Pumpkin time!

Vivian has been obsessed with pumpkins.  We go on walks just so she can see all the pumpkins and count how many each person has by their front door.  I had wanted to take her to a pumpkin patch but with Easton being so little and dependent on me I didn't think it was going to happen until the Saturday before Halloween I saw an evite I had missed about my friend Becky's sons birthday party at pumpkin patch in Flower Mound.  The party was at 9:30 am and I was just seeing the evite at 6:30am that morning.  I made a quick decision that we were going and got Vivian dressed, Easton prepared for a few hours without mommy and out the door with a stop at Target to get Byron a birthday present.  Spencer's parents had stayed the night before in Dallas so Sherrie came with us to help out.  I thought Vivian's eyes were going to pop out of her head when she saw all the pumpkins.  We all got to go on a hayride to pick out a pumpkin to take home.  Vivian examined every pumpkin until she found the perfect one.  It was a little chaotic getting there but it was so worth it to see how much fun she had while there.

Halloween was so much fun this year.  Vivian loved picking out her costume which happened to be Minnie Mouse.  We met up with some friends and had a small pizza party before heading off trick or treating.  Vivian was scared at first, the idea of walking up to strangers houses seemed crazy but once someone handed her candy and she realized all she had to do was say trick or treat she was off knocking on every ones door.  Some of the houses she would walk up to, knock on the door and then run away. I had to remind her she had to stick around for the candy before darting off.  I couldn't believe how much candy she collected.  I let her have a few pieces and then sent the whole batch goodies to Spencer's office. I should never be left home alone with a bag of candy.

Easton is 2 months

Time is going by too fast.  Easton is two months old, Vivian is now 2  1/2 and I just went back to work.  Where does the time go?  Easton has been such a stud.  He smiles, sleeps, thunder poops and eats like crazy.  I started to freak out last week when what appeared to be a rash spread all over his face and upper body.  I thought he was having an allergy to something in my milk or to the formula I give him at night.  Turns out its just bad baby acne....I'm so ready for it to go away.  Other than that, he is a healthy growing boy.  At his appointment on Monday he measured 23" long and 12lbs 12oz.  He is quite the 2 month old. He is really holding his head up now and cooing at everyone who makes eye contact with him.  His sleeping patterns are so irregular.  The night before my birthday he slept for 9 hours straight and then two days after that he woke up every 3 hours.  We will get the hang of things eventually, hopefully sooner than later. 

Vivian loves her little brother.  She runs around the house looking for him in the morning and at night to give him his kisses.  He gladly welcomes them each time. She has really adjusted well to being a big sister. 

Me and the man cuddling

Jolly baby

I think she is a little too big for the chair

1 month

My main squeeze is a month old. How did this happen so fast? He has been such a great baby. He usually goes to bed around 9, wakes up at 1 am and then again between 5-6am. Spencer has been such a great help as well. He wakes up in the middle of the night with me and feeds Easton while I pump. This way we are only up for 20 minutes and then back to sleep. He had his check up this morning and weighed in at 10 lbs 11 oz (2 pound weight gain since birth) and 22" long (1 1/2" taller than birth). 

 The thing I'm most happy about is how well Vivian has taken to her little brother. When she wakes up in the morning she runs around looking for him, when she gets home from school she runs around looking for him. She loves to give him kisses and sing to him. She is really shaping up to be a great big sister. 

Bonus for all of us is Vivian is pretty much potty trained. She only wears a diaper at night now. Just before Easton was born she would pee on the potty but not poop which was super frustrating and messy. After he came home from the hospital she decided on her own to start pooping in the potty. I knew it would dramatically improve or get worse and I'm so glad it has turned out the way it has. 

Snuggled in his blanket outside

Watching football together

I think he is frustrated with us more than we are with him. 

They love each other

1 month photo

He's here!!

So it has taken me a while to post but Easton Mason is finally here. He is absolutely perfect. Planning his arrival was a little tricky. We decided to induce a few days early because my doctor and I were trying to avoid a 9pound baby. His due date was the 15th of September and the week before had two dates I would rather he not be born on. The first was September 11th for obvious reasons and the second was Friday the 13th (too many things could go wrong on this date). We decided to go in on the 11th to start the induction with the hopes he would arrive sometime Thursday morning. Spencer just wanted him to arrive before 6:30 pm so he could watch the Tech/TCU game (boys and their priorities). The time kept passing and I still wasn't dialating. My doctor checked me at 4:30 and there hadn't been much progression. She said she would be back at 9pm to check again. Spencer was getting ansy and I was done laying in bed. Then at 5:50pm I told the nurse I felt a little pressure down below and she checked and felt his head. She called my doctor to come back right away. I pushed through two contractions and he was here at 6:12pm. Spencer was so overwhelmed with excitement of Easton's arrival that he missed the first Tech touchdown.  

He has been such a blessing to our family. Vivian adores him and wants to be near him all the time. 

Sitting in bed once we arrived at the hospital.

Construction right outside the delivery room.

He is here. 8lb 11oz 20.5" (check out those biceps)

Love at first sight.

Our first picture together. 

Vivian meeting him for the first time.

Fun in the sun

Vivian has been having a blast this summer. She still goes to school everyday but fortunately with my job I either drop her off late or pick her up early to play. We had swim lessons a few weeks ago. Whatever the instructor asked the children to do Vivian did the exact opposite. I learned throughout the class that Vivian was the youngest by a year. Maybe we will have better luck next year. 

Waiting for lessons to begin.

Not wanting to swim with the other kids. Oh well.

Even though swim lessons didn't happen as I had hoped she definitely has grown confidence in the water. One month ago she wouldn't blow bubbles, put her face under the water or even let go of an adult  while in the water. All of that has changed. She is no Phelps in the water but she is enjoying herself now. 

We have also started potty training in full force. She is no longer in diapers during the day and lets us know when she needs to go potty. Going number two is still an issue and a messy issue but I know she will figure it out soon...hopefully very soon. 

This past weekend we were at the in laws and my sister in law asked when Vivian started riding her tricycle pushing the pedals with her feet. I said she hadn't and then looked behind me to see Vivian pushing the pedals on her trike with her feet. I've been trying to get her to do
that for months. Apparently Saturday was the day she was ready to do it. One thing Miss V and I have in common is we aren't going to be forced to do anything we don't want to do. You have to give us our space and let us do it on our own time.

Playing with her Mimi

Putting on mommy's Chapstick.

Coloring in the morning.

Tickling fish at Bass Pro Shop on 4th of July. 

Growing Pains

About two weeks ago I started feeling sharp pains on the right side of my belly.  The pain would start usually during a walk and last for 10-15 minutes.  Each day the pain would feel a little more intense and last longer.  On the sixth day of this annoyance the pain was lasting between 6-8 hours.  I called my doctor and told her what was going on and she wanted me to come in to have a sonogram to make sure nothing was wrong with Easton.  The sonogram simply reveled my baby boy is simply huge and my muscles are resisting his expansion. I was told this was common with a second pregnancy.  Thankfully everything is fine.  One upside to all of that was I got new photos of Easton.  I wasn't going to have another sonogram done before delivery and my last one was performed 12 weeks ago. 

His cute little profile.

His cute little bottom and man parts.

10 more weeks to go!!! 

Splash time

It's been too cold in Texas to jump into the pool. This 80 degree weather just isn't cutting it. ;)  So instead we decided we would get out the sprinkler and let Vivian play in the backyard.  She was a little skeptical at first but once Mimi and daddy starting playing in it she decided she liked it.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?

I see a birthday girl in front of me!

Vivian turned two this past Monday.  She is very excited to be 2 and loves to tell everyone how old she is.  On Saturday we celebrated her birthday with friends and family for a Brown Bear party.  She had a special brown bear dress on with her debut hair clip.  This is the first time I've been able to get a clip in her hair. She loves to wear them now.

We had a snack bar and each food coordinated with a color from the book. Of course the goldfish were a huge hit.

For party favors I printed out coloring books with all the book characters and added a box of crayons. What kid doesn't love to color? I made cupcakes and added my own tags made from toothpicks and address labels.

Vivian received several wonderful gifts but the best part was having all her friends there to celebrate. 

I think she loved her new tricycle

Next birthday her baby brother will be there to celebrate!

Is it Spring time?

Vivian's birthday is in a few weeks and we wanted to get her a swing set.  Swing sets are not the easiest to assemble and needed to be constructed a few weeks before the big day.  Even though she got her present early she didn't complain.  She has loved playing on it every afternoon after school.

The weather has been so unpredictable here in Texas. (What else is new?) I bought her a bunch of summer clothes a month ago and had packed away her winter clothes.  Little did I know we would go from 85 degrees to 50 degrees every other day.

This picture was taken two days after her swing set was assembled.

I wish I could paint with both hands.



Baby What?

Due Mid September!  We are very excited and know Vivian can't wait to have a little sibling.  Summer pregnancy, here we go!

My little Valentine

I'm not sure if we did anything last year for Valentine's Day with Vivian since she was so little, so this year I thought we would get her a little something since she loves opening presents and eating fruit snacks. I had to break this video down into two segments because my phone wouldn't let me send the whole thing at one time.

She also has been consumed with reading books to herself.  Here is a little clip from her last read.  She actually started from the very beginning of this book and went to the very end.

It cracks me up when she asks herself a question and then answers it. At the very end she asked herself is she wanted to read more and responded with "ok" and started reading the book again.  That is a habit she has picked up from both of her parents.

Christmas

What an amazing Christmas this year.  We spent the weekend before Christmas at the Ranch with Spencer's parents. Vivian loved seeing all the Christmas decorations and presents.  She was a great little helper passing presents to everyone and of course, was great at helping them unwrap their gifts.  I think she was more excited about the gift than the recipient. 

She had fun making cookies with Gama and Aunt Mel.

 Helping Papa open his presents.

She was very excited to get a new Olivia book.

She got a tent and loved crawling through it.

Great Papa gave Vivian a bear that she just adores.

We drove back to our house on Christmas Eve and my parents came over for dinner and to spend the night.  We woke up Christmas morning to see all the wonderful presents Santa brought.

She was pretty excited to see her new kitchen.

Stainless steel appliances are a must.

Her first cabbage patch kid doll.

She loves that she has a pacifier like her.

She loves to smile for the camera.

Uncle E got a new pair shoes.

Vivian just had to try them on.

She worked up quite an appetite opening presents.