Emma's St

Wow. My baby is going to be 2 years old next week! With Christmas & other holiday plans going on, we celebrated Emma's birthday on Saturday to better accommodate everyone.

The birthday girl of course was dressed to impress! Could she be any cuter? My Mom made her this super cute tutu that we convinced her was Abby Cadabby's dress! HA Karyn, she didn't pull a princess moment too bad & kept it on until it was time for cake!

What an AMAZINGLY BEAUTIFUL December day it turned out to be! The weather was a tad chilly outside, but the sun was beaming down so much that we were able to enjoy some outside time & for 2 year olds, that is a must! My friends Kellie & Adam were ever so thoughtful to make arrangements for us to borrow a small bounce-n-ball-pit which was a huge hit!
Emma got lots of fun new goodies & toys that will hopefully get her out from Mommy's feet for a while. From tons of new Sesame Street things, to a new big girl table & chairs, a slide for outside, to a baby that poops & pees (yeah she will NOT know that it does that!), to a sit n spin, an Elmo Restaurant & of course some stylish new clothes... this birthday girl got treated like the princess that she is! Haden supervised as Emma opened everything. It was really cute to see him act like the "big kid" & show her how to open everything.
We played pin the nose on Elmo & of course ate some yummy cupcake cake that Grandma Chapa picked up for us!

And while we sang Happy Birthday to the princess, well she had a ummm, ummm... yeah, princess 2 year old moment because Mommy took the wrapper off the cupcake...
But she had plenty of help blowing out her candle...


Karyn played with her new camera & Caryl decided to take pictures of Karyn taking pictures. It was funny she did though because this is how Karyn pretty much looked the whole time! LOL Go check out Karyn's Blog too for a peak in to the party.

The party was a hit & with out the help of my sisters & Mother I would not have a clean house today :) Here are a few more pics of some of our wonderful guest. Thanks to all that came & helped. This party could of been an emotional disaster for me, but thankfully I am a part of such a loving network, the party went off without a flaw one!
Thanks Mom & Dad for helping the night before with this & that & the other.
Thanks Robbie for putting stuff together.
Thanks Karo for decorating. Martha Stewart got nothing on you!
Thanks Norma for the cupcakes & Cookie Cake!
Thanks Caryl for your Speedy Gonzalez cleaning there after.
Thanks Cliff for helping supervise Robbi put things together.
Thanks Kellie & Adam for bringing the hit of the party.
Thanks everyone who traveled to the party, I know it wasn't close for anyone!
Thank you all for sharing in a beautiful day for our little girl.

Christmas Crashers

Growing up we spent our Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa Haught usually all together on the same day. It was a mass spread out of kids & big kids with gifts piled to the ceiling. Lots of good food, tons of Christmas cookies & best of all a lot of love. As we all got older & started families of our own, we decided to spread out the Christmas to also give Grandma & Grandpa company on different days so that they can enjoy smaller groups & have more visitors on more days. This weekend was the Mathews Christmas on Saturday & the Driskills today. About 4 yesterday evening, Ashley called asking me to come out... I really wasnt given the option to answer no so I loaded up the kids & headed north. I am glad I did becuase Emma had a BLAST, I never complain about spending time with my family, especially these days.

Emma played hard with whomever would allow her to tackle them on the floor. She helped unwrap presents & just had a ball.

Holden had a rough night sleeping, but other than that was a happy baby as always. He got to hang out with his twin cousin again too. Always so much fun to see them together. Cole can strike a pose like no other. You can tell him & Holden are quiet used to Mommy's camera being around.


This one just cracked me up, its like Cole is saying, hey take my picture!!!!
And then this one is like Holden is saying, "Dude is that my diaper or yours????" And Cole is thinking, "I don't know but they better change whoever!"

Ashley put on a fashion show to remind us of how sweet Grandma used to dress.

Thanks Mathews for making me come out! Great to see all of you too Driskills family. Wish we all lived a tad closer, but no Megan, not moving to College Station :)

Winter Wonderland

Saturday morning we woke up to temperatures of 27! FRIGID! As the morning went on & the temperatures warmed up, the snow began to melt. I packed the kids up to head south west to El Campo for a visit with the Chapa/Garza family & let the kids visit some with Gabriels family. Little did I know, the further south we traveled, the more snow there would be, yes you read that right. This is the sight we saw when we pulled in to Grandma Chapa's house.


The kids were all outside playing of course, so they snatched Emma right out of the car & off she went! She was so excited to see snow, AGAIN! What a treat for a little girl I tell ya! Check out the snowman the kids had made. I will let you all take a guess at what his cute little eyes & buttons are made out of... Emma stared at him I guess thinking maybe like Frosty, he would come to life & start dancing & singing.


Grandpa Chapa came out to see his baby girl & she was SO excited to see him. She took off across the yard & lept in to his arms. It was such a sweet sight.

Emma quickly attached herself to Tio Ram too. She was not one step behind nearly the entire time. When she was having a "moment", she wanted Tio, when she was sleepy, she wanted Tio... she has her favorites, no doubt!
The kids played more in the snow before it melted... the little kids, & the big kids!

Saturday evening we loaded the kids up & headed to a nearby town, Edna. The railroad had a Christmas train with Santa come in. The trip was short lived once we arrived & saw a line of well over 300 people! But the train nonetheless was very cute!

Emma had a blast with her cousins & it is always great to spend time with Gabriels family as well. HUGE family with lots of love & we enjoy our time with them even though we are so far apart we don't get to see everyone as often as we'd like! FUN WEEKEND! Emma & Holden are so lucky to have so many cousins & I look forward to seeing how their relationships develop with all of them. Holden was cuddled all weekend by Tia Lisa, maybe that is why he wanted to be held so much tonight?!?! Oh well! It was worth it!

Do

I

Dare

Eat

The

Snow?

Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,

in the lane, snow is glistening

A beautiful sight,

we're happy tonight,

walking in a winter wonderland.

Prayer Request

My Dad has had a defibulator for over 5 years now that on more than one occasion has saved his life. He went to the Dr on Monday to have it checked for a routine checkup & found out that the battery was completely dead. Tomorrow morning, Wednesday December 2^nd, he will be having a whole new device put in. The procedure should be simple & in & out, beginning at 8:30am.

Thanks for your prayers.

We LOVE YOU SUPER PAWPAW!

Thanksgiving on the Farm

I love going home to the farm. I love that my Grandparents, Aunt & Uncle & friends all live with in one square mile of one another. I love that we have cows, a donkey, chickens, a goat, fish, yes pretty much a petting zoo. I love that you can walk in the back door & shout Hello & you hear "Come on in". I love my family & I am so glad I was able to be with them this Thanksgiving.

I drove up to East Texas on Wednesday when I got out of work. Leaving around 3 from Pearland, I thought I was getting out ahead of everyone else, WRONG! I pulled in to Anderson County after 8pm! Yes ma'am, you read that right, I felt like we were evacuating for a hurricane, but we survived. I had to only stop 3 times, #1 for me to use the restroom & get dinner for Emma, #2 because Emma learned how to take off her seat belt while we were driving 70 miles an hour down the freeway & #3 because Holden woke up to the sound of his sister screaming after being taught not to take of the seat belt. But would I do it again, dang right!

Thursday, my Aunt Ginny & Uncle Mike hosted Thanksgiving dinner for all that was home. We of course had enough food to feed an army, we all ate until we could barely breathe & then crashed.





















































This trip was extra special, not only because so many people were home for the weekend, but too because Emma is really starting to remember everyone one & want to take part in so much that we do. She loves the Cows that say Mooo but was not as happy about them when we got closer. I dont think she had any idea how big they were up close! She still wanted to go see them though & as soon as we would get close to them she would say "Momma hold you! Momma hold you!" We went back a second time when Kamkam came over & Kam loved the cows, Emma still not so much. She did point out over & over again how there were baby cows. I think they were more her size!






















































Emma has learned who Gigi & Gigi Pop are & she refers to them as GiiiGiii & POP! She loves her some Pop too & just runs to him when she sees him. She also found a new friend, "Uncle" Glenn who pretty much rocked her to sleep two nights in a row.She had a blast & was trying to be a trooper every night &hang with all the big kids, but by the time 9-9:30 came around she was crawling up in someones lap with lovey & paci ready to slow down. I don't know what it was, but all of a sudden while we were there she became super vocal, saying all kinds of new words, including HOLLA, and loud & giggly like a little girl should be. Her & Kamryn were a hoot to watch & they are just going to continue to crack us up I am sure. It is going to be so much fun to watch them grow up together & hopefully they continue to be close & love each other like they do. When Kamryn left on Sunday, Emma waved, then ran after their car in the driveway crying & screaming. It broke our hearts & clearly hers too.

We got to spend lots of fun time with lots of cousins too & it all was just a reminder of how lucky I am to be a part of the family that I have.


As far as Holden & his adventures on the farm... stay tuned for another post (hopefully tomorrow night, but hey I do good to post a couple of times a week).

ThankFULL

While saying Grace at Thanksgiving on Thursday, my Grandma said,
When I am done with prayer, I want everyone to go around & just say one thing that they are thankful for." I am FULL of thanks & could not be happier. Even though my life has been turned upside for the worst so it seems, I am still one of the most blessed people on the face of the earth & I can still make a LONG list of things to be thankful for, something so many can not do. My sister Karyn shared too an awesome list of things she is thankful for, thus I got this idea to make a list as well, although mine is a tad late!

- I am thankful to have a healthy 23 month old daughter that makes me laugh when I least expect it & makes me totally understand why my Dad used to tell us to "Go play in the street"! She has become a social butterfly in a matter of weeks & is talking more than I can even begin to comprehend & it is still cute that she loves Elmoo!

-I am thankful to have the most happy & gorgeous 5 1/2 month old son on the face of the earth. I never knew I could love a little boy so much & he just melts my heart over & over again everyday. Completely he has me wrapped around his finger!

-I am thankful to have a husband that loves me for me & understand my "krystalness". I am thankful that God is giving us a chance at marriage that most people give up on.

-I am thankful for parents that go above & beyond the definition of a parent & love all of us more unconditionally than can be put in to words. They love us despite the fact that we call 10 times a week, or more, and they still have a visa for us to come home at any given time.

-I am thankful for 2 sisters & their spouse who are now like brothers for being the friends that they are to me & for being the best Aunts & Uncles to my children. Even if we all talk about each other behind each others backs & cant believe she is doing this with her kids or she is doing that on the weekends, we honestly don't care & by the next phone call we will have something else to talk about.

-I am thankful for an extended family of Grandparents, Aunt, Uncles & cousins that are as about as coo-coo as they come, but that is probably because they have to put up with me & my family & that can make anyone crazy. :) Not a lot of people can say they are nearly 30 years old, still have 4 living grandparents & are a part of a family network that gets together somehow or another on just more than Christmas & Thanksgiving. Very blessed, very blessed.

-I am thankful for my in-law-family that is massive & just as loving as my own family. They love my kids just as much as their own kids & would drop anything to help out. They probably think I am the crazy for some of my quirks but they still answer my phone calls :)

-I am thankful for my job. I am thankful for my friends at works that keep me sane during the week & help me keep a smile on my face & young & heart. I am thankful that Becca sits beside me even though she runs a heater, thankful that Tiffany sits across from me even though she talks to much & thankful that Megan is doing well. We love you Mego!

-I am thankful for second chances, forgiveness, understanding, unanswered prayers, and most important, ROLE MODELS, right Dad?

You better watch out.

You better not cry.

You better not pout...
I'm telling you WHY!

Santa Claus is coming, to town!!!!

5 Months

Dear Holden,

Gosh baby boy! You are growing up so fast right before my very eyes. I never knew I could love a little boy so much & you have just completely swept me off of my feet. Time is moving fast & so are you, at least you wish you were! You are rolling all over the place & love to be on your tummy so you can keep a close watch on your big sister. I can not keep you on a blanket very long because you are rollin' rollin' rollin'!

You love being anywhere that has a lot of action going on. You are afraid you are going to miss out I guess. You do pretty good in your jumparoo for short periods. You have enjoyed the tummy time toy some & you love to hold whatever you can get your hands on. You adore your sister more than I could have ever imagined. I hope that your love for each other is always so strong. The way you look at her now is so priceless & she just adores you too! The "chuy" as Mawmaw has named it is still a favorite of yours & we do not leave home with out it, kind of like paci for sister.

You are sleeping so good at night for Mommy in your own bed (now we need to work on getting sister back in her own bed!). You nap great for Mommy at home on the weekends I guess because its more quiet than at daycare. They say at daycare that you "catnap"! Green beans, carrots & bananas along with rice cereal of course are all new additions to your diet & you just can't seem to get enough! Growing boy!

These first 5 months have been such a joy & blessing & I just can't wait for the next 5! I love you baby boy!