This. that, and the other

I have been so busy since my last blog post. So much has happened since then that I haven't blogged about yet! We went to Houston, my baby brother got married, Father's Day, VBS, Leah turned 4 months old, Natalie got baptized, family came in town... So without further ado...


Friday (June 18) we left for Houston. Saturday we ate lunch with Eric's family. His brother Adam and brother-in-law Jovanne both deployed this past week, so it was a farewell lunch for them. Sunday was my brother Craig's wedding. I was a bridesmaid and got to dance down the aisle with my other brother Dave. The whole wedding was so much fun. I haven't seen the professional pics or the video yet. I've only seen a handful of snapshots from people's facebooks (and none of me lol). I'm really looking forward to watching the video and seeing how much of a fool I made of myself LOL.

Even though the wedding was the main focus on Sunday, I definitely didn't forget that it was Father's Day. I am so very blessed to have 2 men in my life that mean the world to me. First is my Dad.

While yes, technically he is my grandfather, he helped raise me and was the sole adult male figure in my life throughout my childhood. I always think of him when I hear the song "Daddy's Hands" because it really sums him up to a T - "Daddy's hands, were soft and kind when I was crying. Daddy's hands, were hard as steel when I done wrong. Daddy's hands weren't always gentle, but I've come to understand, there was always love in Daddy's hands." I was not an easy child, but there was NEVER a moment that I didn't know with every ounce of my being that my Daddy loved me. I know there is not anything in the world he would not do for me. And now I get to see that same love poured out to my own kids through him. I love that my kids adore him as much as I do! I know it was because of the love he showed me that I was able to find the wonderful man I did to become my husband. And that brings me to Eric.

I couldn't have asked for a better father for my children. The day I found out I was pregnant with Natalie, I began to see Eric in a new light. He was going to be a father! And oh what a father he is! I melt when I see the way he looks at our kids. He beams with pride when they do something new. He laughs (real belly laughs!) when they do something funny. He tears up (even if only on the inside) when they tell them they love him. I loved him so much before we ever had any kids, but with each one, I've just grown to love him even more. Happy Belated Father's Day to all my favorite dads out there!

So Sunday night after all the festivities were over, we headed straight back to San Antonio. VBS started first thing Monday morning. I was helping in a Kindergarten class and all my kids had their own assigned rooms. Even Leah! It was the first time I'd ever left her in the church nursery and she did really well. I went in to feed her when my class went to recreation and it all worked out well. The week prior to VBS, Natalie made the decision to pray and ask Jesus into her heart! I still get goosebumps when I talk about it! So on Friday afternoon, after VBS, she attended the "Steps of Faith" class our church offers. Then on Friday night, there was a VBS Family Night where the kids sang and ate hot dogs and smores. The theme for the VBS was Saddle Ridge Ranch so they had the baptisms in cattle troughs in the church parking lot! Natalie was one of 29 kids to get baptized that night. What a story she will have to tell for the rest of her life - getting baptized in a cattle trough! My mom and Eric's mom and sister came into town for the baptism. And of course Meme and Pawpaw were there too. We are so blessed that they were able to come and be a part of that!






And Leah turned 4 mos old on the 22nd. Oh Leah, you are just growing so fast!

At 4 months old, Leah:
is wearing 3-6 mos size clothes
wears a size 2 diaper
is exclusively breastfeeding and hasn't had a bottle in about 2 months
sleeps swaddled (twice), and in the swing
still only tolerates being worn
does better on car rides that don't exceed about 30 minutes
is constantly chewing on her fists
found her feet and loves to look at them and play with them
likes her exersaucer
likes to lay on her back and watch the fan
loves it when her brother and sisters give her attention
smiles really big and makes all sorts of cute noises
can roll over both ways, but I've yet to see her actually do it - I just find her rolled lol
sleeps ok at night, she's still waking up regularly, but just eats and goes back to sleep
takes 2-3 naps during the day; one really long one in the afternoon and 1-2 shorter ones
is a relatively easy baby and pretty happy most of the time


Doesn't she look so much like her biggest sister?


I don't think I posted about Natalie getting a new bike. We let her pick it out and can I just say how happy I am that she picked something cute and simple over some character bike? ha! Here are some random pics from the other day when we took them to ride at the school again.

total pro


total ham





Fed up again with how slow his car is


Totally abandoned


Tough Guy


mad that he's not big enough to get onto Erica's bike


Glad when Daddy helps him


Leah, totally content

New Hair, smiles and sillies

I spent the past 3 days trying to get rid of clogged milk ducts. Lots of extra nursing sessions, pumping sessions, warm compresses, and hot showers. Finally I woke up this morning to them unclogged, though sore. I'll take it!

Here are some pics of Erica's new haircut. She LOVES it.




Such a silly girl!


And I couldn't pass up getting some more pics of my smiley girl.


This baby is the happiest baby I know. The only time she fusses is when she is tired or hungry. I felt so bad for her over the past few days because I know she has been a little hungry after each feeding, the milk just would not come out on one side. I tried giving her the 1/2oz. I was able to pump, but she officially will not take a bottle now. And it's not even like she doesn't WANT to. It's like she can't figure out HOW. They suck differently on a bottle nipple than when breastfeeding. She just kept thrusting her tongue out and wasn't even able to latch onto the bottle nipple. Luckily the milk is a'flowin today, so we're back in business. She's back to her super content happy self between feedings/naps. Oh how I love this girl soooo much!!!

Hair Woes

So I hate to even post about this without pics, but I promise I'll get some soon and post. If you are on my facebook, you may have seen that Erica cut her hair last week. It wasn't that bad. She cut a little off each side in the front. I took her the next day to see what we could salvage. The lady said she could just blend it around her face and leave the rest of the length, so that's what we did. Well, over the next few days, Erica kept mentioning how she didn't know why the lady didn't cut the back of her hair too. And how she doesn't like that it "almost gets in the potty". LOL - She says when she leans forward to wipe, her hair almost goes in the potty HAHA! I was really afraid that with all this talk, she might try and cut her hair on her own again, and it may be a lot worse the next time. So I took her back last night to get it cut short. It was so hard to see all that long beautiful hair on the floor. I wished I would've brought the camera, but I had Leah with me and didn't want to try to juggle her AND the camera. I'm still on the fence on how I feel about it, but of course I tell her she looks beautiful. And she totally does. It looks really cute on her, but I still miss her long locks. She had just started not only letting me, but specifically requesting, that I do ponytails, pigtails, and other fun things with her hair. And she's had short hair before...

But that was almost 2 years ago. She looks so different to me now! Even Natalie keeps commenting on how different she looks!

Tonight is Christmas in June Family Fun Night at church! The kids are so exciting about eating Christmas cookies and having a snowball fight!

And I just found this pic from a couple weeks ago when Graham was not feeling well. I thought it was so cute how he had both his blankees, his pillow, AND his giraffe in bed with him. He needed a lot of extra lovies that day!

Summer Bucket List

I'm tired of staying home and doing the same old thing because it's "easier". Going out or doing things with all 4 kids is never a piece of cake. And really, it's not the number of kids that is hard, it's the ages. Graham still requires a lot of supervision and Leah (even as good of a baby as she is) requires most of my attention. BUT, I'm ready to meet the challenge head on and have decided to make a Summer Bucket List of things I want us to do this summer. And here, ladies and gentlemen, is a glimpse of our Summer Bucket List 2010.

go to the Children's Museum
go to Sea World
have a water balloon fight
go to a Free Summer Movie half-check*
join a summer reading program check
go on a picnic
make wall art for the kids' rooms

*we went to a Storybook Theatre of Texas presentation at the library. It was about 45 minutes long and the kids all did great. But I don't think Graham and Leah would have lasted much longer, so I think we'll save the movie for next year

I'm sure I'll add things on as I think of them. I'm hoping that I can do one thing a week. I don't want to overdo it, but am looking forward to doing some new things with the kids!

Big Girl Chair

The girls have this little Tinkerbell papasan chair. I sat Leah in it the other day and she LOVED it. I obviously have to be right by her when she's in it since she isn't harnessed in it, but it's so cute to see her get so giddy about sitting in it. It's as if she knows she's in a big girl chair! lol







and she just LOVES looking at her feet. Especially when I'm wearing her in the wrap and she has on her pink & green robeez sandals. But anytime she can see them, she's totally checking them out!




She's so much smaller than Erica was when I took this pic... :)


And I just have to share this pic of Graham. I know I say it a lot, but he just seems so big to me. He barely fits on his changing table anymore.

I just started a new Bible Study at church called "Calm My Anxious Heart: A Woman's Guide to Finding Contentment".I'm gonna be honest here: when I first heard that's what the bible study was, I thought "I don't have a problem with that at all!" Of course, I still wanted to be a part of the bible study. At the very least, it's a good excuse to see my friends each week, and don't forget about FREE CHILDCARE. Then as I started reading and answering the questions for the first week, I read something that struck me to my core. In the book, the "never allow yourself to complain about anything - not even the weather". You know, for someone who claims to be content, I have to admit, I do complain... a lot. I am a big time complainer. I complain about big(ish) things: Eric's deployments, illnesses etc. And I complain about small things: needing a haircut, having to go to the store for more bread etc. And yes, I even complain A LOT about the weather. In fact, even after doing the week's lesson, the first thing I did when I walked into the bible study and sat down next to my friend, was complain about Leah's recent sleeping habits (or lack thereof lol). So, I've come to realize that I probably do need this study more than I first realized. I've decided that each week, I'm going to find something new to focus on. This week, I'm going to start by trying to complain less. It's going to be hard, but definitely worth the effort. I'm going to try to find a positive spin for anything that I may be less than thrilled about. And to start things off, I'm going to comment on Leah's sleep habits. For the past few nights, she went from sleep good long stretches at night, to waking every 1-2 hours, wanting to nurse. At first, I was very frustrated by this, because mama needs her sleep! Now, I realize it was most likely a growth spurt. I am so thankful that she is growing and thriving! And to top it off, it's my milk that is making it so! I have wanted so badly to have a successful breastfeeding relationship with my kids, and I got more than I could ever ask for with Leah. Thank you Lord for my baby girl, who needs me, loves me, and is satisfied with me!

Memorial Day 2010

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! We were busy and got a lot accomplished. The kids were so excited to have Daddy home on Monday and we took advantage of it! I made strawberry and blueberry pancakes for breakfast, per Natalie's request. Then we spent the morning just relaxing. Eric grilled hamburgers for lunch. After lunch I took Graham and Natalie to get haircuts. I know Graham really needed that mop on his head trimmed down, but I wish I wouldn't have gotten so much cut off. It really changes his look so much! Of course I think he's adorable with any haircut, but I really liked the "less buzzed" look on him. At least it will be cool for the summer until it starts growing back out. Natalie just got a trim. During naptime, Eric helped me organize the schoolroom. He put together some shelves for me, and we rearranged some of the furniture. I am really excited to finally have things in order in here! I made fish tacos for dinner, then we took the kids to the school parking lot to ride bikes. Natalie wanted to learn to ride without training wheels. Actually, she's been asking for some time now, but we just haven't had the chance to take her and do it. I have never seen her more determined to do anything in her life! Eric would take her around the lap, holding on. Then she'd want to try a lap by herself. This went back and forth for quite a while, and she didn't look to be making too much progress. I know though, that if she kept with her determination, she'd get it. And sure enough, she was able to stay up for 2 seconds, then 4 seconds, then 10 seconds, until she was eventually able to go all the way across the parking lot by herself! Halfway through she wanted to take off her elbow and knee pads, and of course the one spill she took was after that. She only ended up with a small scrape on her knee, but no tears! I'm so proud of her! Now that she knows how to ride, we are going to get her a bigger bike, since she has outgrown this one.









chucking the deuce??? haha


We brought Graham's little ride-on car, but he decided it wasn't fast enough to ride it, so he'd push it...


And then when that still wasn't fast enough to keep up with his sisters, he tried to cut across the middle of the parking lot, but had to lift it over the bumps...



And eventually gave it up altogether and just ran...


and ran...


He kept testing his limits to see how far we'd let him go


He really wanted to go to the fenced in playground


And all that running around, made him sooo thirsty. I think he drank at least 2 bottles of water in the hour or so we were there.


Erica just recently got the hang of riding her bike at all. She told us she was NOT ready to ride without training wheels. Good girl, one step at a time!


She loved to ring her bell!


And I can't leave out sweet Leah. She was content the whole time!