House Alert!

I just got back from the house and I am excited! I had no idea the brick and stone were done and then when I walked in we had stair railings and cabinets! Although we are also thinking, "Holy cow, we have to pay for this now!".

And, finally, one of my favorite parts of the house--Connor's & Charlotte's hiding place! I guess we can also use it as our tornado shelter. It's in my closet and I think the clothes will hide the entrance. How fun for a kid!!! (the smallest "door" part is about up to my waist)

A Whole Lot Going On

I seem to be blogging in big groupings lately. If I was dedicated and blogged every few days I probably keep up with it better. But....my kids are alive, fed, diapered, and I call that success!

Below is just some randon stuff:



Our Move

My mom in our old living room during the move out......goodbye Stratford Lane.

Charlotte's old room. She only got to enjoy my mom's paint job for 11 months :( Hey Mom, what are you doing in February??? Just kidding.

Keeping Charlotte contained during the move. Why are non toy items always more fun???

A Wedding

My new sister-in-law, Mandy, bro-in-law Jon, and dogs JoJo and Maxwell. They were married Oct. 23 in Lubbock.

I had not met Mandy until the night before the wedding but I really like her. We seem to have a lot in common and she is very easy to talk to. And liking dogs doesn't hurt! I'm sure we'll have a lot of good times together.

Connor was the ring bearer and later the mint distributor. It was funny because they kept sliding off the tray and then he would pick them all up and as soon as he stood up they would all fall off again!

Aaron was the best man and thanks to him (and White House, Black Market my new favorite store) I felt like the best dressed. Except for the bride of course!

Nana and Papa (Aaron's parents) in their finest!

Give me a "C", Give me an "O", Give me an "N", Give me another "N", Give me another "O", Give me an "R"! What does that spell? HYPER!!!!

Sorry, my drill team days took over there for a second.

If I had to pick any one picture to capture the life of Connor this might be the winner. All boy, 24/7/365 BABY!!!!

I always say if I had had calm, sweet Charlotte first I definately would have thought there was something wrong with him. Luckily, I didn't know any better. He's just a BOY. Love it!

Another strange way I found Connor sleeping the other night. I think the wool hat was my brother's???

Halloween

Charlotte of course had a great bumble bee costume thanks to my awesome friend, Erin. Connor kept telling me he wanted to be Bob the Builder which is what he has been for the last two years. Of course I was down with that!! Easy for me. Until the 31st when he did NOT want to be Bob the Builder so I borrowed a Superman cape and Batman mask from a friend (all we could come up with at the last minute). I told him he could be both super heros at one time (like a Hybrid Hero) but he backed out on the mask. So he basically wore an old Superman cape with a shirt that said "Backseat Driver". Wow, I really go all out for my kids costumes!

House Update

And now some updated photos of the house!! Yippee!

I was really hesitant about the brick since we didn't pick it but I LOVE it. It looks great with the stone. I can't wait to see it all done.

Standing in the kitchen looking into the breakfast area. Again, Connor lovin' life.

The backyard backs up to the neighborhood entrance which I wasn't sure about but I love it. We have the really nice wall plus no houses behind us.

Standing in the kitchen looking at the living room and upstairs.

This guy freaked me out. He climbed up the scaffolding, some guy from below handed him a 2x6 which he put in place by himself, and then he looked straight up and started measuring the ceiling. I would have lost my balance and killed myself. We have since been praying at dinner for all the workers safety!

Adios Padres! Boo hoo

It was SOOOOO nice having my parents here to help move. What really was better though was just having them here for help with the kids. They babysat for us several times so we could go out. Below are pics from the zoo and I got a WHOLE day to myself. I barely knew what to do!

An End to a Fun Season

It was really cold at Connor's last soccer game and I didn't bring a hat for Charlotte so I "MacGuyver-ed" it and made my own! (it's pants if you can't tell). If you don't know who MacGuyver is you are too young and I don't want to hear it.


Coach Aaron and Assistant Coach Paul with the team. They had a great season and really improved. A few were quite skilled from the start. Others improved from crying because they wanted the ball to actually kicking it!!!! And everyone got trophies!!

Charlotte's 1st Birthday

I'm sure every parent is shocked when their child turns one. Where did the time go? I think it must go even faster for the second one. Charlotte's first year was a blur--I guess because I couldn't focus all my attention on just her.

We had a great Minnie Mouse party at McDonalds. I had to force her hand into the frosting on the cake and she cried when we tried to make her eat it. She obviously is not living up to her middle name (Porter--for those of you wondering. We love our sweets).

Aaron's mission each birthday is to get the cake. I tell him the theme and the rest is up to him. I thought this was so cute. The "1" candle is the same one we used for Connor's first birthday. I am going to save it for when they are 10 and up. I'm sentimental like that.

Our old neighbors Mark & Pam. We miss seeing them everyday and not having a fireman/EMT next door for emergencies. We have needed his services many times over the years! You never know when your kid is going to disassemble a flashlight and need to have a sharp, circular part from the inside cut off his finger with bolt cutters while being held down and yelling "Get off of me!". Ahhh, good times. I could go on.....but why relive the horror?

My college friend Esther and daughter Alyssa.

The boys--Mark, Bert, Dad, and Aaron.

Our godchildren! Old neighbors Cael & Carter. We laugh because between the two couples we had all of our kids approx. two years apart and named them all with C's without planning it. Cael, Connor, Carter, Charlotte.

Notice the shirt. Aaron came home and said, "I found the perfect shirt for Charlotte to wear to her party!". I had to refrain myself from telling him I already had a PERFECT shirt, outfit really, for her. Mine had an embroidered cupcake with diamonds and said "Birthday Girl". The jeans had flower embroidery with matching colors. I mean, really, can you top that? Then he showed me--a shirt with Minnie Mouse's body and sleeves the same color as all the decorations! Ok. I am wrong sometimes :). I know it's shocking. Don't get used to it.

When Connor turned one Nana and Papa gave him Aaron's old rocking chair. When Charlotte turned one Gramma & Grampa gave Charlotte the rocking chair that my grandparents gave me when I was one. How awesome is that!!!! She loves it and hopped in and started trying to bounce to make it rock just like Connor did. Too cute.








Happy Birthday Charlotte!!! You are a little doll. We love you!!