McKee Family Life

Fail.

2012-01-24T14:17:00.003-06:00

Well, this cycle was a complete let down. I was confident this cycle was going to work. I ovulated when I was supposed to and started counting down the days. I'm super impatient, so those 14 days are pretty long. On 1/22, I was supposed to start so I decided to take a test...or two. They both revealed a very faint positive result. I was pretty excited because I didn't think false positives were possible. Apparently they are with tests that use blue dye. I tested again Monday morning and this morning, both negative (red dye).

So obviously I'm disappointed...and sad...and mad.

I'm praying this doesn't happen again. I'd rather get a million negative results than one more false positive. This sucks.

30th Birthday

2012-01-10T22:00:00.002-06:00

On January 7th at 9:52am, I was officially 30 years old. When did I get so old?! It literally seems like high school was just a couple of years ago...not 12. I had a great day. Michael let me sleep in while he got up with Harper. We had lunch at Fuzzy's then came home for a nap. What? Don't judge me. My sister planned a surprise dinner for me at Triple J Steakhouse. It ended up being my sister and her husband, my mom, and my best friend Gerianne. We had a great time and ended the night early...because I'm old. :)

Michael and I at the restaurant

My sister Amy and my mom

Amy and Andy
Thank y'all so much for making my birthday so special!

Oh, Harper Reese

2012-01-10T21:46:00.002-06:00

We drove back to Lubbock on New Years Eve instead of waiting until the 2nd like we had planned because I didn't feel very well. I got worse the closer we got to Lubbock, so Michael dropped me off at the urgent care clinic as soon as we got back into town. This was exactly how I wanted to spend my NYE! There was a really cute, young medical tech taking my blood pressure. He asked when my last cycle was, and I said December 21st. He said, "Oh, awesome! That's my birthday!!" Well, super. That conversation wasn't awkward at all. How do you recover from that? I ended up testing positive for strep, and they gave me a shot of rocephin in addition to the prescription for amoxicillon. The shot made me throw up and almost pass out, so they had to walk me to my car. Not embarrassing at all.

Harper was very excited to be back at our house so she could play with all of her cool, new presents. Watching Michael play with Harper makes me fall in love with him all over again.

Harper's preschool teacher sent this picture to me last Thursday. She got sent to the "office" today for doing it again. WHAT am I going to do with her?! Seriously.
The weather was so nice last week that we were actual able to take advantage of it.She looks cute and innocent, but.....
Harper is such a mess. Good thing she's cute. :)

Sisters

2012-01-01T21:15:00.001-06:00

Oh, how I love them. I can't imagine my life without them. They are the best thing since sliced bread.

Forest Cousins

2012-01-01T20:54:00.003-06:00

Oh how I love these kids! We took a walk out on my mom's property where we grew up. I have so many wonderful stories of exploring and searching for dinosaur bones out there!

Sarah Jane (19 months), Riley (3 1/2), Landon (6 on Jan 16th), Jordyn (10), Charlie (6 on Jan 30th), Harper (2)

Jordyn is the smartest little girl I have ever knows. I am not just saying this because she's my niece. She excels at everything she does. She gets first place on her science fair projects, scored perfect on her Taks test, in the GT program, and usually gets first place in any and every competition she's in.

This is what she wrote for her practice Taks test.

"I never thought that I'd hear his humble voice again. It was a crisp autumn day. I was sitting at my wooden desk at school, when I hear, BRING! BRING! Before I can remove my eyes from my math worksheet, I hear, "Jordyn, you're going home for the day." So I scrambled out of my tiny chair, packed up my bag, and rushed out the door. I manage to spot my mom, and I run to her side. "Why'd ya pull me out of school, momma?" I asked. "Well sweetie, your grandad had a heart attack, and he's not breathing, so we're going to the hospital." My heart sank. My eyes started swelling up, but I managed to hold back the dark tears. I walked slowly to the car, thinking if this is it. As soon as I threw myself into the backseat, I put a blanket on my head, and let the tears roll down my cold cheek. I started wondering if this will be the last time I see him. But, what if we don't make it in time? These dark thoughts swirled around in my mind. Soon, I fell into a deep sleep. Next thing I know, I hear a voice say, "We're here." I blink open my tired eyes and stumble out the car. I hesitently walked into the hospital doors, and into my grandad's room. As soon as I walked into the gloomy room, I giant teardrop flowed out of my eye. Then the doctor came in and told everyone to go into the waiting room because he had to take a test.
As I ploped down in one of the chairs, I wondered how many people have sat in this chair, feeling like me. In a couple of minutes, the door burst open, and the doctor said, "He's going to live!" Right there I had a smile the size of Manhatten, and I whispered, "Hallelujah!"

Landon is Jordyn's little brother and following pretty close in his sister's footsteps. He's incredibly smart and LOVES school. I especially love his texts he sends me from his iPod reading either "Morn" or "Text." Love you, Bubby!
And then there's Charlie. Oh, how I love this kid. He questions and challenges his teacher at school which makes me love him even more. The stuff he comes up with cracks me up. He will talk your ear off and knows more about space than I could ever know. He is so smart and hilarious. I'm so glad he's back in Lubbock!

Oh, Riley. She's spunky and hilarious. I hate that we only see her twice a year, but it makes it that much sweeter when are together. I love her little laugh and the little stories she tells. I wish they didn't live all the way in GA.

Harper Reese...my independent little 2 year old. We were determined to potty train her this week while we were at my mom's. After she pooped on the floor on the carpet right outside the bathroom and my sister stepping in it, we decided to put it off for a little while longer. :) She may be ready, but I'm not! I need to work on my gag reflex a little first.
Sweet Sarah Jane. She's so chubby and cute. It makes me want to kiss her face all day long. She and Harper had a love/hate relationship. They are usually yelling at each other and stealing everything from each other. She is my sweet little cubby wubbs!

Christmas at Grammy's

2012-01-01T20:40:00.004-06:00

We left Lubbock Christmas morning and headed to my mom's house in La Grange for our semiannual week vacation together. I am so thankful for my family and even more thankful that we all find it so important to spend this quality time together.

On Monday, the 26th, Amy drove in her from in-laws house in Arlington and Misti and her kids drove in from Bastrop after picking up April and Riley from the airport who flew in from Atlanta. Our Christmas Camp officially began! We all opened presents so the kids would have stuff to play with in hopes they would calm down and quit running all through the house. Our plan worked for a little bit. :) Harper's favorite presents were the Barbie convertible car and doll from her cousin Jordyn.

Riley was SUPER excited about her doll!
Charlie with his truck from Harper and Landon with his early birthday present from us.
Jordyn

On Tuesday, we ate at a little pizza place in town then went to White Rock Park to run some energy out of the kids. I was completely ready to swing out on the rope above the bacteria infested waters on a $50 dare, but my husband wouldn't let me. So lame.

So precious.

On Thursday, we went up to Monument Hill State Park to play and hike. I hadn't been there in about 5 1/2 years. It always makes me wish I lived back in central Texas. The view is amazing, and I have so many memories from this park.

This is how Sassypants hiked the whole way...with her hands on her hips. She certainly didn't learn this from me.
Best friends
Each holiday with my dad does get easier, but it doesn't make me miss him any less. I miss his sweet personal Christmas cards to each of his daughters complete with his horrible handwriting I could barely decipher.

Baumgarten Family

2011-12-30T22:03:00.004-06:00

Jeremy and I have known each other for a loooong time. We grew up going to the same church, so that's how I came to know his sweet wife Ashleigh. Their boys are precious, and even though it was freezing cold on our shoot, they did SO well!

Panger Family

2011-12-30T21:54:00.002-06:00

Julie is one of my very best friends. I was more than happy to join her on a photo shoot! She had so many great ideas, and they all turned out so cute!

Perez Kids Again!

2011-12-30T21:44:00.002-06:00

After the photo shoot with the little brothers, their older sister joined us at the Ranching Heritage Center a few days later for some more fun! She is so beautiful. I absolutely LOVE the confetti shots.

Thank you, Perez family for once again letting me capture your family!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T22:37:00.003-06:00

Santa came to our house a night early this year! Harper was super excited about her new doll house and played for a good while before we had to force her to see what else Santa brought. I had a really cute video of her reacting to her presents with "Oh cool!" But someone....not mentioning any names....got ahold of my phone and deleted it! I was so sad!

We had Christmas today with Papa, Grandma Mary, and Alexa. We went over a little before noon, had a wonderful lunch, and then opened presents after. We had a great time! Harper LOVES going to their house.

Super excited to open presents

Sweet! A barbie!!

Her new puppy

I am so blessed.

It has been snowing here all day, and it is finally starting to stick! I'm not sure I have ever had a white Christmas! We are headed out in the morning to go to my mom's for a week, so I am praying the roads aren't as bad as we are anticipating.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The Helms Family

2011-12-09T13:54:00.005-06:00

I knew this couple from almost 7 years ago! I knew them when they were just dating and still in school at TTU. Barry was roommates with someone I used to date a loooooong time ago. Shannon came into the gym where I work with their sweet baby boy a few months ago, and we reconnected! I'm so glad we did! You have such a sweet family.

We met downtown about an hour before sunset. It was cold, windy, and cloudy. They are so photogenic, you wouldn't even guess how miserable the weather was!

LOVE.

Sweet boy! He just wanted to run around and NOT pose for pictures.
See...much happier :)

Precious, precious picture!

Thank you for allowing me to capture these pictures of your sweet family!

The Lung Kids

2011-12-09T13:43:00.004-06:00

The kids' momma, Lara, and I know each other through the gym we both work at, and she also teaches the 3 year old class at Harper's preschool!

I had so much fun on this shoot! Zach is SUCH a sweet big brother, and I can tell they adore him. We met out at Vintage Township first then finished up downtown.

LOVE this!

Zach is so handsome! I hadn't seen him in a few years, and now he is taller than I am(not that it's very hard to accomplish)!
Tyler is so funny!

And then there is Miss Sassy Pants!

Thank you, Lara, for letting me take pictures of your sweet kids! I had a lot of fun!

The Barraza Family

2011-12-09T13:29:00.007-06:00

I met this sweet family about a year ago in the Kids Club at one of our gyms. I don't see them as much anymore since I am at a different location now. I keep trying to convince them to just bite the bullet, make the switch, and come visit me! ;)

We met on a chilly Sunday afternoon in downtown Lubbock. Their 2 boys are so sweet and polite. I realized they would do anything I asked for a candy cane in return!

My absolute favorite!

The boys and their daddy being super heros
Momma and her boys!
Oh, how I love this kid! He cracks me up!

This was his own pose! I love it! SO sweet.

I feel blessed to have spent this time with your family. Thank you!

The Luft Family

2011-12-09T13:15:00.003-06:00

A LONG time ago, I got on a kick of redesigning blogs just for fun. Kristin happened to be one of those people I designed a blog layout for! We didn't actually meet in person until about a year ago. She brought her kids into the gym where I work, and we finally made the connection that we knew each other! Small world!

We met on the Texas Tech campus while the wind was really strong and cold. We made it through without any crying (me....or the kids)!

Thank you, L Family for allowing me to capture these memories of your sweet family!

The Conklin Family

2011-12-08T21:56:00.005-06:00

I love this family. Lara is Harper's preschool teacher and has become one of my very good friends. We met at the Ranching Heritage Center. They have so many cool buildings!

Lara will be taking our family pictures this weekend! I can't wait!

The Kaldenberg Family

2011-12-08T21:11:00.005-06:00

My first family session was with the sweet Kaldenberg Family! Stacey and I work together in the Kids Club at the gym, and she also teaches the class just below Harper at preschool.

We met in a random field with old vehicles and tall weeds. The wind was pretty cold, but they toughed it out long enough to get some great pictures. We even avoided snake bites while wading through the tall grass!

The Latest

2011-12-08T21:11:00.001-06:00

We moved out of our little apartment in the middle of November. It was bittersweet for sure. We brought Harper home from the hospital to this apartment, and it holds so many good memories. I will not, however, miss our neighbors letting their dog crap on our doormat.

We moved into a much roomier duplex in a nice neighborhood and great school district (we plan on staying here a while!). Harper is always talking about the "new house" and loves all of the room she has to make run around and mess up. Seriously, this girl can tear the place up in a matter of seconds.

Wearing a helmet while watching Dora. Those adventures get dangerous sometimes. You can never be too careful.

Our first fire in our new home
Harper putting on the first ornament
I love Christmas and LOVE having a fireplace!
This past Monday the temperature dropped, and we got our first snow of the season! It wasn't much, but it was enough to love it!
Harper has been pretty snotty so I wouldn't let her play in it, but I definitely had to get her to pose for a picture.
Santa made a visit to Harper's preschool on Tuesday. When I picked her up that day, I asked her teacher how she "handled" Santa. She said, "Oh, she did fine!" I picked her up from school today and opened up a card with this picture in it. HILARIOUS! Apparently, she stopped crying before she saw Ms. Lara in the hall so she assumed she did great. HA! So funny. I think these kinds of Santa pictures are my absolute favorite!

On a side note, I decided to start my own photography business in addition to my current job at the gym. I do photo shoots on the weekends, and I absolutely LOVE it! So get ready for a lot of session posts to follow!

Infertility Thoughts

2011-12-01T20:28:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if you're aware, but infertility sucks. I've been a little MIA from the blogging world partly because of this fact...or maybe it's because our computer got fried from a tiny lightening storm we had last week. Either way, it's been a while, but I'm back. I have a lot of stories and pictures to get caught up on from the past month, but I'll leave that for another time. Right now I just need to get my thoughts out about how much I hate my crappy ovaries.

I think the last time I mentioned anything about our ttc journey, I was beginning round 2 of clomid 100mg/metformin. Well, here I am nearing the end of my third round with a complete cycle of negative opk. If you're lost with the terms, google them. It's so frustrating. That's really all I wanted to get out. That it's frustrating, and it just sucks. Plain and simple.

My Baby Girl is TWO!

2011-10-28T21:08:00.004-05:00

I still can't believe it's been TWO years since I first held my baby girl. What an incredibly surreal moment that I will never ever forget.

We had such a fun day today. We started it off by going to the Silly Science Carnival at the Science Spectrum.

Hiding in a tree

Those are some silly anchors!

After the Science Spectrum, we went to lunch with Amy and SJ and home for a nap while I did laundry.

We played for a while in her room when she woke up. (Thank you for the outfit, Grammy!)

She rode her Barbie trike outside for a while.

When Daddy got off work, we went to the Ranching Heritage Center for some trick or treating. There was a sweet lady who just came into the states from Japan. She was obsessed with Harper and kept taking her picture. So funny!

Michael kept telling Harper she had to take a picture in the hay because "that's what she's made of."

Candy!

Just cute.

Have you ever seen a scarecrow ride a bull? No? Well, you're welcome.

We went to Texas Roadhouse for Harper's birthday dinner. Since she doesn't really have an opinion, we went to our favorite place. :)

Working hard on her picture

Steak with A-1. That's my girl!

She was being SO silly on the way home. Man, I love this kid.

Harper,

You are one of the silliest little girls I have ever met. You love Barbie, Mickey Mouse, Olivia, and Elmo. You love to color on anything and everything (unfortunately). You are still pretty picky about what you eat, but you will eat almost anything if you have "dip dip." You love school and don't even care to tell me bye when I drop you off. It's bittersweet. Your best friend is Ju Ju (Juliana), and you talk about her all throughout the day. She calls you her baby sister. You are obsessed with shoes, and you frequently try to take your clothes off in public. Please don't continue to do this when you're 18. That's not an appropriate way to earn money.

You wear mostly 24 month or 2T clothes, size 5 shoe, size 4 diapers, and you weigh about 22 pounds. You talk SO much, and we are starting to understand you a lot more. Some of my favorite things you say are I love you, Yessssss, and Amen (when singing If You're Happy and you Know it).

You have blessed my life way more than you will ever know. You are the answer to so many prayers. I love you baby girl!

Fall Festival @ Preschool

2011-10-28T14:22:00.005-05:00

Thursday was the Fall Festival at Harper's school. Our morning started off quite rough! We were already running late and my car wouldn't start. I'm guessing the drastic drop in temperature killed my battery. My sister had to come pick us up, and we got to school about 20 minutes late. It was freezing and raining so I was running into the building with Harper and all of her stuff. I slipped right by the door to the building, we both fell, and I completely dropped Harper. It was horrible! We are both fine, but it just scared the crap out of me. I was pretty sure I had broken my right pinky finger in the fall, but today it feels much better.

Anyway, on to the festival. Once we got there, it was great! :)

Cutest scarecrow I have ever seen! Thank you, Pinterest, for helping my imagination!

Each class went to each of the other classrooms, played games, and got candy.

Listening to Miss Beki's story.

Playing a game in one of the rooms

Miss Lara's cute little class!

Dr. SJ

Miss Lara's little girl, Paityn. Isn't she precious?! She and Harper love each other!

Harper had so much fun, and I am so thankful for her wonderful preschool!

Harper's 2nd Birthday Party

2011-10-27T20:03:00.005-05:00

We had Harper's 2nd birthday party last Sunday at the Corn Maize. It was SO fun! We had about 45 people there to help us celebrate our sweet baby girl. We feel incredibly blessed to have every single person there. I know a lot of you were there in spirit!

Cute birthday banner

We had pizza for everyone, and Harper figured she needed to help SJ out.

Presents!! I LOVE how all of the kids were so interested in what she was opening. It cracked me up.

Harper got a giftcard from GG, and she figured she should get that baby in her pocket before it was stolen.

Cute owl cupcakes. Thank you, Pinterest!

Happy Birthday!!

Make a wish

Definitely enjoying that cupcake

All of Harper's friends on the cow train

Harper's sweet teacher, Lara, and her girls. I love them!

Finding the perfect pumpkin

I can't thank everyone enough for coming out to celebrate with us. I feel so honored and blessed to call all of you my friends, and thank you for loving my baby girl!

The Lion King at the Drive-In!

2011-10-17T22:42:00.003-05:00

Friday night, we headed out to the Drive-In to watch The Lion King. I LOVE this movie and was hoping Harper would too. She was too busy messin' (imagine that). We met our friends Alana, Jonathan, and Juliana out there.

Eating all of Daddy's popcorn

Her BFF, Juliana!

Sweet outfit!

Messin'.....

Started out in the chairs

And moved into the Durango

We love the drive-in, and we love our friends!

iPhone Pictures

2011-10-17T22:34:00.002-05:00

This is usually her wardrobe when we are at home. No wonder she strips in public.

Harper with her bff, Juliana at the gym

No caption necessary

Grammy with her two youngest babies after ballet class

Being a toot and running from me

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-17T22:23:00.003-05:00

I LOVE Halloween. I love it even more now that I have a kid to dress up. :) This year I decided I was going to attempt to make a costume. Thanks to Pinterest, I found some CUTE ideas! The first one I tried out was this scarecrow. LOVE it.

The second costume I made for Harper was the Queen of Hearts. Oh my word! I think this one is my favorite! Now I just have to decide which costume she will wear for her school Fall Festival and which one for Halloween. Decisions, decisions.

I made this cute little witch costume for my friend's little girl!

I may have to make all of her costumes from now on. It was so much fun!

Tumbling Class

2011-10-17T22:14:00.005-05:00

Harper started a tumbling class a couple of weeks ago. She did so much better than she does in ballet class. Her favorite part was the balance beam. She kept straddling it and saying "yee-haw!" Ha! Crazy kid.

Getting a sticker

One more turn on the balance beam

I completely forgot about tumbling this past week. Oops! Thursdays are always a little crazy for me, so I don't feel too bad about forgetting!

Lucy is Three!

2011-10-15T17:35:00.004-05:00

This afternoon we went to Lucy's 3rd birthday party! She LOVES all things girly, so it was very fitting that she had a Little Mermaid themed party. The kids swam a little then went inside for the party.

Tucker, Harper, and Juliana

Juliana and Kitzy

Cute!

Happy Birthday, Lucy!

Diggin' in

All of the kids at the party

We had so much fun! Happy Birthday, sweet Lucy!

Charlie's First Basketball Game

2011-10-15T17:30:00.004-05:00

Amy and Andy are in Boston, so Michael and I stood as their stand-ins at Charlie's first basketball game. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time! Those kids are hilarious! One of the kids decided to just lay down in the paint during the game. Awesome.

Waiting to go into the gym

Warm-up

Who wants to jump?!

Charlie does!

Jumping!

Good game!

Charlie's team won! I think the final score was 14-0. :)

Maddy is 3!!

2011-10-12T22:14:00.005-05:00

This past Sunday we celebrated Maddy's 3rd birthday! I LOVE this kid! He is SO funny. He has such an incredible story, and he's only 3. I am so thankful he was brought into Kim and Brooke's lives. He is one lucky kid to be loved so much!

He had a construction party, and it was AWESOME! Brooke and Kim did an awesome job with the decorations and fun activities for the kids.

Sweet Maddy!

I made Maddy this tractor shirt for his birthday!

Check out these cups for the kids! So cute!

The last activity was to paint the house. The kids had so much fun. Of course, there was some painting each other, stepping in the paint, and eating the paint. But everyone had a great time!

Most of the construction crew.

Thank you, Maddy, for letting us celebrate with you!

TTC Update:

Cycle 2

CD 5: Start Clomid 10/14/11

TTC Cycle 1 Update

2011-10-09T11:22:00.002-05:00

CD 30: Negative hpt 10/08/11

CD 36: If hpt is still negative, stop progesterone 10/14/11

One of the reasons I debated whether to travel through our fertility journey for the whole world to see.....heartbreak. I prayed I wouldn't get emotional through this process, at least in the beginning knowing it look 18 months and 16 rounds of fertility medication to conceive Harper, yet I lay in bed (at 11:30am) not wanting to do anything. Part of me feels completely ridiculous. The rational part of my brain says "seriously it's only the first cycle!" But my heart still hurts. Bad. I sat in bible class this morning wishing it were different and hoping I could keep my game face on at least until I left the building. Poor Michael. He has to deal with an emotionally train-wrecked wife and take care of a hyper 2 year old. Then I feel even worse. It's a never-ending cycle.

Through all of this, I'm thankful for my loving family. I'm thankful for friends who text me just to say they are thinking of me and that I am loved. I'm thankful for a God who listens to me.

Harper--2 Years Old

2011-10-03T13:39:00.004-05:00

I really wanted to take some pictures of Harper to mark her 2 years of life. She had an appointment this morning, so we headed downtown when we were done. I fully expected a typical toddler experience with it being lunch time and almost nap time, but she surprised me, and I was able to get some pretty good pictures!

Man, she's a cute kid!

What's in a Name?

2011-10-03T00:31:00.003-05:00

People ask me all the time how we came up with Harper's name. Before we even got married, we had planned on using all "M" names for our kids. How confusing would that be? I mean, we are already Michael and Melody McKee, and our dog is Max! Seriously, what were we thinking? I'm glad we skipped over that fabulous plan.

When we first found out we were pregnant, we had it pretty narrowed down to which names we liked. Honestly, I can't even think of them! "Harper" wasn't on our list. We hadn't really even heard of it being used much. One night we were driving back to Wilson after grocery shopping in Lubbock, listening to Ben Harper. I love Ben Harper. His voice just calms me for some reason. We used his song "Forever" in our wedding. If you have never listened to this song, do it. It's awesome. Anyway, back to the story. So we were driving back to Wilson just listening to the music. I just randomly said that I liked the name "Harper" for a girl, and that was that. Harper was our girl name. We decided to wait to choose a middle name until we knew the gender. No need to waste time coming up with a name if she turned out to be a he. We had "Cohen" picked out for a boy. We really weren't set on it, but that's what we were telling people.

The day we found out she was in fact a "Harper," I had already planned to drive to my parents' house in La Grange. The whole way there I was trying to come up with a middle name. Michael suggested "Ann" which is my middle name. It sounds great and all, but I am a freak about initials. She would have been "HAM." What if she's chubby in middle school? Kids will make fun of her! So "Ann" was thrown out.

My sweet friend Jennifer gave birth to triplets in November 2007 at 24 weeks gestation. Sweet baby girl, Evan Reese, went to be with Jesus just 5 short hours after birth. I had always loved the name Reese, so after a couple of failed attempts at trying to agree on a name, I texted Michael to ask him what he thought about "Harper Reese," and we actually agreed on a name for our baby girl! Then I texted Jennifer to let her know we would be using that name in remembrance of her angel baby.

So there you have it.

How did you come up with your kids' names?

Having worked in the school system and child care, a lot of crazy names come up. What I want to say is..."Do you seriously think your kid is going to get that job with "Precious" at the top of her resume?" I bite my tongue for now, but I can't promise anything for the future.

Corn Maize

2011-10-01T20:45:00.004-05:00

If you live in or around Lubbock, you should definitely take a trip out to the Corn Maize! We had SO much fun this afternoon. About a month ago, we purchased a great deal from Groupon for 2 tickets into the maize for $7 ($16 value), and children 4 and under enter for free. The weather was perfect. It wasn't crowded, and all three of us LOVED it! It is so beautiful out there!

Taking it all in

Petting the pigs (which completely freaked her out), goats, and cow

Waiting for the hayride to start

Hayride to the pumpkin patch

Running and trying to find a baby pumpkin

Found one!

Conquering the maize

This was as far as she got on the cow train. They hadn't even moved yet, and she freaked out, so no train ride for her!

We ate at Wing Stop after spending 2 hours at the maize.

We had SO much fun! I think we will plan to have her birthday party out there next year. It's the perfect setup!

First Ballet Class

2011-09-30T17:37:00.002-05:00

Harper had her first ballet class today! It's a mommy and me class with the Lubbock Parks & Rec. She was hungry and tired which made for a really fun time. :)

On the way

There was a lot of this.....along with whining and crying.

Slowly starting to warm up when the class was almost over

VERY excited Miss Abby gave her a sticker after class

Meltdown....

Harper with her teacher Miss Abby

Sarah Jane, Corley, and Harper

TTC Update:

CD 20: Started 200mg of Progesterone/day 9/27/11

The progesterone has started to make me feel pretty sick with vomiting and hot flashes. It isn't pretty but necessary. My progesterone level is too low and doesn't rise normally on it's own like it is supposed to after conception which may have been the cause for my miscarriage in 2007. I started this same dosage with every cycle of clomid before I conceived Harper. The exciting news is if the egg was released and fertilized, implantation should occur 10/03/11 and can start testing on 10/07/11.

23 Months!

2011-09-29T00:18:00.007-05:00

To my sweet Harper Reese,

You are 23 months old! I feel like you are growing up way too fast these days. Every day you learn a new word, and you are starting to put words together. This past month you started preschool, and you are finally getting to the point where you don't cry when I drop you off! You love your teacher Mrs. Lara. She loves you like her own, and I am so thankful for that. It makes me not have to worry so much while you are at school.

We have started going to church on Wednesday nights at the same church where you go to preschool. You seem to really love it. Tonight, your teacher informed me you said the word "bible." That makes my heart happy. You also love to "read" your little bible at home and point to baby Jesus and say His name.

You have started to randomly sing songs. This started once you were going to preschool. I love it! I have NO idea what you are singing, but it's still cute. You recently made an apple book at school and constantly talk about apples all of the time. It cracks me up. One day you brought an apple home and acted like it was your best friend. You even slept with it! Silly baby.

We are quickly approaching your 2nd birthday, and I have so many mixed emotions. I LOVE watching you grow and learn, but in the same breath, I don't want you to grow up! You will always be my baby no matter what. I still remember the exact moment I saw your sweet face. It was the most unfathomable, surreal moment. You let out the sweetest little cry, and I couldn't believe you were mine. Forever. Why did God trust me with such a precious gift? I may never know.

There are a lot of things happening in your last month as a 1 year old! You start tumbling class tomorrow and ballet on Friday. I'm pretty sure it will be the cutest sight I have ever seen. In a few weeks, you and I will be going to homecoming at ACU! You will get to meet some more of mommy's friends and some potential college roommates. :) The week after homecoming is your birthday party! You are one lucky little girl to have so many people love you. How couldn't they? You are a pretty cute kid. The Friday after your party, you will officially be 2 years old at 8:04 am on October 28th.

You are the answer to so many prayers and my miracle baby. I hope you grow up knowing how much your daddy and I love you. I promise you there will never be a day when I don't tell you "I love you."

Happy 23 months, sweet girl.

South Plains Fair

2011-09-26T22:18:00.005-05:00

Michael took the day off so we could go to the fair. It's free parking and entry before noon, so we couldn't pass that up! Who could pass up the awesome fair food anyway?!

There were camel and pony rides, but I do believe stinky would have freaked.

Right as we got to the petting zoo, they were starting the cow milking presentation!

Daddy and Harper

Sweet SJ!

Squirting the milk.

Hooked up

"You seriously want me to touch this goat?"

Sheep!

Whining while we waited for lunch

Asleep within a couple of minutes

In other news.....I love Pinterest. I may or may not be addicted. It's hard to tell. I found the CUTEST Halloween costumes on there! They were SO easy to make! I LOVE how they turned out!

Scarecrow

Queen of Hearts

My Ovaries are Lame.

2011-09-25T23:25:00.004-05:00

One of the downsides to taking clomid is it causes my ovaries to hurt. BAD! In addition to them being covered in cysts, they swell and cause a constant pain in my abdomen until the egg is released. It lasted two days. It was horrible! I forgot about this part! It's kind of like forgetting how miserably sick and tired I was throughout my entire pregnancy.

Anyway.....

Here are some of Harper's latest pictures. Friday morning we met some friends at the park for a play date!

Seriously, I love this kid.

TTC Update (Based on 30 day cycle):

CD 15: Positive Ovulation 9/24/11

CD 28: 50+% Positive Urine hCG 10/07/11

CD 29: Expected next period 10/08/11

CD 31: 95+% Positive Urine hCG 10/10/11

Our Road to Pregnancy

2011-09-22T23:55:00.003-05:00

I am pretty sure Michael and I talked on our first date about wanting to be parents someday. Not so much with each other (awkward....it was our first date!) but just shared that desire. I have wanted to be a mom from the time I knew what that meant. When Michael and I got married in December 2006, he still had a few years left of school. We weren't trying to get pregnant, but we also weren't preventing it. After a little over 6 months of marriage, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back to sleep. I got up to go to the bathroom and decided to take a pregnancy test. Honestly, I have NO idea what would possess me to do that in the middle of the night! I left it in the bathroom, got on the computer, and forgot about the test all together until I went to use the restroom one more time before trying to get some more sleep. There was the test sitting on the counter...with a VERY obvious plus sign. I was in complete shock and started to panic a little. By this time, it was around 4am and Michael was obviously dead to the world. I shook him a little, he moaned, and I said, "Umm baby? I think I'm pregnant." He rolled back over and started snoring again.

The next couple of weeks were a blur. I blurted out to the whole world who would listen that I was going to be a mother. Something I had waited my whole life for. I went in for my first ultrasound when I was 7 weeks because my HCG levels were low. I had NO idea what that meant and therefore wasn't concerned. We had the ultrasound, and they determined I wasn't as far along as I had thought (or so they thought). A couple of days later, I got really sick and couldn't keep anything down. I started spotting. I called my OB's office, and the oh-so-awesome nurse told me they couldn't get me in but to go to the walk-in clinic. Why I didn't go to the ER when I started spotting, I am not sure. I got to the walk-in clinic, and they immediately sent me to the ER. For some reason, I was relatively calm through all of this. Michael and I got there, they gave me 2 bags of fluid and sent me home with an ultrasound appointment the next day. The ultrasound tech looked at my uterus, did some measurements, and announced she was going to call my doctor and would be right back. At this point, I started to get nervous. She came back into the room a few minutes later and said I had an appointment with my OB at 1:00 that same day. I remember asking her questions, but she wasn't allowed to answer them.

We later found out at the appointment that my body was in the process of a miscarriage. I was devastated. What could I have possibly done wrong to cause this to happen? This is what was going through my head at the time. Obviously now, I know there's nothing that could have been done differently. I miscarried a week or so later at my sister's house...in her guest bathroom. I picked up the little grey colored sack out of the toilet and asked my oldest sister (who had miscarried before) if that was in fact my baby. It was. From the beginning of the spotting until I "recovered" from the physical trauma, was three weeks. I missed three weeks of work because I lost my first baby.

I didn't think I would ever be the same. My doctor told me to wait at least 2 months before trying to conceive again. After unsuccessfully trying to conceive on our own for 6 months, I went back to my doctor to see what the next step was. For multiple reasons, I ended up switching doctors after this meeting. Michael and I met with my new doctor and after some tests, he realized I had severe PCOS. He immediately started me on progesterone to regulate my cycles. I started 50mg of clomid for 5 cycles with no ovulation. He increased it to 100mg of clomid for 5 more cycles, also with no ovulation. By this time, it had been 16 months since we had miscarried. My doctor decided to combine the 100mg of clomid with metformin (which is actually used for diabetes). He explained to me that the combination of these 2 medications can help women with PCOS to ovulate. Well, after my first round of the combination, I ovulated. I didn't conceive on that cycle so we went a second month on the combination.

It was the day I was supposed to start my period after the second round, and I felt SO sick. I thought for sure I was pregnant. I was coaching/teaching at the time and ran home during lunch to take a pregnancy test. Negative. Really?! I was SO sure I was pregnant. A week later, I was still feeling really sick and was SO tired. It was a Saturday, and Michael was at work. I had to run to the grocery store to get a few things and decided to just grab a pregnancy test just for the heck of it. I still hadn't started my period, but since I had already had a negative pregnancy test, I expected this one to read the same. I got home and took the test. To my complete shock, it was positive! I called Michael and said very calmly that I took a test, and it was positive. I don't even remember his response, but when he got home we were both so happy.

My pregnancy was filled with a lot of sleeping, vomiting, dehydration, and mild contractions. It was wonderful. :) On October 28, 2009, we were blessed with the most precious baby girl. All of the pain from the miscarriage seemed to disappear, and my heart felt whole again. No one can possibly understand this joy unless experienced first hand, whether that baby was formed inside you or formed inside another body and handed to you to be yours forever.

Now we are rapidly approaching the celebration of a TWO year old. How can this even be possible? She is the sneakiest little mess I have ever met. Miss Harper Reese, I love you so much. You were worth the wait.

Now that I am quickly nearing 30 with Michael 3 years older than me, we have started down this same road again. We have always had the desire to have more than one child. I am right in the middle of my first round of the combination of 100mg of clomid and metformin. I wanted to write this to give hope to those of you who may still be waiting for that first child. I want to share our journey of trying to conceive a second child and selfishly ask for your prayers as well. I am very nervous to put myself out there like this, but that's the purpose of a public blog, right?

So here are my stats of now:

CD 1: 9/8/11

CD 5: Beginning of clomid 9/12/11

CD 9: End of clomid 9/16/11

CD 14: Expected ovulation 9/21/11 (Negative)

CD 28: Expected end of cycle 10/06/11

One of These Days

2011-09-16T20:57:00.004-05:00

There's been so many things weighing on my mind lately and can't quite sort it all out.

I think Harper will benefit and learn so much from being in preschool, so why do I feel guilty putting her in a 2-day a week program if I am able to bring her to work with me? I don't know what my problem is!
I want to be able to find "that place" to raise my family. You know, the place you have thought about since you were little. The place where your kids will grow up then come back to visit when they're in college, married, and have their own kids.
I want there to be a church Harper will grow up in and refer back to when she's older.
I want to be a more patient wife and mom.
I wish I had the time to have dinner ready when Michael gets home from work.
I want Harper to have a sibling to grow up with and love. And when is the right time for this?

Then at the end of the day, I tell my sweet husband I love him and kiss this precious baby goodnight. At the end of the day, I'm thankful for what I have right now in this moment.

9/11: We Will Never Forget

2011-09-11T20:53:00.003-05:00

I was a sophomore in college at ACU. I remember being dismissed from my 8:00 Environmental Science class early and expected the campus center to be pretty empty. I remember walking in and thinking it was really weird that so many people were watching the news on the TVs. I stopped to check out what the big deal was just as the plane flew into the second tower. We all just stood in shock and horror. We were all so confused and didn't really know what was going on. Chapel that day was spent in prayer for our country, our friends, our family, our neighbors, our president....I remember at multiple points throughout the day being so scared, crying, and sitting in my dorm room with my roommate, Tara, glued to the news on the TV. I will NEVER forget that day and the people who selflessly died out of innocence and courage. I pray their sacrifice will always remain such an important part of history.

There's a park in Lubbock that puts up flags as an American tribute to the 9/11 victims. I pray Harper will grow up knowing our stories from this day ten years ago.

Flashback to 2010

Michael was stationed at Travis AFB on 9/11/2011. His grandfather died two days later and had to take a bus from California to Texas since all flights were grounded. A couple of months later, he was deployed. I love that Michael will be able to tell Harper these stories. She'll be even more proud to call him her daddy.

Flashback!

To all of the victims, their families, their friends, the first responders, and the military...I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We will never forget.

Apple Butter Festival 2011 (and a flashback)

2011-09-11T20:02:00.006-05:00

We headed to the Apple Country orchards today for the Apple Butter Festival! It was so hot, so we didn't stay very long. We made it long enough to (try to) feed the goats and sheep, ride the hay ride and pick a couple of apples.

Apparently, the goats and sheep busted out of their pen Friday night and had their fair share of apples from the orchard. They weren't very interested in the feed.

Flashback to 2010!

Harper was fascinated with of the "bapples" everywhere!

Flashback!

Admiring her pick

Flashback!

This was after about 20 minutes, and her cheeks were SO red.

We were really looking forward to the apple cider slushes, but they were in the process of making more when we were leaving and didn't want to wait around for them to freeze. Oh well. I suppose I can wait until next year!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Corley!

2011-09-10T21:37:00.006-05:00

Today we went to Legacy Play Village for Corley's 3rd birthday party! She is one of the sweetest, most beautiful little girls I have ever met. Corley's mom, Stacey, works with me at the gym, and she is also Sarah Jane's teacher at preschool! I love them!

Birthday girl!

Harper entertaining us

Pearl!

Harper

Lucy!

Corley with her monster cake

Sweet friends having some cupcakes

Juliana

Corley

Sweet girl!

Opening the dress up trunk from Harper!

Corley, thank you so much for inviting us to your birthday party! I hope you enjoy the lip gloss. ;)

Ice Cream and Ballet

2011-09-08T21:54:00.002-05:00

After school today, we went to this cute little ice cream place called Holly Hop. Harper was fascinated by the bar stools and not so much in the ice cream. She wouldn't even try it!

I got her the "Scooper Hero" flavor. She wasn't impressed.

At one point, she was messing around and fell out of the chair on her head. Seriously. She messes more than any other kid I have ever known.

Checking out the juke box

I registered Harper for a ballet class on Friday mornings and tumbling class on Thursday afternoon starting in a couple of weeks. I didn't even know they made leotards this small!

Is she not the cutest ballerina you have ever seen?!

Such a mess!

On a different note, Harper did much better at school today! She cried at drop off but calmed down pretty quickly. I am SO very thankful we decided to put Harper in this preschool. The school is wonderful, her teacher is SO sweet, and I actually have a little time to myself during the week!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Harper's First Day of Preschool

2011-09-06T18:07:00.003-05:00

Harper's first day went as well as I expected it to...with a melt down at drop off, didn't nap well, and was happy to see me when I picked her up! She was completely exhausted, but she will get used to it eventually. Unfortunately, she is now sick at home with a fever of 102. My sister is home sick with the same stuff, so I blame it on her. :)

Coloring before we left for school

Saying bye to her puppy

Passed out after I left work this afternoon

Harper insisted on carrying her backpack into school. We stepped inside the building, and she literally threw herself on the floor and started crying. Really? We weren't even in the classroom yet! Overall, she had a great day, and I'm sure the drop off will get better.

Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-04T23:04:00.005-05:00

Before I dive into our fun-filled Labor Day activities, I have to express how much my heart is breaking for the people who have lost their homes tonight. Wildfires are 0% contained in Bastrop County along with fires all over areas of Texas. My mom, sister Misti, and her two kids are here visiting for the weekend. My aunt (who lives with my mom in La Grange) called this evening saying their neighborhood was being evacuated due to fires. It has been so scary all evening as we sat glued to our iPhones, searching for updates. Mom's house is okay for right now, but so many people are left without their homes today. Several of my sister Misti's friends have lost their homes. (Misti lives in Bastrop) I can't imagine. All I can do is pray. Thank you to the men and women who are risking your lives to fight these fires.

Photo from Facebook of the fires in Bastrop County

The family got into town on Friday around 6pm. We had dinner, hung out, and the kids played together. I am so thankful all of our kids love each other so much!

Saturday, Michael, Harper, and I met everyone over at my sister's house to decide what the plan was for the day. We, of course, had to get some pictures of our cute kids.

Jordyn and Sarah Jane

The two "babies"

Harper in her game day get-up!

She found Charlie's boots....

Charlie and Landon (2 weeks apart in age)

We went to Fuzzy's Taco Shop for lunch. If you haven't eaten there, you should! The tempura fish tacos are amazing!

Michael got stuck at the kid's table.

Misti and mom took the babies home for naps while the rest of us hung out at Bodyworks for some laser tag, ropes course, video games, and soccer.

Jordyn and Michael

Me and Landon

Playing soccer

We contemplated going to the pool after Bodyworks, but we just rested for a while instead. After dinner we went to Maxey Park to wear the kids out a little.

Harper

Sarah Jane

Landon and Jordyn

We were only at the park for about 40 minutes before a huge wall of dirt started heading our way. We ran to the cars and got the heck out of dodge before the dirt storm took us over. We grabbed some ice cream from Sheridan's then headed back to my sister's house for the evening.

Today we hung out at Amy's house until Joyland opened at 2pm. The weather was PERFECT! It was cloudy and hung around the 70 degree mark for most of the afternoon. We were almost too cold for the amusement park! How crazy is that?!

Landon and Charlie

Landon, Charlie, and Jordyn

The babies stayed home with my mom so they could nap. Mom isn't so much a ride kind of person, so she didn't mind taking one for the team to snuggle with these stinky babies. :)

Sarah Jane and Harper

This evening we spent most of the time seeking updates on the wildfires. The family heads back to La Grange and Bastrop in the morning, and I head back to work tomorrow afternoon. We had a wonderful weekend and can't wait to do it again next year!

Baby Oliver at 6 Days Old

2011-09-02T14:50:00.003-05:00

I had the fabulous opportunity to take more pictures of this sweet baby today. He was asleep the whole time and was the perfect little model. Isn't he precious?!

Jo and Richard, you have one of the sweetest babies I have ever seen. Thank you for opening up your home to me (and my VERY cranky kid) and allowing me to capture this priceless gift.

Open House

2011-09-02T14:42:00.003-05:00

Harper had open house at school last night. She will be going to preschool two days a week starting next Tuesday and will be in Ms. Lara's owl class. I'm a little too excited about all of the owl decor. I think Harper will do fine once she gets used to going. She had a minor freak out when she thought we were leaving her last night which makes me REALLY look forward to the whole drop off process next week. ;)

Her sweet teacher took some pictures and sent them to me today. Aren't they cute? I can't believe how old Harper looks.

Here's to the start of a GREAT school year!

22 Months Old

2011-08-28T22:11:00.003-05:00

Harper Reese,

You are 22 months old today! I can't believe we only have a couple months left before you are TWO. Here are some things about you at 22 months....

You weigh about 21 pounds give or take a few ounces.
You are still completely obsessed with socks and shoes. This grosses me out when you try on other kids' shoes and socks at work.
You look very innocent, but you mess more than ANY kid I have ever known.
Your last day with your paci was at bedtime on 8/24/11.
You are obsessed with your "purse" from Subway and put anything and everything in it then carry it around.
You also LOVE your shopping cart you got from Brooke, Kim, and Maddy on your 1st birthday. You will dig clothes out and put them in your cart.
You wear 18 month, 24 month, and 2T clothes.
You wear a size 4 or 4/5 shoe.
You wear size 3 or 4 diaper and have discovered how cool your "Dowa" big girl panties are.
Your vocabulary has really taken off. The words I hear most frequently from you are mommy, daddy, mimi, puppy, baby, stuck, help, more, and bye-bye.
I LOVE it when you say "bye-bye, people." It sounds pretty funny!
You LOVE to swim and hope to start going to the pool more often.
Last night you tried to climb out of your crib by stacking your pillow pets. You must have slipped and fallen back into your crib because Daddy came in to find you laying on your back in the crib crying really hard.
You will climb off your changing table if we turn our backs for one second.
You start school in a week.

I love you more every day. Sometimes you are a challenge, but I guess that comes with the territory of you turning two soon. Even though you test my patience with your whining, crying, and stomping your feet, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

Love,

Mommy

Sweet Baby Oliver

2011-08-28T20:28:00.004-05:00

Oliver Travers Reedy

Born 8/27/11

8lbs 7oz

20.7 inches

To Richard and Jo

Thank you for letting me invade your hospital room to snuggle with your sweet baby! He is absolutely precious! Worth the wait, I would say! :)

Breakfast Date and Pets

2011-08-27T15:03:00.002-05:00

I have a feeling Harper's "sleeping in" days may be over now that her paci is gone. Sigh... She woke up at 7:30. Not cool. I decided to make the most of it and got ready for a Krispy Kreme breakfast date. Michael didn't want to go so we picked up Aunt Alexa (Michael's little sister).

Harper apparently thought her hat was a plate.

Donut glaze every.where.

Aunt Alexa and Harper

We ran a few errands then picked Michael up to go look at the puppies for adoption at Petsmart and also went by the new animal shelter. Harper's favorite part of all of it....the hand sanitizer. The girl is obsessed.

If you haven't been to Walter's World in Lubbock, you should go. Since we don't have a zoo, this is the only thing close to it. You can pay $3.50 to go in the back and look at their "jungle."

Lemurs

Cobra

I think I pissed it off.

Squirrel Monkeys

This monkey was eating the bugs off the other monkey's butt. Not its proudest moment.

He LOVED my phone! He would lay his head on the glass, suck his thumb, and watch my phone. Cute wittle monkey!

Now it's naptime!

Fabulous Friday!

2011-08-27T14:43:00.003-05:00

Since Friday was only day two without the paci, my plan was to completely wear Harper out so she would be too exhausted not to take a nap. Great plan, right?! Well, it worked wonders!

We started out at Maxey Park with some friends. Some girls from work (Leah and April) met us there for a play date. It was breezy and hardly anyone was there. It was perfect! We let the kids play for about an hour and a half.

Kaysley, Kinsley, Harper (we didn't get a picture with Leah's kids before they left!)

After the park, we went to the new Chick-Fil-A. We got there before the crowd and let the kids play a little after they ate. Michael and April's husband, Coby, met us there on their lunch break. While the husbands headed back to work, we all headed home for naps!

After naps, we (including April and her kids) went to Bodyworks to swim. Did I mention I LOVE going to parks, Chick-Fil-A, and the pool during the school year?! It was SO awesome. There were about 5 other people in the pool besides us. Fabulous!
I would say that was definitely a fabulous Friday!

Bye Bye Paci

2011-08-26T00:03:00.002-05:00

Harper went to the Family club while I went to my meeting today. I texted Barbra to see how Harper was doing, and she sent this picture to me. I would say she was doing just fine! As you can see, she enjoyed her oreos!

I picked her up around 3 and decided on the drive home Harper was going to throw her paci in the trash and say "bye bye." She was SO tired so I figured she would be too worn out to care whether she had her paci or not. She kept repeating "bye bye paci" over and over and over while I changed her diaper and put her in the crib. As soon as I walked out, she lost it.

This is what I heard for an hour and a half....

It was brutal. I finally got her out of her crib and let her play. I was SO close to giving in and handing her a paci.

I was REALLY dreading bed time tonight. I got her ready for bed and set her in the crib. I left her lamp on and gave her a book to read. After about 5 minutes, she threw the book out and started to whine a little. I gave her some milk, turned the light off, and walked out. Less than 5 minutes later, she was asleep!

Sweet, sweet baby.

I pray she sleeps well and the next few days without her beloved paci are great for all of us! Part of me is SO sad she won't have her paci anymore. She's growing up too fast, and I don't like it.

Sweet Baby Kelsen

2011-08-23T20:35:00.005-05:00

I spent the afternoon with my friend April and her sweet babies. Kinsley and Kaysley are 4, and Kelsen is 5 weeks.

Isn't he the sweetest?!

These girls are SO proud of this little man.

Too Busy Lately to Post

2011-08-23T20:13:00.004-05:00

I feel like I have been going nonstop for the past couple of weeks! Whew! These are pretty random pictures, but here we go!

She was supposed to be asleep and went in to check on her. This is what I found....pants off and on the ground, blanket thrown out, and head hung over the rail.

Dancing on the table at work

And.....stripping

This past weekend, Bodyworks (where I work) rented out a space at the mall for tax-free weekend. We had a bouncer, face painting, monstrosity, and special promotions. I worked 14 hours both Friday and Saturday and 9 hours on Sunday. I had a blast! I love the company I would for and had great company!

Michael brought Harper on Friday, and I painted her face like a kitty.

They came back on Saturday and made her a bunny!

I painted a family of Bumblebees (my co-worker, Brandon, and his boys)

I still don't think I have caught up on sleep from this weekend, but I am still moving right along!

Lazy Sunday

2011-08-14T21:53:00.005-05:00

We love going to see the dogs up for adoption with the Humane Society at Petsmart, so that's exactly what we did today! This time we picked up Charlie and took him along.

I fell in love with this heeler/dachshund mix named Marlow. I just LOVE him! Isn't he the cutest?!

There were a ton of dark clouds this afternoon but no rain. It felt AWESOME outside with the cloud cover, so we went to the park.

How was your Sunday?

Friday Fun Day

2011-08-13T00:35:00.003-05:00

We now have a hitching post at one of our grocery stores. Thank you, God! Now I don't have to tie my horse to the bike rack.

Our Friday fun day started off with a date to Krispy Kreme with Mimi, Charlie, and Sarah Jane. Harper loved her first Krispy Kreme experience!

Charlie getting his snuggles

After breakfast, we headed to the mall to My Jungle. I think I'll wait a while before I pay $7 again for Harper to "play." She was done well before she got her $7 worth!

8 seconds!

SJ and Charlie on the speed boat

Today (August 12th...I'm posting a little late!) is my step mother-in-law's 5oth birthday!! We went to their house for a cook-out tonight and had a great time! It took Harper a little while to get used to all of the strange faces (Mary's side of the family), but she eventually turned into the crazy Harper we know and love. :) She played with her Papa and Aunt Alexa a lot!

On a side note, it RAINED last night!!! This was the first measurable rain since October 2010! God is SO good! The amount of rain we received in the amount of time we received it was incredible, causing massive flash flood. Now our playa lakes are full, and the grass is starting to show some life. The amount of lightening was crazy. I LOVE it!

Phone Pictures

2011-08-10T22:26:00.006-05:00

Harper has been nuts lately! She's trying to talk a lot more and thinks it's absolutely hilarious to squeal and run all over the house. She's such a little squirt with a BIG personality!

Playing blocks in the office

She looks like Princess Leia a little!

She got herself stuck in the Bumbo at work and couldn't figure out how to get herself out.

She's starting to look older. *sigh*

Coloring at work

She LOVES to wear her backpack, but I think it weighs as much as she does.

She was "shopping" tonight before her bath.

Michael and I watched some old videos of Harper tonight when she was only days old. It makes me SO sad that I blinked, and now she's almost 2! If this is the case now, I'm going to be a wreck on her first day of kindergarten!

Sidenote: I weighed Harper today, and at 21.5 months, she weighs 20.4 lbs. :)

Catching Up

2011-08-07T22:12:00.003-05:00

After my last post, I haven't really been in the mood to blog. I've just been feeling pretty...blah. I did, however, have the opportunity to be in charge of promotions for work this weekend and LOVED it! I think my boss would beg to differ from the ungodly amount of texts I sent her throughout the weekend. Once I got past the realization that it's really okay when things don't always go as planned, I enjoyed it.

I took a break from work on Saturday evening, and my sister Amy sent Michael and I on a much needed date (for helping them get their house in order before they moved back to Texas). We very rarely go anywhere without Harper, so it was nice to be alone for once. We dropped Harper off at my sister's house and went to Triple J Chophouse and Brew Co for dinner. We were planning on seeing a movie as well, but they didn't start until 10pm or after. That's too late for these old people. :) We ended up just picking Harper up and going home to bed. It was still nice to get away for a little bit, at least!

These are some pictures off my phone that I have been meaning to post.

Talking to the dogs up for adoption at PetsMart

Birdie!

Sarah Jane came over while Amy and Andy took Charlie to a movie. These girls definitely know how to make a mess.

Sarah Jane dumping the blocks out

Pretty proud of herself!

Eating dinner

Harper being sassy at work

Her hair looked really cute :)

Harper found this pair of boots in her closet that I bought a while back from Old Navy for $.97. She's so funny sometimes.

I asked her to pose for a picture, and this is what I got.

I have been having problems with my gallbladder last week. That didn't do much good for the mood I was in already. I had an ultrasound done last week that showed gall stones. I go in on Tuesday for a HIDA scan. I wish they would just take it out. I don't want to go through the surgery, but I'm ready to be done with the annoying pain and acid reflux issues. Hopefully I will get some much needed answers after the scan.

Just Being Real

2011-08-03T20:52:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have one of those days where you just wish things were different? I mean, significantly different?

I would still want to be married to my man and have Harper for my sweet baby, but if everything around me was different...in a good way, I wouldn't complain much. There's so many things I regret...

I really wish I wouldn't have gotten credit cards and loans to pay my way through college.

I don't regret going to ACU, but I really wish I would have thought about going somewhere less expensive.

I wish I would have chosen a major that really made me happy instead of settling for something broad.

I wish I would have accepted when a church offered to sponsor me as a missionary right out of college. (I'm not sure my family even knew about this one.)

I wish I would have accepted my depression as an illness BEFORE starting college instead of waiting until after to seek help.

I wish I would have spent more valuable time with my dad.

I wish life wasn't so hard sometimes.

I wish money was never the issue.

I wish I didn't have to stress about bills.

I wish we could find a church where my family really feels like we belong.

I wish I had the desire to pray more and read the Bible.

I wish my heart didn't race when I think about raising our kids in today's society.

I wish we could afford for me to be a SAHM.

I wish I didn't have to take medication just to feel normal.

I wish, for one day, I didn't have any stress in my life.

I wish I could protect Harper her whole life from ever getting her heart broken.

I wish I could plan out everything in my life with no surprises.

I wish my life would get easier.

It's just been one of those days.

Jake and Lacey are Married!

2011-07-30T23:14:00.003-05:00

Today I had the honor of witnessing two of my favorite people get married! Harper will be heartbroken when I break the news to her though....she LOVES her Jake! ;) Amy and I drove to the weddings together....out in the middle of rattlesnake country. Michael stayed home with Harper and probably wasn't too sad about it since the wedding was outside and incredibly hot, but the ceremony was beautiful and so was the bride!

Lacey and her dad

Mr. and Mrs. Jake Cline!

Jake's a little obsessed with Superman.

Check out his cake!

Me with the bride and groom

More co-workers...Leah and Kinsey

Leah and Kinsey...love these girls!

We had such a great time and so thankful I was able to witness the marriage of these two sweet people. We love you Jake and Lacey!

Poor, Sick Baby

2011-07-30T00:51:00.002-05:00

This was the scene at our house tonight.....

Harper and I went to work this morning, and she was SO whiny. She just wanted me to hold her. Well, if you have seen me at work, I don't hold her very often. I honestly thought she just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. She stayed in the pack n play most of the time laying down with her paci and blankie. I ended up leaving an hour early after we slowed down. I figured if her whining was annoying me, it was annoying everyone else.

Are you sitting there thinking "I can't believe she's saying her baby girl is annoying!" Oh, come on. I know you feel that way sometimes too. I am just saying it out loud! Anyway, I was supposed to work in the afternoon as well, but with Harper acting the way she was, I knew it wouldn't be fun for anyone involved. I got my shift covered, and Harper ended up running a fever of 102. Poor baby! I felt REALLY bad after I realized she was so whiny for a legitimate reason! Mom of the year right here.....

She slept for about an hour before dinner time. Michael held her while I ran to Red Box and the grocery store. When I got home, I picked her to take her into her room to strip her down before dinner. Right when I walked into her room, she puked EVERYWHERE. I mean, like all inside one of her canvas boxes (full of wipes, lotion, hair accessories, medicine, diaper cream....you name it), all on the floor, and down the front of the changing table. She had a hot dog, cheese, and milk earlier.....Yummy.

Michael tried to help, and the next thing I know, I hear him dry heaving in the other bathroom. Weak. ;) I convinced him to give her a bath while I cleaned everything up. Wow, it was disgusting. I really miss the pre-food days!

She finally went to bed tonight around 9:30. I'm really hoping this is just a 24 (or less) thing. I hate seeing her sick! I have to work tomorrow, so say a little pray for Michael tomorrow that she doesn't toss her cookies while I'm gone. ;)

21 Months Old!

2011-07-28T21:10:00.003-05:00

Oh Harper Reese,

You are so funny these days! As your Aunt Amy (Mimi) would say, you're the most innocent looking little mess. You are SO sneaky, and you mess with EVERYTHING! Just today while I was in the shower, your cousin Charlie came into the bathroom and went "#2." While he was trying to pull his pants up, you proceeded to play in the toilet before he had a chance to flush it. Oh, how I wish you knew how disgusting that was! Daddy grabbed you up and practically bathed you in Germ-X.

You do the funniest things. When your Daddy or I cross our arms, you cross your arms too and think it's SO funny! You love to "bump" (jump), but you don't know how to actually get your feet off the floor. You LOVE your "Bap" (Max) or "puppa." You don't mind at all when he licks you right in the face.

You are still very attached to your paci and blankie. You do know that you have to leave them in your crib when your Daddy or I get you out of bed. Sometimes it's a fight, but most of the time, you are willing to leave them in your crib. You are obsessed with shoes. This grosses me out when you try on other people's shoes.

You love to play in your room and love it even more when Daddy or I play in there with you.

You love the camera and say "cheese" when I start taking your picture.

You are the best part of my day and love you with all of my heart. You have your Daddy wrapped around your little finger. I'm not too far behind. ;) I can't believe you will be turning two in 3 short months!

Happy 21 months, sweet baby girl. I love you!

Edited Beach Pictures

2011-07-27T23:23:00.005-05:00

I wish I were at the beach right about now! I can't wait to go back!

Sleepover!

2011-07-27T21:21:00.003-05:00

This guy came over tonight for a sleepover! We are watching Rango and eating popcorn in bed while Michael is playing dumb computer games and while Harper is sleeping. Sounds like a great night to me! Well, Rango is pretty lame but other than that....

Seriously love this kid...even when he is a punk sometimes. :)

The popcorn was his request. How could I say no to this face?

THIS crazy kid is something else!

Max messing with her

I love Tuesdays!

2011-07-26T23:20:00.003-05:00

Well, let me rephrase that. Sometimes I love Tuesdays. I worked this morning which went well like it normally does. Harper was pretty whiny, but she just has those days sometimes. We got home a little before noon, and she usually takes a nap before eating lunch. We have tried to do lunch first, but she's always too tired to eat! She went down fine but started crying really hard about 15 minutes later. I took her some milk, and she threw it on the floor and started crying hysterically. Oh boy. I tried picking her up, but she went limp and was SCREAMING by this point. I had to walk out of the room. (Come on, moms...you know what I mean!) The screaming lasted over an hour. Honestly, I was REALLY frustrated at this point. I didn't know what to do. My sister needed to go to the grocery store, so I went to her house for Harper to hopefully calm down and play with her cousins a little, and Amy could go to the store. It definitely helped!

Harper and Sarah Jane having some juice

Playing doctor

Charlie spinning Harper around in the office chair

This is what happens when mean boys throw handfuls of dirt on babies.

The part I LOVE about Tuesdays is Girls Night Out! It was Marisa's birthday yesterday, so it was her choice of where we went tonight. We were all meeting at On the Border at 8pm. Well, Amy, Barbara, and myself were there...waiting...on Marisa. She wasn't answering our texts, and we started to really worry! She finally called and said she felt really sick and had fallen asleep. What?! You can't NOT show up to your own party! Well, she ended up coming....at 9:45! Lame. :)

Amy, Barbara, and I waiting on Marisa to show up

I got Marisa a bunch of fun toys including silly string, a recorder, bubbles, a kaleidoscope, and some fun things that grow in water!

Marisa and Amy

We are really had at taking pictures of ourselves. This was about the 28th attempt. Okay, more like the 3rd.

Swimming and Saving!

2011-07-24T23:05:00.005-05:00

We got home really late from the drive-in last night. I didn't go to bed until close to 3am which resulted in everyone sleeping in this morning! I woke Harper up at 11:45. That's just crazy! Charlie came over this afternoon to hang out and swim.

Harper being crazy before getting in the pool

We forgot Charlie's life jacket in the apartment and didn't feel like walking back to get it. He didn't want the arm floaties. He wanted the "pink one."

Ever since I got back from vacation, I have been craving seafood, so I did a shrimp boil for Michael and I. It was entirely too much food, but it was awesome! I used a different recipe than we used on vacation, and I think it tasted a lot better this time around.

I got an email today from Once Upon a Child that their clearance items were marked down to $1! If you know me, you know I love a good deal. I have always been a bargain shopper. I shop the sales at the end of each season for the next year. It works out really well for us!

I got these dresses all for $1 each!

Gap hooded dress (new with tags)

Old Navy

Gymboree

Gap

House of Hatten smocked dress (new with tags)

Old Navy

Gymboree

Gap

Tommy Hilfiger

Children's Place, Old Navy, Gymboree, Old Navy

My favorite stores to shop the end of season sales are Old Navy and Target!

Family Movie Night at the Drive-In

2011-07-24T00:53:00.005-05:00

We LOVE the drive-in! If you have young kids, it's the perfect family date. Kids 5 and under get in free, and all other tickets are $6 each for a double feature. Tonight we watched Captain America (which was AWESOME!) with Transformers showing after but didn't stay to watch the second one. Michael had already seen it, and it was almost midnight before the first movie was over. That's the only con to bringing your young kids. Once the time changes in the spring, the movies start later. Harper usually falls asleep pretty quickly after the movie starts but not tonight! I guess she liked Captain America too! She stayed awake the entire movie!

Sporting her Captain America shirt

Inside the 50's Cafe

Playing before the movie started

Just before she dumped ice all over the back seat

Our setup! It was SO nice once the sun set!

Waiting!

And just for your viewing pleasure....The people of the drive-in! If you can't quite make out his outfit, we have a button-down shirt, athletic shorts, knee-high black socks, and black tennis shoes. That's hot.

Quick and Easy Mini Pizzas

2011-07-24T00:40:00.003-05:00

My mom made these a lot growing up. Maybe that's why my sister replied "gross" when I texted her a picture of what I was making for dinner. Whatever. We like these at my house, and they are SO easy!

You start with a package of hoagie buns. I usually buy the pre-sliced because it makes it that much quicker. Don't buy hoagies that are too soft or they won't be crisp when you bake them.

Spread pizza sauce on each piece...

Add your meat of choice. I usually use turkey pepperoni but used original this time.
I love me some mushrooms, but you can obviously leave these off.
You may want to use sliced olives if you want olives on your's. The whole ones tend to roll away!
I use two slices of mozzarella cheese for each piece.
Put in the oven for 7-10 minutes at 375 degrees or until cheese is completely melted, and the bread is as crispy as you would like.

Like I said, we love them at our house, and it's SO easy! Enjoy!

Zulily Review

2011-07-20T14:50:00.002-05:00

Disclaimer:: I am not being paid to say anything about this company. I just love it that much!

I first heard about Zulily from my boss. She was always showing me the oh-so-cute stuff on the site each day. I didn't really understand how the website worked and honestly didn't pay much attention to it. Once I realized how much I LOVED smocked dressed for Harper, Zulily came up in a Google search for discounted smocked dresses (Rosalina brand). From this moment, I fell in love.

I have had nothing for positive experiences with the company and their customer service. Yes, sometimes it does take a while to confirm the order then a little while longer for it to ship, that the time frame is clearly stated here. The discounts are completely worth it!

The way it works: Zulily will post different deals from several companies each day at 9:00AM EST with a limited amount of each item from these companies. It's on a first come, first serve basis, so if you find something you like, act quickly!

I am SO pleased with this company and the deals they offer! If you haven't already, go over to their website right now! You won't be disappointed!

Girls' Night Out

2011-07-20T00:03:00.003-05:00

A few of us girls from work have started having a girls' night out on Tuesday nights. We usually go somewhere for dinner first then may or may not see a movie after. Tonight we went to Red Mango. I LOVE me some plain tart yogurt! We went to see Horrible Bosses as well which was hysterical! I definitely recommend it if you're looking for a good laugh.

Yum!

Harper slept until 10:30 this morning! I do realize some of you are extremely envious right now. Don't be too jealous because that same little girl is laying in our bed right now because she was crying so hard in her crib, she was about to make herself vomit everywhere. I really didn't want to deal with that tonight, so she's in our bed for now. She's never slept with us before and definitely not wanting to start tonight! I'm hoping she falls asleep quickly so I can take her back to her room! I tried to take her back into her room a few minutes ago, and she flipped out when I picked her up from our bed! What in the world?! We've never had issues with this before! Help!

Trying to hide from me so she wouldn't have to go to her room

See what I mean about flipping out?!

It's probably not the best parenting approach to take pictures of this. :) It's kind of like when your kid colors all over themselves and the furniture but you stop to take a picture first....I would never do that!

Cousin Camp Day Eight: HOME!

2011-07-18T21:55:00.005-05:00

Amy and I plus our kids left my mom's house in La Grange a little after 10 this morning. I HATE goodbyes. It's always so hard to leave my family.

The babies passed out pretty quickly.

Charlie watching his movie

On our way through Austin, we decided to stop at the outlets in Round Rock. I stop there just about every time I drive through just to go to the Converse outlet. I LOVE that store! I may or may not have gotten Harper two more pairs....which would make her total 8, I think. Yikes.

The kids riding the school bus at the outlets

I think going to the beach this week has increased Harper's obsession with water. She was completely mesmerized by this fountain.

We spent way more time at the outlets than we had planned so we got back on the road late. We were doing great until we were about 30 miles outside of Sweetwater. SJ was crying really hard and all of the sudden, she puked EVERYWHERE. We pulled over and had to clean her up. We still had over two hours of driving left and enjoyed the nice smell all the way home. EEk.

This is random, but I gave SJ some bread, and she kept putting it between her toes. Crazy baby!

As soon as we pulled up to my house, Michael was outside waiting. Harper was SO excited to see her daddy! Even though it's hard to leave my family, it's SO nice to be home with my husband and lay in my own bed!

Cousin Camp Day Seven: VBS

2011-07-17T23:46:00.002-05:00

Since we got in so late last night and were completely exhausted, we didn't make it to church this morning. It was so nice to lay around and enjoy each other's company. Well, kind of. The kids were going a little stir crazy, so April, Jordyn, and I went into town to "run some errands." We had planned on doing just that...running errands, but we decided to have a nice, quiet lunch without the craziness of ALL of the kids. Needless to say, the rest of the group wasn't very happy with us when we got home. :)

Most of us took naps in the afternoon and then took all of the kids but Sarah Jane to VBS at the church we grew up in. Harper had taken two naps today so I wasn't worried about her being overly tired while we were there. Boy, was I wrong. She was fine at the beginning....

Harper and Grady entertaining everyone while they were supposed to be sitting in a pew

Grady is my friend Karissa's little boy. We grew up with Karissa and her sister Brittany. Brittany was my maid of honor in my wedding. This is why we love Grady. :) Well, that and his irresistible cheeks.
Harper had a complete meltdown when I took her to class, and it took her a long time to calm down. This is the best picture we got of Scuba Harper.
Grady and Harper were hugging and kissing on each other. It was hilarious. I wish we all lived close together!
Tomorrow Amy and I plus our kids head back to Lubbock. I don't wanna go! I HATE when I have to leave my family after such an awesome vacation. I told Michael I would just stay here, and he could pack up our house and move us down here. :) Maybe one of these days......

Cousin Camp Day Six: Kemah Boardwalk

2011-07-17T23:07:00.005-05:00

We were all dreading the arrival of Saturday morning because it meant our vacation was coming to a close. It took us almost 3 hours to pack everything up, load the cars, and pick up the house.

Harper, Riley, and Sarah Jane jumping in the crib at the beach house while we finished getting everything together

My sweet baby

This wasn't from Saturday, but I found it on my sister's camera. :)

I found this one of Charlie and Landon too. So cute!

We said goodbye to this awesome place. It was absolutely perfect!

We had talked about going to Kemah Boardwalk on the way from Galveston to La Grange, but it had been raining almost the whole time we were packing up our stuff. I checked the radar, and we make the executive decision to go anyway since it was only a 10% chance of rain in Kemah. It ended up being perfect! The rain cooled it off enough so we weren't completely miserable.

Riding the water shuttle from the parking lot to the boardwalk

All of the kids before all the fun began

I couldn't resist posting this picture. Charlie got in trouble, so we walked ahead to wait for Amy to talk to him. Crazy kid.

All of us with our kids

Sweet baby ready for some fun

The first stop was the carousel. I rode with Riley on the 2nd level.

Riley thought her mommy was going on the ride with her, so this is when she starting freaking out and wanting off the ride!

Landon and I on the Aviator (with Jordyn in the plane behind us)

Riley, Amy, and Charlie on the train

Sweet, hot babies

Sarah Jane

Harper

After we got our share of the rides, we let the kids play in the fountains. It was perfect!

Riley is SO funny. She definitely kept us entertained.

Jordyn and Harper

Sarah Jane after attacking her momma's ice cream cone

We left Kemah after 5:00 and were exhausted! Harper was asleep before we even got out of the parking lot. We stopped for dinner in Katy then finally made it home to La Grange close to 10:00. It was a long, but wonderful ending to our awesome cousin camp!

Cousin Camp Day Five: Part Two

2011-07-16T00:32:00.004-05:00

I haven't edited any of the pictures yet but had to get some on here!

Sisters!

Cousins!

Being crazy

Grammy with her babies

Oh, Sarah Jane! This is probably my favorite. :)

She just wanted to play in the water!

She wasn't cooperating so much.

Check out that rainbow!

She LOVES the ocean!

Like I said before, this had been the BEST cousin camp! I think the beach may be our permanent cousin camp location!

Cousin Camp Day Five: Part One

2011-07-15T23:35:00.005-05:00

We had planned on taking the kids to the swimming pool this morning, but it started raining and didn't expect it to stop until the afternoon. We had thought about finding some indoor activities since we were so burned from yesterday but didn't really have much to choose from in a place where the outdoor activities is what brings people here! We loaded everyone up and ate at a local pizza place. My mom and sister Amy took the two babies back to the beach house for naps while the rest of us headed to Seawolf Park.

I am SO glad we went! This was a perfect activity for the four older kids where they didn't have to stay locked up in the house all day because of the rain. We toured the USS Cavalla submarine first which was used in WWII.

The kids LOVED looking at all of the gadgets!

The submarine sits right next to the USS Stewart destroyer escort.

Playing at Seawolf Park after the tours.

We stopped at Rita's on the seawall for some frozen custard.

We shopped a little before we finally made it back to the beach house. We dressed the kids up in coordinating outfits after dinner and headed back down to the beach for pictures. That is another post in itself (Part two)! Seriously, we got some AWESOME pictures!

We let the kids play in the water for a while until the sun was almost set. I am so sad it's our last night here. This has been the best cousin camp so far. Everything has been perfect. The beach house is more than we could have asked for, and the time I have spent here with my mom, sisters, and or kids is priceless.

Cousin Camp Day Four: Beach Day!

2011-07-14T21:55:00.006-05:00

We didn't set our alarm clocks and slept in a little (8:00) before we headed to the beach.

Harper watching some Mickey Mouse before breakfast

Harper had cereal with milk for the first time this morning. I think she liked it...

We are ready for the beach. Hey, a girl's got to accessorize.

Sarah Jane and Harper waiting for the cars to be loaded up

Oh, Harper Reese. She thought the shovel was a spoon. She ate a whole mouthful of sand.

The babies LOVED it (see previous picture....)!

"But I want to eat the sand!"

Riley

Charlie

Landon

Landon and Jordyn

Harper was SO ready for a nap, but someone (eh hem...Misti) locked Mom's keys in her van so we had to wait for the locksmith.

Taking a rest/snack break with Grammy

Cute little SJ

NOW she's loving the sand!

Love that Harper booty

Riley and Harper dragging the boats out

Mom and I went into Galveston to shop on the strand and pick up some stuff for dinner. The kids hung out on the porch and played while we were gone.

Harper carried around this camera for a long time pretending to take pictures.

All of the kids eating dinner

Man, I can't get enough of this baby!

Harper got to skype with Daddy while she ate.

A little dessert

What's a beach vacation without a shrimp boil? Mom and I picked up 4 lbs of shrimp in Galveston, and we all had a part in making it come together. It was AWESOME!

Not so appetizing here

Almost done

A-MAZ-ING!

We had SUCH a great day! We are all a little crispy, but we survived with no shark attacks. ;) Tomorrow we may go swimming in the community pool in the morning then head into Galveston to do some kind of indoor activity. Our skin needs a break from the sun!