Abilene Trip ~ June 25th

The weekend of June 25th, Reese, Mom, Grandma and I made a quick trip to Abilene for Ashley's baby shower.

On Thursday night before we left, Reese and I went to Pottery Barn Kids to buy a gift for my friend Stephanie who was also having her baby shower in Abilene that weekend. Reese loves PBK almost as much as I do, and she picked out a cute froggie towel for her baby brother. When we got home she just had to try it out after her bath. Isn't it cute? I'm sure baby brother won't mind; he'll get his turn soon enough!




On Friday morning, Reese and I packed up and headed out early to run a few last minute errands before picking up Mom and Grandma at 10:30. First, we went to get my weekly progesterone shot at my OB's office. Reese was very brave while Mommy got her shot. It's a lovely thing I get to do every week for 15 weeks in the hope that it will prevent early labor like I had with Reese.

Next we went to get Mommy a pedicure. I was in desperate need! Reese was so good and patient at the salon. She enjoyed watching me and observing the place.




Then we picked up GiGi and MaMoo, grabbed Chick-fil-a and were on the road by 11:00 a.m.!

We arrived in Abilene around 5:00, checked in to the hotel and headed to Aunt Jamie's. That night, we enjoyed Mr Gatti's pizza...because you can't find it easily in Houston and hung out with everyone.

On Saturday we dropped Grandma off to get her hair styled (a must when we are in Abilene!) and killed some time with a trip to Starbucks. Reese talked to Daddy on the phone (he was in Washington, DC and also visiting Starbucks).




Then she enjoyed her organic apple juice while GiGi and I enjoyed our mocha and latte.




The shower was a big hit and lots of fun! Chad's mom, Katta, let us host at their beautiful new home. Ashley was glowing with delight!

She is due August 7th and I am due November 1st. How fun! Her baby girl, Sadie, will be growing up with our baby boy.

Reese discovered Slaton's new dinosaur toy and wouldn't let it go.

She and GiGi had fun together!

Ashley got a ton of wonderful gifts!

We enjoyed delicious cupcakes from McKay's. Reese opted to take off her white ruffle dress while eating her pink iced chocolate cupcake.

Like the "Cars" band aid on her upper arm? She always has at least 3 or 4 on her body at any given time. Not because of having boo boos, but because she likes them so much! I think we go through a box a week! The way I see it, they are cheap entertainment for her.

Reese with her cousins, Slaton and Evelyn.

The shower hostesses!

Maylee with her Mom and Rhonda, her Mother-in-law (to be).

These two would not sit still long enough for me to get a "good" picture.

Reese and Lexi were so cute laying on the floor together. Lexi is adoring Reese.

Reese is adoring Lexi. And holding her beloved "Cars" cup that Aunt Alyssa gave her. We now use these everyday!!!

Adorable girls! Lexi will be 10 in August; isn't she beautiful!

Below is a video of Reese singing her ABC's and Twinkle Twinkle...the cutest thing I've seen!

As always the trip was too short. On our way out of town we visited the cemetary and made our rounds to see Sam, Grandpa and Grandma Dove and Granny and Grandpa Roberson.

We missed seeing my brother and his family, Grandpa Jack and Norma and my good girlfriends! We'll be back soon though for Maylee's bridal shower. Reese can't wait to stay at the hotel in Abilene again.

This time we are having a...BOY!!!

Reese was right, this baby is a boy. Recently when we asked her what I was having she would say, "A boy." I had my ultrasound on Friday, but asked them to put the picture of the gender in an envelope so Matt and I could find out with our family the next morning over breakfast. I was curious because it did not take the sonographer long to identify the gender.

Here is a recent shot of the bump...this color makes me look smaller than I am. Plus Matt got my good side, what a good husband!

On Saturday we met Mom, Grandma, Pat, Scott, Lauren and Chris at Empire Cafe to celebrate Father's Day and reveal our baby's gender. Everyone wore pink or blue depending on what they thought we were having. Matt, Reese and I went neutral wearing both pink and blue.

After a delightful breakfast Matt opened the double sealed envelope and exclaimed, "It's a boy!". After some fist pumps, clapping and cheering he handed me the picture. My eyes almost bugged out of my head when I saw the baby boy's parts! It was like he was shouting "hello world, here I am!" They were easy to identify to say the least. I was laughing and crying with joy!

Reese and Mama Pat had a great time playing patty cake and placing stickers on the plates.

Everyone was so excited to learn that a baby boy is on the way! I have no idea what to do with a boy, but I'll figure it out! We are still discussing names...so we will keep you posted. At week 20 baby boy is moving a lot. What a wonderful feeling! I have to stop my busy self and take it in, enjoy it! My appointment with the doctor was today and all is well.

We are all settled in our rent house and have signed the contract with Allegro, our builder. We plan to demo the house on July 8th! Yeah!!! It's such a long time coming!

Reese is cute as ever. She expresses her thoughts and opinions more and more each week. She is so bossy; I have to constantly ask her to ask nicely. The demanding two year old...good times!

I love how her lip pouts out when she drinks sweet tea through a straw.

This was our last week in the Albans house...I love how her arm is propped up on the couch.

Matt and Reese have been swimming twice at the new West U pool. It is so great and perfect for kids of all ages. I took her on Sunday and loved it! Reese has an absolute blast.

Saturday night, Matt and I enjoyed a night out celebrating our friend Don's wedding. It was so beautiful! We had a table with our great friends The Bazin's, The Bellah's and The Lee's. We all agreed that weddings reminded us of the vows we made (July 21st will be 9 years for Matt and I).

I love you Plummy Bears!

Reese's 2nd Haircut

Reese got her second haircut (just a trim really) on Saturday. We talked about it all day Friday and Saturday morning. I told her Mommy's friend Christina was going to cut her hair. She even said that we were getting our hair cut together, but when we got there and sat down she got scared and cried the whole time. Luckily it was early in the morning, so there were few clients to witness Christina make Reese cry. Christina was super fast even as Reese turned her head back and forth while she tried to snip. The finished product is so cute! Mom took Reese back to her house and I stayed for my highlights!

Love the curls and bangs (they look better when combed, but I just took this picture once we got home from school today).

Thanks Christina!

I think it is actually going to happen!

We have spent the past two weekends (entire month really) packing, purging and organizing what we'll need in the rent house and what can stay packed until we move into the new house. Yes we are preparing to move into our rent house this week! You know what that means...we are finally on our way to actually building the new house! I will not believe it until they demo the old house and pour the foundation of the new house, but it seems after 3 years the beginning is finally in sight.

Securing a rent house was not as easy as we thought it would be. Apparently everyone was looking for a house at the same time we were. The good affordable ones went fast! With a little persistency, I was able to lock down the perfect 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom 1500 square foot "tear down" for 12 months. It's old, but we are used to old...look at what we live in now! It is very close to the Albans house, so we will still be near Reese's school, my work and will be able to drive by the new house daily. They say the house will take 9 months to build, but it could be less, it could be more. Matt will no doubt keep you posted every step of the way.

Being pregnant hasn't slowed me down a bit, but we've had a lot of help from my Mom, Grandma Ruth and Pat. Mom and I pretty much packed the entire house while Matt was in charge of the Goodwill runs and carrying out massive amounts of trash and recycle. It's amazing how much crap you can accumulate. I didn't want to pack anything we didn't need or want.

I'm now 18 weeks pregnant and feeling great! My energy is back, better enjoy it while it lasts! The growing pains are over, I think, but the nightmares continue. What is it with pregnancy and nightmares? I have them almost every night. They range from me being captured by a robber to me being perceived as a bad mom by Reese's school. Most everyone I know is a character in the dreams. They are vivid and last forever. I wake up thinking it's only a dream!!!

My 16 week appointment went well. I'm not gaining too much weight, the baby's heartbeat is good at 156 and Baby S. is quite active. I started feeling movement at week 14/15. Way earlier than the first time. When I told the nurse I was already feeling the baby, she said "Yes, baby is active." She could tell from the heartbeat monitor.

The belly bell is out in full force and has been since at least week 15. I am bigger than this now. Pretty sure I am growing by the week!



Reese never ceases to entertain us. Here are some of her latest stories:

- She has started to talk like me (i.e. repeating my goofy sayings). She says things like hungry bears, funny bunny and tweet tweet. The other day I called her a toot toot and she said, "No, I'm a tweet tweet." Oh yes, Mommy does call you that too.

- She knows what is in my belly. When asked, she points and says, "Baby". She also pulls up my shirt and kisses my belly. What a sweetie! She still hasn't decided if she wants a baby brother or baby sister. I think she'll be happy with either just like Mommy and Daddy.

- She sings when she thinks nobody is listening or watching. We have heard her belt out the words to Twinkle Twinkle, Old MacDonald and Itsy Bitsy Spider. I've tried to capture it on video, but she is camera shy. Her voice is truly the cutest I have ever heard!

- She has expanded her movie selection to Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo, but Cars is still the favorite.

- Every little bump means that she "needs a band aid". We are actually out of both Dora and Hello Kitty band aids and I've packed the boring plain ones. Oops.

- She is very demanding and likes to tell me to "stop it Mommy", "I need ___ right now," "don't do that" etc. We are teaching her to use alternate phrases like "no thank you" and "may I have the ___ please?" She is getting there, but some times blurts out a demand which is so funny to hear. She does say "excuse me" to anything that may be in her way, even if it can't move itself. One of her toys was blocking her way so she said, "excuse me tunnel" and then she said "thank you tunnel."

- She loves sweet tea from Chick-fil-a. When she sees the sign she says "nuggets and sweet tea!" Needless to say, I am limiting the Chick-fil-a to once a week! That is the only time she gets sweet tea, ok.

A few weeks back, we had a nice dinner with Papa Larry at the Outback in The Woodlands. Reese warmed up to him immediately. I was so happy to see that! We went right after work/school, Reese was covered in sand and sweat, but Papa didn't mind.




Reese's last official day of school was before Memorial Day weekend. She graduated to a new class on June 1st. We had lots of end of year activities like the picnic lunch.



Here is Reese's bff, Chloe and her mom Gail. They also live on our street.



There was a fun band.



Reese got up on her feet to dance.



The class sat together after the band played. We have come to know many of the parents which is nice.



Reese got a hold of a cupcake and ate the entire thing. I think I managed to swipe some of the icing in an attempt to limit some of her sugar intake.



The weekend after Mother's Day, we celebrated with our Mothers and Grandma Ruth at Aunt Sharon's with burgers, ritas (non for me of course) and more cupcakes. MaMa Pat always treats us to RJ Goodies!

Reese and Matt shared ice cream after their cupcakes. Daddy loves to share his ice cream with Reesie.

Then while on a sugar high, they banged (I mean played) on the piano.

Here are some silly shots around the house.

I love a baby girl in a diaper! What a cute sight to see. Hopefully we'll move to panties soon...still working on that.

Reese and Mommy enjoying an ice cream snack after dinner. Yes, I am aware neither of us are wearing matching clothes.



Bath time fun!

Chillin' with Daddy wearing her Dora hat.

Then playing patty cake.

We celebrated MaMoo's birthday on May 28th. The strawberry cake was delicious!

Reese preferred to have ice cream and sprinkles.

Hmm seems like we've had lots of cake and ice cream this past month doesn't it?