Times Like These

I grew up in a family with traditions just like any other. I don't think I ever realized how important or fun these traditions were until I got older.....and I miss them. Some of them. Some of them are still going strong and I love it! But now I have to think of my own family's traditions, and what I want my kiddos growing up remembering.  You see, my mom (as many of you know) is an over-achiever. And that's a good thing, Mom! But I won't every measure up. I try. I do some things well but there are others where I fall short. Like Easter.  Easter is a very important holiday.  A time to remember that I serve a RISEN Savior!  A time to reflect on the sacrifice that was made for me and you, sinners.  An eternal hope that was supplied to us when God sent His Son to carry the burden of our sins on His shoulders to the cross.
But it is also a holiday that doesn't come with a long break like Thanksgiving and Christmas so it is much harder for us to be with family during holidays like this. Plus, everyone wants to be at their own church on Easter.  So that means no big family meal after the service for us. No cousins hunting eggs together.  It makes me sad, but it is what it is. Now that Natalie is old enough and Joaquin soon will be, I want to make each and every holiday memorable.  I want to have plans for Easter weekends just like I would for Thanksgiving or Christmas. I want them to always be in anticipation of that' special thing we always do' during this time.  Ican't help but think of all the 'Friends' Holiday Episodes where they are all together and it feels like family even though they aren't family.  Well, it's a bit late for all that this year since Easter Sunday is now 2 days away, but I should start preparing for next year. Feel free to share any traditions you have now with your family or what you had growing up.  I love stealing cute ideas!


For now I leave you with some random photos from this week......

 Natalie and her bud, Lyla.

 

Pure sweetness

 

and this one cracks me up.... I took about 8 pictures trying to get them both looking and smiling. I finally settled on these two! You win some, you lose some! ha!

 

 

Generations Connections

Last week a group of us Generations momma and babies got together for a play date.  We met in Grapevine at the First Baptist Church. They have a place called Paradise Pond in an old chapel building. It has a huge climbing area, bounce house, dress up area, kitchen play, basketball,  and more all in one area! It's a really great place to let the kids run free, but not such a great place for moms to talk when you are trying to semi-keep up with your children!

I am missing a few kiddos, but they had a blast.

We then tortured ourselves by going to a fast food restuarant with all the kiddos! At one point, JZ was crying for a bit before I realized Oh that's my child!  In the midst of another child's meltdown I asked my friend, Jenny, "Why do we do this to ourselves again?" Because now we can look back and laugh=) Memories. No pictures here. You can guess why!

I convinced my friend Jenny to come a night early with her kids and stay the night with us since she lives a couple of hours away. Our two girls are just spitting images of each other in mannerisms, skin color, and personalities. I mean their voices even sound the same. It's crazy. But they have never been together so we had to remedy that.  It was a short and sweet visit but I had so much fun seeing the kids play together.

We took them outside to burn some energy!

This cutie just makes me smile.

Then it was on to dinner-time fun with a little play.

And these irresistable bath-time babes!

Oh my did I love seeing these beauties together.  A huge THANK YOU to my friend, Jenny for making the effort with her two sweeties to come 2 hours my way! You are awesome and I enjoyed our short visit more than you know!

 

 

 

2 months

Well I have survived the first 2 months with two children and I do believe I might make it, folks!  Especially since the whole sleeping longer at night thing is finally starting. At least I hope! The last night two nights he has made it 7 hours for the first time. Whew! I can handle that. JZ has started spitting up again quite frequently in my opinion.  He's also struggling with gas and pooping. And we are going on week 3 with his congestion. All that and the boy really is so good. Now he has his screaming fits, but overall he is a very content little boy. He is starting to find his voice and his smile which I love! All you have to do is put him on the changing table and he immediately gets happy, smiles, and starts kicking. So cute!

Here's how this little man has grown!

 

weight: 11 lbs 11 ounces;  50%

height: 22 3/4"    50%

FOC: 15";     10%

 

I thought it would be fun to compare NJ and JZ at 2 months. I will have to remember this for each month.

 

 

We tried to get Natalie in on the 2 month picture like last time, but she was cranky

 and not having it. Instead we got this one=)

 

On a random side note....look at her beautiful curls! Gorgeous.

 

AR excursion

Two weeks ago (now three since it has taken me so long to finish this post) I was in need of rescuing. I was exhausted and cranky and feeling guilty about harping on Natalie so much to stay off Joaquin, or don't get to close to his face, or sorry mommy can't hold you right now, etc. Thankfully, the Lord's timing is good because my folks were already coming.  For an early birthday gift for Brian, we got tickets to see Brian Regan, a comedian he loves, in Ft. Worth. Since it was a week night and an hour away my parents planned to come in and help us out.  The bonus was that it was planned before we knew anything about JZ! Anyway, bad weather predicted for AR brought them in a day earlier. Hallelujah!  On Sunday later that week, the kids and dogs and I loaded up and followed them back to Arkansas for a week of fun and help.  Brian has been working a lot of overtime, and he was headed off to a ski trip later that week so we were outta there!

This was Granny's first time to see and hold Joaquin. This was great grandchild number 11! So thankful for these photos.  Granny kept saying how much she just wanted to squeeze him. =)  the other picture of Granny is with Natalie trying to unbutton her shirt. This is a new thing she is obsessed with!  That Friday we traveled up to NW AR to see my sister and her family.  This was also their first time to see and hold Joaquin (well, other than pics).  Evan and Audrey were thrilled and so sweet! They both wanted to feed him and kiss him. Sweet memories. Our time with them was short, but I am so glad we made it up there.

My excursion also consisted of meeting up with three of my friends that I haven't seen in awhile. Two college buddies that we haven't seen in a really long while. This picture is of my friend, Amy's handsome little boy, Drew. Once Natalie warmed up, they had so much fun together. I was really impressed with how Natalie took to him so quickly.  Sadly, we did not get a picture of ourselves=/

 

A couple days later I met up with my friend, Mary and her two cuties!  We went to their house and Natalie got to play with Caleb.  Look at all these handsome boys Natalie has on her approved to marry list!  NJ was a little cranky this day so she wasn't as nice to Caleb as I would have preferred. She was being stubborn with him. Imagine that!

Can you see the stubbornness?! This series of pics cracks me up!  That Caleb is a hoot.

 

And the final friend I have known since birth. Seriously. We grew up about as close as can be without being related. Here we are at good ol' Chick-fil-a trying to squeeze in some time.

Well, at least Sarah looks good and is paying attention to the camera! Again, no picture of the two of us.

 

And to wrap up our AR fun, here are some random other pics from our trip.

Mom and Dad did an awesome job rearranging my old room at home to accommodate 2 kiddos now! I love it. Wonder what they will do when there are three ;-)

Some reading time with Mimi.

That would be Poppi getting owned by Evan. You gotta bring your A game when playing with him!

 

And goofing off around the house! This smart little Westie can be yours for FREE! Let me know.

 

I was so thankful for my time in AR with family and friends. It was needed. But we were also ready to get back to our own beds and our own routines......until the next trip!