The Golden state (day 1)

Friday was one of the longest days of my life. We got up very early, drove to Austin, flew five hours, battled through San Francisco rush hour and attended the rehearsal & dinner, all with adding two extra hours to our day with the time change! Needless to say, I was happy when bedtime finally rolled around :)

Emma hadn't been on a plane since she was 12 months old. She was thrilled about the "big airplane". The only thing that bothered her was landing. Owen did much better than I had anticipated. He was more squirmy than fussy and waived to other people. Thank goodness for Cheerios, muffins and Lita. After much thought I did decide to give him Benadryl. Luckily he slept for a couple of hours on the last flight home. Just take a look at this handsome little passenger:

Here is a fun photo of me with my cousins at the rehearsal dinner. It was held at Bistro Don Giovani in Napa. They grow their own corn, tomatoes and other veggies. Here we are sneaking grapes :) Sara (the bride) is on the far left and Anna & Alex are on my right.


The vineyards were beautiful! The weather was just perfect and it was a wonderful evening. It was nice meeting the happy couple's friends!

California sneak peak

Just wanted to share a few California photos. My personal computer is in the shop and as soon as I get it back I will post all about our West coast travel adventures.

Here is the flower girl & her favorite little brother at the wedding:

My cousins:

The mountains and vineyards were absolutely beautiful:
Will post more soon.......

First day of Preschool

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own and you know what you know.

And you are the one who'll decide where you'll go."

Oh the places you'll go ~ Dr. Seuss

Today our baby girl started preschool!!!!

Before we woke her up this morning Jarrod and I discussed that it seems like she was just born yesterday! It really does go by SO fast.

She looked so grown up carrying her backpack! I have to admit it was strange preparing her lunch and leaving home so early! She was soooo proud and excited :)

We arrived approximately twenty minutes early. I can't promise it will happen ever again!

Here she is walking toward the building like the big girl she is....

She is happy to be a part of Ms. Susan's stars this year. Her name is even on the door:

She even has her own cubby space:

After spending a few minutes in her classroom I told Emma I was leaving. I had stationed Owen on a reading rug in the corner while I took pictures. She said "Okay, but don't forget to take Owen with you"! Upon picking her up she begged me to let her stay for nap time (some kids nap and stay later). The silly girl doesn't nap. I'm glad she had fun on her first day :)

I was truly amazed at how easy drop off was (on both of us). I guess I had spent the past few weeks processing it and she has been eagerly anticipating this day for awhile now :) I have really enjoyed staying home with her for the past 3 1/2 years but it was naturally time to add this structure to our routine. She loves being around her peers and being active. This is going to be a great first school year and we can't wait to hear about everything she does and learns!

Operation crib disassembly

Last week we discovered that our crib has an open recall. What a hassle! Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful that the company will replace it, but there are several hoops to jump through beforehand. Jarrod finally had a free moment to disassemble the crib....and of course it was a "group effort"! Owen loves tools....

What would we do without these two cute helpers?!

Jarrod kept having to look for special tools and Emma would say "Look daddy, THIS is the way you do it"! Yes, she has an answer for EVERYthing :)

Owen has been sleeping in the pack n play for the past week and has done much better than I initially anticipated. After we complete and mail in the necessary paperwork AND bits and pieces of the old crib we should receive a voucher to pick out another crib. It will be our first brand new crib as this one was a hand down!

Clobbered the Cadets!

Tonight we traveled to watch the Yoemen clobber the Connally Cadets! The final score was 52-7! What a great way to start the season :)

I FINALLY captured a couple of good photos of Owen by the 10 yard line (for being ten months old). I had tried for over a WEEK....at more than one field, with no luck! You have no idea how thrilled this camera happy mama was to snap these after the game (he looks pretty alert for 11pm, doesn't he?!)

My cousin Chassati and her precious daughter Anaiah were so sweet to join us for the game! Anaiah is now six weeks old and enjoyed her very first football game :) This is a goofy photo of Owen but I think its amazing to compare their sizes in the pouches!! When did Owen get so big?

Emma played with her good friend Tessa. They shared glow sticks, Skittles and Cheetos and danced the night away to the band :)

Owen enjoyed visiting with Grandpa Ed :)

Here's part of our crew after the game:

A helpful tip I have learned along the way is to change the kiddos into pjs for the ride home. This way it is much easier to get them to bed :)

We are so proud of the Yoemen! We will miss next week's game but will report again after this year's Battle of the Bell :)

Meet the Teacher

"The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence." ~Denis Waitley

Tonight Emma and I went to "meet the teacher" at preschool. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Susan and seems wonderful! She was great with the kids tonight and appears to be very organized. I even signed up to make and send red play dough in December! I can also send cupcakes in celebration for Emma's 4th birthday!

The classroom is decorated with numbers, colors, letters and charts of all kinds. There are 3 boys and 9 girls in the class and out of 12 total there just happen to be two Emmas (I'm just hoping the other Emma doesn't have a purple Pottery Barn monogrammed backpack)! Our Emma knew one other little boy (our carpool buddy) prior to our arrival, but as I expected, she made new friends instantly! In fact, she didn't want to leave when it was time to go. I guess that's a good thing!?

I was so proud of myself for holding it together tonight. Mrs. Susan invited parents to stay as long as we wish on Tuesday but suggested that sometimes it works better with a quick hug/goodbye exchange. It makes me teary eyed just typing that, but I want to challenge myself to escape without water works!! Daddy already warned Emma that I may be sad but I want her to be excited about this new chapter :) Today I heard her ask Owen "Bubs, will you miss me when I'm at preschool?"....

I was definitely "that mom"! I had lots of questions since we have not been down this road before! I needed to know when potty breaks were offered, how discipline is handled and whether I just drop the kiddos off or walk them to the classroom. I am so thankful that FUMC takes extra steps in safety measures. We must present our ID when picking kiddos up, doors are all locked from the outside and through traffic is prohibited on the grounds.

Ready or not, next week will be an adjustment period. I am so happy that Emma is getting this experience. She will regularly interact with her peers, learn an abundance of important life skills and begin a school routine....and the BEST part is that it takes place in a Christian environment. They even go to chapel and pray! What a blessing.

My dear friend Kristie lives in NC. I was beyond blessed to meet her 3 years ago this month. We met through Stroller Strides and were also involved in the same Waco playgroup. We exchange e mails often and have agreed to swap prayers during this adjustment time. Her daughter, Samantha, also starts preschool next week! Kristie reminded me of that "Parenting is a journey in which we enjoy our children and love them, but also equip them and prepare them for the world. God designed this process so that we would raise up our children in a Godly way to the best of our abilities."

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

The wait

Most Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays the kids and I wait outside on the front porch for Daddy's return home for the evening! By this time (between 7-8p) dinner is ready and the kiddos are antsy for bath and bedtime. It was extra nice this evening because the sun wasn't blazing hot! Tonight Emma was in her purple tutu, crown and couldn't go outside without her 'magic wand'. Owen was in a diaper and was already messy from eating a teething biscuit. He was begging to get out of my arms so I decided to put him on the walk way. He started climbing around playing in the dirt and trying to put everything in his mouth! I figured we were minutes from bath time so I just let him be a BOY!!

Emma and her camera skills:

There's no stopping him now...

My favorite princess ballerina....


Daddy FINALLY made it home......our favorite part of the day :)


And we will do it all again soon.....