We Are Family!

For you are our glory and joy. ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:20

2012-01-28T10:44:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we had the privilege, as parents, to stand before our family and church family and dedicate Haven to Jesus. One day, it will be her choice if she wants to follow Him.

She was the only baby dedicated which was a first for our church that is always full of babies. It was extra special for Haven to be the only one. Our pastor read this verse "To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." from Colossians. He emphasized to us that we have Christ in us and as her parents, we can pass on that hope to Haven.

Then he prayed for us while the rest of the church extended their hands out to us in agreement.

Afterwards, everyone came to our house for lunch. Brad's 97 year old grandma was in town and loved being with all the little ones.

I shared with my family something I felt the Lord had revealed to me during a bible study I did the week leading up to the dedication. In 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, Paul expresses his loving care for the Thessalonians. When I read verse 2 which says "we proved to be gentle among you, as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children", I pictured sweet Haven nursing on me and started to relate what Paul was saying to being a parent. Later in verse 11 he says " we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you as a father would his own children" and I thought of how Brad will both encourage and at times redirect the girls out of his love for them. At the end of the chapter he says "for who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?" and I pictured my little Haven standing before Jesus and I got tears in my eyes. As her mama, that is my hope for her. She is our glory and joy!

8 Months!

2012-01-26T13:31:00.001-08:00

Yes, those are tears in her eyes. She did not want anything to do with another photo shoot, but good thing it is easy for me to get her to smile. Most of the time. Sorry kid, we've done 7 months of these and we have to get through all 12!

She sprouted hair this month and I've started to transition from a headband to a clip.
She also sprouted her top two teeth and seems to be in a constant state of teething. She is biting everything and often won't let go of the spoon when I am feeding her.
Her favorite toy combination is Missy (Anna's beloved, favorite, must have all the time, will not share with ANYONE doll) and Missy's crib. This has created great drama within our home at times. She is so fast and mobile these days, it is hard to catch her in time.

These two really are sweet together much (wouldn't quite say most :) of the time. I know having these cribs so close together will become an issue one of these days, but for now it is fun for them. Almost every night when we put Anna in her crib, she starts jumping. Haven hangs on to her crib and tries to jump too. She'll even try to jump when we tell her to!

Reading together before bedtime. I love that they share a room so we do the bedtime routine of reading a book then the Bible and then praying together as a family.

I love a baby in just a diaper. She is happiest when she is standing. She pulls up on everything and I love when she crawls over to me and pulls up on my legs. It is one of my favorite phases.

The little stinker also loves to stand in the bath. She gets a big grin on her face when I tell her "no, no, no". I can't take my eyes off her for a second.

Another thing I love about this phase, is having a little one in the front of the cart to talk to. It makes grocery shopping less of a chore. I love when people stop to talk to Haven and ask me about her. I used to think that some people acted like they never get to see babies and then I realized that they probably don't. I'm in a special stage of life right now where I am surrounded by babies...my own, my sibling's, my friends, my neighbors, etc. These babies are going to grow up and it won't always be like this. If people want to get their baby fix with mine, I welcome it! Babies are good for the soul.

Two Lil' Monkies

2012-01-25T18:53:00.001-08:00

A couple weekends ago, I was honored to help host a baby shower for one of my best friends, Jean. This shower was especially meaningful because we have been praying for Jean to be able to get pregnant for awhile now. We were finally able to celebrate not one, but two identical baby boys! The babies surprised Brian and Jean and decided to come at 28 weeks, and it all happened so fast that she had them naturally. That's right...she delivered twins without drugs!!! They are getting stronger and bigger everyday but will still be in the NICU for several more weeks, so we are continuing to pray for them. You can follow their beautiful journey here.

We did a sock monkey theme so the decorating possibilities were endless. Here is some of what we came up with.

Jean and her sweet mom who was so appreciative, it humbled me.

I took a picture of this bag because Jean is in residency for child psychiatry and it was given to her by a girl she works with. We all joked about Jean talking to her babies asking "how do you feel right now? happy? sleepy? quiet?".

Everyone was so curious about what was in the Tiffany blue box.

Brian's dad is a financial planner and gave the boys each a piggy bank for their first investment. How cute!

Jean with her hostesses, Mellissa, Mary and I. We made a great team. :)

Holly and Kirsten. Love these girls so much!Brad and I got to meet Oliver and Sawyer for just a couple minutes on our way out of town. What tiny miracles they are!

Keystone, Colorado Part III - Family Time

2012-01-03T23:42:00.000-08:00

Spending time as a family away from the busyness of everyday life was the whole point of the trip. I think we accomplished that! Here are a few pics of our little family all bundled up:

My mom grew up in Colorado and her brother and sister still live there. We got to spend some time with my Uncle Harry, Aunt Ann and cousin Shea. Of course, since Shea is a big girl Anna was drawn to her.

My Aunt Monica spent the week with us and brought her dog, Eddie. Anna referred to her as Eddie's mom.

Something fun that all of us did together was take a wagon ride out to an original homestead site where we had an awesome 3 course meal with steak dinner. A guy played the guitar and took requests so we asked him to play She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain since all the kids new it from this semester of music class. It turned into a sing-a-long and everyone got into it.

Free peppermint Goldschlager shots for everyone!

Love this pic of Anna with a genuine smile, as opposed to her "say cheese" smile. She was loving the hot cocoa.

Unfortunately towards the end of the trip, these two got sick. I've never seen Marcus so still and quiet because he is all boy. On the 17 hour ride back, 3 of the 4 kids were sick and Haven was barking like a little seal because she had croup. We were all ready to be back home!

Keystone, Colorado Part II - Skiing and Tubing Fun

2012-01-03T22:58:00.000-08:00

Everyone in the group had been skiing before but not in several years (except for Aunt Monica, the native). It didn't take long before Brad and Giam were going down the blues. I was thankful that the blacks were closed due to lack of snow so that Brad couldn't try anything too crazy. He did get a helmet on his third day of skiing because he wanted to try the jumps. He just went off some small ones and even told me that thinking about how he was the sole provider of the family kept him from trying something he shouldn't. :)

This is the bottom of a blue and I think Brad is on the far right.

I opted not to ski this time since I didn't want to have to mess with nursing Haven or pumping in between runs. I did go tubing one day and had a blast! The ski resort employees tried to make it fun and made us try all these different ways of going down the chute. I told Brad that I realized I actually hadn't thought about the girls for a couple of hours. It was kind of funny because some of the skiers were making fun of us tubers on their way up the lift. One guy even bawked at us like a chicken. We didn't care because we were having fun!

Karri, Me, Brad, Giam and Lucas making a tube train.

Lucas and Giam

Keystone, Colorado Part I

2012-01-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

Over the summer, Brad and I were talking about taking a trip and in theory, it sounded like a good idea. Let's all go skiing together for Christmas this year! We'll forgo presents and take a vacation instead! We can rent a 12 passenger van so everyone, including one 4 year old, 2 two year olds, and a 6 month old can fit in one car! Somehow my family agreed to our little plan and it came to fruition this December.

I'm not sure how, but after being a parent for over 2 and a half years, the word vacation still conjured up thoughts of rest, relaxation, sleep, and adventure. That isn't exactly how I would describe this trip; although, to be fair there was a little bit of each of those things. I think my friend Stacey put it best when she said that when the kids go, she calls it a family trip, not a vacation. I'm going to use that from now on.

I am being a bit dramatic. :) We had a great time overall and Brad absolutely LOVED skiing, so it was worth it. I don't want to sound like I am complaining about getting to go to a beautiful place like Colorado and stay in an amazing mountain cabin with my family and extended family. Just sayin' vacations aren't what they used to be. :)

Here is the townhouse I found on VRBO (I have had good luck renting places through this site).

And the view from the patio.One of the best parts of this trip for me was watching the four cousins have so much fun together.Playing charades one night.
I'm not sure how many times they watched Small One, at least 10. I didn't mind that much since it is my favorite Disney production ever!
Riding in the wagon at Keystone.While planning this trip, I envisioned little Anna frolicking in the snow building snowmen, sledding, and having snowball fights with her cousins. That all changed when after spending at least 10 minutes bundling her up, we walked outside and she lost it when snow got on her mitten! I was like what!?! We just drove 15 hours to come to a place covered in snow and you don't even want it on your MITTEN!?! After a little coaxing and having her watch Lucas, I convinced her to make a snow angel.

Then we headed over to Keystone, where the daddies were skiing. We thought it might be fun for the kids to ride with them in the gondola.

Lucas loved it like he loved everything. This is such a sweet pic of him and my sis.
Anna tolerated it for awhile...
then she was done! Poor thing got pretty cold. She is definitely a Texas girl like her mama.Once I realized that Anna was having more fun being in the warm townhouse, drinking hot cocoa, playing with cars and watching cartoons with her cousins, I let her. We both enjoyed ourselves more after that!

Stay tuned for part II...

Christmas Day

2011-12-31T04:30:00.000-08:00

After our Christmas morning activities, we headed over to Brad's parents to continue celebrating. We had a yummy ham for lunch and I felt so loved because my mom-in-law looked all over until she found a hormone free, free range ham at Sprouts. :) Brad's parents big gift to us was a donation to Samaritan's Purse to go towards famine relief in the Horn of Africa. I so appreciated this gift because as I told his mom, this issue has been on my heart but we had not yet given to it.

It was a little quieter this year because Robert's family of 6 was out of town. We sure missed them, but these cousins still had fun together.

Courtney MADE these adorable aprons! I love the prints.

I think this is the sweetest picture ever of Haven with her Appy.

It's not a Bruce family Christmas without a little trumpet playing!

Christmas Morning

2011-12-30T21:50:00.000-08:00

One nice thing about almost all my family living in DFW is that we got to have Christmas morning at our house since we didn't have to travel. We celebrated Jesus' birthday by singing Happy Birthday and blowing out candles on some Pioneer Woman Cinnamon rolls. Again, I think we have a new tradition. :)

Anna got a kitchen that I found on kids.woot.com months ago. Brad and Uncle Michael were up late putting it together. I think this is how Brad will be spending many Christmas Eve's in the future.
Haven got a Cabbage Patch baby doll. I wanted her to have a special doll of her own and she already loves her.

Funny story about the stockings. I bought all the materials to make the girls stockings a couple weeks before Christmas. What was I thinking? Well, they didn't get done, so they used ours this year. One of my goals for 2012 is to make their stockings before spring.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-30T20:25:00.000-08:00

We had fun getting to host Christmas Eve at our house with my side of the family. Thanks to our San Antonio roots, we had a tamale lunch which might become a new tradition. After lunch and presents, everyone headed out to candlelight services.

Karri's FamilyUncle Michael and Helen. We can always count on him to lighten the mood. :)

The Matriarch - Gigi

The little ones has so much fun opening gifts.

Sweet big sister reading little sister a new book from Aunt Karri.

These guitars were a hit with the boys. My sister has learned to give them two of everything. Guess that is what I will be doing in a few more months.

Uncle Michael gave Anna two more Zhu Zhu pets. He obviously did not get my opinion on this. You see, she got two last year and I was so happy that the batteries have died so she lost interest. If your child owns one of these rodents, you know what I am talking about. She absolutely LOVES these things and was cracking us up when she was playing with them.
Helen's sweet daughter, Jenna. Anna LOVES being around big girls and Jenna was so patient with her.

A cute idea I found from someone else's blog who apparently saw it on Pinterest (surprise, surprise). Otherwise, my cupcake holder sits on top of the fridge not getting used.

Christmas Giving

2011-12-29T19:25:00.000-08:00

It is easy for little ones to understand the concept of receiving on Christmas since all of us want to love on them and have the desire to give them good things. It is much harder for them to understand the concept of giving since they aren't able to give completely on their own at such a young age. I love to get ideas from other moms about how they teach their children things, so I thought we would share some ways we tried to teach Anna about giving this Christmas season.

There was a Salvation Army kettle outside of the grocery store we go to, so I always let Anna put money into it. We would talk about why we were going to put money in the kettle on our drive to the store. The bell ringer was sweet and always let Anna ring the bell which made the giving even more fun.

We got to help our church out with it's Angel Tree program this year and I tried to let Anna be a part of that. She helped me deliver presents to some boys and girls and she really wanted to meet them.

I made Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls to give to friends and family. By the way, they are amazing and if they didn't take so much effort I would never buy ones in a can again! It was two days before Christmas and I was getting stressed so Anna did not help me make them (thanks for watching her Gigi!). But she did help deliver them.

I'm not sure how much Anna got out of those activities, after all she still won't share her new toys with her sister. :) But I do know that she is a sponge and is observing all that we do, making it so important for Brad and I to try to be generous with what we have been given.

December Fun

2011-12-28T21:39:00.001-08:00

Since we went to Colorado in the middle of December, we didn't get a chance to do a lot of Christmas activities but we had fun doing a few. Anna loved putting ornaments on the tree. The day after we put of the tree, we sang a song about ornaments in her music class. After the song she said loudly to the whole class, "I put ornaments on MY tree with my mommy and daddy!".
Cousins Shanna and Nalani came over one day to decorate cookies. I decided this is an activity that is a lot easier with a child Nalani's age!

We did our advent calendar again this year and Anna looked forward to it every night before bed. This year, she wanted to sleep in her crib with the little trinket that came in the calendar box each day. So we let her.

7 Months!

2011-12-28T21:36:00.001-08:00

Content. That is the word I would use to describe Haven right now. Throughout the day, she happily plays and explores her little world without a lot of fussing. Anna was a little different since she always wanted me close to her. Since she was my first and I was a new mom, I'm glad she needed me in that way and I am glad Haven is a bit more independent.

She is also on the move a lot these days, making these monthly photo shoots a little harder. :)

At the beginning of the month, she got her 2 bottom teeth. I love this picture that shows them off.

She also started pulling up in her crib! What is next! All she wants to do is stand up in her crib. This means she doesn't want to lay down and sleep. I have to hold her down and pat her until she relaxes enough to sleep. The second she wakes up, she pops up to the sitting position and then stands. She wakes up one time during the night and I always walk in to find her standing in her crib, no matter what time of day.

Within a two day period, she started crawling on all fours (she skipped the army crawl stage), clapping and babbling mama and dada. It is amazing to observe as she is learning, knowing her little neurons are firing away and making connections.

Haven Crawling from kelli bruce on Vimeo.

This was taken before church and is one of my favorite outfits. Part of the fun of having girls is dressing them up.This girl loves the bath, I mean LOVES it. She could crawl, play and splash for hours. Since she is also pulling up in the tub, I really have to keep an eye on her.She also went on her first big trip...all the way to Colorado. She saw snow for the first time and ended up getting sick for the first time too. With croup. Not fun.

2 and a 1/2!

2011-11-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

What a fun and sometimes challenging age 2 and a 1/2 is! As I've told Brad, the good moments outweigh the bad and there is still no place I would rather be than home with this girl while she is still so little. She is so verbal and comprehends so much that sometimes I have to remind myself that she is just 2! For example, sometimes she calls me mom instead of mommy. Where did she get this from? Here are a few of her recent comments that make me think she is a 10 year old trapped in a 2 year old's body.

"That's cool, Mom!" (don't remember what this was in reference to)

"Mom, that doesn't fit you." (said as I was trying to squeeze into a pre-pregnancy skirt when Haven was about 3 months old)
"Mom, I'm busy." (said while she was playing with puzzles and I asked her to get ready to go somewhere)

She looks at almost everything in the context of family. If there are the same things of different sizes, one is the daddy, one is the mommy, and one is the baby. Doesn't matter what it is, it could be potato chips, acorns, chairs, bugs...you get the point. This is how she relates to the world around her.

She LOVES her cousins and her friends. She always wants to go to their houses or have them come to her house. Every Sunday after church she tells me which of her friends were there. After playing with friends, she is also sure to tell me who pushed or hit her. :)

Speaking of friends, she has an imaginary one named Dido. It is funny because when I ask her about them, she doesn't want to talk about them. All I know is that Dido is a little boy. She is often telling him what to do and what not to do. It seems like she talks to him when she is bored, like when she is riding in the car.

She is still such a great sleeper! And still in a crib! She sleeps every night from 8:30 to 8:30 (unless a certain little sister wakes her up earlier). Most of the time she can sleep through Haven's middle of the night feedings. She also still takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoons.

She loves going to the library to get new books each week. I've noticed that she favors the classics and fairytales like The Three Little Pigs, The Little Red Hen, and The Ugly Duckling. After we return books like that, she asked me to tell her the stories.

Like I said the good moments outweigh the bad, but at this age she is going through a major whiny phase! It is funny because she will first ask for something in a soft, sweet little voice and the second I say no it changes to whining. Ready for this particular phase to pass!

I have started to let Anna take naps in my bed if her sister is already napping in their room. One of my favorite things to do with her is snuggle her in bed and talk and tell her stories. We have had some really sweet moments together and she loves the one on one attention.

Thankful

2011-11-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Thanksgiving weekend this year! We rented a house with all of Brad's family - 8 adults and 7 kids! The house was amazing, it was over 10,000 square feet and each family had their own room and bathroom. There was plenty of room for the kids to run and scream, which they did...the entire time. The dining room table was even big enough for all of us. The kitchen was HUGE and had two ovens. It was the perfect place to stay for Thanksgiving.

Grandy always gets the kids involved and had Nalani and Anna "help" her with the rolls.

After the traditional Thanksgiving meal came the traditional Thanksgiving naps and football watching.

Sadly, this was the last time we will get to watch the Thanksgiving UT/A&M game with the Aggie Bruces. It was an exciting game to watch and I was proud of how classy the UT band was.Emma, possibly the cutest Aggie I have ever seen. Anna really had the time of her life with her cousins. (Thanks for the paint, Aunt Sandy.)

In this pic, they were pretending to be in a jeep trying to get away from crocadiles.

Grandy and the children enjoyed some bedtime stories.

We stayed near Lake Whitney so one day we went down to the lake. Due to the drought, it was so low! This made for great shell and fossil hunting conditions.

We also had a scavenger hunt. Here is sweet Kaila decorating her bag.

One of the items on the scavenger hunt was a bug. In this picture, Micah is having his 3 year old sister pick up a dead bug for him! Funny thing is, she didn't hesitate to do it. Sweet girl.

It wouldn't be a Bruce family get together without a game of Risk. This one lasted until 2 in the morning!

Here are the babies of the family. We found out they won't be the youngest ones for long - Billy and Courtney are expecting another little one in June!

One night, we made smores by the awesome double sided fire place.

Something else we did one evening when the kids were asleep was pray as a family. It was a sweet time that I pray blessed the Father. He has been so good to each member of this family and we owe all our thanks to Him.

6 Months!

2011-11-26T19:25:00.000-08:00

This little girl keeps us smiling from all the joy she brings to our family (I think I say this in each monthly post:) and has also been keeping us entertained with all her advancements this month. As I was selecting pictures for this post and looking at her cute, smiley, chubbiness, I just wanted to go wake her up from her crib and hug her!

The highlight of turning 6 months was getting her first taste of solids! With both of my girls, I waited until the day they turned 6 months to let them have a taste of real food (if you call baby oatmeal real food). Why rush it? It was no surprise to us that Haven loved it and started grabbing the spoon and putting it to her mouth after the first bite.

We have been talking about Haven starting solids for about a week and Anna could not wait to help. She had a lot of practice feeding Haven with imaginary food from a doll spoon and Haven always went along with it, leaving her mouth hanging open between each "bite". Anna would even let Haven know when they were finishing up by telling her "last bite!".

While she still loves to eat books, this month she also got interested in turning the pages. This makes reading with her a lot more fun! Selecting and reading different children's books is probably one of my favorite activities to do with the girls.

I guess what everyone says about a second child is true, trying to keep up with their older sibling helps them to become mobile a lot faster. I had to put away the bouncy chair after I put her in it and then came back a minute later to find her like this:

I also realized it is time to drop the crib after I set her down and came back to find her like this:

These two make each other smile and laugh more each day. When Anna was Haven's age, I remember, especially after nursing, how she would just stare at me and smile. The minute Haven is done, she starts straining her neck to look for her sister...a little bittersweet for me.

Just a couple more cute pics. :)

Special Visitors

2011-11-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

Grandpa Gene, Katie and Uncle Michael recently came to Fort Worth for a visit. They all got to meet Haven for the first time! It was a fun weekend of just hanging out and spending time together.

Anna with Uncle Michael and Grandpa Gene.
My dad brought his dog, Relay, who is his favorite child. :) They got him while Katie was fighting breast cancer and named him after the Relay for Life race. He has been such a blessing in their lives.
Anna has been going through a phase of being scared of dogs, but she loved Relay!
This was about the best pic we could get of my dad with all his kids and grandkids.

Saturday in the Park

2011-11-14T19:56:00.000-08:00

My favorite way to spend a Saturday morning is with this man

and these two little ladies

playing at the park.

And getting a snack from the Cupcake Cottage.

Van Grow

2011-11-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, while Daddy was in Austin having fun doing this (a deal I found on Living Social), the girls and I had some fun of our own.

Our first stop was a class at the Van Grow kid's art studio that I found through Groupon (can you tell I love the group deal sights?). It was in an old house and was such an eclectic, creative space. I loved that there was splattered paint all over the walls, chairs, and floors. We picked a great day to come because the theme was owls. These were my her three masterpieces:

Then we were off to cousin Emma's first birthday party! Aunt Courtney did such a amazing job with the ladybug decorations, cake and Emma's outfit. Emma is such a cute, tiny little thing and just started walking around.

The highlight of a one year old's birthday party...Emma didn't disappoint!Yes, that little blonde head in the middle is Emma's. Appy is trying to protect her from the onslaught of love given by her 2 year old cousins.

Love all these precious kiddos.

H-A-LL-O-W-EE-N

2011-11-01T19:07:00.000-07:00

This was such a fun Halloween because Anna is starting to get what the night is all about. She LOVED dressing up as a butterfly and seeing her sister as a little caterpillar. I've also decided that I really like Halloween because it lets kids dress up and use their imaginations and gives you a chance to hang out with neighbors. We got to meet the new guy who just moved onto our street and the new baby who was just born. My only complaint is that the decorations seem to get scarier every year.

We hadn't done any Halloween crafts, so I decided we had better do something before October was over! She had fun painting her and Haven's pumpkins.

Then she ate a jack-o-lantern sandwich for lunch. (thanks for the idea, Holly!)

And while Anna was busy doing that, I played with this little pumpkin. This outfit brought back memories.

After naps, we met up with a lion (cousin Marcus) and Wolverine (cousin Lucas) at a church festival. It was so funny because Lucas would only answer to Wolverine and corrected us if we called him by his name.My cute little baby bugs.

We met daddy back at home and the trick-or-treating fun began.Anna would run up to the door, knock, and then yell out "trick-or-treating!" before the door opened. After every house, she would pull a piece of candy out of her bag and ask "mommy, can you open this?". She was giddy with excitement all night. So cute!

We got back home in time to hand out some candy, too. She kept reminding me that she was sharing her candy.

My favorite part of the evening was when a teenage boy who did not have a costume on came to the door late in the evening. After Anna put some candy in his bag, he paused, reached into his bag and gave her a piece of candy. Such a sweet gesture that was so unexpected.

Big 12 Babies

2011-10-30T20:05:00.000-07:00

I know what you might be thinking...not another post of her kids in their UT attire! But this time there are other kids in the picture and they have on non-UT gear.

There are now 7 little ones in our church lifegroup and between them, 4 different Big 12 schools are represented. We've been wanting to do a little photoshoot for awhile now. Here are the best shots I could get out of the shoot that lasted for about 1 minute. It is fun having friends that went to rival schools...just one more reason for the Big 12 to stay together!

Haven started sitting up just in time to take this picture with Lily and Emilynn, both 7 months old.

Funny pic of Emilynn off to the side since her team is leaving the Big 12 next year. Lily's mom said she is upset because of how this season is going for Tech. Haven's expression looks like she is thinking "what are you looking at? I'm UT, we have the our own network and we might as well have our own conference".

I'm so thankful for this sweet community of friends and little ones.

5 Months!

2011-10-22T19:41:00.000-07:00

Yes...just a few days before she turned 5 months, she started sitting up! She loves this new perspective of life and doesn't like to lay down unless she is sleeping. Lately she's been hanging out

in her exersaucer

up on daddy's shoulder's

and in her bouncy swing.
One minute, I find the girls having sweet moments like this one, and the next minute I turn around to see this.
I am still trying to get Anna to understand that this swing is not like the one hanging in the tree outside.Is there anything more peaceful and precious than a sleeping baby? We've discovered that unlike her sister and much like her mama, Haven is a pretty light sleeper. She wakes up each morning when the neighbor starts his car to go to work and the other day woke from her nap after only 20 minutes because Anna let out a single cough.

This is a pretty rare sight considering she has only had a bottle three times in her life. We are pretty attached...Dr. Sears would be proud. That's just how we roll and what works best for us.

Everything's Bigger in Texas

2011-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

Including the state fair which is the biggest in the country! The girls and I made the trek to Dallas to meet up with some friends at the state fair and had so much fun. When I first moved to Dallas, I vowed to make it a tradition to go to the fair every year. Now that we are 45 minutes away and parking alone is $15!, I think we may go every couple of years.

Coming through! We each had a two year old and a baby rolling around in our big, wide strollers. (Before you start thinking we are BOB snobs, all of us got our strollers secondhand. Please note to my friends with new BOB strollers, I'm not implying that you are a snob.:)

These three little friends; Emery Kate, Anna, and Luke were so cute together.Clapping at the dog show.Children's Hospital sponsors an amazing petting zoo every year. I bought Anna a cup of feed and in the chaos of tons of little ones running around, keeping track of a 2 year old, bouncing a baby on my hip and attempting to document the with experience with photos, I didn't read the sign that said to use shovels to dispense feed to the animals.

Within seconds this goat gobbled up the feed, yanked the cup out of Anna's hand and ate the cup as well. Lesson learned.

The piggies were her favorite and she kept saying "oh, dear" like piglet from Winnie the Pooh.

We also got to see a kangaroo with a baby in its pouch! See the little legs sticking out?
These sweet baby girls, Haven and Molly, took cat naps while their big sisters were off being farmers.

I think it is the biologist in me that loves to see the bird show every year. They also have a great conservation program they raise money for. For the most part, Anna was more excited about the animal crackers she was eating than the falcon that flew from the top of the ferris wheel down to where we were. I'll give her a couple more years.

Horns Up, Horns Down

2011-10-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

Horns UP: We got to hang out with our favorite Longhorn friends and watch the OU game.

Horns DOWN: We lost miserably.

Horns UP: It was a good photo op for our Little Longhorns.

2 Toddlers + 2 Babies = Take What You Can Get When it Comes to a Group Photo

Georgia and Haven - future roommates and members of UT Class of 2032.

Close up of the onesies I made. I really need to learn how to use a sewing machine...hand stitching takes forever!

Where did we get these blue-eyes babies?

P.S. Marci is wittier and a much more entertaining writer with a better camera :), so you should check out her version of the day here.

Easiest Pumpkin Recipe Ever

2011-10-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

1 Box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
1 Can of Pumpkin

That's it! No eggs, no oil...it is just that simple...and lowfat. I know many of you have probably already heard this recipe, but I had to share in case you haven't yet.

Little Gym

2011-10-03T19:53:00.000-07:00

I bought a Living Social deal for 1 month at Little Gym, so Anna got to take a class there last month. She got to do it with one of her best buddies, Andrew, making it even more fun. I was so thankful that my mom could watch Haven so Anna and I could do the class together.

They give all the little kids a stamp on their foot at the end of class. It is genius because it entices them away from all the gym activities and gets them out the door for the next class to come in. Anna would scream and try to avoid putting her foot in the bath on the days she got the stamp.

Sadly, we didn't continue the class after the month was over but who needs Little Gym when you have a balance beam in your front yard,

a trampoline in your mommy and daddy's room, and a tumbling mat in your bedroom?

Fall Favorites

2011-10-01T13:13:00.000-07:00

Two things I love about fall are pumpkin patches and UT Game days!

I love these cute dresses! A friend found Anna's for supercheap and gave it to us and then I found Haven's on sale at a consignment store. :)

It was hard enough to get Haven propped up in the pumpkins so she wouldn't fall over. I gave up trying to get her to look up and smile, but she still looks pretty cute to me.

This child refused to put her feet down so I went with it. :)

4 Months!

2011-09-22T13:37:00.001-07:00

Baby girl is now 4 months and hitting a bunch of developmental milestones all at once. It always amazes me that one day she can't do something and the next, she suddenly can! She started rolling a few weeks ago and I always find her at the opposite end of the crib from where I laid her down. So different from Anna who didn't move in her crib until she was about 9 months. I have a feeling Haven will be mobile a lot sooner than Anna. Here are her stats:

Height: 27 in. ~99%
Weight: 19 lbs. 7 oz. ~ 99%
Head: 41.5 in. ~ 50%

Within a 3 day period she found her feet,discovered how yummy they were,

and then discovered that her 2 fingers were pretty yummy too. I'm so thankful because once she gets a hold of them, she falls right to sleep.The rest of her hair is finally starting to catch up to what I call her "little old man hair" in the back.Aren't little baby feet the cutest? One little quirk that only a mommy notices is that she likes to curl up the toes on her right foot. She is such a snuggle! She is so big and squishy but doesn't try to squirm away yet. My favorite time of the day is when I get her in the morning and nurse and snuggle with her until Anna wakes up.

These two are really sweet together. Just recently, Haven has started to become more interested and amused by Anna. I think before, she was just in survival mode when Anna would come near her. This month, they started sharing a room and Brad and I really think they comfort each other. I think this is why the transition has gone so well. As sweet as they can be, I am starting to see glimpses of what the future may hold. The other day, Anna tattled on her 4 month old sister for hitting her and pulling her hair. I told Anna that she is lucky her little sister can't talk yet. Case in point, the two bite marks I found on Haven's arm. Anna has never even been a biter! At the end of the day, I wouldn't want to spend my days any other way than with these little girls.

Singin' in the Rain

2011-09-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

After who knows how many days of extreme heat and drought, we finally got just enough rain to make a few puddles. Anna had some rain boots sitting in her closet that she had only worn to play dress up. We threw on the boots and in between lightning bolts (don't worry, they were not close and we were very safe!), ran out to jump in the puddles.

Then we just hung out on the porch watching the rain (pretty entertaining when you haven't seen it for several months), throwing acorns, andplaying with sissy who was watching rain for the first time in her little life. (It is partially the angle, but Haven looks almost as big as Anna in this picture!)

No Fear!

2011-09-13T13:21:00.000-07:00

It has been so much fun to watch Anna gain confidence and skills in the pool this summer. In the beginning, she would barely let go of me and by the end, she was jumping and "swimming" all over the place. It helped seeing her older cousins in the water. I'm sad that our days at the pool have come to an end for now. Can't wait until next summer when Haven can splash around with us!

Mommy and Me

2011-09-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

I've been trying to make an effort to take some pictures of just me and my baby girl, especially while she is little and likes to be in my arms. Here are some that I love.

I recently pulled out my baby album and couldn't believe how much Haven resembles me in some of my baby pictures. So sweet how God made my second baby girl favor me since I was my mama's second baby girl.

Go Cats!

2011-09-12T20:15:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we went to a Fort Worth Cats game with our church lifegroup. It was so much fun because of who we were with and it was cheap, laid back, and so kid friendly. Anna has also developed a love of baseball since we live a few streets behind a high school with a nice baseball stadium. Often during our evening walks if there is a game going on, and she makes us go to the fence and watch for a few minutes.

She was a little nervous but excited to get to take her picture with one of the players.

These two are such good buddies. I think this picture is cute because she is the little girl version wearing all pink including a pink hat and he is the little boy version in his camo hat.

Brad and Bobby hanging out with their girls, Haven and Lily.
Love the skyline in the background...the stadium is just north of downtown.My friend T also got to come to the game.

Just another thing we love about Fort Worth!

3 Months!

2011-08-24T14:03:00.000-07:00

I feel like being a mom of two has gotten easier this past month since Haven sleeps longer at night and we are getting into more of a rhythym during the day. Of course, there are days like today when she won't sleep for more than 45 minutes at a time and wants to be held if her eyes are open. I have self-diagnosed her with a dairy sensitivity based on the color and consistency of her poo and since cutting out milk (poor mommy), things are looking better. She is still in the pack-n-play because I don't have the guts to put her in the same room with Anna yet. I'll have to bite the bullet one of these days! She has added squealing and squawking to her baby talk and it cracks us up. Here she is in all her chubby cuteness:

This could be my favorite picture of Haven so far. She is pushing up on her arms during tummy time, making for such a cute pose.
Tummy time isn't her favorite, but seeing her cute self in the mirror makes her a little happier.She loves to stand and "talk" to us. I can't help but say this all the time - look at all those rolls! I once counted 8 on each leg and 7 on each arm.
She remains a patient, sometimes unwitting playmate of her sister's. Don't worry, I let Anna put the stickers on me first and they did not hurt to take off.
She is starting to grasp and hold things and what is more fun for a baby to hold than than a pair of maracas.
She loves to be held and likes to face outward. I love how most of the time when she is fussing, she instantly stops when Brad or I pick her up.

My New Favorite Summer Spot

2011-08-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Four years ago, when we were considering moving to Dallas, I was researching the area and googled "Dallas swimming holes" because I loved going to the ones in Austin. Burger's Lake was one of the top results and it has been on my list of places to go. We finally got a chance to go and LOVED it! It is a laid back, retro water park that is a throw back to the fifties when life was simpler and slower paced. For example, they have a lifeguard that circles the diving area on a surf board. Instead of whistling at kids to be careful, the lifeguard by the trapeeze was giving people tips on how to do better tricks!
Playing on the sandy shore was the closest we will come to being at a beach this year.
Then the whole fam went swimming in the shallow area.
Love this pic of me and my girls in the water.
After that, Brad and I took turns going on the trapeze and the diving boards. After watching all the tweens do fancy tricks, I was inspired to do a front flip. On my 32nd (gasp!) birthday, I felt like a kid again!
Brad tried to give me a heart attack and did a back flip off the high dive.

After watching us, Anna got brave and wanted to go off the small diving board...without her floatie!
I'm looking forward to spending many summer days here and creating some great memories with Anna and Haven.
Snow cones were the perfect way to end our time there! It was so refreshing to go to a place that just wants to create a fun place for families and was affordable too.

Horns Up!

2011-08-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

The brainwashing has already begun and we made sure that one of the first songs Anna learned was UT's alma mater, The Eyes of Texas. Afterall, football season begins in only 21 days!!! She was wandering around the house singing it so I quickly dressed her and Haven in UT gear and caught her on tape. (On a side note, while I was filming I totally felt like one of those moms on Toddler and Tiaras because I was doing the Longhorns sign and mouthing all the words as she sang. Ha!)

The Eyes of Texas from kelli bruce on Vimeo.

Winnie the Pooh and Anna too!

2011-08-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the cheesy title, but I couldn't resist. :) Anna had another big first recently...her first movie! She had never even watched a movie on a TV screen. I wasn't sure how she would do but had a feeling she would be mesmerized by the big screen. She LOVED every second of it! Even during the previews, she would exclaim "another one!". Winnie the Pooh was such a sweet kids movie with a great message on friendship, but wasn't as entertaining for adults since there weren't any inside jokes.

All day we told her that after her nap we were going to take her somewhere for a surprise. In the car on the way there, we gave her a Winnie the Pooh book to read, told her where we were going and explained some movie etiquette.

Of course, she got to hold the tickets.

I couldn't stop laughing at her serious face that she had most of the movie. She was so intent on not missing anything.

She looks sad in the picture because we are leaving and she didn't want to. We had to sit through almost all the credits and were the last ones in the theatre.

Haven came too and slept and nursed through the whole movie without making a sound. Don't worry, she isn't always this perfect. At church on Sunday, she screamed during a moment of complete silence because the pastor said to meditate on how much God loves us. As I was scrambling to get out, he jokingly said "God loves that baby too".

Anna also had another first that day. I put her hair in a full ponytail for the first time and thought her face looked so cute. She really is a little girl now.

Keepin' it Weird

2011-08-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

On our way to and from San Antonio we stopped and hung
out in Austin for a bit. I can't drive through Austin and not at least stop to eat. When I lived in Austin, I don't think I ever contributed to the weirdness because let's be honest, I'm pretty normal and boring. :) BUT, I always appreciated the uniqueness and creativity of the people and culture there.

When I saw this kid's shirt on sale at Amy's, our favorite ice cream place, I had to get one for Anna. Amy's is one of those places that helps to keep Austin weird. For example, their application is a white paper bag that applicants have to do something creative with, and the only requirement is that their contact info be written somewhere on the bag. Some employees also do tricks like throwing the ice cream scoop in the air and catching it in the cup. When is the last time you saw something like that at Cold Stone?

We also took Haven for her first "swim" in Barton Springs just like we did with Anna when she was about 3 months old.

This time, Anna cried when we got in because the water is 68 degrees.

I think it was also because Brad and I kept talking to each other about how cold it was going to be and she picked up on that. Within a couple minutes she was loving it.

The best part of visiting Austin was seeing old friends. We got to have dinner with Brian and Jean and they met Haven for the first time. I was also so excited to see my old roommate, Rachel, who FINALLY moved back to Texas with her husband, Lee, after living in New York City for the last several years. I'm still trying to get my other old roommate, Cara, to leave New York for Texas but am not having much luck. :( I can't wait to go back to Austin so we can all go to a football game together!

Shamu's House

2011-07-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we made the trip down to San Antonio to go to Sea World. I knew it would be ridiculously hot and ridiculously crowded but wanted to go there before my mom moves in August. Eventhough it was hot and crowded, we had so much fun. Anna had been anticipating this trip for weeks since we watched Shamu on youtube (over and over!) and checked out books from the library about whales and dolphins.
I loved being able to use my double BOB stroller that I found on craigslist. I told Brad I kinda liked how everyone moves out of your way as you go through crowds because it is so wide. :)

My favorite attraction was feeding the dolphins. My sister told us to do it right when we got there because they get so full by the end of the day. They swam right up to us! And Anna dropped the fish in their mouths.

Another highlight was the Shamu show. I love watching Anna's reactions to things. She was so focused and observant during the whole show, she didn't want to miss a thing.
She also got excited during some parts. Here she is making the motion for Shamu to splash the audience.
Daddy really wanted to get her a stuffed Shamu since she loved it so much. She immediately started making it do flips and jumps.
This sweet baby never made a peep and did this most of the time.
When she wasn't sleeping, her Gigi was holding her.
As we were leaving, Anna even let Haven hold her Shamu.

This week, Anna has been telling me that she wants to go back to Shamu's house. :)

6 2 Months!

2011-07-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

This little girl couldn't be any sweeter and she is helping to give her mommy buff arms! My 2 month old is the size of an average 6 month old, according to her pediatrician. I have noticed that since she is such a chubby baby, strangers (mainly older women) can't resist reaching out and touching her. I think it is sweet because her chubby cuteness brings a smile to their faces. One of my favorite nicknames for her is Havenito which is funny because she isn't very "ito". :)

Her 2 month stats:
Height: 25.75 in.
Weight: 16 lbs. 6 oz.
Head: 41 cm.

Lately she has been:

Hanging out in the bumbo. Did you know the bumbo was invented by a grandpa in South Africa?
Looking cute in a bathing suit as we try to stay cool this summer.
Sleeping about 8 hours a night since I have started swaddling her. Anna HATED being swaddled and slept fine without it so that is why I haven't swaddled Haven until recently. Slowly, I'm beginning to realize that what worked for the first baby won't necessarily work for the second. :)
Carried around in my Beco all the time. I love carrying her around in this so I can use both arms and I also love looking down at this sweet face.

Cooing and smiling at us during her awake periods. (I tried posting a video but it kept failing so I will get one up later.)

Sister Love

2011-07-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

A sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost. ~Marion C. Garretty

I chose this quote because I have found it to be true in my own life (I could substitute the word with brother as well). If these first eight weeks are any indication of the type of bond these girls will have, I predict they will be the best of friends. It thought the newness of Haven would have worn off by now, but Anna still can't get enough of her. I was telling a friend today that I was thinking of buying Anna a couple of new toys, but there was no point because she has little interest in anything but Haven.

When I bring Haven into Anna's room to get her out of her crib in the morning, Anna ALWAYS asks if Haven can get in big sissy's crib.
Smothering Haven with kisses.
Brushing her hair. Anna told me it was tangled.
Often says "I want to go see Haven" and is so tempted to wake her up if she finds her asleep.
Makes sure Haven has a pacifier in her mouth at all times, whether she wants it or not!

As you can tell from the following pictures, sweet Haven is learning patience from a very young age.
I wouldn't want a praying mantis or a killer bee on me either!
As you can see, Anna likes to put things on Haven. Even her two special lovies, Rosie and Pinkie. I hope this is a sign that she is going to share with her sister in the future. :)

I do really love how she wants to include Haven in everything she does. Here is a conversation we had yesterday in the car:
A: Mommy, do you see the workers? (she always points out construction workers and we talk about their hardhats, what they are building, etc.)
Me: Yes honey, I see them.
A: When I get bigger, I'm gonna be a worker. (pause) And Haven is too.
Me: That is so sweet that you want to be a worker with your sister!

My pretty babies before church one morning. Thanks Aunt Karri for the matching dresses!

I think Anna loves that she has a captive audience. And by captive, I mean isn't able to escape.:) She loves "teaching" Haven everything she knows. In this video, she is telling Haven about the animals on her mobile and her lovies that she is sharing.

Fort Worth Children's Museum

2011-07-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have a feeling we are going to get to know this place pretty well. It is such a fun place to go explore, discover, create, pretend and play. Not to mention it is air conditioned. :)

She loved any activity that allowed her to pretend to do things that mommy does. Like grocery shopping. How flattering.

The hospital was by far her favorite play area and where she wanted to hang out the longest. Every parent wants their kid to be a doctor. Let's be honest, I'm no exception. I'm just saying...it was her favorite activity. Ha, ha!

Giving the baby a shot and then comforting her. Can you tell she had just gone to her baby sister's 1 month checkup?

Off to an emergency in the ambulance with Lucas and Marcus.

There was an entire room with black lights and light brights, including this giant size light bright board. I love that in this high-tech day and age, the light bright is still a popular toy!
Digging for dinosaur bones. Poor thing just couldn't resist throwing the sand and had to take a little time out.
Haven getting cuddle time with Aunt Karri. I love how she always wants to hold her so I can get a little break!
Seems like these boys would like a little sister, don't you think?

The 4th

2011-07-08T22:15:00.000-07:00

Supercute printable that you can get here.

So true! There is no place I would rather live (even more specifically, Texas)! We had another fun fourth at Uncle Billy and Aunt Courtney's house. Funny, looking at the pictures it appears to have been a nice, laid-back time lounging around the pool. In reality, I was in and out of the pool multiple times changing multiple children multiple times, making sure they were fed and trying to document some of it for this little blog that records our memories! Ha! Fun times none the less.

My little patriotic babies.

It felt like deja vu seeing Haven in this outfit and putting her in the pool for the first time. Here is Anna exactly 2 years ago.

Our family of 4 on the fourth.

Cute cousins

The hostess with the mostess and her little mini-me a.k.a. cousin Emma.

Swim Lessons

2011-06-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

Last week, Anna took swim lessons from the lady who is the Children's Pastor at our church. It was so nice to take the lessons at her house with Anna's other friends from church. I didn't get in the water with her, so she swam with Mrs. Christy and did great overall. There were tears at the beginning of the first day but they quickly went away as she started having fun in the water. She definitely improved over the course of the week and I'm looking forward to being fully recovered from having a baby so I can get in the pool with her! Especially since it is ridiculously hot this summer!

Patiently waiting her turn...love her little toddler belly that still has some chub.

Kick, kick, kick!

Putting her face in the water to blow bubbles.

Mrs. Christy called this move "ice cream scoops" so Anna kept asking to do it and got pretty good at doing it on her own.

The whole class that day: Anna, Noah, Lakoda, Andrew and Sophia.

Having fun with sweet little Sophia.

1 Month!

2011-06-22T21:56:00.000-07:00

This little angel has only been with us for a month, but it is hard to imagine our family without her. She is such a sweetie and we are all loving on her as much as possible. At her 1 month appointment, she weighed 12 lbs. 12 oz. and was 23 inches long. I told her pediatrician that I am still shocked every time I hear how much weight she has gained. I looked back at Anna's stats and she was 12 lbs. 11 oz. at her two month check-up. Haven has already outgrown some of her 0-3 month outfits. :( She is obviously a good eater and she is a pretty good sleeper too. She has started going down around 10 and wakes up between 3 and 4, then goes back to sleep for another 3 or 4 hours. If only I went to bed when she did, I would be getting decent sleep but when would I have time to blog???

She loves to be held and that is why I am not very productive these days. After Anna goes to bed, Haven and I have special one on one time (so does Daddy). I love that Anna wants to love on her so much, but it is nice to be able to nurse without a little helper right next to me.

She has just started smiling in the last couple days, but I haven't been able to capture it on camera yet...this is the closest I've come.

I just started giving her a paci and sometimes she wants it and sometimes she spits it out. Anna has become OBSESSED with pacifiers and always want to put one in Haven's mouth. I'm interested to see if Haven will eventually be a thumb sucker like her mama and big sis. Once when we were eating dinner and Haven started crying in the other room, Anna yelled out "Haven, suck your thumb!". She cracks us up!

Look at those rolls! I love that she is starting to look like the Michelin baby, but I have to be diligent about keeping all of her rolls clean. :)

First Date

2011-06-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

The day before Father's day was a very special first for Anna...it was her first official date with her daddy. As if I didn't already love Chick-fil-a for their family friendliness and awesome customer service, I really love it now! They hosted a daddy daughter date night and went above and beyond our expectations with the service and detail they put into it. I'm glad Brad took so many good pictures so I was able see how their big date went. Brad said that the oldest daughter was 21, which I think is precious. He told me that he had such a good time just enjoying Anna and felt like Chick-fil-a really honored the special relationship that fathers and daughters have. She is still talking about going to Chick-fil-a with daddy and seeing the horses. What a sweet memory for her to have.

She wore her pearls and even some of mommy's perfume.

Chick-fil-a had tablecloths, place settings and waitresses!

The date ended with a horse drawn carriage ride with her prince charming.

A Daddy and His Daughters

2011-06-19T14:23:00.000-07:00

We were both 24 when we got married and while I know the thought crossed my mind that Brad would be a good father, I didn't spend much time thinking about children since it seemed so far down the road. Here we are 7 years later with two daughters, and I'm so thankful that God knew exactly what my girls would need in a father and is providing that through Brad. I can never say this enough...I'm so thankful for his hard work that allows me to be with the girls during these precious years of their lives.

Bug Hunt Birthday

2011-06-18T20:28:00.001-07:00

Cousin Marcus turned two and to celebrate, we went on a bug hunt for his birthday! As you can see from the pictures, the kids loved their bug hunting gear that included a net, magnifying glass, and bug hotel. Gotta love Dollar Tree! Sweet Marcus has such an adventurous little spirit and is such a joy!

The Birthday Boy

Anna, with all her gear, running to find some bugs with the boys.

Big brother Lucas

Primo Diego

All the littles examining their findings.

On the hunt, we came upon this huge spider!

My sister's sweet family.

Adorable caterpillar made from a bundt cake. My sister found the idea on youtube.

I think Anna liked it. :)

Haven's Birth Story

2011-06-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

This post will probably long and boring to most of you, but I wanted to remember as many details of her birth as possible!

My due date was May 16th and that day came and went with no signs of imminent labor. Honestly, I thought I might go into labor early in the morning on May 17th because Anna came the day after her due date and afterall, all my births were going happen the exact same way, right?...how wrong I was! Finally, on Sunday 22nd I started having contractions around 5 in the morning but they weren't very consistent. Around 9:30, Brad, Anna and I headed out the door to go for a walk hoping gravity would help speed up my contractions. It worked! At 10:20, we were one block from our house and my water broke with a huge splash so loud that Brad stopped pulling the red wagon and turned around to see. I immediately sat down and he went to get the car. I labored at home until about 1 p.m. and since my contractions 5 minutes apart and about 1 minute long for an hour (so easy to track thanks to my Baby's Coming iphone app), I called my midwife. We talked briefly and I told her I was comfortable so I would labor at home a little longer. After I hung up, Brad came in and insisted that we head to the birthing center and hand off Anna to his parents. Although I didn't want to go at the time, looking back I am so glad he made us leave when he did.

We arrived at the birthing center around 2:30 and I was so looking forward to getting in the big tub and settling in for a water birth. The student nurse-midwife met me there and checked my cervix a few minutes later. When she said I was at a 6, I was relieved that I had already progressed so far. My relief was short lived because the next words out of her mouth were "BUT that is not a head I'm feeling". She called the midwife who showed up 5 minutes later and she confirmed that Haven was breech. I was silent...I was shocked...I did not see this coming. I knew that meant I would immediately have to go to a hospital for a C-section. I told myself that I needed to just stay calm for Haven's sake. I did not want to progress to the point where she would start coming out.

My midwife called the hospital that was my first choice and told the charge nurse our situation. She advised my midwife not to send me there and said that she would not trust the hospitalist on duty to cut her open and perform a C-section on her. She totally overstepped her bounds by telling us this information. I am so thankful that God protected me from going there. Next, my midwife called the doctor that she typically refers patients to if they have to be transferred to a hospital. He was on call that weekend but did not answer his phone or call back quickly. He was at a hospital that would have taken at least 30 minutes to get to and I didn't want to risk driving all the way through downtown Dallas while in labor with a breech baby. My midwife told us that she had transferred patients to the Medical Center of Arlington with good results. My sister-in-law had delivered there just 7 months before and it was only 15 minutes away so we decided to head over there. Brad remained cool, calm and collected and got us there quickly by running a few red lights. :) Thank you God for directing our path!

I went straight to triage and the nurse who checked me said I was now past 6 cm. She knew I was coming from a birthing center and she told me that her daughter was studying to be a nurse midwife at Baylor. They then wheeled me into another room to get me prepped to go to the operating room for the C-section. My labor and delivery nurse came in and was talking to us about what to expect and asked if we had any requests. Let me just say that she was AWESOME and God was so gracious to let her be our nurse. She happened to be the nurse in charge that day and she told us that she was seriously considering entering the nurse midwife program at Baylor next year. I was somewhat worried about how the hospital staff would react to us coming from a birthing center and showing up at their doorstep, asking for our baby to be delivered immediately and safely. God gave us two nurses who were supportive of midwives!

I was all prepped and ready to go to the operating room but there was another C-section happening so I had to wait...and wait...and wait. It seemed like forever because I was laying in a bed having pretty intense contractions that were close together. When I was that far along with Anna, I labored all over the place and walked and moved around to distract myself from the pain. I was just praying and asking God for His peace to rest on me and to help keep me calm. I knew that C-sections didn't take long so I wondered what was going on! Turns out, the lady who was having the C-section was having problems with her blood clotting. The hospital had two operating rooms but only one anesthesiologist on the weekends, so they only had one room open. Our awesome nurse got them to open the other operating room so everything could be ready to start when the anesthesiologist was done with the other C-section. Finally, after waiting in the bed for over an hour and a half, they wheeled me in. Our anesthesiologist happened to be the chief of anesthesiology of a group of 56 doctors and graduated from Harvard...I could not have been in better hands! After 17 minutes in the operating room, at 4:47 p.m. little Haven entered the world...butt first! :) I did not believe the nurse when she said Haven was 9 lbs. 0.5 oz because Anna was only 7lbs. 7 oz. She would have been hard to push out! (As a sidenote, I know some people consider a breech birth to be a normal birth and there are midwives and doctors who deliver breech babies vaginally. Brad and I had briefly discussed what we would do if our baby was breech and both agreed that we would opt for a C-section. We didn't research it very much because we didn't think there was a need. After doing research after Haven was born, I learned that vaginal births for a breech baby over 8 lbs. is not advised. It is hard to estimate the weight even with a sonogram, so trying to deliver Haven vaginally could have lead to complications.)

At many hospitals, after a mom has a C-section, they wisk the baby away to the nursery for several hours before returning the baby to the parents. I was very concerned about this because I wanted to be able to nurse and bond with Haven right away. Our nurse allowed Brad to take Haven to a labor and delivery room and then I was able to join them about 15 minutes later. Haven was alert and had no problems nursing and we were able to spend about an hour with her until they took her to the nursery. This was one of the things I was most thankful for.

We could not have asked for Haven's delivery to go any better under the circumstances. We had wonderful staff at the hospital who took great care of us. The surgical tech even told me that my C-section was the smoothest breech C-section she had ever assisted with. As Brad and I reflected on everything, we were so thankful that we live in the US and can drive up to a hospital and get such a high level of care immediately! As well as things went and as overwhelmingly grateful as I was to be holding Haven safe in my arms, as I was processing things I couldn't help but start thinking about the what ifs. God needed me to hear something. The volunteer who wheeled me out of the hospital came to get me and it came up that Haven was breech. She told me that their family friends lost their breech baby the day before Haven was born. They had a C-section scheduled but turned the baby a few days before. She didn't have all the details, but somehow the cord was caught around the babies neck when she turned and when they went to check her heartbeat, they could not find it. I immediately burst into tears, crying for the family that lost their precious baby and crying at the thought of that happening to Haven. My sister asked "why would she tell that story to a post-partum woman?", but like I said, I was meant to hear it. I stopped thinking about the what ifs and just rested in knowing that everything happened as it was supposed to for us. I'm not sure why God would allow Haven to be born healthy and not the other baby...but, as I learned from a Francis Chan teaching, who am I to think I have a higher sense of justice and morality than the One who created me. I firmly believe He works all things together for our good...somehow.

Haven Leigh

2011-05-29T16:48:00.000-07:00

This sweet little girl finally came into our family a week ago today on May 22, 2011, weighing a whopping 9 pounds and was 19.5 inches long. She had a bit of a dramatic entry into the world and I am going to blog about it soon before I forget some of the details. God is so faithful and she is such a healthy peaceful little bundle. Sorry that it has taken me awhile to get some pictures up...I decided the internet can wait and isn't going anywhere. My newborn on the other hand is changing everyday and I am trying to take advantage of this cuddle time when she is defenseless against my constant barrage of kisses and cheeky loves. :)

The classic C-Section shot of parents and baby. :)


Our first picture as a family of 4!

Going home outfit.

When we got home, sweet Anna couldn't wait to hold Baby Haven. I promised her that she could hold her as soon as she came out of mommy's tummy. The number one question around our house these days is "Can I hold her?".

Since she was breech, she slept with her legs up like this the first few days and hated having her diaper changed. After a week, she stretches her legs out normally and doesn't scream when we changer her diaper.

Wearing the cute outfit we bought the day we found out we were having another girl.

First bath. Doesn't she look like such a chunk? On her 5 day check-up she had already gained 9 ounces. Slow down girl!

Little Mama

2011-05-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Judging from Anna's behavior towards her favorite baby doll, I'd say she is ready to be a big sister. I joke that Haven doesn't have a chance...she will be smothered with affection and probably bossed around by Anna from day one.

I never realized how many nursing friends and relatives we had until I noticed Anna wanting to nurse her baby so much.

Changing her baby's diaper is cute until she gets frustrated and demands that I help her. It wouldn't be so bad except sometimes she wants to take the diaper on and off several times and often it is when I am trying to do something like make dinner. I just wish she could get good enough to help change Haven's diaper!

This is by far the sweetest think I have found her doing...praying with her baby before pretending to feed her dinner. You'll notice in the video Anna says "shhhhh" as she starts to pray. This is because often when we start to pray, Anna will start praying too and we have to get her to be quiet until we are done and she can have a turn.

Sprinkled With Love

2011-05-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

My sweet sisters-in-law and sister gave me the perfect sprinkle to celebrate Haven's arrival. It was small and intimate just like I wanted! After all there is really nothing this baby girl needs anyway, but it was important to recognize and celebrate her life. I am so lucky to have all of the women in my life who were there!

Remember how Brad revealed to me that he also wanted to name our little girl Haven? Courtney came up with the idea to use scrabble letters to make the name places. So creative! I loved seeing "Haven's Mommy" in writing.

Me, my sis, and friend MarciMy sis-in-law Sandy, me and my sis

Gigi, Grandy, and Courtney
My sis brought cupcakes from what is in our opinion the best cupcake bakery in Fort Worth, the Cupcake Cottage.
Sandy always comes up with creative cookies and cakes (she should start a business one of these days) and this time was no different. She made these cute little duck cookies and some amazing chocolate dipped pretzel rods with baby footprints on them.
It was fun to get some new clothes and accessories for Haven so that everything she has will not be a hand-me-down from Anna.

Our church lifegroup also gave Brad and I a sprinkle to celebrate Haven and we felt so blessed! We have not been in Fort Worth for very long but have felt so loved and welcomed by these friends. Of course, we got some cute stuff for Haven but even more important than that, they took the time to pray over us. This was a very meaningful time for our family. During this time of prayer, one thing I felt the Lord speaking to me was that just as we desire for Haven to be a safe place and sanctuary to others, He is calling our family and more specifically Brad and I as her parents to be that for her as well. I have begun to pray that she feels this sense of safety and security from the moment Brad places her on my chest after she is born.

(I have pictures from this sprinkle, but right now they are being held captive by a virus on my computer!)

Another Year Has Flown By!

2011-05-13T22:07:00.000-07:00

How true that statement is! This sweet little girl turned 2 on May 6th and we celebrated her with a family birthday party that was kite themed. I learned to be careful what you wish for because I was hoping there would be enough wind to fly kites and as it turned out there was more than enough! It was so windy that everything had to be tied down or it would have flown away.

We had been talking about her birthday for a few weeks and everytime we did, she mentioned birthday cake. She even told me she wanted a chocolate cake. It was fun to watch her when her big day finally arrived.

Here are just a few pics from that day (thank you Aunt Courtney!!!). Hopefully I will have more pictures soon. My computer has a virus and I am praying that our last few months of pictures can be recovered!

I love this picture because of the story behind it. When she opened this present from Gigi, she immediately wanted to swing in it. Since it was her special day, she got her way. :)

The Girls' Room

2011-05-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

We finished getting the girls' room ready just in time and I love how it turned out! We chose a neutral woodland themed bedding when we had Anna so that we could reuse it for the next baby. I'll admit that if I had known we would have another girl, I would have gotten something more "girly". I focused on the birds in the bedding and painted some letters and bird houses that I hung from branch decals.

Anna has not yet attempted to crawl out of her crib, so we went ahead and bought the same crib for Haven. Since the model is over two years old, it was on clearance! When Brad and I saw the cribs side by side, it really hit home that we were about to have two babies in our family!

I love this birdhouse watercolor done by an old friend.

Then and Now

2011-05-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

So here I am at 39 weeks pregnant with Anna in May 2009 and with Haven in May 2011:

Same jeans and shirt, same bad photo quality. I think my belly looks bigger this time and wonder if my muscles are just more loose, Haven is bigger, or both...we'll soon find out. I also have an outie this time!

2 Years Old!

2011-05-06T19:37:00.000-07:00

At two years old the best way to describe you is joyful and so much fun to be with! Here are just a few things you are up to these days...

You are starting to use your imagination and "pretend" to do some pretty funny things. Since it is spring and the bugs have started to come out you are interested in looking at them outside. Sometimes when we are inside you make a little hissing sound and rub your finger along my arm saying that it is a beetle or a ladybug. Then you proceed to tell me it's not scary. You also like to pretend to go on walks down to the Central Market. You often get us ice cream and apples.

BY FAR, your favorite toys to play with are your dolls and one doll in particular that you named Missy. You carry her everywhere and totally "mommy" her. I love to watch what you come up with to do with her. You nurse her, feed her, pray with her, go on walks with her, change her diaper, make her stand, and push her in the stroller.

You have started to sing more and sometimes make up your own songs. I can't always understand you but I love hearing your sweet little voice. You also don't like it if I try to sing with you.

You LOVE your cousins and friends. When I tell you that we are going to see a friend or cousin that day, you make this wide-eyed look with your mouth open and get so excited. You will talk about them all day until we see them and then that is all you talk about when they leave. You play pretty well with others but do have trouble sharing at times. You don't hit or grab but instead scream when someone is playing with something that you want to play with. We are working on this...

You like to stick to your bedtime routine and get upset if any small detail is off. Here is what it has progressed into (kinda ridiculous): Mommy and Daddy give dolly and owlie boopies, kisses, and hugs. Then you stand up and get a boopie, kiss and hug from mommy and then from daddy. Daddy lays you down and covers you with your 1st bird blanket (light pink side down) then mommy covers you with your second bird blanket. Either mommy or daddy will pray for you and then you often want to say a prayer. Sorry child, don't know if this will be able to continue once baby sister arrives!

Just before you turned 2 you started to get very interested in using the potty and are slowly progressing to being potty trained. We put a potty seat in the bathroom a few months ago and have been talking about it, but for the longest time you only liked to sit on it with your diaper and clothes on. I wasn't going to put forth an effort to officially potty train you until after Haven, but you have kinda taken the lead. When we are at home, you often let us know when you want to go potty and have gone #1 and #2. You even insisted on wearing your panties when we left the house once and stayed dry!

Your Stats:
Height: 34.75 in. ~ 66%
Weight: 28 lbs ~ 72%
Head: 48.5 in. ~ 97%

Easter Sunday 2011

2011-05-04T13:39:00.000-07:00

This is what Anna woke up to Easter morning.

And this was her about 5 minutes later.

I love the dollar bins at Target where I got her "dress up" attire. She got yogurt covered raisins in her Easter eggs and loved them.

A quick shot on the way out the door to church.

In the afternoon we headed over to Appy and Grandy's. Here are the little ones getting ready for another egg hunt.

Cousin Shanna has such an adventurous little spirit. We were standing around talking and Sandy realized she hadn't seen Shanna for a couple minutes. This is how we found her. Anna would never be so daring, at least for now...hope she isn't getting any ideas. :)

Sweet cousin Emma had already changed out of her Easter dress (can't blame her) and was looking cute in her sun hat as she took mental notes for next year's egg hunt.

Brad's parents put on a Seder meal for us which is a fun tradition (you usually don't have a Seder on Easter but that is the only day all of us could get together). It seems like the table gets longer each year but there was still room for everyone. This year, the musically talented (that is an understatement) Paul and Cathy joined us which always makes any occasion more fun!

Shame on me for not getting a family Easter picture this year! Not that we were that cute coordinating Easter family or anything, but we did try to look a little nicer than usual. :)

Easter Fun

2011-05-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

A few of the fun things we did to celebrate springtime and Easter this year:

Anna painted hard-boiled eggs with watercolors. They turned out great and weren't as messy as the dyed eggs. As she was painting them, she kept talking about how bootiful they were. :)

Another day, we made these Stained Glass Easter Cookies that were a fun and easy food craft for Anna.

Of course, eating them was the best part.

While many Easter activities and traditions are just plain fun, I wanted to find one that Anna could participate in and focused on Jesus being risen. I found a blog about these Resurrection Rolls and we made them with Brad on Saturday morning. As we made them, we told her the story of Jesus being put into the tomb and then being risen three days later. Honestly, I thought she was a little young to understand and was just having fun being with us in the kitchen. When we woke Anna up from her nap later in the day, she was talking about Jesus in the tomb and the rock being rolled and the mommies (that is what Brad called the three Marys when he told the story) who went to see Him. She kept saying He is risen. Again, I was reminded not to doubt her ability to understand things of eternal significance and the responsibility I have in teaching these things to her.

Later that day, we headed out to our church's Easter egg hunt. Here I am at almost 37 weeks, and this is one of the few pregnancy pictures that I actually like! I think the angle, lighting, and cutie on my hip make the photo more flattering.

I think it is funny how picking up Easter eggs and putting them in baskets seems to be almost instinctual for toddlers. So is opening them up and eating the candy!

Cute little thing in her dress jumping with all boys, including her good friend Andrew on the left.

Her cousins showed up looking handsome in their coordinating navy outfits.

Main Street Arts Festival

2011-05-03T13:00:00.000-07:00

For the third year in a row, we attended what is referred to as one of the top three arts festivals in the nation and it is right in downtown Fort Worth. This year was definitely the most crowded or maybe it just seemed more so since we were pushing a stroller through the crowds. Usually we go and listen to some live music and leisurely stroll through each vendor which is like going from one art gallery to another. This year, we stayed in the kids section almost the entire time. Our experience was enjoyable but in a different way. It was fun to see Anna do a couple of art projects and get her face painted like a butterfly. She sat so still and serious while it was being painted and actually kept in on for a couple of hours.

The cousins checking out each other's painted faces.

Just wanted to include the next two pictures to demonstrate Brad and my contrasting tastes. The first picture is a piece of art that caught my eye and made me walk up for a closer look. It is a flower and made of earthy, organic materials.

This is something I walked right past but Brad paused to examine. Notice it is geometric and composed of man-made materials that are primary colors.

Guess that is why I became an environmental biologist and he became an engineer. We really balance each other out!

On Friendship

2011-04-28T20:27:00.000-07:00

Today, I learned a lot about friendship from a sweet 2 year old name Anna. What sometimes takes years for me to cultivate, took her a mere hour, after staying in the nursery at church this morning. Upon leaving, she said, “Bye friends!” in her small, sweet voice. ~roots and wings

(My dear friend put this quote on her Tumbler site and I wanted to share it on my blog. The picture was taken that weekend in Austin where we had a great time seeing old friends and watching Anna make new ones.)

My Sweet Kia

2011-04-26T21:07:00.000-07:00

"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet." ~Edith Wharton

Exactly one month ago today, the little heartbeat of our home stopped as we said good-bye to our precious dog, Kia.

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was turning 15, and my mom agreed to get me a dog for my birthday. I had researched for months, looking at countless dog books at the library and reading through the newspaper classifieds (this was way before the days of google and craigslist). I read an ad for an 8 month old female Bichon Frise puppy that was only $100. I hadn't really considered a Bichon because they were usually around $300. I called right away they still had her, so we drove out to meet her. My family still gives me a hard time about this but I have to admit, when I first saw her, I was disappointed. Not because I didn't think she was cute, but because she didn't look like all the perfectly groomed Bichons I had seen in all the books (turns out, she never would :). Like I said, I still thought she was cute and I wanted her so we took her home.

On the way home we tossed around several names for her but had not been able to decide on one. We stopped at HEB to buy her food, leash, collar and bowl. The cashier was a girl from Hawaii and her nametag read "Kia". I don't remember who suggested it, but we all decided that was the perfect name for my new little doggie (this was also before the Kia car brand came out). That day, we bought a blue plastic bowl with one side for water and one for food. We still have that blue dish after all these years. Dog paraphernalia has gotten so trendy over the last few years and I have considered cuter bowls but never saw a need to get rid of the original blue one.

From the beginning, she was my little baby. Eventhough I was 15, I dressed her up in my old doll clothes and carried her on my hip. She never seemed to mind. She was such a lap dog, as long as she was being held or in someone's lap, she was happy. She was always more like a person than a dog...she never dug in the ground, played with dog toys or even liked dog bones (o.k., the one exception was that she liked to get into the trash). She was such a perfect dog that my mom and sister even got a poodle and a Bichon hoping they would be just like Kia. Let's just say, Kia was one of a kind. I would even joke to Brad that we should take her to A&M to have her cloned because we would never be able to replace her.

She was with me through such significant years and major life events...the teenage years, college, marriage and even a baby. The only constant in my life at times. I was always so thankful that Brad loved and cared for her almost as much as I did. He recently reminded me that she lived with him when I did a 6-month internship in Idaho. Even after that period of time, her loyalty instantly returned to me when I walked through the door after I came home. I remember crying when we were driving home from the hospital with Anna (keep in mind I was very hormonal at the time) telling Brad how bad I felt for Kia because her life as she knew it was going to change.

As expected, it did change since Anna definitely became our priority. I think Kia looked forward to the end of the day after Anna was asleep when she could get up on the couch and cuddle with us. Although Anna loved Kia and I have to say was very good with her, Kia never returned the affection. She basically just tried to steer clear of her but never once became aggressive or irritated with her.

Sadly, not long after Anna joined our family, Kia's health started to decline. We put stairs by the couch and our bed so that she could get up and down. Then we had to take the stairs away because she had trouble getting down them. She developed cataracts and lost most of her hearing. She no longer was able to take walks with us in the evenings. Eventually, her dementia progressed to the point where she became incontinent and paced aimlessly around the house. I began to pray for God to take her so I wouldn't have to make the decision.

This may sound crazy to some of you, but on October 19, 2010, I wrote in my journal that as I was praying about Kia I heard the words "red roses". I thought maybe this meant that once red roses started blooming, it would be time for Kia to go. When spring began I had this in the back of my head and started looking for roses but never saw any. I finally scheduled an appointment to meet with a vet to discuss Kia's condition and I thought maybe there would be a rosebush outside the office or something. During the time that we were deciding what to do with Kia - nothing, not one sign of a red rose anywhere, so I dismissed that it was from God. The day after we said good-bye, I noticed that my neighbor's newly planted red rose bush began to bloom. Then a couple days later, I was at the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens and saw roses, including red ones, everywhere. In the last month, I have noticed roses all over the place! Everytime I see one, it is a sweet reminder of little Kia. I have also decided to plant a rose bush in our yard as a remembrance of her.

Although her presence is missed by all of us, we have peace with the timing of her passing and are forever thankful for the selfless love she gave all 17 years and 4 months of her time on earth.

A Few Thoughts from Brad:

I don't want to take much of your time, but if you are interested I would like to add a couple of words about Kia. I also remember the first time I met her. I was in college, and I was going to pick up this hot girl to go on our very first date. I was nervous and very excited. Then, I was surprised when I was told to hold on for just a minute because we would have to let the dog downstairs on the grass to go to the bathroom before we went to the movies. So, out comes this little fluffy white dog on a purple leash. The way I figured it, she was kind of interrupting my well planned out evening. But, what was I going to do? I couldn't say no. I would just have to wait. Now, I'm not going to lie - I was not all that impressed with Kia at the very start. She was not a guy's dog. She was white, fluffy and small. I remember her hopping around on the grass that evening like a bunny rabbit, and really she kind of reminded me of one. But I could tell from the start how much Kelli loved her, and it was very obvious that this dog would come with the hot girl -- they were a package deal. Kia quickly grew on me, though. She was so calm and loving that I couldn't help but give her some love and attention back.

After we graduated from college, Kelli took 6 months to go live in Idaho for an internship, and I got the privilege of taking care of Kia for those 6 months. So, I would take Kia on walks before and after work every day by myself. Now, if you can imagine...a "taken" guy walking a cute dog in Austin....you might think that could incite unwanted attention. But that's just the thing....she did incite unwanted attention, just not the attention from whom you might initially expect! :) Seriously though, it was a nice time to get to know Kia and to have the opportunity to take care of her. She would get so happy to see me when I came home from work, and I really enjoyed having her during that time.

When Kelli and I got married, I adopted Kia as my own dog. I viewed her as ours after that...she became my first dog -- something I had always wanted growing up. She was a true lapdog and I miss that -- even now. After she started having health problems, there were fewer opportunities to sit with her and pay attention to her as she would want to get down and pace around. Gradually, there was more and more distance -- and I am a little sad about that. But, I suppose that's a natural thing. It's good to remember her now though, as the loving lapdog that she was in her prime. We'll miss her.

Glen Rose Getaway

2011-03-24T19:40:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago, Brad and I had a chance to getaway for a few days for a babymoon as well as to celebrate Brad's birthday and our upcoming 7th anniversary. We stayed in a quiet little cabin on the Paluxy River in Glen Rose, which is about an hour from Fort Worth. It was a laid back, peaceful and relaxing time...just what we needed!

It was really nice to not have any distractions (no TV, no laptop, etc.) so that we could be intentional during our time together and reconnect in a sense. Seven years of marriage isn't that long, but it is long enough to realize that it takes effort at times, especially after a little one enters the scene.

One night we played Scrabble and during Brad's last turn, the word he spelled was Haven. This is significant because Haven was on the top of my list of names for our baby girl. I looked up at Brad with a big surprised smile thinking it was a sign or something. He proceeded to tell me that after much thought (up until that point he hadn't suggested any names and would just say that he needed more time to think about it), he also wanted to name her that and gave his reasons why. He told me that during the whole game he was trying to get all the letters to spell Haven and had to cheat a little at the end to do it...I thought it was such a sweet, thoughtful way to tell me. We are praying that Haven will be a safe place and a comfort to those around her. We feel that others will be drawn to her because of this. Still working on a middle name.:)

Our last stop before we made it home was to buy Brad some cowboy boots for his birthday. He has been wanting some ever since we moved to Fort Worth and even said he might want a hat next (what?!?).

Thank you Gigi for taking such good care of our little one! Funny...after you left, she has been asking for Lucky Charms for breakfast every morning.

Spring Fun

2011-03-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

Anna and I have been trying to take advantage of the spring weather and these last few months as just the two of us by getting outside every chance we get. I call her my little buddy because whereever I go, she goes. It has been such a sweet time easing into motherhood with Anna. While part of me will miss the simplicity of raising one child, I am truly looking forward to all that this new little baby girl will bring to our family.

We got a zoo membership since we live less than 10 minutes from one of the best zoos in the country. Before I put Anna down for a nap the other day, I told her we were going to the zoo once she woke up. As soon as I opened the door to get her up, she screamed "ZOO!" and started rattling off the names of all the animals. A child's excitement is so contagious! (I know the glasses in the picture make her look like such a geek, but they are the only ones she will keep on her face!)

We have been going to several playgrounds in the area and Anna has gained so much confidence. She no longer wants me to hold her hand as she goes down the slide and when she does something on her own exclaims "I did it by self!".

She LOVES playing with her girl cousins and was giddy during the entire 35 min. drive to see them the other day. While we were playing in the backyard, they all wanted to sit on soccer balls. Considering all the soccer players on the Bruce side of the family, I see some level of soccer in our future.

Gotta love the dollar bins at Target where we got this sidewalk chalk.

I put her in a bathing suit for the first time this season and she kept pulling at it and looking for her tummy. She finally managed to get to it so she could suck her thumb and rub her belly button at the same time. Sorry daddy, but I think she might have to get a two piece this year. :)

Since we moved to Fort Worth, Anna had made a new little friend named Andrew who she plays so well with. His mom was also pregnant so we were meeting up for walks and playtime for the kids. Sadly for me, I lost my walking partner this week because Lauren just had her little girl, Lily! It will be fun to get together with all 4 kiddos in a couple months.

Last Trip to H-Town

2011-03-09T19:11:00.000-08:00

At least for awhile...because my sister and her family are moving to Fort Worth! Kinda crazy how it all happened but in just a few weeks they will live only about 15 min. from us. I remember how we used to talk about having kids at the same time and living close so the cousins could grow up together. We managed to have babies close in age but have been living 4 hours away from each other for the last few years. I'm thankful to God for making this possible and will enjoy this season of life for as long as it lasts! From the pictures below you can tell how much Anna loves her Lucas and Marcus.

Back to our trip to Houston...we decided to make one more trip down so that I could visit a good friend and spend time with my dad.

Just a few days after this picture, Vanessa and John welcomed little Truitt into the world! It has been fun to be pregnant with so many friends but one by one, they are all having their babies. I feel like I am the last one!

I love outdoor playspaces at restaurants (we definitely need more in Fort Worth). Parker had to be bribed with a lollipop to get close to Anna for a picture but they sure look cute together.

As with most new things, Anna was cautious about playing in the big sandbox. First she stood back and observed, then she sat on the concrete at the edge and played, within a few minutes she was in the middle and covered in sand. Love how her hair curled up in the Houston humidity.

Grandpa Gene enjoyed time with all three of his grandbabies.

Giving fives!

My Loves

2011-02-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

This sweet little girl woke up to a Valentine card and chocolates waiting for her on her highchair. I love that her dad is showing her how a girl should be treated from such a young age. He is setting a high standard.

I used to roll my eyes at Valentine's Day, even after I had a steady Valentine. I went along with the notion that it is over commercialized and that celebrating it was not a genuine way to express love for your partner. I think (hope) I have become less cynical over time (for several reasons) and now I look forward to this day. Brad and I never do anything extravagant or spend much money. Instead, I try to come up with something thoughtful to express my love for my husband. While I should do that more often and more spontaneously, Valentine's Day is a good motivator.:)

Snow Day Take Two

2011-02-05T08:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we got a few inches of powdery snow and then the sun even came out. We played in the snow again and enjoyed it much more. We marched around making footprints in the snow and then after making one myself, I convinced Anna to lay down and make a snow angel!

Funny story about this next picture...Our little snowman had pretty much melted, so I took off his hat and scarf and threw them on the front porch. When we were walking back inside Anna saw them and said "Snowman, where is it?". I laughed, pointed to our neighbor's snowman who was still standing, and we went inside. :)

2011 Snow Day

2011-02-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

Us wimpy Texans have endured 2 days in a row with high temperatures below 20 degrees and we are ready for winter to be OVER! I'll take 100 degrees with 100% humidity over this cold weather any day! We did manage to go outside for about 10 minutes, mainly so that I could document the first snow at our house in Fort Worth. Like last year, Anna wasn't very excited about the snow and started whining when she got it on her mittens (well, actually a pair of socks that we used as mittens).

This snowman is a miniature version of the one we (mainly Brad) made last year because the snow didn't compact as well. Of course, we had to make one since we talked about snowmen all morning, read a snowman book and sang Frosty the Snowman. All that and Anna doesn't look very impressed. :)

For Grandy and Appy

2011-02-02T18:57:00.000-08:00

Anna has gone to a few birthday parties lately and now loves to sing the Happy Birthday song. She goes down the list singing the song for just about every family member and friend of hers. I happened to catch her singing to Appy and Grandy for the camera.

Christmas Stockings & 2011 Goals

2011-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

I love reading other blogs to get ideas, inspiration and even encouragment. I came across this blog with a great idea for both a Christmas and New Year's tradition that we started this year. Before we packed our Christmas decorations away, we wrote a list of our goals for the next year and slipped them into our stockings. It will be fun to open them up next Christmas to see how well we met our goals (or to laugh at what we wrote down). I'll admit, I kind of like making goals in this way because it makes us think about what we would like to achieve, but doesn't carry the pressure of a New Year's Resolution.

Some of my goals that I am willing to share are:

Run a half-marathon sometime after the baby comes
Keep up with the blog
Memorize scripture (I'm following the Colossians in a Year Plan by Ann Voskamp and have actually stuck with it so far - it is not too late if you want to join in!)
Pray more regularly for my husband

Some of Anna's Goals

Become potty-trained
Start to memorize scripture
Be the best big sister in the world to her baby sister

We even made some simple goals for Baby Sissy too. Can't wait to open these stocking stuffers next year!

Sugar and Spice

2011-01-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

In case you haven't already heard...we are having another girl! When I found out, I got tears in my eyes because I was so excited for my little girls to
experience the special bond of sisterhood. I can't imagine my life without my sister (or my brother)! I immediately got visions of coordinating Easter and Christmas dresses, hearing giggles coming from their room long after the lights have been turned off and of course, heated fights over sharing each other's clothes once they reach the teenage years.

Since I am going to a birthing center my appointments are a little more relaxed than the busy doctor's office (it was busy because she is one of the best OB's in town) I went to last time. Brad, Anna and I got to lay on a queen size bed and watch the baby on the screen. The sonogram tech explained everything he was showing us and answered all our questions. When he told us the baby was a girl, he looked at Brad and said "I see you have dark hair...I used to have hair that color but it has turned white since having three girls!".

Later that day, Anna and I went and picked out a new outfit for Baby Sissy (what we are calling her until we decide on her real name).

And for those of you who haven't seen me lately, here I am at 22 weeks.

20 Months!

2011-01-06T19:06:00.000-08:00

Notice her baby is now in the picture. Anna has gotten more attached to her and keeps her close by most of the time. The other day she had her in the cart at the grocery store. We saw another little girl about Anna's age coming down the aisle. I said "Can you say Hi to the girl?" and Anna said "Hi, girl" then added "my baby" and moved the baby to the other side of the cart away from the the girl. Mind you the other little girl was posing no threat and I don't even think she had looked at Anna's baby.

I would say the biggest development in these last few months has been Anna's vocabulary. It is fun because she is able to communicate with us and we can actually carry on simple conversations. She is starting to become a little external processor, describing everything she does and sees. Both Brad and I are more of internal processors so it will be interesting to see if Anna stays so chatty. Could make for an interesting dynamic between the two of us. :)

Lately, she has become a bit more clingy and often wants me to pick her up and hold her when I am in the middle of something (the picture is of her reaching up to me). I think she realizes she is becoming more independent but likes to check in with mommy for reassurance. Most of the time, I don't mind.

She loves to climb on Brad and horseplay and she tries to do it with me when he is not around. Sorry little girl, there is only so much this pregnant momma is up for.

She has finally stopped eating crayons and will doodle with them for a few minutes at a time. I am loving these crayon rocks because they are so much easier for her to hold.

She used to hate the towel to be on her head, but now she loves it and runs around with it on her after bathtime.

The girl LOVES to read (flip through) her Jesus Storybook Bible and it is by far her favorite book right now. She brings it to me throughout the day to read to her and I also often find her reading it in her room. Usually, I hide the books that I am tired of reading over and over but it is the Bible so I can't do that! I pray she always has such a love for the Word!

Since she has gotten picky about eating fresh fruit, sometimes after her nap we make smoothies. She calls them milkshakes and loves to get to drink out of a straw in a big cup just like mommy. I really enjoy this time with her and the other day, it made me think of a day when we will sit and share a cup of tea as mother and daughter and as friends.

Lastly, I'll let her tell you what she is learning these days:

Christmas in Pictures

2010-12-30T19:30:00.000-08:00

Anna in her Christmas dress in front of the tree. She is next to of the owl ornament we got for her this year. I picked it out for a couple reasons: 1) she is obsessed with a book called Owl Babies that has three little baby owls in it and 2) I also thought it was cute that there were two big owls with a little owl in the middle, just like our family this Christmas.

We celebrated Christmas Eve with Brad's family and started a new tradition this year. The entire family, including all the little ones, acted out the Christmas story. Everyone got into it, especially Micah and Kaila who had the leading roles.

It wouldn't be a Bruce Christmas without all the Bruce men playing their trumpets. Everyone jokes about doing this because it is the only day of the year that any of them play their trumpets. I always think they sound great!

Shanna and Anna crawled up on the piano and started playing it by themselves. Hopefully they will get their dad's musical abilities. :)

Anna playing with the puzzle that Appy and Grandy gave her.

A cute appetizer that I made out of cheese, fresh oregano, and grape tomatoes.

The tree at our house on Christmas morning before the mayhem began.

Three toddlers opening their presents.

My sis and I in matching aprons that our brother gave us. Can you believe this is the first apron I have ever owned!?! I feel so domestic.

Sweet hubby showing off the gift I gave him.

Uncle Michael with a new hat. This boy loves hats, no telling how many he owns.

Gigi acting overly excited about receiving a sun visor for her car. Hey, she asked for one! Don't worry, this is not the only present I gave her.

A never ending game of Risk. I heard that Brad was definitely on his way to winning if only there had been more time. :)

The cousins watching the sweetest Disney Christmas movie - Small One. Notice Lucas' hand on Anna's leg. He left it there throughout most of the movie...precious.

Just wanted to show a picture of the lights on our house this year because I think Brad did such a great job. There are 3 other neighbors surrounding us who put up lots of lights each year so we were inspired to put up more than just a couple strands.

Advent

2010-12-21T19:41:00.000-08:00

It has been so much fun to go through the Advent calendar with Anna this year. Ours has little doors that she can open and some type of object is inside that represents our reading for the day. She cannot wait for Brad to get home at night. Almost right when he walks in the door she repeats "Advent calendar" over and over and she reaches for him so he can lift her up to open one of the doors. Of course, she is not as excited about sitting and listening to the reading and usually plays with something as we do that. I realize that at least for now, most of her excitement stems from getting to open and close the little door to see what is inside and not from preparing for the celebration of Christ's birth.

After witnessing this the first couple of days, I began to realize that I had been more focused on doing something neat for Anna's advent experience and had missed the point of it myself. I thought of how delighted God might be if I anticipated getting to read and reflect on the Advent verses and expressed as much joy in opening his Word as Anna did in opening each box. My sweet friend Jean introduced me to The Advent Door and A Holy Experience, blogs that have Advent resources that I have been using this year. Though I haven't done it every day, I look forward to finding some quiet time and seeing what the Lord wants to reveal to me. This year, perhaps because I am pregnant, the interaction between Elizabeth and Mary has really spoken to me.

I love it when I set out to teach that little girl something and God uses her to teach me an even greater lesson.

If I Can Make This...

2010-12-18T12:41:00.000-08:00

Anyone can make this Holiday wreath...it is so easy! A few months ago, I saw this tutorial on a blog and made a wreath for fall. When I was buying the burlap (I buy it by the yard and cut it instead of buying the garland like the tutorial says), I noticed it also came in red and green so I decided to make a burlap Christmas wreath too. I really like the natural look and feel of burlap material.

Something I have discovered about crafting is that, depending on the materials, it isn't always cheaper to make something (who can compete with the Chinese!). The cost for all the materials of this wreath was only about $10 and even less if you use the coupons that Hobby Lobby and Michael's always offer.

Anna's Big Announcement

2010-12-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

You heard right...Anna is going to be a BIG SISTER! We are all very excited about this news! I'm actually 17 weeks along so we have known for awhile. Here is how we told Brad:

Walking in the door from work...

Starting to realize what the pink and blue balloons mean...

Hugging the big sister...

This is what her shirt said...

Celebrating with a little family worship time...

This pregnancy is going by so much faster than the first one because we are so focused on Anna. I'm already feeling a little guilty that this little one is getting less attention than Anna did when she was in the womb (silly I know, but I'm a middle child so I think about these things). I am really looking forward to having a tiny baby again so I can hold them in my arms and cuddle them as long as I want! We find out in a month whether I will be cuddling a little boy or a little girl!

Uncle Michael

2010-12-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

My brother just got done with a golfing stint in South Dakota and made it back to Texas. Our house was his first stop and it was so nice having him visit. He had not seen Anna for about 6 months so she really didn't know him. After the first day, she was asking for him when she woke up in the morning and after naps. He is one of those people that children are drawn to because he really gets on their level and plays with them. It will be nice to see him again in a couple weeks!

We went to see the Fort Worth herd "cattle drive". I felt so sorry for this longhorn with his horns down. I'm surprised the Aggies or Sooners haven't gotten a hold of him.

This was Anna's first time on a carousel and as Michael put it she was "white-knuckling" the pole. It wasn't that bad but she is always so cautious about new things. :)

My two favorite guys with my favorite little girl.

Giving Thanks

2010-12-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

Not a day in her life has gone by that we haven't thanked the Lord for this little girl. I don't think I've ever been that consistent with anything! Anna is just one of the many things we have to be thankful for and I have no idea why we have been so blessed. I do know one thing though, we are blessed to be a blessing and cannot forget that.

We did something a little different at the Thanksgiving table this year that was a lot of fun. My sister put several questions about thankfulness in a bowl and we passed the bowl around and each drew a question. Some of the questions lead to really good discussion and people even started thinking of their own questions. Brad had a good one - "What teacher/mentor are you most thankful for and why?". So interesting to hear everyone's answers.

Side note: Anna and I made her shirt with our mom's group and she LOVES wearing it (I think because she helped make it). She constantly asks for her "tukey shirt" but I really don't want her wearing it now that Thanksgiving is over - I know I should get over that one and just let her wear it!

I was proud of her for trying everything and eating most of the food since she is picky these days.

She had so much fun with these two and loved playing with their cars and legos.

Shutterfly Bandwagon!

2010-12-06T17:22:00.000-08:00

This is one bandwagon I am not ashamed to jump onto because we are talking free Christmas cards! You have probably already seen several blogs out there promoting Shutterfly's giveaway to bloggers. I'm a little late to the party and if you are too, there are still two more days to sign up here to get your free cards.

I love how so many of the designs are so simple and traditional and look like they are from an expensive stationary store. When I was deciding on this year's Christmas card, I looked at almost every other photo card company and Shutterfly definitely had the best selection. In my opinion Shutterfly also has the best quality, the paper they use is not as flimsy as some other sites. Their website is very user friendly which makes designing your card or photo gift quick and easy. Also, if you are in need of some Christmas gift ideas, Shutterfly has products like the Personal Desktop Calendars which would be great to give family members.

Here are just a couple of my favorite Christmas card designs from Shutterfly this year:

O.K., enough blogging I need to get going on my cards before Christmas is here!

Christmas Flash Mob

2010-12-05T19:20:00.000-08:00

If you are not one of the almost 11 million people that have already viewed this youtube video, you must watch it! I just have one thing to say - Hallelujah!

UT Game

2010-11-24T19:50:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago we headed down to Austin to relive our college days and attend a football game. Of course, we bought the tickets before we knew how bad this season was going to be, but the atmosphere of a UT game is fun no matter what.

It was especially fun because my college roommate, Cara, and her husband came down from New York and we got to hang out with them. Cara, Brad, and I were in a group at UT that went to all the football games together...such fun memories. In the 12 years that I have been going to games, I have NEVER seen so many empty seats! The highlight of the game was watching the Longhorn Band.

While we were in Austin, we tried out some of the food trailers we've been hearing so much about. These have gotten really popular since we left Austin and I love the concept. It gives the opportunity for all of the creative foodies in Austin to start up their own restaurants without having to take on massive debt.

The first one we tried was Torchy's Tacos. The tacos were gourmet and the queso was excellent, but don't expect fast service. That is just part of South Austin culture.

For dessert, we had cake balls from Holy Cacao which were delicious.

Our favorite mobile food vendor was Franklin Barbeque. We got to talk to the owner for a long time and he told us how he started by using friends as guinea pigs to try all of his recipes. Pretty soon, his backyard bar-b-que parties got so big that he had to get parking permits. He bought an old trailer and a smoker, fixed them up himself, and had his dad help him make picnic tables. Now he has a line of sometimes up to 60 people waiting to get his bar-b-que. You have to be quick because he is only open from 11 until the food is gone. Some of the best bar-b-que and sauce we have ever tried!

On the way home I said to Brad, "Maybe is is better we don't live in Austin...we would probably spend too much money going out to eat!".