First Day of Day Care

Today was the first day of day care for Nora and Wyatt. In Nora's words "My school is open now!" She was so excited to meet her new friends. This was a happy/sad day for me. I know Nora really wanted to be back in a place where she could play with friends but I'll miss our time at home together playing dress up and having her tell me which disney princess she is and which other character I am (usually the step mother or evil queen - you get the picture). I'll especially miss our snuggle time after lunch while she fell asleep for her nap. I know, weekends will still offer the same opportunities, but it was so nice to have this time to spend with her and Wyatt. My sweet little Wyatt was the happiest baby in the nursery. I was able to go by at lunch time to feed him and he fell asleep in my arms - he is such an amazing baby! I'm so happy that I was able to have a few more months at home with him. He just cut his 5th and 6th teeth, sits up, is pulling up on everything in sight and crawling all around. We have a rough "bye bye" wave started along with "ba ba ba ba" and other silly repetitive sounds that he makes while smiling SOOOO BIG knowing that he is so close to talking! Addie is still loving her school and doing well. I love my family and thank God for them everyday.

Where to begin?

So many things have happened since my last real post that there is no way I can completely update. I'm sure I'll leave important events and people out but I'm going to try to hit some of the bigger and not so big (everyday) moments. The question is will this be one mega post OR one of a few that I'll do? Guess we'll see.




Obviously the majority of my time in July was spent getting ready for the move, getting the house in San Antonio packed up and getting the house in Fbedericksburg ready for us to move into. While Chris and I hired help to get the house in FBG ready, we couldn't have accomplished as much as we did without the help of some family and friends. I didn't get pictures of everyone (and really should have, but hey, there was SOOOO much to do). The first big work weekend Wendy and Sean drove up with their kids, Misty and Joanie came in from Austin and Doug and Deanna drove in from Mountain Home. We all rolled up our sleeves and got DIRTY!! The kids played at the house the first day and rode bikes in one of the rooms where we had the carpet up and no new flooring down yet:-) Later Oma and Opa watched the kids so we could all get a little more done. Then came the big weekend before the move. Once again, without family we couldn't have done it. Aunt Nelda, Heather, Mom and Misty all pitched in and helped clean in FBG, watch and hold kids and pack in San Antonio. I can't say how much I appreciate everyone helping in the ways that they did - I'm sure I would have had a nervous breakdown with out them! Here are a few photos of the first big work weekend:

Joanie (a cleaning machine that weekend) is in the right side of this picture but due to my poor camera skills and the lighting, you can just BARELY see her, and this is the only photo I got of her that weekend - boo.


Misty thought she was going to come and help point out where furniture was to be placed. Yes I wanted an opinion on that for when the movers came, but there was a lot of work to do so I had to lend her a T-Shirt as she didn't come dressed for the occasion.


Deanna doesn't pose for pictures either which is probably why I got this shot. She and Doug started by painting a wall in our bedroom blue and then pitched in and helped in so many other areas. We need to invite them over for a real dinner because all they got was Subway or Sonic - what kind of friends are we???


My handsome hubby. I must say, he was a lot more helpful PRE move than POST move. He keeps insisting he needs to work, something about having an income and having to pay for all this stuff that's going on:-)


Doug the handy helper fixed not one but two hopelessly broken crank windows! They don't crank because they were stripped long ago, but as a big plus they are most certainly closed completely. Doug and Deanna are awesome because they have a ton of work of their own to do always AND two little ones (Addie and Wyatt's age) and they still were crazy enough to volunteer to help out for a day - we LOVE them.


I like how Wendy is the only one who looks truly happy while cleaning. This is what Wendy does best so it is only natural that she commented to me that once they got this big house clean it was going to be impossible for me (the not-so-happy cleaner) to keep it up properly.


Brotha' Sean. Poor guy spent the night with Chris and painted until something like 2am only to wake up the next day and continue to paint. There was definite painters claw happening to his hands after. We need to treat them to thank them but Sean likes a cold house and ours isn't the coldest so it will probably be the fall or winter before he'll venture an overnight trip here again!


Chris' grandparents lived in this house for around 63 years and of course had as many years of memories and things stored up in it! Some of the rooms had been updated a few times but even so, they hadn't been updated in quite some time so here are a few pictures showing some before and after efforts (we didn't do these rooms, the guy we hired did - great job, right!?)







Tuesday, August 2nd - Moving day! Move in day my mom put up with me and the few hours of sleep that she, Chris and I all had AND she kept up with the kids with Misty's help when we got to FBG. One last fun thing the girls got to do was go with their San Antonio babysitter, Ms. Amanda, to do a ton of fun things while the movers were packing us up. They got feathers in their hair, went to Bass Pro, Target to get blue slushies and then to Chick-Fil-A to eat and play. We really miss Ms. Amanda although she helped us out at the zoo the week after we moved and we plan on continuing to ask her to help whenever we can! Misty didn't brave the night with us after we moved in but Mom stayed a few more days to help with the beginnig of the unpacking. Cassy and Courtney came that weekend and helped unpack some boxes. The girls played on their move-in toys too! They got really good really quick on these things and they were worth every penny.


Settling into the house has been a slow process as Chris went straight to work, Addie didn't start school until August 15th and Nora and Wyatt are still at home with me until their daycare opens in October (when I'll go back to "work" - trust me, what I'm doing now is much harder than practicing law). I painted during nap times for the first few weeks and continued paining when movies were on or in the evening. I put myself on a strict "no painting" regement for two weeks (expiring tomorrow)because I was certain that the fumes were getting to me. I still have quite a bit of painting to do but it's mostly trim work type stuff. Some days I feel totally overwhelmed with what all I still have to do, but occasionally I remember to sit back and appreciate how much we've accomplished.

The Friday before Addie started school I took the kids to the Zoo with the help of Ms. Amanda since we'd only been once before when Addie was much younger. It's one of many examples of "You don't realize what you've got until it's gone." San Antonio really was an awesome town to live in BUT I don't miss traffic AT ALL!



August 27th was the first day of a MUCH NEEDED break from the house - a celebratory trip to Las Vegas in honor of my cousin, Tiffany, and her awsome fight and victory over breast cancer. We had a blast telling people that we were in Vegas celebrating boobs! The first question people ask is "Where are you from?" which is almost always followed by "What brings you here?" It's amazing how many people had stories about other breast cancer survivors - it really affects so many lives. My camera died half way through the second day so I need to get our good group photos. I'm hoping we make this trip an annual occurence:-)

Girls wearing their gifts from vegas.



Overall, the kids are really happy as these pictures show...



Addie with her feathers that we had to remove so she would be in dress code. We kept them in until the 3rd day of school when we found out in the new parent meeting that they weren't allowed:-(



On the plus side, all this stress, physical labor and limited time to eat has resulted in additional weight loss for me:-) We finally have a few pictures hanging and I'm starting to make a decent dent in our storage unit so I know the light at the end of the tunnel exists, eventhough I don't see it just yet. Prayers for strength and patience are appreciated:-) I am loving my time with Nora and Wyatt at home eventhough it means I get less done. Wyatt started getting up on all 4s and "crawling" around the week before I left to Vegas. Nora's little personality is developing more and more each day. Those two and Addie crack me up at least a few times a day. Wyatt, his rolls and blue eyes make me smile non-stop. He's recently upgraded his army crawl to an "up-on-all-fours" crawl.




Nora has taken to playing "fetch" with Olsen who has recently rejoined our household after a long stay with mom and dad. She can't be convinced that cats really don't enjoy fetch so a few times a day I have to scold her for taking the cat's food bowl and walking around the house randomly throwing pieces of cat food and telling Olsen, "fetch." I mean, the cat runs after the food allright, but there is no bringing it back. Nora just adores her though, in fact, tonight we went into the girls' room and she was laying at the foot of the bed just so that she could sleep by Olsen. She also has an artistic side as you can see below. Poor Wyatt was her unsuspecting canvas too! I was literally in the same room with my back turned hanging curtains when this happened. Luckily it wiped off easily.





Addie is LOVING school (but she did have a rough day or two the last day of my Vegas trip and the first day I was back - just can't leave and not have them spoiled I guess). She wants to play with the big kids of course and loves being first at EVERYTHING and I mean everything. Last weekend was the Gillespie County fair and the girl was literally crying because Nora and I had gotten on the ferris wheel before she did and we were higher than her and SHE wanted to be highest. She couldn't be convinced that it would be ok as the ride was slowly being loaded. It was only when things really got underway and she realized that we would switch being highest (depending on whether we were going up or coming down) that she calmed down and enjoyed the ride - VERY competitive. She is always making up songs and stories for herself and her little sister. I love that they have each other!

First Day of School


First Roller Coaster ride for both girls.




I may try to go back and fill in the blanks or this may be it for a while. New beginnings are always exciting, not always easy, and certainly more work (and money) than you initially anticipate!

We've Moved!!!

Well, at least most of our boxes are under one roof now. We are officially residents of Fredericksburg as of August 2nd but we still have our "city home" in San Antonio (not by choice but due to the market). The silver lining on that cloud is that I didn't have to have everything moved out so most of our wall hangings/decorations are still in place until we get things settled a bit more here.

Sadly, this past weekend Chris' Grandma Nixon passed away. She was 92 on Thursday and we took the kids by to sing "Happy Birthday" and gave her some chocolate cupcakes (which I think Nora and I mostly ate). Grandma was in great spirits and was commenting how the girls would surely be athletes with the way they were bouncing the birthday baloon around the room. The girls fed the birds outside Grandma's window with help from Aunt Courtney. It was a great visit and I'm so happy we were there for that special day. She will be greatly missed by all of the family but especially by Grandpa who she was married to for 75 years!!! Please keep him in your prayers.

I haven't blogged about so many of the things that we have done this summer because between having a house on the market, wrapping up things with my old job in San Antonio, moving, attempting to get our house (and other related matters) in Fredericksburg settled, and trying to get settled into a new firm (Bryla & Schoessow, my in-laws practice with another great local attorney) blogging hasn't exactly been a priority. The kids have handled the move like champs! Probably better than I have. We've only had 2 episodes where they have expressed wanting to be back at their old home or old school and both have happened when the girls were overtired. Addie starts school on Monday, 4K at St. Mary's Catholic School which is just 2 blocks from the firm:-) I almost have all of her supplies together, I think.

I won't be keeping full time office hours until October when Nora and Wyatt will start at their daycare. I'll post pictures as soon as I get a chance. For now I'm doing good just to get in a quick update. If anyone happens to be comning this way, give me a call! My cell phone number is the same...for now.

My Birthday and Father's Day Weekend

My 32nd birthday started with breakfast in bed (the girls helped with french toast)a cookie cake and roses from my kids - delicious breakfast! Chris also had roses delivered to my office from him and "the offspring" (yes, that was on the card). They were beautiful. The ladies at the office gave the pretty yellow flowers on the left side. After a busy day at work we ended the day with dinner and drinks at Yard House with Matt and Jen, Misty and Matthew. It was a great day!






I used to hate sharing my actual birthday or even my birthday weekend with father's day when I was growing up. Now it's not such a big deal - not because I've grown up anymore but because Chris is such an amazing father that I really don't mind sharing that time. I put Baylor gear on the kids for some father's day pictures. Nora wasn't cooperating but Addie and Wyatt did a decent job of at least looking at the camera. There were actualy many pictures where Wyatt and Addie were both looking and smiling but Nora's face was typically no where to be seen in those shots - boo.



On Saturday the girls loved playing in their pool at Oma and Opas. Wyatt was giggling at first when I just dipped his toes in. I think it was more laughing at his sisters though, because as soon as he realized he was in cold water he did NOT appreciate it at all. I later tried to sit him on the little step and that really upset him. Guess he's more of a warm bathtub guy at this age, not so much an ice cold kiddy pool kid.





I thank God every day for all that he's given me in these 32 years, especially for my beautiful healthy children and their dad who I love so much! Funny thing is, now when it's my birthday I appreciate my own mom because now I know what she went through on that day and for the past 32 years! And of course on father's day I appreciate my own dad who has taught me so much about life. The main family trait I share with my dad is that neither one of us is ever wrong (really...it is just a blessing and a curse to be right ALL the time - ha ha). It works just fine until we disagree with each other:-) June has always been my favorite month of the year for so many reasons, having Chris and the kids just adds to that feeling!

My Big Boy!

Wyatt is such a wonderful baby, and I say this not because he's mine but because he is such a sweet and happy easy-going baby that has a smile for everyone. Maybe it's because he's so incredibly sweet and happy at this stage, or more likely it's because he's almost surely my last baby, but every milestone is so bitter sweet for me. Every time he does something new (smile, coo, blow bubbles, bellly laugh) I am so proud of him but a part of me is also so sad because I know it's likely the last time I'll ever experience that "first." The most recent of these firsts is eating solid foods - rice cereal to be exact. No surprise, he LOVES it!




This little chunky monkey weighed in at 17.5lbs (88%) and 25.5 inches (71%) at his 4 month appointment this week. (Most likely the last 4 month appointment I'll ever take one of my kids to - sob)

Addie had her 4 year old appointment at the same time and she weighed in at 41 lbs and was 41 1/4 inches tall! They also checked her vision and hearing and it's official, she can hear just fine...it's the listening we have to work on! She recently informed me that she's "almost 5." This cracks me up because it was only days after she turned 4 but this is just like her grandpa who will say "It's going on 10 o'clock" when it just turned 9:10. SLOW DOWN!!! Let's enjoy being 4 for a while:-)

Addison Turns 4!

My baby turned 4 this past Saturday. My how our lives have changed drastically in the past 4 years. Starting at 7am I was telling Addie what we were doing 4 years ago - we were on our way to the hospital after I'd been awake and in labor from about 3a.m. Through out the day I shared stories with her. We had her third (more on that later) birthday party at my mom and dad's house at lunch and then Chris and I went to Jen Petrash's wedding that evening. I left for a while to feed the baby and it was right around 7pm when I got to my mom's house. After I fed the baby I took Addie aside and told her that this was the time of day she was born 4 years ago. I can't believe how much she has grown in 4 years and how lucky we are to have such an amazingly smart, funny, stubborn, and beautiful little girl.

Back to the 3 parties for this little 4 year old. It started two weekends ago in Fredericksburg. Since Oma and Aunt Courtney were going to be in Mexico on Addie's real birthday we decided to have a party in Fredericksburg on Saturday the week before her birthday. We simultaneously decided to have her 2nd party in El Campo on her actual birthday. This meant Aunt Misty couldn't attend because she had a wedding in the San Antonio area that evening so she joined us for the Fredericksburg party. It was a good time and it worked out perfectly because one of the beautiful dresses that Aunt Cassy gave Addie was perfect for her Pinkalicious party in El Campo. Addie kept telling me that she wanted a rainbow flavor cake so I took an idea that Misty gave me last year (which actually originated on Martha Stewart) and made her the best rainbow cake I could. The one on Martha Stewart's is much prettier but mine didn't turn out too bad. We had a fun lunch and then went fishing in Luckenbach that evening - a perfect day for Addie!






The second party was a Tangled/Rapunzel party at school with all her friends. The school was really sweet and let Nora go into Addie's class room to sing happy bithday and have cupcakes. We sent our camera to get pictures with Addie's friend and funny enough most of the pictures were of Addie and Nora together. Unfortunately the few that were taken of Addie's class were kindof blurry - boo. But there was one really great picture of Addie and Morgan who have been the best of friends since the 12-18 month class!






The third and final party had all of our little cousins which Addie ALWAYS looks forward to. As a special treat, Daddy and Uncle Dwayne had a little cotton tail that they caught the night before hidden under a big planter. The kids gathered in a semi-circle around the pot and we lifted it up. After sitting there for a while the bunny took off across the yard and then the pasture with the kids doing their best to keep up. It cracked us all up! You'll see in the photos Nora even ran after the bunny in her purple princess heels! Only Kennedy was smart enough to know from the start that there was no way that bunny was going to be caught. She just stood there and watched the bunny run! Next was the Pinkalicious pinata that we let them all beat on. (Eventhough it was a pull string pinata - what's up with that by the way, who wants to pull strings??? Beat the thing, that's the point!) After everyone got a chance to hit it, all the strings were pulled, and Camden beat on it some more, we finally ripped it open and out came the candy!


















Addie received amazing presents at both her family parties and we were so happy to see so many family members in the past two weekends. We are blessed in so many ways!