December 31, 2013

goodbye 2013, hello 2014!


goodbye, 2013
here's a little video from flipagram...some of my favorite insta-pics from 2013.

hello, 2014!
i'm not really a resolutions person...but i find myself making a lot of them this year. 
just to name a few: 
*organize/print all my pictures since 2008
*go to story time at the library
*make more crafts with mclain and aplin
*watch less tv and read more books
*more date nights
*try new recipes
*learn how to use my dslr in manual mode
*spend less time on my phone
*wake up and get ready before the little ones
*grow a better garden
*and my favorite: focus on the 'full life'.

"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." John 10:10

hugs and kisses and a happy new year~m, s, mc, a, t, m, b, b, b, m, bc and m



December 20, 2013

SantaLand 2013

Trying to make all the memories we can, even if that means waiting in line for an hour to meet Santa. 

After patiently waiting in line for 30 minutes, McLain started to melt. No wonder kids are in hysterics by the time they reach Santa's lap, all they can think is when they're going to eat next and which direction they can run that will lead to freedom--waiting in line for any length of time is frustrating for me--i can't imagine a toddler who's use to running in all directions, all the time.  side note: i just had a mental picture of grown ups running in all directions, all the time and made myself giggle :) okay, side note over. Towards the end of the line, doing our best to distract McLain, we talked about what he would ask Santa for Christmas....the Moon and a windmill--obviously. Hey may have to settle for some matchbox cars and a puzzle. 
Point of the story: Despite the looooong wait, McLain nailed it...Aplin not so much. She was a model baby the entire wait but once we got to the end, she was ready to eat and sleep.

Hope you're soaking in every moment of this most wonderful time of the year....because in 5 short days it'll just be a memory. 

Here's to making memories.



mery merry christmas~m, s, mc, a, b, b, t, m, m, b, bc, and m

December 5, 2013

baby girl is 4 months + a few days

our sweet girl just turned 4 months old. i cannot imagine life without her. she is the absolute sweetest. she's a great sleeper. and great cuddler. and loves to be moving all the time. she rolled from her back to her tummy at 4 months and 4 days old. she loves to watch football. and she sleeps 12+ hours a night. basically she's a rockstar-- i taught her everything she knows ;) i love her smile and her very subtle giggles, she makes us work very hard for them :) she loves her brother. she loves his full body hugs, she loves when he shares his toys and then immediately takes them away (babysteps, people), she loves when he tries to make her happy by bringing her books and opening them to the last page when she's fussing and she loves how he says her name, 'appa'. 
we went to the doctor yesterday. and just when i think taking 2 kids under the age of 2 anywhere is challenging, i remind myself it's only going to get more challenging with the more babies we have. one day i'll look back on these easy 2 children trips--it's all about perspective, right?

baby girl is growing strong, y'all!

height:  26" -- 97%

weight:  16lbs 7oz -- 95%

head circumference:  16" -- 50%

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, a, b, b, t, m, m, b, bc and m

p.s. thank you kayla for her sweet blanket!
and nonny for her fabulous headbands!
and brooke for the dozens of cute outfits you so generously passed down!

p.p.s. because i love a good outtake :)




December 4, 2013

legacy play village

we decided to take advantage of the warm december weather yesterday,
 with a trip to legacy play village--one of our favorite parks!
         ^^^he's getting so brave and aplin is patiently waiting her turn^^^
      ^^^one day soon, baby girl. one day soon^^^
^^^we had the park all to ourselves^^^
^^^dirt covered everything--west texas living^^^

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, a, b, b, m, t, m, b, bc and m 

December 3, 2013

thanksgiving 2013

this was our thanksgiving, summed up in one photo.
thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays. matt's family knows how to do it big.  it's starts with dinner on wednesday and the excitement runs through brunch on saturday. there's a talent show, card games, cookies, cookies, and more cookies, a very interesting  (not-at-all-evenly-matched) baseball game, swimming, eating, BINGO, more card games and more eating, no naps for mclain and lots of diapers and hugs and kisses for aplin.  i loved watching all the girls patiently wait their turn to hold aplin and mclain played with his cousin's matchbox cars ALL weekend long. i don't even think he knew anything was different about this weekend...other than the matchbox cars and an unlimited amount of aunt jane's famous cookies. 

this is the only picture i took all weekend. aplin went swimming for the very first time!
thanksgiving is a time where i don't take a lot of pictures, because i'm too busy soaking in all the fun. and then of course, when it's over, i regret not taking any pictures. i promise to be better next time...i always say this.

hope y'all had a wonderful thanksgiving! only 358 more days until the next thanksgiving! 
hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, a, b, b, t, m, b, m, bc and m  

also, keith and kayla came to visit and i hate that i didn't get any pictures with them reading to mclain or playing basketball with him, or kayla getting up at 4:30 in the morning and offering to feed aplin. what?! she's the best!  they are going to make the best parents one day (hopefully soon). they love our babies well, and i love them that much more for it! 

November 19, 2013

mistakes at the lake 2013

for those of you who don't know, matt has had the same group of friends his entire life. unfortunately, we don't all live in the same town, so in order for our children to be life long best friends, we decided to have a weekend-long playdate. yep, a weekend-long playdate. 

our good friends invited us to join them at their lake house. we used to take yearly trips together before any of us had kids. it was so interesting to see how trips change when you have almost as many children as adults. early mornings, adventure walks, life jackets, feeding the fish, sharing sippy cups, cleaning up toys, pack n' plays for days, chasing toddlers, entertaining babies, nasty matt's pizza, chicago deep dish STYLE pizza, tyler's pancakes instead of waffles (my mistake at the lake), rock climbing and being too exhausted to finish the tech game. 


overall, i would call it a success. a weekend-long, successful playdate. it was great to see the beginnings of life long friendships being made. looking forward to doing it all over again and making new memories. and who knows, maybe there will be new additions for our next weekend long playdate.
hugs and kisses~ MATL 2013 crew

November 9, 2013

apple orchard

experiencing all things fall means an obligatory visit to the apple orchard. mclain loved it...and aplin slept right through it.
we got to explore, sample the local produce, and ride on a hayride. mclain would much rather drive the tractor instead of sitting on a pile of hay in the back of the trailer. but you get what you get--
life lessons on the farm :)
^^^mclain is all about the free samples--just like his mama^^^
part of me wants to start decorating for christmas, but i have held off so i can enjoy fall a little bit longer.  i want more pumpkin flavored everything before i move on to peppermint and eggnog. i also want more apple orchards and pumpkin patches before i move on to christmas trees and twinkle lights. i'm making an effort to embrace the season we are in and savoring every moment.
if you need an apple pie, we use the betty crocker recipe--that lady knows what's up. 

hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, a, t, m, b, b, b, m, bc and m