i LOVE fall! i love tech football IN lubbock and tailgaiting! i love the fair (it's no state fair but the food is still fried, the carnies still harass you and the people watching is top-notch), i love halloween and the dennis family thanksgiving extravaganza, i love the perfect weather and the cute outfits that come with. i LOVE pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, pumpkin anything!
wreck 'em, y'all!
we were all dressed up with nowhere to go. my newest goal is to start our own tailgate :)
so come fall 2013, make sure to stop by for some tasty food and lots of festive fun!
south plains fair
pumpkins
pumpkins with anna
pumpkins with marmee
pumpkins with jordans
now it's time to grab our pumpkin spice lattes, start baking and get going on our costumes!
what do you love about fall?
hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, t, m, b, b, m, n, b, bc and tink
as a new mama, these are a few of my favorite things for m, mc and me.
1. the angel monitor - best. monitor. ever. it has a sensor that monitors the baby's heartbeat. we thought about getting the video monitor but all of our friends that have it don't have peace of mind. the angel monitor gives us peace of mind! thanks to aunt becky for our angel monitor.
2. the moby - at first, i was a little intimidated by all the fabric. but with a little practice, it became an absolute life saver. mc loved it! he fell asleep in it anywhere and everywhere. the grocery store. the mall. picnics. the zoo. baby showers. happy hours. it was most helpful when sleep training, it calmed him down when nothing else would. we have the 'baby bjorn' thing but mc preferred the moby. thanks to ellee for our moby. we love it!
3. twelve hours' sleep by twelve weeks old - the first milestone you want your baby to reach and as soon as possible....is to sleep through the night. there are a lot of books out there about sleep training. we chose this book b/c mc's best buddy, tristan, is a great sleeper and this is the book his parents recommended. another plus about this book is, it's short and to the point. mc started sleeping through the night at 8 weeks old and we have this book to thank!
4. medela breast pump - one of my main goals as a mom was to breastfeed. but as a lot of mom's have experienced, it's very challenging and very frustrating. mc and i would agree with these moms. as much as i wanted it to be successful, it wasn't. i ended up renting the medela hospital grade breast pump (aka the bentley of breast pumps) for the first two weeks to get my milk supply up. one of the hardest things i've ever had to do was return her. i orginally registered for the avent b.p. but after using the hospital's medela i had to return the avent and get the medela. thanks to my mom for our b.p.!
5. a sound machine - for sleep training purposes and because your little probably prefers it. he or she has been listening to your heartbeat and your ambiotic fluids (gross) swirling around for nine months. so complete silence is foreign to them.
6. swaddles - not all babies prefer to be swaddled but mc did. now that mc is rolling over and sleeping on his tummy, he sleeps in a sleep sack.
7. a swing, a playmat and an exersaucer- we have this swing- thanks to my sister! he used it all the time until he was about 5 months old/16 lbs. once he started using the exersaucer, he didn't want to be in the swing anymore. the exersaucer is a hand-me-down that we use at marmee's. and his playmat, thanks to tj, ellen and teddy. he has used it since he was about 2 weeks old and he's almost 7 months and he still loves it.
8. onesies with hand covers and jammies with zippers instead of snaps. mc loved to have his hands up by his face and i was terrified of clipping his fingernails, so he would scratch his face. hence, the onesies with hand covers. also, jammies with zippers instead of snaps for those middle of the night feedings and diaper changes. these are a must as well! we love targets $5 items and clearance rack. also, tj maxx, ross and marshall's have great deals on carters outfits. i've seen a pack of 5 onesies (carter's brand) at babies r us for $19.99 and that same pack of onesies at tj maxx for $9.99! we LOVE burlington coat factory as well. they have great deals on everything from onesies to breast pumps!
9. for mc's baby shower, our friends and family decorated burp clothes. we love them so much! they are a constant reminder of all the love for us and mc, especially during those long sleepless nights.
10. watch 'babies' a documentary about one year in the life of four babies from around the world, from Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo. after watching it, i realized i don't need any of the above items.
what are some of your must have baby items?
hugs and kisses~s, m, mc, b, b, t, m, m, b, n, bc and t
our dear dear friends, matt and ellee, tied the knot! we were so honored that we got to be there to celebrate with them. if you have not been to the grand tetons, go. go now. pack your bags and go. why wyoming? why not? ellee's family has a vacation home there and it is their relaxation destination. we're so glad we got to experience their home away from home.
here are a few pics of wyoming. enjoy.
we flew into salt lake city, ut and drove 4.5 hours to jackson hole. the drive was gorgeous!
welcome to jh!
wyoming is known for their wildlife...but jh thinks it's hilarious to put up a bunch of fake animals....i fell for them every time!
*i thought you said you were a moose*
there were these HUGE, all black horses right by our hotel,
so naturally we had to say 'hello'.
grand teton national park
the burkholders treated everyone to a scenic rafting trip on snake river
*please note the paparazzi in the background*
super excited about rafting!
the grand tetons
*pictures don't do it justice*
we saw a lot of wildlife on the trip
*bison*
*bison in motion*
my favorite...the bald eagle or more accurately known as 'america's mascot'!
a real moose
taking it all in
as we were heading back to town, we saw a baby brown bear!
the cocholder wedding!
*the chevron print looks like the tetons*
the ceremony was outside
love these two!
details
the mckelvys
matt and the best man
*please note the sitting area behind them. i saw 2 shooting stars from there later that night*
thank you to the burkholders and the cochrans for a perfect wyoming experience!
also, on our back home we stopped in slc and got to eat with josh and becky!
thanks for showing us the slc hotspots! come visit us soon!
while we were in wyoming, mclain stayed home with marmee and grandad and his uncles. a BIG thank you to them! i know mclain is perfect but he is still a lot of work. it was much easier to leave him, knowing that he was in good, loving hands. i've never wanted to come home from vacation until this one. we were so excited about getting home to mclain. also, we don't have jobs, so we weren't dreading going back to work.
so what was mclain doing while we were gone? eating crackers. the white family loves crackers! i'm just glad they didn't put margarine on them.
hugs and kisses~m, s, mc, t, b, b, m, b, m, n, bc, and t
wow! it's been awhile. my parents have been busy looking for jobs. crafting. and going to jackson (that will be a later post). can you believe they left me for 5 days?!?! me neither!
but mostly we've been spending time with our family and friends.
here's a look at my precious peeps.
uncle shane
uncle christian
grandma
marmee
great grandmother dennis
my cousin anna and her rainboots
uncle benji
getting drive-thru with jack
hanging with our friends
this is jentry and she is so pretty
this is my friend tabor, he's going to have a little brother soon!
this is sweet finley. long distance relationships are hard.
we'll report back soon with our favorite lubbock hotspots!
hugs and kisses~ mc, m, s, b, m, t, b, m, b, n, bc, and t
