Hunter Cole Moore

Our friends Rachel & Kirk welcomed Hunter Cole Moore on New Year's Eve. He joins his two older siblings Wyatt & Olivia (twins that are Mason's age). He weighed 8 lbs 14oz and was 21 inches long. Before we went out for the night, we stopped by the hospital to visit.

Christmas Pictures

Mason opening his gift from his Aunt Jill & Uncle Brad

Mason & his Daddy getting ready to open presents at my in-laws house

All he wanted to play with was the wrapping paper

My parents Christmas Tree

All of the stockings lined up at my parents house

Getting ready to open up gifts at my parents house


Our little family right before the Christmas Eve service


All of the Kaye's at Anna & Matt's wedding ( the dress makes my belly look way bigger than it actually is)

Jill, Kara & Katy at Stadia's

With Jill & Kara

Pictures from Marissa's Visit

Mason & I in the backseat

He was being sweet and loving on his Mommy

Marissa & I before she left to go back to Bakersfield

Mason adores Marissa

Laura's Engaged!

Congratulations to my sister-in-law, Laura, and Matt, who just got ENGAGED! We have been waiting for so long for this announcement and couldn't be more happier for the two of them. Welcome to the family Matt!

Where has the time gone?

We have been staying pretty busy and it's hard to believe we only have a little over a week left in Houston. The time has flown by and I have been so spoiled to spend these days with our families. I even had a sweet visit from Marissa, who flew in from Bakersfield, to visit me for a couple of days (it was her first trip to Houston and hopefully not her last). I will blog more about our trip later, when I have pictures to go with everything. I feel like pictures brighten up the blog and they make it so much more entertaining. Adam arrives tomorrow evening and after 3 weeks of not seeing my hubby and Mason only talking to his Daddy on the phone, we can't wait for this week together. Btw, can you believe I only have 100 more days left until Taylor's due date?

Misc. Pictures of Mason Dec 08

We went shopping at the Premier Outlet in Houston and it was VERY cold that day
Mason wore a scarf around his head under his hoodie to keep him warm

I love capturing those pretty blue eyes

One of our many days of shopping

Playing with his cousin, Connor, at Gram's house (his great grandmother)

Blowing Mommy kisses

My cousin, Taylor, swinging Mason around. You could tell he loved it!

Tagged - 8 Things about me

Kristen tagged anyone that wanted to fill out this meme, so here we go:

8 TV shows I watch:
1. One Tree Hill - I have been watching it from Season One and I love it.
2. Gossip Girl
3. Jon & Kate plus 8
4. Desperate Housewives
5. The Office
6. The Hills
7. Almost any College Football (I love watching GameDay on Saturday mornings in the Fall)
8. The Biggest Loser

8 Favorite Restaurants (in no particular order):
1. The Cheesecake Factory
2. Maggianos
3. Chuys
4. Bagel Cafe - unfortunately, it's only in Katy and I only get to indulge when I'm in town.
5. PF Changs
6. Hasta La Pasta
7. Taste of Texas
8. Freebirds

8 Things that happened to me today:
1. Took my mom to her doctors appointment
2. Bought stocking stuffers
3. Went to Ulta to look for lipstick but didn't find the shade I was looking for
4. Saw an old friend at Starbucks
5. Took a short nap while cuddling with my son as he watched VeggieTales (really I just rested my eyes because I was never able to fall asleep)
6. Made note of the neighborhoods with good Christmas decorations for our Christmas Light outing next week.
7. Filled out my new planner for 2009
8. Returned some books to Katy Budget Books

8 Things I look forward to:
1. Adam joining us in Houston
2. Spending time with both sides of the family next week
3. Getting my hair trimmed and colored next Monday
4. Dinner & Monday Night Football with Jeanna & Trevor
5. Seeing David & Emily for the first time since their wedding in July
6. Visiting with Brad & Jill before we leave and before they move to Oklahoma City!
7. Celebrating Christmas Day and teaching Mason what the real meaning of Christmas is all about.
8. Taylor's arrival in March!

8 Things I wish for:
1. Safe travels for all of our family and friends traveling over the next couple of weeks
2. That Adam will be able to join us tomorrow evening, instead of Friday evening in Houston
3. For cold weather on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
4. A smooth and healthy delivery for Taylor in March
5. That it will be easy to get back into shape after Taylor is born
6. A blessed new year in 2009
7. That potty training will go smoothly for Mason ( we won't be starting this until after Taylor is born)
8. That I could take HEB & Charming Charlies back with me to Bakersfield.

I also tag whoever wants to fill this out!

Only in Houston

It has been a perfect day. While I'm still a summer gal all the way, I do prefer a chill in the air around the holidays. If anyone doesn't know, Houston weather doesn't always come thru. I have spent quite a few Christmas mornings in shorts and tshirt because the 80 degree weather doesn't compliment my winter jacket.

Last night, I ran some errands with my parents and my mom warned me that it had cooled down and I might want to grab a coat for myself and Mason, but I nicely declined and said we would be fine. Little did I know that the wind was blowing about 30 mph and the front was pushing through. So each time we got to our destination, my dad was sweet enough to pull up to the door of the store to let all of us out of the car.

This morning, I could fill the brisk air and new it would be quite cold outside. Therefore, my plans were to stay inside all day and enjoy the coziness of my parents home, drink hot chocolate, and spend time with my mom and Mason. It was the perfect lazy day.

My mom made King Ranch Casserole for dinner and then we sat around the living room watching Mason play with his tool box and tools and dance to his new Veggie Tales Sing the 70's CD. The boy has "happy feet" and can bust a move like no other 17 month old that I have seen. It's the cutest thing. After Mason went down for the night, I watched a movie with my parents and snuggled up on the couch to keep warm.

Our dog, Cassie needed to go outside, so my mom offered to take her, since she was the only one that wasn't cold. To my surprise, she said it was snowing. The flakes were pretty small, but soon they grew bigger. I had to wake up Mason, so that he could witness his first snow. I don't think he was as excited about the weather as we were and you could tell by the look on his face. He would have much rathered lay asleep in his bed, then be standing in the freezing weather with his mom outside. So, I took him back to his bedroom so that he could get his rest, while we enjoyed watching the snow flakes fall to the ground. It will be cold for another day, but by Saturday it will be in the 70s again and that my friend, is Houston weather!

No Pictures

FYI: The lack of pictures is due to the fact that the TSA broke my wireless card, when searching my luggage. My dad has lent me one of his laptops, for my stay, so I don't want to upload any pictures to his laptop and then have to do it all over again on my own. When I get back to Bakersfield, I will be sure to post all of the pictures from my trip.

Holly Nicole Coverston

I woke up this morning, expecting it to be an other morning. It wasn't until around lunch time that both my mom and I realized there was something wrong with our oldest dog, Holly. She was secreting something from her body, but we couldn't figure out the substance and the weird thing is she never moved. After cleaning it up and trying to get her to move, we realized she hadn't moved much at all today.

Every morning, that I am at my parents house, Holly comes running in my room after she eats. She sleeps in my bedroom until I get up. She came in this morning and I didn't think anything of it. I got ready and walked around her as she slept. Eventually, she went back into my parents bedroom. I noticed it was unusual for her not to join us downstairs, but figured she was tired and would come down when she wanted.

As soon as we noticed the substance, my mom called my dad who then advised her to call the vet. The poor girl is 13 years old, which is old for a Lab, and has been having some problems lately. My parents told me it was bad, but I never realized how bad it was until I came home for the holidays. We were able to get an appointment for 2pm. My dad had to come home from work, because neither my mom nor I could lift her downstairs or into my dad's truck to take her to the vet.

We all new that she was in pain and was definitely not feeling good. She has had two lumps on her stomach for some time, but because the blood work alone to test if they were cancerous is so expensive, mixed with her old age, and it would be painful for her, we decided not to do the tests awhile ago. Before we left, I took some photos of her as she lay almost lifeless in our bathroom. Her breathing was shallow and she couldn't even push herself to stand up anymore. My dad told us that this might be our last time with her.

I drove my dad's truck, while he sat in the back with Holly and held her. She used to love going for rides, but not anymore. I cried all the way to the vet, while Mason sat in the back seat full of life.

As soon as we got to the vet, we took her to the back room and petted her as we said our goodbyes. It didn't take long before she was gone. Tears filled our eyes and our hearts broke as left their office. It's never easy saying goodbye to a pet. They might not be human, but they have so much character and love to give. Each pet we have had is a part of our family.

You were my gorgeous brown eyed girl. I never will forget all of the love you gave me and the family and all of those wet kisses. You were the most well behaved, sweetest puppy I have ever had and our house won't be the same without you. Thank you for holding on until I came home to say goodbye. I will forever miss you Holly!

Picture's from Laura Kaye's Graduation

Mason posing with Aunt Laura before the ceremony began

Future Baylor College of Medicine Graduate

My sister-in-laws, Laura & Anna

Laura posing with my mother-in-law, Nancy

Laura & I before the ceremony began

Laura receiving her Masters for completeing the Physician's Assistant Program

Opening gifts at lunch (sorry for the bad lighting)

Laura's Graduation

After 3 years of logging a ton of hours studying, going to class, clinicals, internships, tests and papers, my sister-in-law, Laura, graduated from the Baylor College of Medicine's Physician Assistant program! She has worked so hard and we are so proud of everything that she has accomplished. We love you Laura Kaye!

Hobby Lobby = Happy Girl

We found the fabric for Taylor's room today. My mom and I headed to one of my favorite places to shop, Hobby Lobby! Unfortunately, we don't have a Hobby Lobby in Bakersfield and while they have a website, you can't shop online. (I just don't understand why they don't have a Hobby Lobby in every city. It is way better then Michael's.) Oh my goodness, the lines were long today. Eight lanes were open at the checkout and each lane had about 5 people waiting to purchase their goodies.

I don't know how my mom didn't know that Hobby Lobby sold fabric, but for some reason she was shocked when I mentioned stopping in to see what they had in stock. I was very impressed with their selection. We hit the jackpot within in the first few minutes of walking in the store. I found the black and white swirl print I was looking for and just the right kind of hot pink to accent the room. We ended up buying the entire roll of each fabric, because I didn't want to run out and I don't mind having a couple of extra yards lying around in case I decide to do another project.

I plan on going back, because this week they are having a huge sale and almost all of their decor items are 50% off (which is basically the entire store). I have to remind myself that I have to fly back with everything and my suitcase isn't suitable to hold all of the items I want. I seriously could go nuts in the store, I love it.