Landon is 2!

Apparently time doesn't stand still because our baby boy turns TWO today! I can't even begin to tell you how much joy he brings to our family. He has added such a fun (and wild!) dynamic, and we can't imagine life without him! 

All photos courtesy of Allison Jean Photography. She does an amazing job of capturing kids' personalities in every photo shoot. I seriously don't know how she does it, but she gets gorgeous shots every time. Thanks for a fun morning, Allison!

Landon is 30 lbs. now and wears a size 5 diaper, a size 7 (almost 8) shoe, and size 2T in clothes.

He got his "big boy bed" a couple weeks ago and is sleeping wonderfully in it. The transition has seriously been a breeze.

He loves his dog "Beggie" (Nutmeg, aka Meggie), but he especially loves to boss her around. I think it's probably because he gets bossed around so much by Avery that he enjoys having something he can try to control!

Landon is a singing fool! He loves Twinkle Twinkle, the ABCs, Jesus Loves Me, this year's VBS CD, and the Newsies Broadway soundtrack (I know, right?). He also LOVES instruments and pretends to play the drums and guitar on his stomach all the time.

If he wants your attention and doesn't get it immediately, he will simply repeat his sentence over and over and very loudly until you acknowledge that you heard him.

He runs everywhere. All the time. Especially if I'm trying to change his diaper or clothes.

Speaking of diapers, we're gonna try to brave potty training in the next couple of weeks! I told Matt that I'd potty train the girls if he took the boy, so it's his turn!

Landon is a terrible shopping buddy. If I let him walk, he stops at every. single. toy and yells, "Oooh! Look, Mommy!" If I let him ride in the big part of the basket, he plays the stand up game, making me stop every two seconds to make him sit down. If I strap him into the front seat, he screams the entire time we're in the store and I become that mom. The only thing that kind of works is if I remember to take a stroller and he can sit in that. Otherwise, shopping with him is only possible with another adult around to help corral him.

He loves watching movies, especially Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Road Rally and the Winnie the Pooh movie. And he likes Tangled a lot because he thinks it's just about the horse.

It's impossible to be mad at this kid. He is so stinkin' cute even when he's causing trouble. He is definitely the life of the party and loves to make people laugh.  And he absolutely adores his big sister. They always play together and chase each other around the house, laughing about everything. I hope they're best friends when they get older.

We have had so much fun watching Landon grow into such a sweet and spunky little boy, and we can't wait to see him as a big brother in a couple of months.

We love you like crazy, Lan Man! Happy 2nd Birthday!

A Big Boy Bed, a Birthday Party, and a Ranger Game

Well. I started writing this post over a week ago. Life is ridiculous right now, what can I say? Instead of writing one HUGE post, I'll try to keep it manageable and post a few in small doses. You're welcome.

Landon's in a big boy bed! We moved his crib out a couple weeks ago, and he is doing SO well in it. It's super easy to get him to go to sleep now. I do miss rocking him before putting him in his crib, but now we get to snuggle and read books in his bed before he dozes off. We don't really believe in bed rails around here, so he's trying to figure out how to not fall out every night. At least it's not very high, haha. Poor thing just stays asleep on the floor, so we check on him and put him back before we go to bed.

Landon's future wife, Camila, turned one, and we had fun celebrating at her party!

After Camila's party we met up with a bunch of families from church to cheer on the Rangers at the longest game ever. We didn't even stay for the whole thing, and that is a VERY rare occasion. We won though! It was a crazy high scoring night!

I wonder where Landon gets his personality!

30 Weeks

I'm still the world's worst blogger! Nevertheless, here's this week's update.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 30 weeks
Size of baby: Almost 16 inches long and three pounds (the size of a head of cabbage)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 19 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes in everything. And I am SOOOO thankful for my awesome friends who are letting me borrow so many clothes! Shout out to Kendra, Kyndra, Whitney, Julia and Brooke!

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And she hangs out on the right side basically all the time.

Sleep: I guess I'm sleeping better now that Kendra made me try her monstrosity of a pregnancy pillow. Seriously, that thing is bigger than I am! It's like sleeping in a cocoon. It also helps that we got our A/C fixed so I'm not waking up drenched in sweat. Lovely visual, I know.
What I miss: Not needing to pee every hour. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: Carbs. Sugar. Dairy. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about the weight gain, haha. 

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Occasional heartburn. A sore back when I spend too much time on the floor cutting fabric. But overall, I'm really feeling pretty good right now!

Best Moment this week: The snow cone stand opening up RIGHT BY OUR HOUSE! We've already been twice. Don't judge.

I still have a million things to catch up on in both life and on the blog. Landon's birthday is this Friday, so at least I'll have an update post on that! Although given my recent track record, maybe you shouldn't hold your breath.  But I'm hopeful!

29 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 29 weeks
Size of baby: Over 15 inches long and two and a half pounds (the size of a butternut squash)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 19 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes in everything. And I am SOOOO thankful for my awesome friends who are letting me borrow so many clothes! Shout out to Kendra, Kyndra, Whitney, Julia and Brooke!

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And she hangs out on the right side basically all the time.

Sleep: I guess I'm sleeping better now that Kendra made me try her monstrosity of a pregnancy pillow. Seriously, that thing is bigger than I am! It's like sleeping in a cocoon. It also helps that we got our A/C fixed so I'm not waking up drenched in sweat. Lovely visual, I know.
What I miss: Not needing to pee every hour. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: Carbs. Sugar. Dairy. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about the weight gain, haha. 

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Occasional heartburn. A sore back when I spend too much time on the floor cutting fabric. But overall, I'm really feeling pretty good right now!

Best Moment this week: Moving the crib into Avery and Harper's room! Landon got his big boy bed (more on that later), so we finally got that thing moved. And my mom and I finally decided on coordinating bedding fabrics, so it should come together soon! Oh, and last night Avery and I worked on consolidating (and getting rid of) half of the clothes in her dresser, so Harper officially has her own drawers. I think I'm finally figuring out that we're running out of time to get everything ready, so I'm starting to really think about it now. (It's funny how I'm just now thinking about this stuff 11ish weeks out when Avery's room was practically ready the week after I found out she was a girl, haha.)

I have a real post to get to soon, but right now I have to go take care of some Etsy orders! My poor little blog is so neglected. :) 

28 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along: 28 weeks (third trimester, yippee!!)
Size of baby: About 15 inches long and two and a quarter pounds (the size of a Chinese cabbage, which I guess is different than a normal cabbage?)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 19 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Yes in everything. And I am SOOOO thankful for my awesome friends who are letting me borrow so many clothes! Shout out to Kendra, Kyndra, Whitney, and Julia!

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And she hangs out on the right side basically all the time.

Sleep: I'm in a constant battle between my night owl tendencies and my brain that knows I have to rest. But when I do go to bed I'm still sleeping pretty well.
What I miss: Not needing to pee every hour. Really, it's getting out of hand.

Cravings: Carbs. Sugar. Dairy. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about the weight gain, haha. 

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions. But overall, I'm really feeling pretty good right now!

Best Moment this week: Hitting the third trimester mark! Oh my goodness, this pregnancy is FLYING BY and I don't think I'm ready for a baby yet! Not that I can't wait to meet this precious girl, but I feel like there's so much to do. One more month until VBS, and then I can spend all of July cleaning and getting a room ready for TWO girls and figuring out the whole cloth diapering thing. If time could just slow down a little between now and August that'd be great.

Weekend in Houston: Wedding Fun and a Ranger Game!

We're back from a whirlwind of a three day weekend in Houston! Matt took a half day on Thursday, so we got to spend even more time with family and friends to celebrate Carrie's wedding! (Carrie is Matt's little sister.) 

And after a stressful drive that included heavy rainstorms for 80% of our route, we were especially thankful to finally arrive around 10:30 so we could get the kids to bed. We'll call that Late Night #1.

L: Landon and Josie were two peas in a pod. They're two months apart and had a blast running around together all weekend. Josie is Matt's brother's little girl, and they live in Connecticut, so we only see them like once a year. R: Avery and Ava are less than a year apart and are now officially cousins!

On Friday we all went and got our nails done after lunch at Olive Garden! Avery loved hanging out with the big girls while the little kids had to stay at the house and take naps.

On Friday night we made the long trek to Bubba's (Carrie's fiance) family's house for a real live barn party/rehearsal dinner. I've never had so many stereotypically Texan experiences as this weekend!

 By the time we made it back to the house at 11, the girls got started with the last minute wedding preparations. Miriam and I rocked our list-making and computer formatting skills, while Carrie and Arlene turned into master florists and put together all the boutonnieres. Friday was Late Night #2.

Saturday was wedding day! Arlene and Carrie left for the venue around 8:30, and Miriam, Avery, and I headed out around 9:30 for the hour and a half drive to Conroe. The boys stayed with the little kids, who would never make it the whole day without napping and a semi-normal schedule.

After hitting up Hobby Lobby, Chick-fil-a, and Walmart, it was time to get pretty! Avery definitely felt like a princess with her fancy hair, dress, and jewelry. And shoot, I can't remember the last time I had my hair and makeup done!

 Carrie had so many gorgeous details for the wedding! It was so perfect and so her.

I wish I'd gotten a better picture of our shirts, but Miriam and I were both wearing some super cute embroidered button-ups that Carrie had monogrammed for all the bridesmaids. And we got COWBOY BOOTS! I don't even have a picture right now, but they are CUTE. It only took me 29 years of living in Texas to own my very first pair, haha. Avery and Josie both got some adorable jewelry and hair accessories, and Landon got a personalized baseball!

I don't have any pictures of the ceremony, but thanks to some practice and lots of Goldfish crackers, Landon and Avery made it down the aisle and through the wedding! I was super proud. (Now the professional pictures afterward were a different story...)

These guys are so cute. Bubba is a cowboy through and through, and he and Carrie balance each other out so well.

My handsome man! He sang a Keith Urban song during the ceremony (his very first country performance, haha).

 

Me with the GORGEOUS bride!

These kids danced the night away! (I love Edie's moves that we captured in this pic, haha!)

Avery danced with Ava and the littler kids, but she also had the BEST time just dancing by herself. She was completely enamored with her twirly dress. Matt couldn't help stepping in though to steal a dance or two.

Siblings (plus Josie and Landon)!

Matt with his buddy Adam (I forgot to get a picture with Melissa! But I do feel like I need to document that their little girl, Edie, totally loved me. That picture was too blurry to post though, so you'll just have to take my word for it!)

Um, this never happens. Ever. Landon was WORN OUT.

See? We laid out a sleeping bag for him and he slept through the last hour or two of the reception. (But aren't those boots the cutest things you've ever seen?!?)

We didn't get back to Matt's parents' until 1 in the morning, so we'll call that Late Night #3. Yikes! We did get to sleep in a little on Sunday, and Matt fixed everybody some biscuits and gravy before we had to pack up and head out to meet some friends for the Rangers/Astros game. 

We had a blast with my college roommate Tiffany and her two kiddos! Her husband is out of the country on business right now, so her brother came with her instead. And the Rangers won 12-7, so happy Mother's Day to me! (For the record, I still prefer the Ballpark in Arlington.)

Yep, Landon busted his lip. But considering all the blood that we witnessed, I'm just thankful it was only his lip. Also, I don't handle my kids' injuries well, but this isn't really new information.

After the game we ended up stopping at Jason's Deli in The Woodlands for dinner so we wouldn't be stuck at a McDonald's in the middle of nowhere. Since it added so much time to our trip, Sunday was Late Night #4. We didn't get home until 10:30, but thanks to some good movies in the car and two giggly kids, the drive was actually pretty pleasant.

We even slept in today. Avery woke up at 8:15, but Landon and I slept until after 9 (since Avery was content to look at pictures and play games on my phone). After catching up on laundry this morning, we'll head to the grocery store after Landon wakes up from his nap, and we should be caught up and ready for the week! Well, I won't really be caught up until I get my Etsy orders finished, but I'm crossing my fingers for a productive evening.

And before I forget, HAPPY 5TH BIRTHDAY to Nutmeg, my crazy, sweet, lovable, frustrating, gorgeous puppy (who's not really a puppy anymore)!!! She drives me nuts most days, but I really do love her to pieces.

Avery Visits the Dentist!

It's recommended that kids have their first dental visit by their first birthday.

Since Avery is turning 4 in a couple of months, I figured it was about time to follow up on that recommendation.

Yeah, I know. Parent of the year right here. It's okay. Please don't call CPS.

The waiting room was sweet! And Avery got to try out her first video game, a Sonic the Hedgehog racing game. Landon was content to pretend he was playing, too.

She got to wear some rockin' shades to keep the light from being too bright in her eyes. And the hygienists all wore Hello Kitty scrubs, which basically made her day.

Landon was my cheering buddy. He was fascinated by what they were doing to his big sister's teeth. I didn't have the heart to break it to him that, based on my track record, it wouldn't be his turn for another two years.

This girl was a rock star. Seriously, she followed directions, answered questions, sat so still, never cried, and was generally awesome. I was so proud. And then the hygienist found a popcorn kernel in her teeth (from yesterday) and I was brought back to the real world where preschooler dental visits are actually a referendum on the parent.

End result: ZERO CAVITIES, two happy kids, and one relieved mom.

27 Weeks

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 27 weeks
Size of baby: About 14.5 inches long and 2 lbs (the size of a head of cauliflower)

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 19 lbs. I was actually getting a little concerned about my two months of big gains, but today I got to look over my charts from my first two pregnancies, and this one is following those patterns exactly (it's almost eerie). So according to history, I'm on track to gain about 30 pounds total, which isn't awesome but is completely manageable.

Maternity Clothes: Yes in everything. Except pajamas. Who wants to buy maternity pajamas? Not this girl.

Gender: We're having a GIRL! Harper Kate :)

Movement: Baby girl moves a LOT. And she hangs out on the right side basically all the time. My stomach is constantly moving. Avery actually loves to feel Harper kicking her now. Landon just likes to climb all over me and kick Harper. I have a feeling this might be indicative of our future.

Sleep: I'm in a constant battle between my night owl tendencies and my brain that knows I have to rest.
What I miss: Having properly fitting clothing to wear. Not feeling like a whale. Not needing to pee every hour.

Cravings: Carbs. Sugar. Dairy. I guess I shouldn't be surprised about the weight gain, haha. 

Symptoms: A big ol' belly. Quite a few Braxton Hicks contractions. Overall, I'm really feeling pretty good right now!

Best Moment this week: Seeing Harper wiggling all over during my sonogram today! She's so stinking cute, even though she totally looks like an alien on that black and white screen. Her growth is right on track! Oh, and I got my glucose test over with today, so here's hoping I don't have to go back for the 3 hour. 

Phone Dump and Catch Up

Does the fact that the word "dump" makes me snicker? Haha, probably.

Either way, I need to blog. I have some unpublished phone pics. Here's my solution.

One of my favorite things about warm weather (ahem, minus today-- what is up with this 40 degrees in MAY fiasco?!?) is that we spend lots of time outside and with friends. Our neighbors across the street usually get home about the same time Matt does, which means the kids and I are usually waiting outside and ready to PLAY! Sometimes we play in Whitney and Cody's front yard, and sometimes we play in ours, but last week we had the kids all running around in the back, so they ended up staying for tacos on the deck. Fun times! We have some pretty awesome neighbors in our little cul-de-sac. (And Brooke, you guys seriously need to start joining us!)

Our church hosted The Art of Marriage last weekend, and it was amazing. Matt and I were technically "in charge," but our team was absolutely incredible. They made everything so easy! I love seeing the body of Christ come together in ministry, and I'm so thankful for every member of this team.

L-R: Cindy, April, Kyndra, Iris, Wendy, Me, Ral, Matt, Karen, John

The Art of Marriage is a video conference put out by Family Life, and it's extremely well done. It's not just a lecture series that they filmed and distributed; it's a combination of (surprisingly) well-acted vignettes, meaningful testimonies, and expert teaching that go along with a workbook full of questions and projects for you to work through with your spouse. It was a really meaningful weekend for us as a couple. I'm so thankful that God put Matt in my life!

And while were were gone Friday and Saturday, Avery and Landon were spoiled by uninterrupted NeNe and Pop Pop time! I think Matt's parents were a little tired after the weekend, haha.

I got to FaceTime with my super amazing sister, who is currently in Fiji working with an incredible missionary family. The Pittmans are Christians who want to see the gospel spread, but their primary purpose is to build relationships and love people, allowing the gospel to overflow into their friendships with the people. So Allison is there working on some photography and video stuff for their ministry and also helping Laura build her own photography business.

After church on Sunday we went to lunch with a few other families. We banished the "bigger" kids to their own table. I don't think they minded. :)

Lily, Avery, Emma, Harley, and Jake

Sunday was our last regular AWANA night. I can't believe Avery's first year of Cubbies has flown by so quickly!

I'm sewing up a storm these days and spent my Tuesday evening cutting fabric. Lots and lots of fabric. I can't wait to show you what I finished (once I get the pics back from the customer)!

I really, really like my Mops table this semester. We did a photo scavenger hunt on Wednesday, and here are a few worth keeping.

BACK: Lis, Megan, Me; FRONT: Julia, Becca, Stephanie

Landon was a show-stealer at the nursing home this week! He was hilarious and had all the residents cracking up. He loves to dance and run circles and give fives and "help" Matt play guitar. I seriously love this recent burst of huge personality we're seeing in him.

We even took the kids out for ice cream afterward (it might have been a bribe fulfillment from earlier in the day when Avery was refusing to go to Mops).

Carrie's getting married NEXT WEEK! Avery (finally) tried on her flower girl dress tonight. That girl melts my heart. :) We're excited to add a brother-in-law to Matt's family and spend the weekend celebrating with them! (And I'm currently reaping the benefits of having a super talented husband. Matt's serenading me while practicing the song he's singing in the wedding. I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that my bridesmaid dress still fits next week, so if Harper could just hold off on her next growth spurt for just a few days, that'd be awesome. Is that too vain? Fine.)

 

And now I will leave you with this nugget: If you're ever blogging with a bowl of chocolate chips in your hand and one falls mid-bite, you should probably look for it so it doesn't melt all over your favorite maternity shirt, only to be discovered after you get up to pee for the millionth time that day. Not that I know this from experience.