November 2014

Big, big news this November.  Coco is fully potty trained. He loves wearing big boy undies and I love that I only have one in diapers now.

 

 

Jillian's class had a Thanksgiving presentation in class.  Jill was a pilgrim girl and looked adorable.

 

The girls have a whole week off for Thanksgiving break.  It's so wonderful.  Jeff had to stay and work all week, so me and the kids made the drive out to Houston to visit Jeff and Nettie's family.  I feel so lucky to have them only 3.5 hrs away but really wish that we got together more.  Our kids get along great and I still look up to my brothers for advice and raising good kids.  While we were there we visited the Houston Zoo. 

 

The carousel ride is always a big hit when we see one.   

 

We had a quiet Thanksgiving dinner with some friends that I didn't get any pictures of :(

That weekend Jeff's high school alma mater played in a play-off game in the Baylor stadium, so naturally we all made the trek up to watch the game.

 

The last week of November we were out shopping and saw who we all thought was the "real" Santa.  Pretty convincing if you ask me.

 

September 2014

Jeff's best friend Nate got married in Utah in September.  We decided to take the whole family. Traveling is super crazy with all the children but they did so well. 

The day before the wedding, we got to take the kids to the mountains for a family and friends luncheon.  They had all sorts of activities including human bumper soccer and lots of minute to win it games.  It was so wonderful to be in the mountains again. They call for me 

The next morning was the sealing in the Salt Lake Temple.  My parents had the kids so Jeff and I could attend.  Late the night before, Jeff realized that he had forgotten our recommends and after texting and calling our bishop with no response we headed up there in the morning on faith. By the time we arrived our bishop had spoken with the temple and we were in!  The sealing was perfect! 

After all the hoopla was done we snuck away to have lunch with Amy and George at the JS Memorial Building then back to the temple to do our first live session.  It was really interesting to do a live session. I mostly loved to see the temple and all the intricate carvings, paintings etc.  While in the Celestial Room we asked an usher to give us a little tour.  He showed us a room where Pres Hunter lived and then showed us the back of a stained-glass window into the Holy of Holys.  It was awesome. 

The reception was held that evening at Nate's uncle's home in Provo.  It was absolutely beautiful (pics lost).  There was a sweet video, good food, and dancing. To top off the night the wedding party jumped into the pool in their clothing while fireworks went off.  It was great!

The next day we got to go on a hike with my parents.  It was perfect weather and a perfect little hike for the kids. 

While in Utah we got in some good cousin time of-course.  I love that my kids are all pretty much the same ages as Brett's.  It's makes it more fun.

I also got to hang-out with Monica which is always a hi-light.  We tried to take several selfies and none of them were very flattering.  It was hilarious. 

Once we got back to Texas the party didn't end.  We went to an Express game and enjoyed the fireworks after the game. 

BYU came and played UT so naturally I had some brothers come into town and Zack Taylor came too.  Even though it was too hot, I think we all had a great time.  Jeff threw his first large tailgate before the game.  Not sure if he'll ever do it again. It was A LOT of work.  My brothers had to leave the very next day. I was bummed I couldn't show them around ATX.

As per usual, my milk supply is decreasing rapidly.  I have started supplementing at nights to help Cecil's tummy get full.  Also, he started really crawling and loving his new found freedom. 

Extra August 2014

I found a few more pictures from August...this fiasco with my pictures has me really reeling. 

Here is cute little Coco boy at the library looking at a Backyardigains book. I have LOVED these characters since Jillian was a baby, and all of my children really loved them too. In-fact Jill will still sit and watch the shows with her younger siblings. 

Camille had her hi-light class for gymnastics in August. This was her last class as she wants to try out ballet. She has really become quite athletic and strong through gymnastics.  I think she's overshadowed sometimes by Jillian. Camille is just as athletic and coordinated and strong as Jillian was at this age but best of all Camille has an attitude to match.  She is always happy, bubbly, funny, and brings a smile to everyone's face.  She is not competitive though while Jillian is.  I just love to see the differences in all my children but I hope that Camille can learn to be a little more competitive.  

Camille is super quick down the runway too. May-be she'll be a great jumper in Track and Field. :)

Cecil got his first tooth in August. He smiled all the way through it. He's just such a happy baby.

May 2014

 May is Camille's birthday month and this was the birthday book she choose to donate to her school library.  It remains one of our favorites. 

Cecil is quite the active little guy and has learned to sleep when he can, where he can.  He practically lives in the car seat on someday's.  Makes me feel sad, but I think it makes him more easy going. He has found his thumb a few times and I absolutely love it, although I won't let this take the place of his paci.

Here is Jillian's butterfly that will be displayed all of next school year. She was pretty excited about it. 

Here is Coco looking fly.  He has gotten use to being dragged around to the girls stuff too. Poor guy gets pretty upset when we pull up to the soccer fields or the gym, but as long as I have a stash of snacks he does alright. 

Mother's Day this year was super laid back.  We had church and Jeff made dinner. Perfect day. 

Our chicks entered their adolescenes.  They are looking a little dinasourish. 

Swim season started and Jillian has been working on her dives. 

Coco has been carrying around a doll carrier and taking it everywhere.  I guess we need more boy toys around the house. 

This May marks our 10 year wedding anniversary.  We'd like to go on a trip but with me still nursing Cecil it's been postponed.  Jeff has been my very best friend and this picture really says a lot to me.  It was taken while I was in labor with Cecil. He just looks like he'd take all the pain away if he could and so much more.  I love him. 

Camille turned 6.  She is such a sweet sweet girl. She's still as sensitive as she was the day she was born.  She has worked hard to correct her speech.  She's always had a little lisp and would say her "r"'s like "ah" (instead of "car" she'd say "caah").  It actually sounded so cute and she'd get multiple comments on it everyday but she'd also get teased at school and sometimes by adults.  She tries very hard to please everyone and is a bit of a class clown.  She mostly always has a great attitude and is very optimistic.  Her love of animals has continued to grow and now is very selective of when she'll eat meat.  She's always willing to help out and really loves to hold the baby. 

I see so many of my own attributes and my physical features in her.  It's a really surreal and special feeling when I study her.  

We are so proud and feel very blessed to have this little one in our family.      

I've been a little overwhelmed with the four so I copped out and did a party at Chuck E. Cheeses.  I never thought I would, but it was surprisingly great!  All the kids had a wonderful time.  I was able to visit with parents.  And my house didn't have to be cleaned before and then cleaned after.  It was wonderful. 

We did the traditional balloon launch right outside. 

Cecil has rolled over a few times now.  Problem is that he gets stuck like this.  He doesn't seem to mind.

I love to see new places and enjoy where I live.  I heard about Bull Creek and we decided to go check it out.  It's pretty close to us and right off the road.  We loved it.  It's a natural spring fed creek.  There are a lot of kid friendly spots as well as some deeper areas to swim.  It has a hiking trail that runs along side it. 

While there is started dumping rain on us.  We all had a fun time playing in the rain.  It didn't last long, so we continued our exploration. 

We will definitely be back. 

Jillian has been taking piano for two months now and had her first recital.  Jillian did a wonderful job and didn't mess up once. 

The end of the school year brings on awards.  Both girls got the Citizenship award and we're thrilled. 

The last day of school is such a wonderful day for me.  I love having the girls with me all day and I love not having to wake-up early and get lunches ready.  That being said I am so grateful these two have the opportunity to go to a good school and that they have each other. 

Soccer ended too.  Jillian was with Coach Lee and Coach Andy again. Camille lucked out and got a great coach too. 

April 2014

Every Spring we love attending the Round Rock Express games.  We usually sit on the lawn and let the run around. Often times they'll have fireworks or a concert after the game. It's really fun. 

Even Cecil had a good time. 

This particular time they had Bob Schneider in concert. He's a famous Austin native musician. Jeff and I first heard of him right after we moved here. We took the kids to the zoo and some random lady gave us his CD. She was appalled that we didn't know who he was. Jeff and I have loved him ever since. We all really enjoyed the concert. 

Jillian needed some help with homework one day so I sent Ce to see if he could help. 

Fern Bluff has a huge fundraiser in the Spring, called The Bobcat Bash. It was quite the shindig. They had all sorts of booths, games, music, attractions, etc. etc. The girls loved everything! Coco's favorite thing was the real firetruck. 

I finally transferred my nursing license. Now it's time to decide what to do: work, or claim retirement. 

I planned a little neighborhood egg hunt the Friday before Easter. We had a pretty good turn out and we all had fun chatting and letting the kids run around. 

Here we are Easter morning at church. Our church is held at 8 am for all of 2014. We are lucky if we get seats in the foyer.

We got four little chicks for Easter. I've been missing having hen's and fresh eggs and the girls have really been wanting pets. These little chicks were so cute. 

The girls named them Peggy, Rosie, Alice, and Red.  Rosie was the runt of the group. She was a Silky and had hair feet. Alice was the giant and kinda ruled the roost. 

Instead of having a big Easter dinner, I wanted to go enjoy nature. We planned a potluck picnic and invited Stan and the Rattray's. We went to McKinney Fall's.  It was beautiful. We ate yummy food, then hiked and biked around. 

We ended up at the Upper Falls. There was a cliff to jump off that Stan and Sara did. Everyone else wadded around a bit.

We ended the outing with desert and few games, such as Red Rover. We will definitely be back. 

The girls were invited to a birthday party that had pony rides. As much as Jillian loves horses, she gets so timid around them. Camille was brave as could be and rode them over and over. 

Everyone is still all over Cecil all the time. He is really a patient little baby. 

Camille had a field trip and I was able to meet them for lunch at a park. I wish I could be more involved at the school, but it's really too hard with the two babies at home. Camille was thrilled to see me there and we had a fun time. 

I've always been drawn to yoga and as I get older with a more hectic life I feel like I need it even more. This was a "stop drop and yoga" challenge from social media. Cecil looks like he'll catch me if I fall