Lifelong friends

Growing up, I attended a wonderful church in the Houston area. My dad grew up at this church. I met so many wonderful people at Tallowood and when my parents decided to attend their sister church closer to our house, I was devastated! I was about to start high school and changing churches was hard for me. Looking back, I was definitely dramatic about it, but I was leaving all of my friends that I had known since the 2nd grade. We had invested in each others lives and most of our families were scattered all over the Houston area. I knew that we wouldn't get to see each other as much and it broke my heart.

Thankfully, we did a pretty good job at keeping in touch with each other over the years. Then Facebook came along and it made it even easier. Oh the wonders of Social Networking! Last week, I noticed one of my friends, Gretchen, was in  town visiting her parents, who happen to live in the same city as me. Our other friend, Dana, noticed as well and we immediately set up a dinner for all of us.

Gretchen's family is very dear to me. We spent the night at each other's houses a lot growing up and her parents invited me on a vacation to Fort Whalton/Destin, Florida with them our freshmen year of High School. Sunday mornings, you could always find us sitting together during the service and chatting away before Sunday School started.

This past weekend, we met up at Hard Eight's BBQ and reunited. Dana and Gretchen have seen each other more recently, but this was the first time I had met up with them since High School. It was so much fun catching up as adults who are now married and have kids, all around the same age. We had a great time and I'm thankful to reconnect with old friends.

Peyton 5 months

Peyton is closer to 6 months now, but it's never too late for an update. Our sweet girl is getting big. I'm not sure how much she weighs, but I'm guessing around 20lbs, since she was 18lbs 10z at her 4 month checkup. So much has changed in the last month:

* She is now wearing 12 to 18 month clothes. She has a very long torso like her brother and sister.
* She is picking up her toys and bringing them to her mouth. Everything goes in the mouth these days.
* She has discovered her feet and tries to bring them to her mouth, but hasn't done so yet.
* Bedtime usually ranges from 6pm to 6:30pm. If I let her, she would go to sleep at 5:30pm, but I try to keep her up to see Adam when he gets home from work. She sleeps from 6:30pm to 8:30am every day.
* She takes an hour and a half nap in the mornings and a two hour nap in the afternoons.
* When Peyton is awake, she loves to spend time on her play mat.
* Teething has begun. If she is anything like her brother and sister, this will last for about 4 more months before she gets her first tooth.
* She takes an 8oz bottle 3 times a day.
* I'm making all of her baby food. She eats three meals. She has enjoyed everything I have made so far: green beans, avocado, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, bananas, and cereal. We are about to start peas and carrots.
* When Mason and Taylor talk to her or play with her, she has a constant smile on her face. She loves them so much and loves spending time with them.
* She is a grouch if you don't feed her fast enough or if she is sleepy.

We are so blessed by our sweet girl and love watching her move from one stage to the next!

Before and After

I started doing a Nutritional Cleanse back in January. I'm blogging about it, so if you want to check it out here is the site: http://tabbyscleaneating.blogspot.com/

These are my first set of before and after pictures. I am still on the journey, so really these are my inbetween pictures.

Happy 3rd Birthday Taylor!

Three years ago, our lives changed for the better as we welcomed our first little girl, Taylor Reese! I always wanted a little girl and now I have two. This little blonde hair, blue eyed beauty has blessed our lives and made it a lot more entertaining. There is never a dull moment when she is around. We didn't have a big birthday party this year, instead, it was just Adam and I with the kids. Just because there wouldn't be a big party, doesn't mean we wouldn't have a big celebration. Birthdays were huge in my house growing up and we have passed that tradition down.

Taylor's 1st Birthday
Taylor's 2nd Birthday

Taylor wanted everything pink. It is her favorite color and her favorite book is Pinkalicious. Mason helped me make the cupcakes, which he loved because he then started calling himself "Chef Mason!"
Here are the cupcakes before sprinkles. Strawberry cupcakes with homemade pink icing.

 Everything is better with a little sparkle, so why not add sprinkles!

 I bought 30 balloons and we covered the entire living room floor with hot pink ballons.

 She loved coming downstairs to find all of her birthday surprises!

 She is wearing her birthday hat, but it was a little too big. Birthday breakfast of choice, Strawberry Pink Iced Donuts and Donut Holes from Shipleys.

 Anxiously awaiting to open presents.

 This cracks me up!

 Strawberry Shortcake DVDs Yo!

 Now she has a Leap Frog Pen like her bub.

 

 Wearing birthday outfit Aunt Christina made her and the pink sparkly flip flops Mason & Peyton gave her.

 Peyton & Mommy. She was a bit overwhelmed by all the squealing with excitement and balloons.

 With my birthday girl!

Daddy and his little princess.

Peyton's 4 month Checkup

This morning, Peyton had her 4 month checkup. That means I had to get all three kids and myself ready, fed, and out the door by 9am this morning. Now that I've had four months worth of practice, this isn't as much of a challenge as it was in the beginning. All of Peyton's previous appointments have just been Mommy and Peyton, so I was a bit nervous bring all the kids this time.

Thankfully, we were the first well checkup this morning and were seen right away. The only hiccup was having to take Taylor to the potty, because we all know that soon to be three year olds can't really hold it all that long. In my house, when they say they have to go, you have a very small time frame before you push your luck. Mason waited in the room, while I carried Peyton and took Taylor to the bathroom. By the time I walked back in, Mason was having a deep conversation with Dr. W about how big he is getting in and how he loves playing with his pirate ship.

Thankfully, Peyton is thriving and doing extremely well. She can hold her head up no problem, turns her head to listen to whoever is talking to her, grasps whatever you have dangling in front of her and is drooling up a storm. We were given the go ahead to start her on some solids one time a day. I was excited to hear this, because I always enjoyed making her baby food.

At 4 months, Peyton takes two naps during the day. She refuses to nap longer than 30 minutes to an  hour in the morning and will usually take a two hour nap in the afternoons. She still isn't a fan of napping during the day. By 5:30pm, she starts to get really sleepy and lets all of us know. Usually no later than 6pm I give her a bottle and she is out by 6:30pm. (I love that all our kids have adjusted to early bedtimes.) She will wake up around 11pm and take another bottle and fall right back to sleep until 8am. She will wake up occasionally, but we let her cry it out and that has seemed to work for us. The long stretch of sleeping is pretty new for her, as she has been doing it the last 2 weeks. I am so thankful for consistent sleep. Soon, we will drop her 11pm feeding, especially since we will be starting solids soon.

4 Month Stats:
Weight: 18lbs 10oz - over 100th percentile (10lbs and 4oz since she was born)
Height: 26 in. - 90-95th percentile

With her growing so quickly, we also will be changing her over to a convertible car seat in the next month.

Where did February go?

Sorry, I haven't forgotten about the blog. February and March are two of the busiest months in our house. Also, my laptop officially died on me a few weeks ago and I have been using Adam's. Thankfully, I backed up my laptop the week before it died, otherwise I would have lost all of my pictures from Peyton's birth up until now. I have taken a ton of pictures this month, but picture posts will have to wait for awhile until we can afford another laptop.

Earlier this month, Adam & I celebrated our 6th Anniversary and today we celebrate 7 years since our first date. The time has flown by, because it feels like yesterday and that I was meeting Adam for dinner at Cafe Adobe followed by getting drenched before going to see Gavin DeGraw in a private concert.

The kids celebrated Valentine's Day and had fun party at their school. I joined in for the festivities and captured great pictures. I love Valentine's Day, and not just because I'm married, but because it reminds me of all the fun Valentine's parties we had in Elementary School. The inner kid in me wants to decorate shoe boxes and exchange Valentine Cards year round.

Peyton turned 4 months on Valentine's Day. She is growing everyday. I am having to buy new clothes for her all the time, because she is growing so fast. Since her and Taylor were born in different seasons, she won't really be able to wear Taylor's clothes until she about a year old. Next week we take Peyton to her 4 month checkup. I will have all three kids with me, so it should be interesting. I'm not looking forward to her getting four shots.

March is going to be just as crazy. We have my birthday, a trip to Houston for our friends wedding, Taylor's birthday and Adam's birthday. Did I mention my brother-in-law,cousin and great grandmother also have birthdays in March and my parents celebrate their Anniversary.

I always love Leap Year and since we have an extra day of the month next week, how do you plan to spend that day?

Health and picture!

A lot of people make New Years Resolutions to get healthier. I am not really into New Years Resolutions, because I feel like they always fail. So I wrote out my goals this year for myself and Adam and I wrote down our goals as a family.

I've been wanting to get back into the running routine, since I delivered Peyton. For Christmas, I received enough money from so many wonderful family members to finally get the treadmill that I have been wanting. I even scored a great deal on it, thanks to it being the end of the year.

January was the most bizarre month for our family. So the other day, Adam finally had a chance to put it together. He did a great job and had the cutest green-eyed, 4 yr old assistant to help him. I have been running on it every day.

Another goals was to get healthier over all. I love food, but I'm not always smart about what I put into my body. I realized that nutrition plays a huge role in how you feel and decided it was time to make a change. One of my best friends told me about this great Nutritional Cleanse that floods your body with antioxidants, minerals and vitamins and has the perfect balance of nutrition your body craves. I've made it a part of my life and I'm so glad I did.

Before starting on this journey, I was a huge coffee drinker and needed it to get through my days. I was always tired. After incorporating it into my life, I have more energy than I have ever had in my life. I feel fantastic all the time and I'm only tired when I lay down to go to sleep at night. I haven't had a sip of coffee in 12 days and don't crave or need it. My mental clarity is sharper and my skin has cleared up. I haven't taken my Zyrtec in 12 days, which is huge for Texas seasonal allergies. Not to mention that I have lost 9lbs and 26 inches all over.

I made this Grilled Chicken Burrito on a Whole Wheat Tortilla, with black beans, roasted red bell peppers, and fresh spinach leaves, served with 1/2 cup of cottage cheese for lunch the other day. It was so yummy and filling!

Last week, we met Adam up at his office. Mason loved putting on Daddy's earphones and pretending to be just like his Daddy.

Peyton is almost 4 months old. She is getting so big. She is already wearing 6-9 month clothes. I love her baby legs leg-warmers.

Mason adores his littlest sister and the feeling is mutual. 

 Taylor also loves to cuddle with her sister. They are best friends!

 Peyton's 1st time in the Bumbo

 Not loving it anymore, Mama!

Taylor on her way to school one morning!