Family Christmases - part 1

We had our 3 family Christmases as usual. It was a l-o-n-g time to be gone from home. It was actually perfect timing with our house going on the market but still a daunting task to pack for over a week for 5 people and to include in all the Christmas gifts. It barely fit..like I had to tell you that.

We started out heading to Houston, League City, to be exact for the Listi side of Christmas. This one is always fun with Daniel's brothers and sister and the in-laws! This was my first time to see Tony and Brandi's new house. It is gorgeous and large! The 3rd floor has a pool/movie room complete with a bar area...ummm fun, I want one of those! There is even plenty of room for a pool in the backyard! We will definitely go back this summer! The food was yummy, the drinks were yummier, the kids loved their gifts and we scored on our White Elephant exchange!

The girls got a gumball machine, lots of colors and stickers and Barbies! The girls loved playing with their cousins, Ashley, Cody and Brandon while Hayes mastered the stairs. He was good before but this just gave him lots of practice going up and down. Hayes was a bit fussy that night and it was annoying but he powered through til 8 pm!

On Sunday, we dropped off Daniel at Hobby Airport to fly to Harlingen for a few days and me and the kids headed to Carlo and Lynns to say one last Merry Christmas and snag some M&Ms.

We got to see Juliette's side of the family and we only had to take 4 bathroom breaks on the way to College Station. Our car was even more full than when we left but so were our hearts (AWWWW, I just couldn't resist the cheesy quote!).

Merry Christmas...

from our family to yours!!

A first at the Farm

Whenever I come to CS I love to head over to my friend Hayley's house..not only is she a great friend to me but our girls love to play together! The other awesome thing is they have a farm! I am amazed at what is going on over there. There are so many animals flying around there and her house is always gorgeous! I am sure we wear out our welcome..but we can't help ourselves!

Emmaline had a special day because it was her 1st time to finally decide she would ride a horse!

Yes, they are riding bare-back! HA! Emmaline and Sammie play well together and it helps that she is fearless!

I was proud of her gusto and she seems really at ease with the horse, puppies, baby chicks, roosters, pigs, etc..

Georgie on the other hand was a bit shy and just wanted to pet Trigger today. She 'wasn't loving' the puppies at first either

nor would she go in the chicken pens. I don't blame her though..I'm not that country either! HB had a good day, pet the horse and chicks

but he didn't like when the 8 puppies ganged up on him and nibbled on his fingers with their sharp teeth!
It was a wonderful day to share with Hayley and Autumn and all 8 of our kids.

It ended with a long rain shower and even longer naps! There is nothing quite like your hometown and your oldest friends!!!

how did we get here..

It seems like one day I was doing this....

yeah that was made by my talented future SIL and a cool silouhette, and then we watched the Ags lose one last time to t.u.

And then all of a sudden we are doing this....

and even a little school performance..

Emmaline was really cute (front row, right) and did all the hand motions!

sisters holding hands and acting sweet!

this is the way that Hayes decorated the tree!!

showing off a recent package in the mail from Aunt Nannine..cute outfits and hippos that you heat up and smell like lavender!

So now I am all of a sudden rushing to get a sitter for New Years Eve!

Disconnected

This week has been tough. I can't really put my finger on it exactly but I feel disconnected from my normal life. I am definitely not a perfectionist, but I don't like to feel unprepared for events/things that I have to do. For instance, in school, I didn't study much but I did when I felt unprepared. When I was forced to give a speech (which single-handedly determined my major in college) I would practice over and over again, in the mirror or with someone else if I was desperate, until I knew it by heart. Or at least I thought I did. There was 1 specific, awful memory of me my Sophomore year in highschool when we had to all give the same speech..I know Autumn will remember this..and I completely couldn't remember a thing. I had practiced but not really..I learned my lesson that day..it was embarrassing as my teacher seriously fed me each line. Maybe was it 'E tu, Brute'? Obviously I still don't know! HA!

Anyway, all that to say, I feel unprepared for all this house stuff as we are having our big photo shoot this Thursday and then the virtual tour on Friday. REALLY?? I have to take down all my Christmas stuff, including the tree..which is a real tree! Why did I even bother?!?
Honestly, the house looks good and Daniel and I keep remarking we should have done this 3 years ago. I even made this bold statement about how we should so clean & update the house like this every year. Daniel said, "You mean like Spring Cleaning, like normal people?" That IS what I meant! WOW!!
So, I am not sleeping well because my mind is racing. I haven't been to the gym in forever and I am so sick of Magic Erasers that I never want to feel one disintegrate in my hand again! There goes the whole Spring Cleaning idea! Don't even get me started on painting..I hate it, loathe it. The only painting I'll do again will have to do with my kids' art. Yeah right, we all know that tune will change, but for now I am so over it all.

I am going to the gym today and then I am going shopping for Christmas presents. Because you know, timing always seems to suck and while it's the most Wonderful Time of the year, it's also the craziest, busiest time of the year without adding in selling your house.
Thankfully, my parents took the dogs for us and they also took the kids for the weekend so we could get stuff done. We wouldn't have come close to getting it all done without them..I even got all the kids' Christmas stuff loaded up and sent to my parents so that is 1 thing off my list..THANK YOU!!

And I am sending out Christmas cards!! I couldn't help myself. They may arrive in 2012 but I can add it to my pwn collection and it really is all about me being happy, ya know! Not that you were questioning that after reading the 1st half of this post. Geez, I sound pitiful..
All I really wanted to do was have friends over, bake cookies and let all the kids decorate them with sprinkles and not care they are rolling all over the floor. And maybe drink some wine while we chat about New Year's Eve plans. But instead I'll be undecorating my tree and mantel while the kids are asleep in hopes they don't notice the next morning that Christmas died in San Antonio.

Seriously, we are so disconnected from our norm that we moved our TV to a new spot in our living room and Daniel and I neither care to plug it in, so it's just sitting there..maybe in 2012 we'll get that done!
And I so just wasted about 20 minutes writing this when I could have been scrubbing my baseboards. DARN!

Hayes Bryant is 15 months!!

WOW! We have been so busy getting the house ready to go on the market I haven't hardly made time to do much else. The timing is crappy. I haven't sent Christmas cards out and don't think I will at this point. It makes me sad because I always love doing that and getting all of my family's and friends' cards and displaying them. I can't do that this year so I have them in my nightstand and look at them randomly. I am so far behind in blogging and can't remember where to even begin..
But this post is about my little man! Today he is 15 months old and W-I-L-D!! He is really fun at the same time. He doesn't want to sit still, he is basically running now but still toddles off balance a bit.
*He only has 4 teeth but eats really well! When he is done he chunks it on the floor. He also launches his sippy cup too. It hurts when it lands on your toes, if you were wondering!
*Hayes loves to laugh and mimic things we do..if I yell for Emmaline he tries to do the same. He loves to say 'Boo' and 'MaMa' (finally!!). He also says Pop, Dada, bye, more, bite
*HB loves his paci and blankets. He is kindof rotten with them but I'm not ready to battle that yet.

*He started replying in the negative now, saying 'Un uh' when he doesn't want something or to do something.
*He loves for me to chase him and gets so excited..I need to tape him..he usually ends up going so fast that he falls to the floor and giggles as I tickle him.
*He gives his sissies kisses and hugs and will still lay his head on the shoulder. I love that!
*Hayes wears size 4 diaper, 18 months-2T clothes and I think size 5 shoes..I still have him wear the Roobies cause they are easier for him to walk in.
*He loves to drag things around, put necklaces on, things around his neck or on his head. Usually they are pink! He likes their pink princess wand and it says, "You are such a beautiful princess.."
*He seems to be scared of random animals, like at the park or other people's homes...it's just so different than the girls who loved any dog!
*He waves at everyone, points all the time and likes to dance.
*HB still sleeps great, naps either 1 or 2 times a day but doesn't nap well in the car anymore. He still does but wakes up easier and gets fussy quicker. He doesn't care about the DVD player yet.
*Hayes is starting to show attitude and when he gets mad or frustrated he will hit, push away, pull hair..He hasn't bit yet but I think he is going to sometime. He will fight back with Georgia too, which she deserves but I am hoping it will help her realize she needs to be nice to him. He will give you a dirty look too. And does not like to be told 'No' or have something taken away!

*I am guessing he weighs 24 lbs. and height I have no clue..Hayes has his well check this week so I will update then on stats. UPDATED: He weighed 24 pounds and is 33 inches. Still a big boy, but more on the normal range of things!!
*Hayes also climbed out of his crib for the 1st time..yea..what timing! I think a more descriptive way would be to say he dropped his paci out of his crib and I think he fell reaching for it..I heard him crying so I went in there and looked for him in the crib..no where to be seen..he was stumbling around in the dark..so sad! No bumps or bruises so that is good!

HB, I love you so much and feel so blessed to be your Mommy. I love getting to see you grow and change and play everyday. Your smile lights up my day and you make me laugh already! You fit perfectly into our family and I love how you get so excited to see Daddy and your sisters! The girls love that you can play with them more now! I can't wait to see your face when you get your Christmas gifts!!!

rehearsing Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Stevens

We got their early on Friday to run errands and to help make the centerpieces and bouquets. Natalie and Rachel had it all under control and we really did very little except learn new terms associated with floral arranging. It was fun though and interesting. I think I did ok on the ones I made..they almost passed the 'bouquets stand on their own when they are made correctly' test!

It seemed like time flew by and before we knew it Daniel and Rachel were stuck in horrendous traffic while I opted to crash the bride's room upstairs to get ready! The weather was perfect and eventually everyone made it to the ever important rehearsal!

We had a lovely champagne toast and took some pics by the sad-looking Lake Travis. Natalie and her Girls' Weekend group had a limo, but Daniel and I rode with Mike and Rachel to Stubb's downtown. That was quite a drive...umm, Austin on a Friday night-game weekend! Craziness! We made it, though and my fun photo centerpiece jars made it too!!

Stubb's was lots of fun and the food was great as usual. That is where Jeff and Natalie met so it made sense to celebrate there! We ended up staying there to watch the end of the Oklahoma State game, which they lost, so we were excited to celebrate that...means Bama is one step closer to revenge in New Orleans for the National Championship!

We ended up heading around 6th Street, from Shakespeares to Coyote Ugly and some dancing in between, it was a great night!! Natalie's mom fell and hurt her foot..she couldn't even walk on it..poor things..my mom still had her boot from her broken foot!

We woke up early the next morning, had a quick breakfast and headed to make up and hair..also putting together the rest of the wedding details! I don't really have any wedding pics but click here if you want to see some!!

Wurstfest and fun and not so fun stuff

Our neighbors gave us free tickets to Wurstfest..a nearby festival full of beer & sausage!

We finally got to see what all the fuss is about. It was lots of fun and the kids loved it!

HB loved the corn on the cob and the girls loved watching everyone with their crazy hats,

riding the rides and the hot chocolate! Daniel and I enjoyed the beer and sausages on a stick..I love how they end their 'sampler stick' with a dessert sausage! YUM!
We ran into Brie Berry which was crazy and random but fun eventhough she asked "Are all those your kids??" Why yes they are!!

I would love to go back and enjoy the night with a bunch of friends..definitely a yearly thing!!

Another fun outing was to a birthday party. We got to do the Pump It Up and this time HB got to join us!

He was a wild man and was flirting so much he picked up an older girl! If we weren't moving I think I would have found a new babysitter! She loved him and he definitely liked her!

The girls had fun celebrating Giulia's birthday and we got to meet her new twin brother and sister!

I love the Fall and feel like it has flown by. I'm sad football is almost over with and am not ready to have a million Chrismas presents under the tree. Heck, I'm not ready to have a tree! So this whole moving thing is a real downer.
Did I mention that I hate packing and moving and going through the motions of finding new doctors, getting my carpet cleaned, cancelling cable service and waiting all day long for someone to actually to show up? Life is crazy right now! Crazy I tell you! And can I just say before I shut up that I think Christmas time is the worst time to sale your house. You realize how much stuff you have and can't really imagine wanting to buy anything ever again - it doesn't really matter if it's for yourself or someone else..they probably don't need it either! HA! I will get in the Christmas spirit soon..hey, we have lights on outside and some decorations out..we're getting there!! FALALALALA...

Gobble Gobble!!

I have been busy cooking this week and getting ready for Thanksgiving week back home. We had my little brother's wedding last weekend and it was SO MUCH FUN..can't wait to blog about it!! Let's just say there was dancing..enough where Daniel and I were both sore the 2 days following.

We made it to CS with all our items and babies and dogs. The Burban was packed!

These are some pics of the girls' artwork surrounding this wonderful holiday. Looking forward to the Aggies beating the Hell outta t.u. for one final time (at least for a while). This football season has been wild and exciting and disappointing..there is hope though! I saw this t-shirt at Freebirds.. {SECEDE} ..not sure what the back said..Like it or not, here we come!

For Thanksgiving I have been put in charge of cooking the cornbread dressing, pumpkin bread pudding (which turned out amazing even without the sauce), broccoli cheese casserole and Daniel is making twice baked potatoes.

Emmaline is really into making portraits of people right now..this is of her! She loves the flowers. :)
**Our BIG news is that our little family of 5 (7 with the dogs) is moving to a new Texas town about 2 hours toward the border!** So our house will go on the market soon, which will be about as much fun as you can possibly imagine, we will travel even more farther south to look at new houses and well, the rest is kindof up in the air. Who knows what will really happen next.?. Daniel is super excited about his new title and we are really proud of him. I have to say I am nervous and kindof upset about it all. I have my friends, my little corner of SA that I love. I'm not a girl who craves change so this is a challenge. So my mood lately has been a little moody.
Enough about that...Happy Thanksgiving!! I am thankful for all my blessings, including this little wild turkey!