Tiny Tales Thursday...

We are a family on the go. I wish I could sit still a little longer, but we always have something to do, to create, to purchase, etc...

Radley has learned to love running "erwands" with us.

Radley: I go with Daddy to the man store today, Mommy!
Me: Really? Where is that?
Radley: Lowes and HEB
Me: That's fun! Later you can go run some errands with Mommy.
Radley: Where we go, Mommy? Target? or Hobby Lobby?

I train them early...

6 Month/Christmas Pictures

Well, Sarah Giles did it again! After a cancellation for a sick mommy. Another for an out of town daddy and one chilly  freezing Sunday morning... she took some amazing pics of our family!

I LOVED the way our Christmas card photos turned out and Radley absolutely loved wearing those glasses. It was worth the cold, the hike into the field in Pebble Creek and the cold hands of a little one.

 Since it was so cold, we opted to take Emmy's pics at our house once again and I am so thrilled that we did. The images were taken in the same room of her newborn shots and I love that besides showing just how adorable she is; they also showcase how much she has grown... 

Sweet feet... 

I had some hats that I wanted her to wear... 

And I love the way she is almost sitting up but not quite 100% yet... 

Seriously?!?!? Isn't she divine!?! 

Checking out her twinkle toes... 

We always do this pose and I can't wait to frame the year! 

(Insider secret, both kiddos are commando in this one ;)) 

I bought this hat for her 3 month shoot but it didn't fit... but love the way it looks now!

This shot may be my favorite of the day...

And in black and white!

And then I wanted some in her ponytail... 

But she was worn out, so we settled for some sleeping pics instead!

Thanks, Sarah!! Love them!

Move over Martha....

Doesn't this just look SCRUMPTIOUS...

Well, they are even better than you can imagine and super simple to make! You can find the entire recipe and tons more just like it in Deceptively Delicious.

Start with whole oats, some flour, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and pinch of salt. Mix those ingredients and then "cut" in some margarine. 

Coat a baking dish with non-stick spray and then press half of the batter into the bottom. Cook until golden brown.

Then spread this yummy goodness on top... 

A mixture of your favorite preserves and .... 

PUREED SPINACH!

Put remaining batter on top and bake again until golden brown. 

Let cool and then cut into bars for a yummy, healthy-ish breakfast for the week! 

And here's a recipe card for you to pin or print for easy reference!

Girls Gone.... Mild?

Ryan and Radley took their first boys trip to Sherman this weekend, which left me all alone with Emmy! They were going to visit Lola who was unexpectedly admitted to the hospital after they found a blood clot in her lung. We are so thankful that they found the clot before she suffered a heart attack. Prayers are continued to be welcome by us as she fights this horrible disease. 

While, I was sad to see them go... I was excited for a quiet weekend at home. We would have gone with the boys, but since it was such a quick trip and long drive, it was just smarter for us to stay home. 

We were later joined by GiGi and Mamaw for the ultimate girls weekend! I HATE staying home alone... just hate it! Well, I actually enjoy it until it's time to go to bed and then I'm big ole baby. I've always hated it which is why I was glad to live with boys in college. The few times that I was alone I distinctly remember calling for "backup" or creating slumber parties to avoid it. (And I wonder why Radley gets up during the night because he's afraid of the dark). 

I am so glad that Mom and MaMaw came to spend the weekend with us! We did all the usual things like shopping, laundry, gorging on Chinese food, watching Oprah, and cooking some yummy food!

It was a great way to unwind and relax! I love you both so so much! Let's do it again real soon!!

Let's Bowl, Let's Bowl...

Let's Rock and Roll!!!

Well, maybe not....

But, we definitely had fun bowling on our day off last week!

We met our friends, the Hot Mess Munsons, at the Grand Central Station for a showdown. 

Ryan and Rad were ready to get started!

It's little days like these that remind me just how big he is getting. I can't event stand it! What happened to our little guy?!?! 

The kids had so much fun since they got to do it "all by myself"! We have some independent little tikes!

I loved how whether they knocked down 1 pin or all 10 they were just as excited!

Caroline, Radley and Annaliese!

(Rad did get out scored by 2 girls... but they all scored higher than me and Ryan! In fact every single Munson beat every single King... good thing we aren't very competitive!)

And, yes, Emmy was there too! She was just "bowled over" by all the excitement! :)

Tiny Tales Thursday...

Pops and Radley were wrestling/rough housing the other day like boys and grandpas do when all of a sudden you hear...

"Ouch... I hurt my peanuts!"

Think about it.... 

Who needs toys...

When you have a basket of Nuks (pacifiers) to enjoy...

Emersyn mastered the art of placing a "Nuk" into her mouth much earlier than Radley did and they have quickly become her favorite toy. She is chewing on any and everything these days ** trying ** to cut her first tooth so these little bits of silicone magic have become even more fun!

Radley thinks it is HILARIOUS that she thinks pacifiers are so much fun. He especially loves it when she plays with one of his old ones. 

I can get a solid 20 minutes of "playtime" out of these two with this basket. She just puts one down and picks another one up and it's like a brand new treasure every time!

Oh to be 7 months old and have this be the highlight of your day... 

When I grow up....

I used to think that I would have a house straight out of a Pottery Barn magazine 

when I was "all grown up"...

Instead, I have a home that is lived in, full of love and life and sticky fingers. Instead, we have furniture that our cats love a little too much. It's full of fur and broken in just enough to be comfortable but not enough to be worn out. We have pieces of new mixed in with really old antiques. We have some rooms that are decorated perfectly (the kids) and others that are just thrown together (the rest of the house).

Instead of having everything perfectly in place, every where I turn I see subtle signs that Ryan and I share this home....

With a little boy that has a favorite vest and hat...

and his favorite pair of "Lightenin" shoes...

A home that has baby monitors mixed in with blankets... 

Spiderman with a the Polo Man... 

A pink dog foot trying to escape the end table...

And toys peaking out behind couches...

Yes. Our home is far from those images in Pottery Barn. But I'll take a counter top full of sticky finger prints over that any day of the week. Especially when the culprits also leave their finger prints straight onto my heart... 

LYLAS...

You know that person that knows you better than you know yourself sometimes? That person that's not afraid to call you out, lift you up, hold your hand, laugh, cry, shout, complain? 

Well, I am lucky enough to have met that person in the first grade... 

This is Jenni and she is having baby Cooper in 2 weeks!!! :) I am so excited for him to arrive! Jenni and Bryan already have sweet Karli (almost 4) and Cooper will be the perfect addition for their family. Cotton (Bryan's nickname) is a coach. A great athlete and lover of sports and I think he and Cooper are going to be best buds. Jenni is going to love having a boy and well, I just love that all my friends are in this stage of life!

We can all go crazy together! ;)

This is Lyndee. We have been friends since we were TWO YEARS OLD! Isn't that crazy?!? One of the many reasons I loved growing up in a small town is that I got to grow up with the same people from kindergarten to graduation (and beyond). Lyndee is expecting baby number 1 on June 8 (the day after Emmy's birthday!) We find out if baby will be a boy or girl today!!! 

This is Charis. Yes, I don't have a picture with her. We all hosted the shower for Jenni and Cooper and Charis and I are usually behind the camera (me, because I'm crazy, Charis because she takes amazing pictures) so I guess we didn't stop and pause to pose. :( Charis is the mom of 3 boys and 1 girl, which means she loves to laugh at us when have those moments!

Together we are the RaRa's! It's okay to be jealous. Ha ha... just kidding!

Together we have laughed, cried, celebrated, grieved, loved, disliked, and everything in between. I love these girls... so so much and am anxiously awaiting all that life will bring us together!

Tiny Tales Thursday...

Our family likes a routine.

Are you surprised?

Well, EVERY night we follow the same bedtime routine.

Bath. PJs. Play a bit. Brush teeth. Potty. Read a book. Read a "Jesus story". Pray. Sleep.

Radley likes to pick which Jesus story we are going to read. He does so well and listens and looks at the pages. At the end of each story is a 2 sentence "lesson" and then a prayer. Every night we read both and he repeats the prayer.

I think he may be getting a bit tired of this routine. For the last several nights his reaction has been, "There sure are A LOT of prayers in my Jesus stories."

"Yes, buddy. It's important to pray."

Last night, same routine, this reaction:

Rad: "Mom, we need a new Jesus book. This one just has too many prayers."
Me: "Well, buddy. Jesus likes us to pray."
Rad:  "Jesus likes us to play with trains, too, Momma. Do we need more trains?"

What a little stinker!

Resolutions...

So, I like to take my time and really think about my resolutions for a few reasons...

1. I want them to be realistic so that I can be successful in my efforts
2. I want them to help me lead a more positive, happy life
3. I like to get a little creative


So I thought it would serve me well to put them in writing for "the world" to see to give me that extra incentive to live up to said resolutions. Here goes...

1. If you remember this post then you will get our motivation for resolution number one. LESS. EATING. OUT. The good thing is that we already know that we can do this. The hard part is all those bad influences in our lives. So... we have made some guidelines. As a family we will eat out every Sunday after church. Sunday's are special days and church is a special thing, so we would like to take that time to celebrate. We don't HAVE to eat out, but we can. Ryan and I will also work on an "envelope" system for eating out during work. We will give ourselves an allotted amount each month and when we run out, we run out. I have already run out for January. oops.

2. Projects can cause me heart ache. I have such BIG plans for things. I can visualize the achieved project so easily and then something happens like a sick kiddie, a broken car, an out of town trip, weekend visitors, projects for other people, work, etc. In other words, life gets in the way of my grand plans. SO, in 2011 I resolve to take one project at a time. I have lots of things on my "project wish list" like repainting an old bookshelf, roughing up a chair, reorganizing the toy room/guestroom, etc... I will pick one/month and focus on that which should allow me time to do the smaller projects in between.


3. Ok. I have a confession. I was a very regular donor to Gold's Gym for about 2 years. Each month I would send in my little monthly payment and never set foot in the doors. This had to stop, so I quit the gym. (anyone remember that FRIENDS episode?) Well, this summer Ryan and I joined a local gym and paid for it in ADVANCE bc it was cheaper and thought it would encourage us to go more. HA. Where do we find the time?!? So resolution three: be more active. Work out. Take a lunch break to walk around campus. Use Saturday mornings at the gym. Sweat 4 times each week... ON PURPOSE. :) Just quit being lazy... because Radley is getting older and I need to keep up with him.


4. This whole life thing can be hard sometimes. No one really talks about life after you have babies. They focus on being pregnant and then having a cute cuddle partner, but then kind of forget to mention juggling a marriage/career/family/personal life. Man. It. Is. Tough. (worth it, but tough). So, resolution numero four-o, is to focus on US! :) I know! What a horrible thought for Ryan and I to focus on ourselves?!? Our relationship?!?! EACH OTHER?!? Holy smokes! With our schedules, it is pretty unrealsitic for us to have "date night" once a week (especially since we resolve to spend less eating out). But we can focus on us at home, or as a family or doing fun things for ourselves. Maybe that means a girls night. Or a guys night. Or a date night. Whatever, it means taking the time to talk about more than just when Emmy/Radley last had to poop. It means putting us first.

I think we saved the best for last. :) I have tons more items that I can add to this list and I may still, but for now... this is what I want to focus on in 2011 and we'll see where it goes from here!!

Feel free to share your resolutions here, or leave a word of encouragement from time to time! :)

Happy Monthday...

Happy Seven Month Birthday, Emmy!!

What have you been up to lately...

You have entered the nosy stage! You want to be everywhere with everyone! You still don't love to nap at school because you are busy watching everyone else! You take great naps on weekends and sleep  from about 7pm-7am every night which more than makes up for it! You still “talk” a lot and already make the “ma ma” sound which is music to my ears! You love blowing raspberries and just giggling at brother.

Your teachers and everyone at WDS comment on what a sweet baby you are. You really hardly ever cry. In fact, one day last month you started crying at school and one of the teachers got so concerned they called Miss Vivian. A few pats on the back on one giant burp later and you were just fine! I know they love having you in class and I’m so glad they take such good care of you!

You are still in your size 2 diapers and I so pleased and proud to say that Dad and I have still not purchased a box of diapers. That streak will end this weekend, but what a blessing from everyone that gave us diapers!!  You can still wear size 3-6 month clothes but we have also put you in some 6-9 month stuff. On NYE you wore an outfit that was 0-3 months, so I think it just depends on who makes the clothes. Get used to it, girl! J I predict that you weigh around 16 pounds and growing every day! Your cheeks are just Presh. Us.

You are in my favorite stage of being able to sit up but not move. You just play so sweetly with your toys and get help from your big brother, too. You will just laugh at him and we love to hear that sound! I think you are anxious to move around like him, but I bet we have another month for that to happen. You  love the toys that you can hit to make sound and will explore them and analyze them like you are trying to figure something out.

We are transitioning from the swaddle to just letting you sleep on your own. You like it because you can move around. Many mornings I find you sleeping peacefully on your tummy which scares me a little bit, but you like it.

I can’t believe we only have 5 months to go until your first birthday! I better start the planning now… who are we kidding… I already have!

And it's GAME DAY!! The Aggies are headed to the Cotton Bowl to BTHO LSU Tigers! It's a house divided tonight! Sorry GiGi and Pops, but we bleed maroon in this house!


Gig'em!