first days & moving in

ICYMI, I'm not giving up on blogging. I'm going back to June and posting about all the things that happened this summer. Hang in there with me as I get all caught up. 

We moved into our house on Wednesday, June 26. The church was SO SO SO gracious and let us take Hudson and Emma to the childcare for the rec center in the morning and after lunch a new friend (who at the time we'd never met before) watched them during their naps. It was such a blessing to be able to focus on the moving in process and not have to worry about them being in the way.

So here is the backyard (which is really on the side of the house). It's such a beautiful yard.

I'll take better pictures and include those in a house tour post, these are just a couple I snapped while the movers were unloading the truck.

We love that little sunroom. The kids play in there all day long. It is perfect.

Y'all we have a basement. It's so creepy but also nice to have. I feel safe know that we have that if there is ever a tornado. But it still scares the bejesus out of me.

My job was to supervise and play traffic cop. When they came in with something, I told them where to put it.

Our first priority was Hudson's room. We wanted him to come home from childcare and see his room almost the exact same. He has done GREAT with this transition. Emma has too obviously, but she's also not a 2 year old. :)

Our first meal in our new house. Surrounded by boxes.

The next morning we took Hudson across the street to the childcare again. We had lots of unpacking to do and there was just too much stuff for him to be able to play safely. Emma wasn't mobile yet so she stayed home.

Later that evening, Lady arrived! She was there to help unpack and love on babies. 

To this day, Hudson's favorite place in the sunroom is the corner behind the trunk. 

Lots of fun in the sunroom.

This "big" rock in the backyard is so much fun for a 2 year old.

"Ba-woons!"

Hudson has an obsession with popsicles.

And it's a great bonus that Steel City Pops is around the corner from our house!

Salad lover. This kid could live on fruit, popsicles, and salad.

Right around the time we moved here, Emma decided that she was done with baby food. She was obsessed with Cheerios.

My sweet loves enjoying a popsicle together.

Watching these 2 play together gives me insane amounts of joy.

We are so blessed. We are still adjusting to life here, but we love it. 

Movin' to Bham!

ICYMI, I'm not giving up on blogging. I'm going back to June and posting about all the things that happened this summer. Hang in there with me as I get all caught up. 

On June 24 we began our drive from Texas to Birmingham. We left McKinney and decided to stay the night Monday night in Little Rock. Going through Little Rock added about 45 minutes to the total distance of the trip to Alabama so it wasn't that much further each day. 

We stopped at a rest area about 30 miles before we got to Little Rock. We all needed a break from the car(s). One of the worst parts about the drive was that John and I weren't in the car together since we had to drive both cars. 

This picture cracks me up. Right after I took this I realized Oliver got out of his collar. I didn't realize I got a picture of it until later that night.

Hudson once again, loved the hotel phone. He got to talk to Dora and Boots a lot.

Since we were in Little Rock, we got to meet some of my Twitter friends! Nathaniel is about 6 weeks older than Emma.

That evening we got the husbands involved and we all went to dinner. Hudson was so crazy about Addi!

Emma was DONE. Ha! God bless our waiter. 

I love these girls! We chat almost daily on Twitter so it's like we already knew each other. Such a fun afternoon and evening with them.

See...he was crazy about her. What's not to love. She's adorable.

Doing some hotel bathroom teeth brushing. 

The next morning we stopped at Starbucks for coffee and breakfast. John got Hudson a danish and he was a big {messy} fan.

We planned our trip through Little Rock so that we could stop in Memphis for lunch on Tuesday. We went to Central BBQ and it was amazing. The kids loved the pulled pork.

WE'RE IN ALABAMA!

We got into Birmingham and went straight to our house. It was about 4:00 in the afternoon and our stuff wasn't going to arrive until the next morning so we unloaded the things that we had packed in our cars and then went to check in at the hotel.

Hudson checking out his new view.

Goodnight kisses in the hotel. 

The next morning we were so excited to get to our house and start moving in!

We love our new backyard. Hudson was excited that he didn't have to ride in a car again for a long time.

Last Visit to McKinney

I'm going to try to finish getting caught up on all these posts. Blogging is so important to me. It's how I document our lives and remember what we did. I've gotten out of the habit of doing it and I know I will regret it if I don't continue. 

So...these pictures are from June. We had just moved from Victoria and we were visiting my family in McKinney before we made our drive to Birmingham. 

Hudson loves this little house that was mine as a kid. 

Sweet Emma fell asleep on Uncle Mark.

Playing at the beach club.

Lunch at Chick fil A

One of many trips to the park.

Lunch with PJ...he was excited about popcorn shrimp!

Emma is always happy when there is food involved.

A date night with my man. Dinner on the patio at Gloria's

Followed by gelato at Paciugo.

Another lunch with PJ on the square.

Emma :: 10 months old

Emma James,

You are 10 months old! Again, I can't believe you are almost 1. This has been the fastest 10 months of my life but I have loved every second of it. You have such a fun and sweet personality!

You went totally straight faced when I took your picture this month. Ha! None of my normal tricks to get you smile worked. 

You are EVERYWHERE! You are such a fast crawler and you are at the getting into anything and everything phase. It's also the put everything in your mouth phase which is really one of my least favorite phases. 

You still only have 2 teeth! WHERE in the world are the other teeth?? I think Hudson had 5 or 6 at this age. Oh well...they'll come. You've become anti-bow which makes me SO sad. The second I put a bow/headband on your head you immediately pull it off. I don't know how to stop you from doing this. You look so precious with a bow but for now it's just not part of your daily accessories anymore. Maybe once you get more hair you will leave them in better? We'll see. 

You are pulling up on everything and cruising on furniture. You move from one piece of furniture to the next and will even let go for a few seconds. That's actually how you got that little bruise under your left eye. You let go and fell forward on the table. :( You are nowhere close to walking and I'm so ok with that.

You are pretty attached to me right now. When you're fussy, I'm usually the only person who can hold you to calm you down. Which is not really that fun. You sure do love your daddy though. Y'all already have such a sweet relationship that I know will only get stronger. 

You are still on pretty much the same schedule as last month. You go to bed around 7:00 and wake up between 6:30-7:00. You nurse at 7, 11, 3, and 7 and eat solids for your 3 meals. You nap from 9-10 and 1-3ish. You eat what we do and really don't have any restrictions anymore. You've had chocolate, nuts, and eggs already. Hudson was almost 18 months before he had chocolate and nuts! At your 9 month check up your doctor said that we could go ahead and start giving you anything now. You love food! Fruits are your favorite but you will eat just about anything we put in front of you.

You sleep with 2 lovies at night and it's just the sweetest thing. You also sleep with about a dozen pacis but that's just so you can find one easily. :) You have become attached to your lovies much quicker than Hudson did. 

Emma James, we love you so much. We can't wait to watch you continue to grow and learn! Happy 10 months sweet girl!

Love,

Mommy

::10 month stats::

weight: 19 pounds

height: 28 inches

eating: nursing at 7, 11, 3, 7. meals at 8, 12, 6

clothes: some 3-6 months still fit, 6 months, 9 months, 6-12 months

diaper: size 3

eight

eight years ago I married my best friend.

we look a little different (read: older and more tired) today than we did eight years ago but I love how we've changed.

happy anniversary, my love.