I love that later I will be able to quickly flip through them and see all of the little changes over the year.





Nana Cory got him the little sail boat set, and I love it.  It is so reminiscent of an earlier time.



Even though it isn't a weekly update, I had to include this one because I just love how his eyes look.



This is a photo from when he first got sick.  It got worse from here.



By the end of the next week, he was all better!




This was just the beginning of the holiday season Lincoln, so the real fun is still to come!

7 Years Strong: Happy Anniversary

My guy and I decided to be low key this year and had a nice dinner out here in our hometown.  I had grandiose plans of an evening away from the babies jammed packed with dinner, dancing, movies and more, but when the time came to leave, I realized that in this season of our life (the one where I'm still primarily feeding our baby) nights out like that are more work and stress for me than enjoyable.  So we stayed around town, but we vowed to try so,etching new and shake it up.  It worked out, and we had an amazing evening.

We put away our phones and just talked about life, love, and what we want in the future.  While it wasn't anything spectacular, it was exactly what we needed. 

I love you Bradley and I am so thankful for these seven years that we've spent together.

Halloween 2015

One of the exciting things about having two kids is that I was finally able to pick out a Halloween "theme" of sorts.  I knew that I wanted them to match or go together in some way.  My first thought was Elsa and Olaf since we already had an Elsa costume, but then I remembered that every little girl would be Elsa for Halloween.  And we try to be slightly original.

Then sticking with the Disney theme (since she wanted to be a princess), we thought we would do Cinderella and Gus.  This would have been super cute, but the only Gus costume I found was just a onesie from the Disney store for $40.  If it had been an actual costume, I probably would have done it, but I couldn't stomach that price for a shirt.

As I was going through Emmy's closet inspiration struck me.  Mom had bought her this little saloon girl costume at Cracker Barrel after Halloween last year, and it was still hanging in the closet.  The more that I looked at it, the more it looked like Little Red Riding Hood, and our theme was born.

A little trip to my good friend eBay had this little wolf costume making a bee line for our front door, and just like that, we were in business.

I knew that I would not get to spend a ton of time with them on Halloween since Interact was working the city-wide trick-or-treat, so we took photos ahead of time.  I am super biased, but I think they are adorable.



Little Red Riding Hood was carrying her basket on the way to her grandmother's house.



When she spotted something off in the distance.



It was the Big Bad Wolf.




He was super scary, and he did not smile once.



And his big blue eyes did not shine at all.





But LRRH thought that she could change her story.  So she made friends with the wolf, and for now they are living happily ever after.  At least until he starts playing with her toys.




The end!


I also have a few photos that I got when they came through the line at Trunk-or-treat.













It was a really fun night, and although I missed getting to walk around with them while they trick-or-treated, I did have a great time handing out candy to the masses.

Bradley took a few photos too.  I'm training him well.








Then I found these photos from before I left to go hand out candy!  Score!












The best part was coming home and hanging out..and enjoying some of the fruits of their labors.