Kyleigh is 9 months old!

Here we are again.....another post about another month that has gone by in my sweet baby's life. Before I know it or am ready for it, she's going to be a year old. I took her in for her well baby check-up this past Friday and here are her stats:

Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz

Height: 29 1/2 in (98%!!)

I think our sweet girl is going to be our tall sweet girl! She is growing like a weed and she is into EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING! You cannot take your eyes off of her for one second. She isn't quite doing the "real" crawl thing but she is definitely proficient at her "army" crawl. She will pull her little body across the floor faster than I can say Wait!. If she sees something she wants she will go after it immediately.....usually it's something she's not supposed to have! She's is eating like a horse! She loves everything we've given her thus far and I plan on giving her some fresh avocado sometime this week. That was something I always forgot to try with Cooper and because she looks so interested in our food I think she will enjoy it. She is talking like crazy or should I say babbling. Her favorite game is patty cake and she loves to be tickled and cuddled. She also loves playing with her big brother. She thinks he is quite the character and intently watches his every move. The doctor told me she really thinks Kyleigh will walk before her first birthday but I'm kind of hoping she'll hold off just a while longer so I can soak in these baby stages just as much as I can!

Trip Home to Winnsboro....

Normally I would be excited to post about going home to visit my family but this post is a little different. Daniel had a work conference in San Antonio the end of the week after Valentine's Day and so he planned on taking Cooper with him and letting him visit his Nana and Papa for a couple of days while I went north to visit my family and take Kyleigh to see her MiMi and Pop. I planned to leave early Wednesday morning about the same time as Daniel left for San Antonio. The day before I left to go, I got some terrible news that I definitely was not expecting. Daniel came home around 9:30 Tuesday morning to tell me that my uncle had taken his life that day before. It sort of hit me like a ton of bricks and I still think today that I haven't quite been able to process it.

I am one of those people I guess that thinks that something like that would never happen to someone I know. I guess I kind of always took for granted that I would see him again even though I haven't seen him in several years. If I have learned anything from this situation and if there is anything that I would want others to know its that we should cherish every day that we have with our loved ones. God never guaranteed that we would see tomorrow and so we need to live for today. Make today count and let everything else take care of itself. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you every day. Spend quality time with your family. I feel like it's more about Quality rather than Quantity. We are such busy people these days and so even if we only have a couple of minutes to spend with that loved one MAKE IT COUNT. I decided to include a couple of pictures that just made me smile from this trip and also as a reminder of how important it is to make each day count and love on your family every chance you get!

Valentine's Day 2011

Valentine's Day kind of takes on a new meaning once you have children. I remember as a teenager and even as a college student the anticipation of Valentine's Day and how exciting it was especially if you had someone special to share it with. As a woman, you wait to see if you will get flowers or maybe some yummy chocolate....maybe a gift of some kind or a beautiful card. You then wait to see if your special someone will take you out on a date somewhere romantic. I have experienced all these things and more over the years but for some reason it all seems trivial once you have children and you are able to share the "love" holiday with them.

The weekend before Valentine's Day, the Nikon school put on a class at the Renaissance Hotel in Houston. I found out about the class through Jim and after finding out that there was a class in Houston I asked Amy if maybe she wanted to go with me and they could make a little weekend getaway out of it and bring the whole family. Daniel and Clifton stayed with the kids at our house and Amy and I traveled to Houston early Saturday morning and also Sunday morning. The class was so informative and I learned a lot but now I have to find the time to put my knowledge to use! I really want to be a better photographer of my kids and also a better photographer on our vacations that we take. We have one coming up in a few weeks and so I am running out of time to get better! We had such a fun weekend hanging out with them and can't wait for them to come back and visit soon!

We had a great day on Valentine's Day and didn't do much at all.....just hung out as a family. I did wake to find some beautiful flowers and probably the best card I've ever gotten in our 10 years together. It truly summed up our life in just a few short words. Since moving to College Station we have found a fabulous babysitter in a girl from home, Alex. The kids love her and so we decided to ask her to come over that Tuesday night after Valentine's Day and watch the kids so we could enjoy a nice dinner. We went to Atami, a Japanese hibachi restaurant, and it was ah-mazing! I love that style of cooking and atmosphere and I even tried sushi for the first time....not bad!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day and I can only hope that my children find their special someone's someday to share this special day and be able to enjoy it as much as their Dad and I do!

A Family First!!

My sweet babies!

Most of you that know Cooper know that he has always been extremely particular about bath time. He has NEVER wanted anyone in the bath tub with him.....we tried once with Layton when they were younger and Cooper had a small heart attack. We have reached a new high.....he actually WANTS to take a bath with Kyleigh. Every time we give him a bath (because he gets baths a little more often than she does) he wants Kyleigh to get in there with him. Last night we were about to give her a bath and said "Oh Cooper take a bath too with Kyleigh"....it was so cute! I was finally able to be here to document this fun experience!

It's Snowing!

A "Before" shot

Before

After

After

After

A view down our street early Friday morning

Cooper seeing snow for the first time

So, everyone knows how it goes with meterologists on television (and in Texas no doubt)..... " Tomorrow's high will be a bone-chilling 42 degrees " lol.... No really they have been forecasting snow for the greater B/CS area all week long and I was more than skeptical that it would actually come to fruition. They said it would probably start sometime around 12 midnight Thursday evening.

Well for those of you that know me well, I have a long line of family insomnia (love you Daddy) and I pray that it doesn't reach my children. So, since I was all ready awake I decided to take a peak around 12 or so.....there it was! Beautiful, glistening, white snow falling to the ground in huge flakes no less. They were right for once! I, of course, being the crazy photog that I can be sometimes, had to slip out quietly to take some "before" pictures. I knew if this was starting now and not looking to let up anytime soon that I would have some wonderful "after" pictures by morning. I had to sit for just a moment while I was outside and enjoy the peaceful quiet and cool feeling of the snow hitting my face.....and then I woke up and realized that if I didn't hurry my hiney up, frostbite would be setting in...lol

This was Cooper's first time to see snow so this was a momentous occasion for him as well! When he woke up, he looked out the window and we (Daniel got to take a snow day....yayyy!) asked him if he could see the snow outside and he said "I see the snow"! in his cheerful, toddler-like voice. He was mesmerized by the blanket of white that covered everything around our house. I couldn't wait to take him outside to crunch in it a bit, but I quickly realized that living in Texas (and especially living in South Texas for the better part of the last 5 years) doesn't quite prepare you, in terms of attire, for weather like this. I improvised and decided to leave Cooper in his fleece pajamas and put windpants over the bottom, a vest over top and then his coat over all that....and also a hat & mittens. He looked a little like a small Santa Claus and I did have to pick him up once or twice because he fell over from the weight of his clothes....lol We had such a fun time playing outside even if it did only last all of 2 or 3 minutes......

We also had a great time just hanging out as a family....I love when we have 3 day weekends and can enjoy each other's company one extra day. We decided it would be fun to watch a couple of old DVDs of an engagement video shot by Jim and also our DVD of the wedding festivities. It was so neat to watch Cooper point out each person and tell us who they were. He even pointed at a picture of me as a baby and said, "Kyleigh"? I think it is so important to pull out those old memories every now and then because it makes you realize what's important in life and to forget the small stuff.....God has been so good to our family and has blessed us immensely!

A Short Trip to Houston

Last weekend, Amy, Tricia, & Layton came to visit Amanda, Jerrod, Carter, & Laura in Houston to celebrate Amanda's marathon and her's and Carter's birthdays. We were supposed to go as a family to eat with everyone on Saturday night but neither one of the kids were feeling very well and so Daniel suggested that I go on ahead and shop with the girls and if they were feeling up to it later on in the day that he would come over with the kids to eat. Needless to say they continued on the downward side of being ill.

I went ahead and went over to Houston to shop with the girls because hey lets face it...I love to shop and what better place to shop than in Houston! I love our close proximity to the city (can't say that Daniel agrees with me nor does his pocketbook...hehe). I had such a great time hanging out with everyone but I felt so terrible for my little buddy, Layton. He wasn't feeling well at all and so he wasn't up to his normal hilarious self. Amy decided to stay at Amanda's apartment with him instead of going out to eat with everyone so I decided that since I don't get to see them very often I would stay with them and go and get us something yummy to eat to go.

After they finished dinner they all headed back to the apartment and we had some to-die-for cupcakes that Laura and Carter brought from Crave. Cupcakes are kind of my weakness and I'd rather have cupcakes that any other sweet any day of the week! I didn't make it home until around 11:30 but it was such a great day spent with family! I even brought home a couple of surprises for the kids from their Nana.....a new GiGi for Cooper and a new purple GiGi for Kyleigh! Kyleigh LOVES her GiGi and Cooper likes his as well but I must say that I find it hilarious that he calls it the "new GiGi" and his old, ratty one the "real GiGi".....hilarious!

MiMi and Pop's visit!

On our way back from Pleasanton, I called my mom (as I usually do when I get in the car to go anywhere) and she told me how much they missed the kids and asked if we would like visitors? I said of course and she said well ok then we will be there tomorrow! I'm not used to my parents coming to visit during the week so this was a treat.....I was so sad to leave family in Pleasanton so I think God knew that having our family in Winnsboro come in would be just the medicine!

They came in on Monday afternoon and stayed until Wednesday morning. We had such a great time just hanging out with the kids, eating at Abuelo's (awesome mexican food), shopping, and of course casing out the newest HEB in College Station. My parents have the lonely Brookshires in Winnsboro so shopping at the HEB here is like heaven! I must admit I shed a few tears when they left because I really love visiting with them and seeing them with our kids. I can't wait for them to come back and visit soon!

PS...I also apologize that every picture I have from that weekend is a picture of my mom and Kyleigh playing and having a great time but I'm also very glad because my mom is usually the one behind the camera so I'm glad to have captured the great time they were having together!

Weekend in Pleasanton

We had not been back to Pleasanton since Thanksgiving so a trip was definitely in order! We went down on a Thursday night late after debating for 2 hours whether or not we were going to go then or wait until early Friday morning. It was an interesting night to say the least because when we got there Cooper got his second wind and was so excited to see Nana and Papa that we were up with him until 2:30!! I was so exhausted the next day but I had to take Daniel in to San Antonio for work so I quickly made my trek up there and back before lunchtime.

Amy and Layton came over that afternoon and it was so cute to see Cooper and his cousin Layton. They were both so excited to see each other.....they will probably be best friends just like their dads! We had a pretty relaxing evening which was good because I knew Saturday would be a busy day. Amy planned a craft/sewing day for her, I, and our good friend Juli. Tricia came along to lend her sewing expertise because we were going to be making pillowcase dresses for Kyleigh. I enjoyed the day so much because I never get to see Amy and Juli anymore and it was nice to just enjoy a quiet day with my girlfriends just talking and catching up.

That evening Jim and Tricia cooked a wonderful meal with tamales, rice, beans, and chips & salsa. I forgot to mention in my earlier posts that I just joined a gym in Bryan and am going through an intense fitness coaching over the next 3 months. Needless to say, this had been my first week of coaching before we went to Pleasanton and I was rather sore to say the least. It also didn't help that I knew in going to Pleasanton that there would be plenty of good food to eat so I had to prepare myself to cut back and watch my portion control. I gotta get in shape for the Caribbean cruise that we are going on in April with Amy, Clifton, and our good friends Chad & Kellie. We had such a great time in Pleasanton and I look forward to visiting again soon!

PS....I apologize for the lack of pictures but I was too busy having fun!

Kyleigh is 8 months old!

8 months.....8 months old all ready! Time is flying by quicker than I can even keep up with my blog posts....lol My sweet baby is growing up before my very eyes! Before we know it she will be a year old. She is really coming into her own and developing a little personality...or should I say a little attitude as well? She wants what she wants when she wants it....and she doesn't want to wait! She is really trying to crawl and I'm not sure I'm ready for 2 mobile children yet. She is really enjoying the walker and bouncing horse these days. She has also said her first word....Papa! Jim was so proud and even told her she could just have whatever she wanted....careful Jim...you may eat those words as she gets older...lol She can also say Dada and other mumblings. She even looks at Daniel when she says Dada so I believe she really knows who he is....my children are genius ya know. She weighs 18 lbs now which we found out from a recent doctor visit :( She and Cooper have been sick with allergies, cough, etc. I'm hoping we can kick these illnesses and fast!

Cotton Bowl 2011: A&M vs LSU

We were fortunate to get tickets to the Cotton Bowl this year through Daniel's work. Neither of us had ever been to a bowl game before so we knew this would be special and exciting. The icing on the cake though was getting to experience our first bowl game at Cowboys Stadium. It is definitely a sight to see....I wouldn't really call it a stadium but rather an entertainment complex. MiMi, Great Papa, & Great MawMaw B came to stay with Cooper and Kyleigh so we could enjoy a little time to ourselves. We had such a great time with all our friends from Pioneer (where Daniel works) even though the Aggies lost :( We look forward to them making it another great football season this coming year and who knows? Maybe we'll get to make the trek to another bowl game soon!

PS...I apologize in advance for the majority of the pictures taken being from the big screen but you will soon see that the big screen is pretty much all you see from where our seats were......

A&M vs LSU!

The Kilgore Rangerettes

Little Big Town singing the National Anthem

Now you can get a small idea of where we were sitting in conjunction with the TOP of the stadium.....this mama was a tad bit uneasy considering I don't like heights!