The Loveliest of All...

A dear friend of ours agreed to take some pictures to document this lovely lady's third year waaaayyy back in March. Well, Texas decided this was the year that the drought would end (yay!)  which shifted pictures from early March to early June. But, I can say they were definitely worth the wait.

Enjoy...

I'd really like to just post pictures but I can't not talk about her. Because, Y'all. Seriously.

The rain boots were a last minute addition, because, well, the rain. The "twirly" dress was also a game changer. I picked out this all green number to continue her "princess and the pea" theme but she wore this to Emmy's dance recital and she just had so much fun spinning in it that I knew I wanted to capture that little girl joy. 

(Click above to enlarge collage) 

Success. 

I seriously can not even deal.

The boots main purpose were for this AMAZING field of flowers and mud. Sooooo much mud. My friend and I were sticking to the ground.

While Landry was flying...

Oh and then she turned 13.

Fun fact: those are my clips from when I was little nugget.

Also truth: I am jealous of this outfit. 

And Texas humidity for the win because those curls :) 

My wish is that she stays this little forever. Her wish was probably something like chocolate or to keep the balloon I kept playing with to make her giggle. (She got both).

This shirt was my mom's when she was little! 

And Emersyn also wore it for her 3 year pics...

They also both enjoyed picking flowers. 

And in case you're wondering - that's not photoshop. That's just a really talented lady and some super calm water on a freakishly cool Texas summer night.

And a darling model. :)

As the sun was setting, we let her get just a teensy bit sassy.

I think the direction was "look unimpressed"... 

And then jump as high as you can!

And may you always remember to do just that - reach for those stars and just jump up and grab them. Every single one of them is yours for the taking, Landry. 

But do me a favor...

When you make it all the way up to where those dreams of your exist...

Just remember that you started out in my arms...

And that there will always ALWAYS be a place for you right next to me. 

Friday Favorites: Edition Back to School

Hi, I'm Katy. And I had to return to work after NINE amazing weeks off for summer break. Please feel free to not feel sorry for me. 

Everyone is in back to school mode, so here are a few of my favorite BTS moments this week...

One last party...

Everyone knows you have to have one FINAL summer shin dig, right? Well, this year I got to spend my last Saturday of the summer with some of my nearest and dearest. The best and brightest, the first and FINEST sorority on campus - my DZ sisters. We are celebrating 40 years of being at A&M and it was so much fun!

Clearly I should have use my real camera. 

Seriously, the day started at 10am and I am super proud to say that we lasted until MIDNIGHT.

These women mean so much to me and are such a big part of who I am. Love them each so much and so thankful for the 4 years I spent with them. #DZLAM40

School Days

We spent lots of time last week celebrating Emersyn as she headed into Kindergarten. And she.was.ready. I mean look at that mean mug. ;)

The first day of school is one of my favorite days ever on Facebook. Seriously, we should just all get to stay home and like away on all these precious photos that people post. It's like Christmas card previews and sneak peeks are always fun. YMM was so excited we decided to make a giveaway out of it! 

My absolute favorite moment of the week, though, was picking them up on the first day. I watched Radley wait for her and could see him telling her something (he clearly takes his big brother duties seriously) and Emersyn was clearly not impressed because she walked away and stood in line for the car. They are both my favorites!

Know what else is my favorite?

Make-up off, pjs and glasses on... all by 4:30pm.

Something that is NOT my favorite is fixing hair. Which is sad, because we have lots of it in our family. I'm just not good at it... but we did some research for you over at Your Merry Mailbox and check out this do.

(Go read the entire post for more HAIRspiration). #yeah #thatonewasastretch

Ironically, that same day, I received this email from CWHL. Giving back is definitely one of my favorites and I am so glad that Emersyn inspired (and challenged) me to go through with this. CWHL is a great place to donate if you are considering it. They only require 8 inches and they give their hair pieces to children for FREE!!

And this. Y'all there is no excuse for me to ever wonder what's going on. I love that their teachers send us text reminders. And if that wasn't enough - our district now uses an app for the school menu. I can look up what they are serving every day, nutritional value (for those moms that care) and pictures (for those kids that care). Winning. 

We also had fun celebrating this guy this week - he's a back to school baby afterall!

Aggies

Classes start Monday for A&M and our first game is next Thursday. Being prepared for game day is an absolute favorite...and I'd say that we are MORE than prepared. 

DISCLAIMER: THESE ARE NOT ALL FOR MY CHILDREN

(one set is for someone else)

;)

We had so much fun working on an upcoming feature with The Dish. And if you are interested in getting some of this TO CUTE FOR WORDS Aggie gear... then leave your email in the comments below! We will start taking orders soon and the gear will be here in time for our first SEC game of the season!

Happy Friday!

Tiny Tales Thursday...

It has been a week of learning and getting back in swing of things. We have successfully gotten out of the door on time every morning this week AND managed to have everyone where they need to be. I was a little nervous about tiny Emmy in that great big school, but she is rocking it. She is also doing the Dual Language program but for the first few days they put English speakers together and Spanish speakers together. Then they will separate them in two groups with half of each language group together.

So, imagine my surprise when she came home full of excitement of what she has learned...

Emmy: MOM! I learned SPANISH today!
Me: Wow - that's awesome! What did you learn?
Emmy: We learned ::dramatic pause:: DOS!


Just 178300 more words to go, sweet girl.

Happy birthday...

Today is a big day... someone in our family is turning the BIG 4-0.

Yep.

OVER.THE.HILL.

(Well, not really, but isn't it funny that we used to think that).

The middle child, my dear, sweet, kind, loving OLDER brother, Jeremy is 40.

And he will be hearing about it all.day.long!

Jeremy Paul - 

You have been there for every big and small moment in my life and if I wasn't so lazy, I would have scanned in some of my favorite pictures over the years.

When Jody turned 40, we surprised him with a trip home. But you are home - just a mile down the road (if we could just get that biggest one to move back). So, I thought and thought about what to get you, but we are at the age that when we want something, we go ahead and buy it ourselves. So instead, I will simply tell you thank you.

Thanks for being born. Thanks for being awesome. Thanks for being my longest standing room mate. Ryan has about 15 more years until he catches you. I'll let you unwrap some sappy today...

I love you because... 

1. You are older than me.
2. You come over and fix things when I ask.
3. You let me win but taught me how to lose. 
4. I may have accidentally hit you once or twice and you never hit me back.
5. College would have sucked without you.
6. You convinced mom to let me stay out late when I was with you.
7. You always took the blame. 
8. You still do.
9. You treated me like your friend instead of your "little sister". 
10. You let my friends harass you when I had slumber parties.
11. You let me harass your friends when you had sleep overs.
12. You let me and Jenni put make up on you. Several times.
13. You are more stubborn than Emersyn when she doesn't want to use her manners. 
14. You taught me how to climb on the roof.
15. And drink beer.
16. And light a cigarette (but I NEVER smoked them, Mom). Ever. Never. 
17. When I smell Fahrenheit cologne I am transported to riding in your mustang with Jenni listening to Diddy. (The song, not the person).
18. You love my kids.
19. And my husband.
20. You tolerate my crazy ideas.
21. You built a pond in our backyard.
22. You've never met a stranger. 
23. You didn't kill me when I forgot to feed Cash for 2 days.
24. You listen to my honest opinion.
25. You do man things with Radley.
26. 3202.
27. You taught Jenni the best joke of her life. 
28. You'd never pick anyone else over me. 
29. You keep my secrets.
30. You tell me the truth.
31. You bring home lumber.
32. You build things like PaPaw.
33. You will belt out Disney songs with me.
34. You drove to San Antonio with Ryan to pick up a washer and dryer.
35. You cried when Landry got stitches.
36. You served our country.
37. You love fiercely.
38. You give generously.
39. You live selflessly.
40. You are my brother. 

Happiest of birthdays to you.

Old man.

First day fun...

Today was a big day and with everything checked off the list, they were ready! 

(And adorable if I do say so myself).

Our rad 2nd grader...

Our adorable KINDERGARTNER...

and our lovely preschooler. 

The first stop was to drop off the bigs...my favorite moment may have been in the car when I referenced "Rad's school" and Emersyn reminded me, "It's MY school now, too, Mommy!"

That it is, sweet girl. And my prayers are that this school shelters you, protects you and teaches you so much more than what you read in your books. These hallways may have been crazy today but I hope that these walls support you and serve you and show you just what it means to be part of a community learners. 

I pray that as you enter each new door you are greeted with love and welcomed with care and respect and that you then offer that same care and respect to those you meet. 

Emersyn got settled in quickly and was excited to go find her name at the table. 

We snapped a quick shot with Mrs. Kammerer and I don't know if it was nerves, excitement or habit but Emmy leaned in to give her a kiss and it was just precious.

We all gave her big hugs and lots of kisses and tons and tons of well wishes for that first day.

(Well, all of us except one... can you guess? I think someone was sad that "MY Emmy" wasn't going to be at her school anymore.)

We made our way down the hall, Landry filled with tears at her regret of not giving Emmy a hug like we suggested and found Rad's room. He was compliant and allowed us a few pics and I stole some kisses before he sweetly sent us on our way.

We made our way back to Emmy so that Landry could hug and kiss her goodbye. You would have thought they hadn't seen each other in 10 years instead of 10 minutes. I won't lie, I kind of loved it. Landry adores Emersyn and vice versa. This built-in bestie thing is precious and I'm so thankful that for the most part, our days are filled with giggles instead of arguments. 

We hugged Ryan bye and me and L set off for her school. She was so excited to have the car all to herself. She got to choose the song and sit in Emmy's coveted seat. We walked to her new room and she was more than ready to get started on her year in Sunshine. I love her teachers and I can't wait to watch all that she is going to learn this year. She was extra excited because it was her day to be the leader and any day you get permission to be "in charge" is awesome for a 3 year old. 

(Or any of us). 

I watched the clock and liked approximately 478 pictures on facebook and then it was time pick them up. We stuck with our first day of school tradition with a stop at Sonic and we got an extra treat when the Munsons were able to meet us there! 

And just like that, we are back in the routine. After school stuff, homework, early nights and mornings... we are ready for the year ahead.

I think.

;)