Kaeleb at 8 months!

Happy 8 month birthday Kaeleb!
At 8 months old you are such a big smart boy! You are a very serious baby but laugh at mommy and daddy! You love your sister and brother and have so much fun playing in their room. You can crawl now and you love to get into Travis' cars. You have started pulling up to stand and you also wave bye bye (but only to mommy). You have 2 bottom teeth and 1 top tooth. You weigh 23 pounds and are wearing 12-18 month clothes. Im so sad that you are growing up so fast but am excited to see all the new things you will learn to do in the next month!

New Years Quiz

I got this quiz from one of my favorite blogs All & Sundry. Its fun to look back and see how the year 2008 treated you.
1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
I decorated my first cake this year.
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I did not keep my New Years resolution. It was to be more organized. Probably not a good idea if you are having a baby hlaf way through the year.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? I gave birth this year!
4. Did anyone close to you die? My grandpa passed away in May.
5. What countries did you visit? I satyed in the USA this year.
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? I really want to spend more one on one time with Travis this year. I feel like the birth of Kaeleb has really taken up most of our alone time.
7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? April 30th because that was the day my last baby was born!
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Completing our little family.
9. What was your biggest failure? My biggest failure was slacking on getting bills paid on time. Everything has gotten paid but not necessarily on time.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I was pretty sick at the end of my pregnancy.
11. What was the best thing you bought? Oso and Bella! They are our dogs and definately the best thing we bought this year!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? I think my optimism has to be celebrated. We went through a lot this year but I never let it bring me down.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? I really cant say anything appalled or depressed me.
14. Where did most of your money go? to bills unfortunately. Although we did splurge on a Wii and a few things here and there.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Kaeleb being born. Lexi and Travis are so opposite so I was really excited to see who Kaeleb would be more like.
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Probably any New Kids on the Block song. I will always think of the FANTASTIC time Amy and I had at the concert!
17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? happier
b) thinner or fatter? thinner...im not 5 month pregnant anymore
c) richer or poorer? poorer...we have a more expensive house now but its so worth it!
18. What do you wish you’d done more of? I wish I took more pictures. I really dont think I take enough pictures.
19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Procrastinated. If I had procrastinated less I might have more me time.
20. How did you spend Christmas? With Buds family in Austin, TX.
21. Did you fall in love in 2008? I fell in love with Kaeleb. And Edward from Twilight. :)
22. What was your favorite TV program? My new favorite from 2008 is Fringe. Such good and always suprising show!
23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? I dont hate anyone. I definately have people that I no longer tolerate though!
24. What was the best book you read? Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. So addicted!
25. What was your greatest musical discovery? Leslie Roy. I LOVE her raspy voice!
26. What did you want and get? a goodie basket! My sister in law makes goodie baskets for everyones birthdays and I have never received one. This year I got my wish!
27. What did you want and not get? A new camara! My battery compartment doesnt stay closed on my old one so its time for an upgrade!
28. What was your favorite film of this year? There were so many! I loved Twilight of course. I also really liked Journey to the Center of the Earth, Eagle Eye, and many many more!
29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 26. My friend Erin kept Lexi and Travis, and Bud and I went out to eat at Joes Crab Shack. I ate a huge bucket of crab and then we went shopping. It was one of my best birthdays ever!
30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? Getting our house we wanted.
31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Its pretty comfy. I mostly wear jeans and tank tops....even in the winter :)
32. What kept you sane? Friends. Seriously. I dont know what I would have done with out my closest friends this year.
33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? I LOVE all celebrities! I am obsessed with celebrity gossip!!!
34. What political issue stirred you the most? The presidential race. It was the first year I actually voted :)
35. Who did you miss? I really missed my family this year. I havent seen my stepbrothers in a long time and I really wish I could see my mom more often.
36. Who was the best new person you met? Best new person...hmmm...well the only new person I met this year that I am still friends with is Stephanie Robinson. Shes so funny and definately has the same sense of humor as me. Now with Lexi, and her son Drew, in school, we dont see each other often, so we really need to make time to catch up!
37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Live now because you might not have tomorrow.
38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "After my dreaming, I woke with this fear, What am I leaving, When Im done here....When my time comes, forget the wrong that Ive done, help me leave behind some, Reasons to be missed."

4 year olds and makeup!

Lexi really wanted makeup and jewelry this year for Christmas. Santa granted her wish and brought her a hair salon and vanity and mommy and daddy gave her make up. I just wanted to post a quick picture of my daughters beautiful make-up job. She sat in front of her mirror and did it herself! Isnt she a beauty?!?! LOL!!

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Buds parents house in Austin and opened gifts there. Santa brought Lexi a hair salon. She also got a new bean bag, a cupcake maker, an easy bake oven, makeup, jewelry, tons of littlest pet shop stuff, a diary, a digital camara, and a video game. Santa brought Travis a VSmile pocket which he hasnt put down. He also got some hot wheels, some tech deck fingerboards, a RC four wheeler, transformers, a nascar video game, a cars rug, a downhill race track, a color wonder magic paint brush, and a zero gravity race car. Santa brought Kaeleb a ride on dinosaur and some baby food. He also got a leapfrog learn and groove table, a wooden bead maze cube, a crawl ball, some keys that make noise and stuff, and a walker.
"Santa" (aka Bud) brought me a new Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop. I also got a huge goodie basket, new cooling racks, a new cake decorating set, smelly bath stuff, new kitchen towels, tupperware, a shirt, and a VERY NICE picture of my kids!

Lexi's first cake

Lexi got an Easy Bake Oven and the Cupcake Maker/Decorater for christmas. Of course she couldn't wait to make a cake. So today she made her first cake. It was a yellow cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. We cut it into 6 pieces so we could all taste her masterpiece. Lexi was the last to taste it and said "Mom, I dont like it. It tastes gross". I thought I would die laughing!!

All Dressed Up

Sunday night we attended Buds company Christmas Party. It was at The Mortons restaurant in downtown San Antonio. There was a dress code so this is a rare sight seeing Bud dressed up. The last time he dressed so nice was our wedding. The restaurant was good but not the best. Then we went to Howl at the Moon for drinks. We went home around 2:30am. We had a great time and cant wait for next years!!

Salsa Recipe

The moms group Im part of had a MNI last night. I took chips and homemade salsa (which is always a big hit). One of my friends, Kelli, asked me to post the recipe on my blog so here it is. It works easiest if you have a Vidalia Onion Chopper, but if not you can dice it all by hand.

Jenni's Salsa
2 tomatoes diced
1 sweet yellow onion diced
2 jalopenos diced
1 avocado diced
1/2 lemon
Salt
Pepper

Dice up all ingredients in order listed. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 lemon. Add Salt and Pepper to taste and serve. Yes it is that easy! :)

Have You...

I got this from a friend, Lisa, from Our Piece of Quiet and I thought it was neat to see what things I have and havent done. So here are mine. Mine are bold.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar - YUCK!
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox (TWICE)
89. Saved someone's life (I really think I saved my husbands life)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day


What have you done??

A few cute videos

I finally got some videos uploaded from my camara!
The first video is a short clip of Travis playing his drums:

The second one is a cute clip of Lexi singing along with one of her favorite songs by Secondhand Serenade:

Winter in South Texas

Yesterday we had record highs in New Braunfels. It was 85 degrees at 4pm. The came the cold front. By 6pm it was 60 degrees. Then came the snow. Yes snow! It went from 85 degrees to snow. We woke up this morning to most of it melted, but we did a little of it left to get a few pictures.

Our new family member

Meet Bella! Shes our newest family member. Shes half chocolate lab and half pit bull. She is 14 weeks old. She loves to play and is great with the kids.

Our Christmas Pictures

My friend Amy came over last week to take pictures for our christmas cards. She got some really great pictures of all of us and some of the kids. I thought Id share my favorites.
This was our actual christmas card shot:

This is the best picture of just my kids:

I love this picture because of Kaelebs big smile:

This is the picture Im sending in Buds boss' Christmas card:

Never leave boys alone with their sisters!

Or this is what will happen...

Kaeleb at 7 months old

At 7 months old Kaeleb has finally started eating solid foods. He loves cherrios and blueberrys the best. He can sit up completely on his own and is still not very interested in crawling. He wears 12 month clothes and is still my fat boy!

Travis' 3rd Birthday

Travis turned 3 on November 23rd! He had an awesome carnival party and got a lot of presents. Guests included were: Grandma and Papa, Aunt Kim, Hannah, Bubba, Aunt Mandy, Amy, Harold, Andrew, Aubrey, Erin, Chloe, Cole, Cadee, Robyn, Riley, Crissy, Taytum, Sydnee, Steven, Chelsee, Tommy, Renee, Robert, Ashli, Garrett, Maryn, Doug, Kristy, Ryan, Denise, John, and Gavin. At 3, Travis weighs 29 lbs and is 3' tall. Heres some pics from Travis' party.

Look what I can do!

Kaeleb is working hard on trying to crawl. I swear he will take off anyday now. He gets going, but he has his motor stuck in reverse. Heres a cute video of him trying:

Heres a few bonus pictures to show of his big blue eyes and fat chubby cheeks!

We're sitting!

Kaeleb has started sitting up on his own now. Hes been able to sit for a minute or so for a while but he just recently started sitting for longer periods of time. Here are some pictures of his new acheivement!



Here he is after he fell over. He was not happy!

Heres a picture of his new friend! He loves to look at the baby on the diaper box:

Hes one last picture of him fast asleep. He still loves to suck his fingers:

One cute moment

Most everyone knows that Lexi and Travis are only 20 months apart in age. Sometimes it can be quite challenging but I really wouldnt change it for the world. 70% of the time, they are fighting. I am always hearing "Mom, Travis hit me" or "Mom Lexi broke my bed". But in the middle of all the bickering there is a piece of quiet and you get the moments where you are so glad they are close in age because they are truly best friends. The other night I put the kids to bed. Around 11pm I heard a bang like something fell. I peeked in their room to see if they were messing around and this is what I saw:

As much as they fight, they literally couldnt live without each other. Its moments like this that I know all the hard work is well worth it.

Kaeleb's 6 month checkup

Kaeleb had his 6 month check up today. He weighs 19 lbs 7.5 oz. That puts him in the 75th percentile for his weight. He is 26 1/2 inches which is also 75th percentile. His head is 18 inches around which is the 95th percentile. so he has a large head...lol. My poor baby got 3 shots today so hes not feeling the greatest. He goes back in 3 months but luckily no shots then.

My version of Baby Legs

If you dont know what Baby Legs are they are the coolest things ever...lol. They are like leg warmes for babies and little kids but can also be used as arm warmers for babies, kids and adults! They have really cool patterns. Here is a picture of them:

They retail for $12 a pair which really isnt that expensive but it adds up quickly. I got Kaeleb 4 pairs at Target last week on clearance for $6 each but even that adds up quickly. Then one of the moms in my moms group said she could show us how to make them using knee highs. I made 3 pairs today for $12 and it only took me 5 minutes. I made a pair for Lexi that she loves so guess what shes getting in her stocking from Santa!
Heres the picture of what mine look like:

And of course Kaeleb just had to help. In order to make them you have to cut the feet off. I plan on using the feet as low rise socks for myself and Kaeleb loved chewing on them:

Election Day 2008

No matter the outcome of this election, today is going to be a historical day. Either an african american man will become our president or a female will be our vice president. Im sure this day will end up in history books and our kids will be studying it in 10th grade history classes.
For the first time I got out and voted. Yes I know I am 26 and could have voted 2 other times already but I didnt feel the need to vote before like I did this year. I wont get into who I voted because I dont like to let politics get into friendships but I am very confident with the choice I made. I did my research and after heavily weighing my options I am pleased with my choice.
If you havent got out there and voted yet, stop reading my blog now and go vote. Thats the best thing about our country is that WE get to choose who represents our country, so let your opinion be heard and go vote!

Halloween 2008

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!
We had a great halloween! The kids were so excited to go trick or treating. My friend Amy and her husband brought their 2 kids over to go trick or treating with us. Over all our street was pretty dead. But 2 streets over was some awesome trick or treating! The kids ran down the street yelling "Trick or Treat" and saying things like "Shiver me timbers" (Andrew was a pirate) and "To the Batcave" (Travis was Batman). The all got huge bags of candy. Travis couldnt even carry his by the end of the night. We only went out for about an hour but that was plenty. Bud had to dress up for work. He was a redneck, with the mullet and everything. I dressed as a rockstar. Kaeleb liked looking at all of the decorations and I think he enjoyed his first halloween!

Theres a snake in my room!

Yesterday my modem died. We have the modem in our bedroom so I went in there to see if I could just switch plugs and get it to work. As I was looking at the modem, I looked to my right where the vacuum cleaner was and I saw something halfway under it. I thought to myself "that looks like a snake" and as I looked closer I realized it was a snake! I freaked out. I called Bud (like he could do something from work). He wanted me to put a box over it until he got home but I said no way because I would have to move the vacuum and I was scared it would come after me. So I called Animal Control to come get it. The came and got, and I asked if I could take a picture first. He told me it was dead. This whole time I was scared of a dead snake! It was a rat snake but I didnt care. Im just glad they got it out of my house!