Mother's Day & Baby Dedication

This year was an extremely special Mother's Day. Not only were we celebrating being back in Katy, but we also had the honor of dedicating both Taylor & Peyton at church this past Sunday. Since Mason was dedicated at Kingsland, I really wanted both of the girls to be dedicated there as well. Every time they scheduled Baby Dedication, it never worked with our schedule, when it came to dedicating Taylor. Our original plan was to dedicate Peyton on Mother's Day, but then I was told they we can also dedicate Taylor since she is 3 years old. I was beyond thrilled!

Sunday morning, I was the first one awake. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the morning before everyone else woke up. It was lovely to reflect on the blessing of my family and to have some time thanking the Lord for all he had done in our lives recently.

We got the girls dressed and I attempted to curl Taylor's hair. Poor girl has super fine hair and can't hold much curl. I found these cute matching dresses on Zulily for the girls and I couldn't wait to take pictures. We had to get to church early, so these were the only pictures I was able to get on Mother's Day.

 Mason & Taylor

 Crazy to think he will be in Kindergarten next Fall

 Taylor loves any excuse to wear a dress

My three precious children. It's an honor to be their mommy!

We Moved!

I haven't forgotten about the blog and I'm sorry for being absent for quite a while. We have had A LOT going on in our family and that is the reason for the lack of posts.

We recently moved back to our hometown of Katy, Tx! Adam has accepted a new job with a new company in the Houston area and we are thrilled to be officially home! When we moved to Bakersfield, CA almost four and half years ago, we vowed that we would move back to Katy before Mason started Kindergarten. When we moved to Fort Worth, a year and a half ago, we were just happy to be back in Texas and it didn't matter if we were in Katy or not.

After Christmas, Adam and I started talking about buying a house closer to his job, which was on the northeast side of Dallas. His commute was long and most of the time he didn't get home until right before or after the kids were going to bed. Our real estate agent found several houses that met our criteria and we almost put in two different offers on two houses in McKinney. However, something was really holding us back.

After some discussion and prayer, we realized that this is a long term commitment and we didn't want to make it unless we were absolutely certain that this is where wanted to be. We decided to put the house hunting on hold and explore our options. A lot of waiting occurred during this time. To say it was stressful was an understatement. However, God used that season of waiting to show Adam & I His plan and reveal it in His own timing. It really strengthened our relationship with God and with each other.

Last week, Adam was offered two different positions with two different companies. Both were amazing offers, so that made it even more difficult. For so long we waited for this moment and now are toughest decision was deciding which one would be best for Adam and for our family. The Lord truly blessed us with his new job and Adam gave his notice last Friday and started his new job on Tuesday.

We had one day to find a place to live. Thankfully, we were able to find something, until we decide where we would like to live long term. Both sides of our families live in Katy and it is wonderful to be so close! We look forward to reconnecting with old friends and making new friends as we take this next step in our lives!

Easter Weekend

We had a relaxing Easter weekend. It was just us this year and we enjoyed the extra day that Adam had off. I didn't do a great job taking pictures this year, but I did get a few. Our subdivision has a huge park in the middle of it and every year they host an Easter Egg Hunt.

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.