Beber Blog

"Free" Weekend

2012-01-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

This weekend I have "free," which for a divorced mom of two kids 3 years and under is both sadness and happiness at the same time. My days are full to the brim, starting at 5:30 AM and ending with housework at 10:30 PM during the weeks between nursings, changing diapers, cooking meals, laundry, picking up the ever-increasing number of toys (if you are reading this, PLEASE do NOT buy my children any more toys for the time being- they are WAY too blessed), etc., etc., etc.... Oh, not to mention work! Admist all of this though, I'm so very blessed to have my children almost 75% of the time and get to watch them learn and grow daily. My cup truly doest runneth over! BUT... with that schedule I am enjoying the option to sleep in (even though my internal alarm clock woke up to tell me it was time to pump at 6:30 AM). I came to College Station yesterday afternoon to bring Anna to meet Joe. After seeing her off (with only a few tears), I got to go see my friend, Andi, from my college days in the athletic training room since she is now the Texas A&M Soccer trainer. We worked together as student trainers and I haven't seen her in a couple of years, so it was great to catch up. I also met my friend Trent for drinks last night, after dinner with my family at Tony Roma's. Joe didn't particularly like A&M and I always felt awkward bringing him around old friends since he didn't really know them very well and guilty since he always seemed miserable. So, over the years I didn't get to see them much. Now maybe I'll have a chance to see them more when I come to see Em and Brian, here in College Station.*

I had a great time. Now I'm up enjoying my third cup of freshly brewed cup of coffee, playing on the computer and deciding where to go spend my Christmas money. Tonight I have a friend's birthday party, back in Hamilton, and I get to decide what appetizer to fix. Speaking of that, I probably better get off the internet and start doing some stuff. I've got lots planned for my "free" weekend!

*Disclaimer: Joe would've allowed me to still come and meet my friends at A&M but I chose not to put him through the social awkwardness. This is, in no means a complaint or insult to him.

New Years' Resolutions

2012-01-10T19:29:00.000-08:00

I do realize that it is already the 10th day of January, but I do have a few resolutions to make this year that I *hope* by writing them on my blog, I will actually follow through with. And if you that are reading this ever have the urge to ask me how they're going, I'll be thrilled because I'll probably need some prodding.

Here it goes:

1. Read God's word (either through a devotion, Bible study, Bible itself, guided journal, etc.) everyday

2. Start using moisturizer morning and night (I HATE putting on lotion, cream, makeup, etc. so this will be a challenge)

3. Finish out nursing Anna for a year (some of this depends on her, obviously)

4. Get and keep off the baby fat I collected from both pregnancies

5. Start working out 3 times a week after Anna stops nursing

6. Write down 3 gifts from God each day

That's plenty to keep me occupied. We shall see if I can do it! I've already started these (except the working out one), but it is only the 10th.

Christmas... No Pics

2012-01-07T20:30:00.001-08:00

I know it is rather late for me to be writing this, since it is already January 8th. How time flies when you are having fun!

Christmas was extra special this year. Will is at the age that he is understanding the true meaning of Christmas (baby Jesus), but also who Santa Clause is (but wasn't to keen on meeting him this year). He understood the concept of getting and giving gifts.

This year was officially my Christmas (meaning on paper I get the kids from school release until the 26th), but since Joe had off before Christmas he picked them up from Joan's on Wednesday and kept them until lunch on Christmas Eve. When he is off work (since is schedule is two weeks on, one off), he generally rents the Hickory Q Bed and Breakfast here in town, which works wonderfully for all involved. The same was true in this case. Plus, his parents were so nice to come and stay a couple of nights. The kids really enjoyed being with their Nanny and Papa.

Christmas Eve, after the kids woke from their naps, we got dressed and headed to church for the Christmas Program. Will was a shepherd. This will be a blog (with pictures and video) of its own at some point. We then went back to Mammy and YaYa's for dinner and opening one package before heading to our house to put out cookies for Santa and get into bed so he came.

The next morning, we got up to see what he brought. Again, this will (eventually) be a blog of its own, but I didn't want to forget the general order of events. We ate a big breakfast and hurried to get ready for church. We enjoyed a nice service and then returned to Mammy's to eat and open presents. We opened presents until the kids needed a nap and then we continued to open after we got them down. By the time we finished, it was time to pick up and go back to the house pretty much.

It was a great Christmas! Details and pics to come!

9 Months- MUCH overdue!

2012-01-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

So, on December 17th, Anna Beth turned 9 months old. Isn't that amazing? I say something of the sort every month, but it is still true. This month has been especially fun!

During this month a lot happened. She is sitting up by herself quite well now. Hardly any of the spills that I talked about last month from being too wobbly. She still isn't crawling and doesn't seem to care that much about it either. Of course, neither would I if I had someone catering to my every need!

She is gibber-gabbering more and more each day, although nothing intentional has come out. A lot of "da da da da" and "ya ya ya ya" and "ba ba ba ba." Although I know she loves her daddy and YaYa (my dad) and drinks bottles occasionally, I really don't think that she's saying that knowingly. We've been working on clapping and waving. She doesn't quite have it down yet, but she really would like to. When she gets excited she waves her hands around and usually giggles. Will and her giggles are almost identical and they can bring a smile to the face of anyone in the room.

She is still nursing. Last month we had the nursing strike, which scared me and I thought we might not make it a full year. I'm still not sure if she will or not. She is soooo incredibly curious and nosey (just like my Grammy and sister, Em, who we called "little rooter"). This causes her to be very easily distracted. I still hope to make it a full year without having to do formula (except to supplement when I'm out of town and don't pump enough.) She does eat really well besides nursing though. She generally eats a jar of fruit and oatmeal for breakfast, a jar or fruit and one of veggies for lunch, and a fruit and veggie for dinner. I'm not sure what other babies eat, but I feel like mine both ate a lot. She shows a LOT of interest in our table food though and at the end of this month I let her have some bread and she was pretty excited about getting to feed herself.

She also has started to be very, very interested in toys... especially Will's toys, which he is not so interested in sharing. She has started to throw little fits when you take something away. Last month I also said that she has started to be a little bit of a "mama's girl." It has become more than just a little bit over the last month. She's fine when I'm not there, but usually if I'm in the room, she wants my attention and makes it very clear. If I'm not there and Mom or Joan are, the same is true. It's both heart warming and frustrating because it makes those she won't go to feel uncomfortable usually.

She's still working on more teeth and only has the two bottom ones, which are coming in nicely and are pretty darn cute. The other thing that is coming in nicely is her hair. I swear it gets longer every day... and it even has a few curls!

Like I said, this month has been a fun one. I love my little girl. She's becoming more and more entertaining each month. I am so blessed to have two precious, sweet babies!

Making Christmas Cookies

2011-12-21T17:41:00.001-08:00

Happy!

Showing off

Caught eating dough

Helping roll up the scraps

Ready for the oven.

We used the recipe from Grammy's cookbook by Frances Schrank. They're yummy! Will took them with him to share with his Daddy, Nanny, and Papa tonight!

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Anna's First Christmas Tree

2011-12-21T17:30:00.001-08:00

Here it is. I didn't have a picture for the earlier post.

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Tree Decorating

2011-12-17T04:50:00.001-08:00

The first weekend of December, we decorated Mom and Dad's tree (sorry for the bad pictures). Auntie Em and Uncle Brian even came in. The kiddos got to "pend" the night there and we watched Elf.

That Sunday night we came over and decorated our tree. Dad figured out how to get it's rotating stand to work, so it spins around (slowly...I know you may have a fast spinning tree envisioned). Will and Anna love it!
I have to admit that I love Christmas decorations too. They make me happy!

Will and Anna even have their own trees (it helps me feel better about refusing to put any non-red, white, black, or silver-color schemed ornaments on the big tree), besides making them happy, of course. Will's tree has tractors and race cars on it. Shocking, right? I haven't gotten a picture of Ann's but it's shiny, multi-color and girly.

Merry Christmas tree decorating! Now I just need to get my gifts all wrapped to put under it.

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Dancing Babies

2011-12-02T20:10:00.001-08:00

This makes me smile!

YouTube Video

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Dancing babies

2011-12-02T19:56:00.001-08:00

This makes me smile!

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Just to remember

2011-11-27T21:42:00.001-08:00

Yesterday in the car Will was singing me all of the Christmas carols he knows. My favorite was "We Swish You a Merry Christmas," complete with a choreographed "swish."

Today during the sermon Pastor asked what we expect from Jesus. Will told Mammy that he expected tractors.

He cracks me up.

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Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:25:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving! This is the first holiday after the divorce and it's Joe's. Although he had to work, I asked his parents (aka Nanny and Papa) if they wanted to meet in College Station last night to get the kids for a few nights since we were going to be celebrating here at Em and Brian's house. They haven't seen them since August and obviously I think it's important for them to still be a big part of the kids' life. I kept myself busy all week to avoid thinking about being here without them but it still was hard to let them go. Today's just a little sad, but I know that it was good for them and easier for Nanny and Papa since its 5+ hours from their house to ours. I did get to talk to them and they sent me this picture.

I'm having a nice time with Mom, Dad, Em, and Brian. He's cooking his first Thanksgiving turkey and they've made it quite special. We're all going to the A&M/UT game tonight, which should be fun!

It is going to be a good day but I'll be glad to see the kids tomorrow afternoon! Oh, and the pictures above are from preschool on Tuesday. He wore that hat almost all day! What a cute little turkey!

Last Wednesday it was official

2011-11-17T21:24:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, November 9th, which happens to be my Granny's birthday, was the day that our divorce became final. I guess I'll never forget her birthday again is the positive side of that.

Anyway, I'm not posting this for comments to be made, more just as a reference for myself in the future. But, in case you are wondering, I'm doing ok. The reality is setting in. The kids are doing well with it and, to the best of my knowledge, Joe is too. Everyday I'm counting my blessings and trying to live in the "glass is half full" frame of mind. Some days feel more full than others but I can assure you they are never empty with my two kids here!

8 Months Old

2011-11-17T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today Anna Beth is 8 Months old (November 17th- when I first typed this but didn't post since I didn't have the pictures uploaded). It's so hard for me to believe that it has already been that long. This month has been so fun with her! She's sitting up by herself for a long periods of time. Of course, every once in a while she'll reach a little too far for something and take a dive. Then she quickly rolls over and laughs.

Her and Will play so well together. I took this video of them tonight. It's pretty long and you probably won't get a lot out of it. It's more for me to remember them at this point in their lives than for your entertainment. It is sweet the way Will piles up his Legos for her to play with though! She loves her big brother. You can just see her pretty blue eyes sparkle and her face light up when she sees him. She's kind of like that with me too. We've just started to see a little touch of "Mama's girl" come out lately when she doesn't want to go to someone with me around. Usually it is very short lived though!

One of the scariest things (for me anyway) that happened this month is she went on a day long nursing strike. It wasn't a full-blown strike because she did nurse a little. I got an incredibly bad stomach virus that caused me to get so dehydrated that I finally went to the ER for fear that I would end up with no milk supply (not to mention I couldn't even keep ice down). I got an IV and tried to keep my milk supply going as best as possible, but it took a pretty major toll on it despite my efforts. Because it wasn't great, and she had bottles while I was sick (which are much easier than nursing), I think she got frustrated and by Saturday had had enough. So, she fought me to nurse. It was pretty hard on me. She was fine because we fixed her a bottle and I pumped to try to keep it up. Sunday and Monday I increased our frequency and she started back again. Now we're back to normal and hope to make it the last four months so she can go straight to cows milk. We shall see!

Anna's still working on her next round of teeth. We keep thinking any day now she is going to pop a couple through with the way she chews on EVERYTHING! Also, she is growing, although she is still very petite. She's now in 9 month and some 12 month clothes. We're still using the cloth diapers most of the time but when we're on the road, we use disposable for convenience. Speaking of the road, she is still a great traveler. Both kids are. I guess they don't really have a choice though!

The thing about Anna Beth that amazes me all the time is that she is soooo happy! She has her moments (when she's hungry or has bad gas), but for the most part she is as content as can be. I love this little girl. Every month I say that, but every month the things I love about her increase.

Drive it Like You Stole It!

2011-11-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, November 6th, I got to have a brand new experience with three fun-loving ladies... Nascar! Yes, I won in a silent auction this summer 4 Luxury Suite VIP passes to the Nascar races at Texas Motor Speedway. Crazy, right? We actually had a great time and even got to go down on the infield. I could not BELIEVE how incredibly loud it was. I knew it was going to be loud but I don't think I was prepared for quite how loud it really was. I was surprised to see quite a few fans with no hearing protection on at all!

One of the highlights of the trip was an elderly lady that was interviewed before the race, who yelled, "Drive it like you stole it!"

Good times. Oh, and this is a picture of Will before church on Sunday. He and Anna Beth went with Mammy and YaYa to Sunday School and Joe met them at church, since he had the weekend off.

Off to the Races and Railroad Trip

2011-11-03T20:27:00.000-07:00

The weekend before last, Will, Mammy, and YaYa went on a train trip to St. Louis. Will LOVES trains and YaYa keeps talking about how one day Amtrak is going to not be around anymore due to cut funding... and he may have a valid point. Regardless though, they took Will on an overnight train trip. They had a private car and he got to sleep in a bunk bed for the first time ever. As soon as I snag the pictures from them, I'll be sure to update the blog! While in St. Louis, they went to the zoo, to the arch, and to see Erik Christensen, who is at the LCMS Seminary up there, among other things. He had a GREAT time. The "ductor," a.k.a. conductor, knew him by name. Not a huge shocker there! Now that he's back, he talks about trains even MORE than he did before!

Anna and I stayed back here in Texas for the weekend. Granny and Grandad took us out to dinner at the Chinese food restaurant on Friday night and kept Anna for a few hours Saturday morning so I could get a few things done at work.

Saturday afternoon I headed down to Uncle Mo and Sarah's house in Georgetown. Anna Beth and I went with them and Katie Beth to the horse races just north of San Antonio. It was nice to get out and do something, even though I lost a whopping $4. We spent the night and I got up early in the morning so I could run to the Austin satellite office to check and make sure our AV equipment was working for the class I was going to teach the following mornings. After I got back, we headed back home and got back in time to see Em. It was a good weekend, but we were glad to see Will on Monday!

Baby Einsten

2011-11-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

I think the inventors of the Baby Einstein play thing (whatever it is called) were truly geniuses. These things have been a life saver... even for William, who rarely wanted to be put down.

Last week, I got out the one that we used for Will and put Anna in it for the first time. This is the new one I bought for Mom's house. Anna LOVES it! Will actually likes playing with all of the little toys too. Of course, I'm sure the new will wear off soon and he'll move on to the next thing!

Anyway, this is a clip of her playing. Please disregard the baby talk in the background!

Happy Halloween from Donald Duck and my Little Pumpkin

2011-11-03T19:28:00.000-07:00

Will was Donald Duck this year for Halloween. This was my costume when I was about his age. Mom actually made this and I think it's probably still one of the coolest costumes ever. It even makes him waddle! You can see it in the video if you click on the link below. I didn't get a great picture but luckily, Debbie got this one. Now if only I was smart enough to figure out how to rotate it!

Donald Duck

Anyway, we had a good Halloween. We just went trick or treating at a few family friends houses and Granny and Grandad's. Will walked a LONG way in his Donald Duck suit and was pretty entertained by everyone's costumes. Anna rode along in the stroller like the good Little Pumpkin that she was. And yes, she left the headband on the whole time. Amazing, right?

7 Months Already

2011-10-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm so behind on blogging but I did want to say that Anna Beth is already 7 months old. As I say every month, time is flying quickly by. So much so, that October is almost over so technically she is 7.5 months old. The above picture is actually from her birthday though. Surprised I remembered, right?

Here she is with her first MumMums! She enjoys chewing them up and making a mess, as you can see!

Anyway, a lot has happened this last month. She "officially" has rolled from her tummy to her back. In fact, she does it all the time now. It's pretty funny to watch her roll all over the floor. Her two little front bottom teeth are almost all the way in. She's working on more and has everything in her mouth that she can. I have to be really careful about what William has. If you are reading this and you are a family member, please keep in mind when you buy him toys that small piecessometimes can accidentally get "shared" with Anna (if Will's in a sharing mood). We obviously don't want that to happen! She also is soooo very close to sitting up on her own. I guess she really can sit up by herself, but doesn't for more than 10 seconds or so. She just really doesn't care too much about it. And why would she? If someone would hold me, I'd probably take my time too. Her and Will have started to play a little more together. In the mornings, I'll put her in her bumbo chair in Will's room and she'll watch him play or get dressed with a huge smile on her face and a giggle here and there.

She is still such a happy baby. She smiles and laughs almost all of the time. She is a constant joy!

Storage ideas needed

2011-10-21T20:35:00.001-07:00

I'm still on a Facebook fast or I'd post this there for ideas. I'm looking for ideas of how to store and organize my jars of baby food. I buy in bulk from Amazon since I can't buy Earth's Best in Hamilton (and probably couldn't afford it if I could buy it here).

Yikes! Ideas anyone??? I want easy access and to be able to organize it so I can easily see what type of food I'm grabbing. I may be asking too much!

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Randomness...

2011-10-16T06:37:00.000-07:00

So, this is a random thought post:

1. Joe has the kids this weekend because his Grandma, affectionately known as MaMa, had a Surprise 90th birthday party yesterday. He came and got them on Saturday morning from Emilie and Brian's house in College Station to take them to the party and then they stayed out at his parents house last night. They'll be coming back here early this evening. Although I miss them terribly (especially at bedtime and when I woke up this morning at Anna's first scheduled nursing time), I feel pretty guilty that I actually have had a pretty great weekend.

2. Anna is growing like a weed! I actually had to buy her some new clothes this weekend because she'd grown out of so many of hers. Of course, that didn't bother me in the least bit. Buying clothes for the kids is great. It's way better than buying clothes for myself because I never have to worry about something not fitting.... everything looks cute on them!

3. I've been working on our "local" masonry association's website for sometime now. It "went live" yesterday after months of me working on it off and on as I had time. CTMCA I finally told everyone that I was going have it up on October 15th so that I would force myself to get busy on it. It is FAR from done but has the most important pages up, so I went ahead and put it up. Hopefully everyone will remember that this is NOT a paid job and that I VOLUNTEERED to do this in addition to my regular job.

4. I'm swamped at work. Swamped is probably an understatement. We are seriously blessed to have so much work, so I'm not complaining in the least bit. It could easily be the other way in this economy. Tomorrow and Tuesday I have to teach an OSHA 10 hour class for some of our employees that are going to a project that requires everyone on site to have a 10 hour class. On Friday, I spent all day in Austin recruiting people. You would be surprised how hard it is to find employees willing to work as laborers... even in this economy. It is very frustrating to know there are so many people "looking for work" but then none of them wants to work or if they do get hired, 75% only last a few days.

5. Em and I both had dolls named "Snuggums." They are small, little Madam Alexander dolls that have a squeeker in them. Will sleeps with Em's when we come stay at her house. He told us on Friday that she honks. It cracked me up.

Like I said in my last blog, life is good. Busy, but good busy! Today is going to be a great day!

Slag...

2011-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

I really shouldn't be blogging now since I have to be up in about 4.5 hours to go to Austin for a long day BUT...

(I actually did this to the wrong blog the other night really late, hence the confusion so I've not posted it to the correct one.)

I just wanted to say that life is good and share a little something from Will's preschool. When I dropped him off at Joan's on Tuesday he put his hand on his stomach and said, "I put my hand on my tummy and look at the slag."

Figure it out yet?

Took me a minute too. Then I remembered his "F's" come out as "S's" still. So, translated he said, "I put my hand on my tummy and look at the flag." Evidentially they are learning the Pledge of Allegiance. Joan and I got a kick out of it.

WAY behind!

2011-10-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

Wow... I am WAY behind on blogging!

Our life has been super busy!

Here's a brief overview:

- I went to Michigan for a masonry peer group Dad and I are in for 4 days in mid-September. It was great but VERY hard to leave the kiddos behind for that long. I had stored up plenty of milk and pumped the entire time I was gone. Try going through the airport with about a gallon worth of breastmilk for excitement! The kids had a great time with Mom, who was so nice to stay here at the house with them to help keep their schedule as normal as possible. I've been so busy with work and the kids, that I haven't had too much time for anything else. They keep me on my toes, which is good. Life seems to be going fairly well for all of us. I'm slowly getting used to the single mother life and trying to get more organized everyday. I have a long way to go, but making good progress!

- Will's having a great time at school. He LOVES going. Everyday I have such a good time listening to his stories. He's also loving going to Joan's house. I feel so blessed to have her watching them. He and his cousin Ryder have a grand old time. It's pretty entertaining to watch them together! The other day he got a little cold and we had to go see Susan up at the clinic. He got a shot while he was there. He told her that he was a doctor too... thanks to his doctor's kit from Auntie Em. This weekend he went and stayed at Joe's apartment. He had a great time and has talked about all the fun things he did all week... including his ride home with Mr. Big Will (Will Hale)! Last night while he was praying he prayed for "Colton, his best fwiend and his sistwer, sissy." And tonight he did the thumbs up, shouted "Gig'em Aggies... WHOOPS!" (Instead of whoop- no S, for you non-Aggies out there). I may be easily amused but I thought it was pretty funny!

- Anna Beth is growing like a little weed! When I took her for her 6 month appointment with Dr. Luke, she weighed 15 lbs 10 oz. She's already almost out of her 6 month clothes and some of her 9 month clothes. She has TWO bottom teeth. Bad mom that I am, I've not yet been able to get a picture worthy of posting, but will do so soon! She also had a little cold right before Will got his. It was pretty hard on all of us since her nose stopped her from sleeping while laying down. Then, her teeth came in. I felt sorry for the poor baby, but she handled it SOOO well. She really is such a happy baby unless something is wrong (dirty diaper, hungry, tired, gas pain, etc.) She laughs and smiles all the time. She's started to really babble a lot too. On top of all that, she can sit up for a few seconds at a time but isn't in a rush to do so. She is a GREAT eater. This girl, just like Will, can easily eat between 4 and 7 jars of baby food on top of the 4 nursings and 1 bottle she has each day! Surprisingly, she isn't a rolypoly though. Maybe she'll be like Joe more than me in the body build department for her sake! Oh, and did I mention that she is the loudest tooter ever? Sometimes it sounds like a machine gun in her pants!

That's about it. I am still alive and thankful for the blessings God's given me. Tomorrow's Friday and we're looking forward to a busy, but good weekend!

San and Tony's House

2011-09-28T21:05:00.001-07:00

Tuesday before last, after finishing all of my last minute work and packing the kids, with all their stuff, dad and I headed to San Antonio, a.k.a. Sam and Tony's House by Will. I always forget how incredibly much baby ans toddler paraphernalia you "might need" while you are traveling for multiple days.

We had our midyear national mason contractors association meeting and it happened to be in San Antonio this year. Dad and I probably wouldn't have gone with everything else that's going on but we're both chairs of different committees so it would've looked pretty bad not to go when it's right here in Texas this year. I elected to take the kids along since Mom was coming as well and everything but the meetings and classes was kid friendly.

The first night we went to a Mexican restaraunt and there was a live mariachi band playing. The kids loved it!

Intently watching the band!

Somehow she slept through half of it!

The second night was open and it was Mom's birthday, so Al met us at ZTejas for dinner. Yummy! It was in a nice shopping center where we took her to pick out some new outfits from her favorite store, Chicos. Again, the kiddos were great and she had a great birthday I think.

Friday morning Al, Dad, and I went to classes. Everything was held at Enchanted Springs Ranch, a western movie set. The kids and Mom rode the charter bus with the other spouses out at lunch time. We had a great lunch and then went on a tractor-pulled trailor ride. Will went twice, he loved it so much. Imagine that! While he was riding the second round, Anna got to ride a real live longhorn!

After all that excitement the kids were beat so I loaded them up in the car. Before we got out of the ranch they were fast asleep. Rather than drive all the way back to the hotel and risk them not going back to sleep, I elected to drive around for an hour and a half. Expensive nap, right? It served it's purpose though and I got to see a lot of beautiful hill country! When they woke up, we went back just in time for steak dinner and a live band.

The next day, after we had breakfast, I loaded the kids up and drove to Austin. I dropped Will off with Joe at his new apartment. He and Anna got to play a bit before I headed back home to get ready for my peer group meeting that I had to leave for on Saturday. Will stayed with Joe and he brought him back here to Mom on Sunday.

It was a great, busy trip to Sam and Tony's!

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Busy Bebers

2011-09-11T13:56:00.001-07:00

Just call us the "busy Bebers"! Yesterday we had a long but good day...

This morning we went to Gretchen, Charles, and Michael's 3rd birthday party. It was a clown party and was TOO cute! Will had a great time playing outside and in the bouncehouse with all of his buddies! He was filthy and worn out by the time we left there...which means that he had tons of fun!

As soon as we left the party we had to head home to sort of clean up and change Anna Beth before heading to Round Rock for our annual company picnic. Will and Anna Beth did NOT like the idea of napping until we were about 30 minutes from the picnic facility, so we had a short nap. That didn't stop us from having a great time though!

Will had a wonderful time doing all of the kids games and activities!

You can barely see, but Will is in the middle. The older girls really took care of him!

Anna enjoyed the party too. I could kick myself for not taking more pictures of her. She actually was awake and happy most of the day. Luckily it was only hot for the first hour and then cooled down with a nice breeze.

Yum! Bluebell ice cream!

Buttercup was glad to see Will again this year!

And I think it's safe to say that Will was glad to see him too!

It was a great company picnic. As always, Reunion Ranch put on a great event for us!

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Friday's Favorites

2011-09-10T20:48:00.001-07:00

I also meant to post these yesterday too. These are my favorite things from yesterday:

I finally have gates for my back yard. Yea! It's so nice to be able to let Izzy out on her own.

He found a feather!

We all enjoyed a little time outside while the Mexican cornbread was cooking. Yea for cooler nights!

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Thankful Thursday

2011-09-10T05:15:00.001-07:00

Here is something I'm thankful for... Along with many other things not listed/pictured below! (I actually wrote this Thursday and failed to post it)

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First Veggies

2011-09-07T21:20:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile but on August 19th Anna Beth had her first solids besides rice cereal.. Peas! Yum, yum!

Mammy gave them to her while I recorded this milestone. She ate them very well... Just like Will did! Since then, she's now had prunes, squash, and pears. And loved them all! Tomorrow we'll introduce carrots. Yea! Thanks to Amazon's free two day shipping we have Earth's Best baby food, which is actually very tasty!

Happy eating everyone!

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Breaking the news

2011-09-07T17:12:00.001-07:00

Ok, so some of you know already and some of you don't. To those that don't, I'm sorry that you are finding out this way but at least you'll be getting it first hand.

Joe and I are getting a divorce.

There. I've said (typed) it. I think for some it's not at all shocking and to many it is a huge shock. Here's my list of answers to the FAQs you may be thinking:

- yes, we've had problems for a long time
- yes, we appeared fine. We didn't want to fight in public all the time
- yes, we went to counseling
- no, it didn't work
- no, I'm not going to pretend that it was just his fault
- yes, we are ending it on good terms...if there is really such a think
- no, it is still not easy
- yes, we have told Will
- maybe, we can't tell if he really understands being that he just turned 3
- yes, Anna is only 5.5 months
- yes, the kids and I are staying here
- yes, Joe has moved out
- yes, he has an apartment in Austin
- no, he doesn't have a job yet but it looking at every opportunity
- yes, we both want everything to stay as normal as possible for the kids
- yes, I am sad but I think that is to be expected
- no, I don't have a hard time talking about it

There you have it. Pretty depressing post. Please keep my family (especially my children) in your prayers. The kids and I are doing pretty well, all things considering. Don't worry, I'm about to post some happier posts soon!

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First Day of School

2011-09-06T20:08:00.001-07:00

Today was it... The day that I've been both looking forward to and dreading at the same time: Will's first day of school. Granted, it is only half a day, two times a week but it's still a HUGE milestone in my book.

I wasn't sure how it would go, how excited or scared he might be, how happy or sad I might be, or if we'd even manage to get there in time.

Thank goodness we did make it there on time (or, if not, it wasn't noticeable). He seemed ok when I left him and didn't want to leave when I picked him up. I had to almost drag him off the playground, which I take as a sure sign he had a good time! I asked him what he did and he told me he "pwayed and had shnacks," two of his favorite things.

Here's his first "first day of school picture." it's the phone version. I did take one with my real camera, believe it or not!

It was a good day!

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Change of plans

2011-09-05T20:26:00.001-07:00

I know I said I was going private... but, honestly folks, I didn't think all of you actually read it and I don't really post anything (and don't plan to) that I'm hiding from anyone. So, with that being said, I've decided to keep it public. I'm sorry to those of you whose time I wasted having to tell me to add your email.

On the upside, everyone can still watch the happenings in our little world...as if it's so exciting.

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Last Chance Folks

2011-09-01T20:12:00.001-07:00

This is my last post before I go private. If you want to read my blog (not that it's great), you need to email, comment, or text me... If you already have, thanks! I'm temporarily off Facebook, so you won't find me there.

So long after tomorrow!

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3 Years Old

2011-09-01T20:04:00.001-07:00

Wow! Last Monday, William turned 3. Blogger ate the first version of this blog too!

William, it seems like yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting your arrival after 2+ days of labor. You were worth every pain! You are a constant bright spot in my life. I'm so proud of the little man you're becoming. I thank God for you everyday!

On his actual birthday, August 22, we went out to eat Italian with Mom, Granny, and Grandad. Unfortunately, these are the only horrible pictures I got. I know...bad, right?

Will ate about 3 of their HUGE tasty dinner rolls, a slice of Hawaiin pizza, and ice cream for his birthday. Healthy meal...just call me super mom!

Here's Anna Beth and Mammy. Great picture, huh?

Will was pretty excited about his new blue tractor from Granny and Grandad. They knew just the thing to make him smile!

It was a great day! I still can't believe he's already 3 and will start preschool just next week!

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Will's Birthday Party

2011-08-30T05:07:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, August 20th, we had Will's third birthday party. I actually already wrote this blog once and lost it, so now I'm starting over!

This year's theme was firetrucks.

Luckily, Mom and Dad are nice enough to let us use their swimming pool and garage for the kids' parties. I had LOTS of good help. Thank you to all of you that helped make this day special!

Here's the cake/party favor table.

This is the cupcake tree. Mom was sooo nice and made these delicious German Chocolate cupcakes! I bought all of these cute graphics designs for the party from Tom Kat Studio. http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/ She and her team do amazing work!

Here's the cake. We were lucky to have it. You see, sometimes I get in a creative streak where I tend to go over board. Unfortunately, I went overboard when I attempted to make a 3-D firetruck cake. The icing wouldn't stick to the cut part so a whole side of the truck was bare. In my frustration, 3 perfectly good, though torn up, white sheet cakes ended up in the trash. As I was on my way to the store for ingrediants for the next round, I remembered Cake and Cookie Creations: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cake-and-Cookie-Creations-by-Leanne-Jackson/142438865817909 I stopped in and, much to my delight, Leanne agreed to help me out by making me a white sheet cake that she iced and piped. Her cakes are AWESOME! Plus, I got to decorate it just like I wanted. It took me forever since I don't decorate cakes very often but I was happy about how it turned out. It tasted great and, most of all, Will loved it! I will most likely have her do next year's though because her cakes are beautiful and I think she can do just about anything...given more than a few hours notice!

Here are the party favor bags. I found these adorable little roll-up-crayon-holders on Etsy, that hold 8 crayons. She made them in the exact patterns I wanted: red background with black and white polka dots and black background with red and white stripes. They turned out so cute...or at least I thought they did. I got them from Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/RaDzaeDezynes She was great about customizing these for me and getting them to me in only a few days! The other thing you can sort of see are the white chocolate covered Oreos with red chocolate "3" on them. I have to admit that I had a blast putting these together...and maybe eating a few too!

Here's what the tables looked like. The white sheets were firetruck coloring pages on cardstock and the centerpieces were candleholders filled with colors so the kids could stay entertained while their parents got food. It worked pretty well. The fireman hats were party favors too but provided plenty of entertainment at the party as well.

Unfortunately, this is the best shot I got of Will and Anna Beth together in their firetruck outfits that I got from Too Cute Customs, also on Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/toocutecustoms?ref=pr_shop Shannon was so nice and got these ready super fast, which was wonderful for a procastinator like me! She has lots of adorable stuff and can customize everything!

Here's one of Anna Beth before she got too hot in her bow.

Here's the group.. Roughly 15 or so of them, all 5 and younger! Needless to say, a group photo is almost impossible for this age group!

Here's the birthday boy playing his horn from Auntie Em and Uncle Brian and proudly sporting his coon skin hat that Uncle Timmy and Aunt Mel gave him!

And, for once, someone took a picture of me! Usually i'm the one behind the camera. I think the party turned out well. Will had a good time, which is what counts!

Stay tuned for the posting from his actual birthday. After that, remember I'm going private with my blog.

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Urrrg!

2011-08-29T05:24:00.001-07:00

Blogger stopped functioning on my phone after I had completely written and saved 3 blogs, one of which was Will's birthday party.

Sooo... I'm having to start over and catch up.

Also, I'm going private with my blog. I've decided I don't need everyone reading everything about our lives. Please don't be offended. If you'd like to read it still, email or text me. My facebook account is disabled, so you won't be able to find me there.

I'll go private sometime this week.

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5 Fast Months

2011-08-22T04:45:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, Anna Beth turned 5 months. Being the forgetful person that I am, I failed to take a picture of her on the actual day. So, here she is at 5 months and 2 days! (since I didn't finish this when I started, it's now 5 months and 6 days)

This month, so much has happened. She is sitting up and even popping out of her Bumbo. She loves it! She has started to really like her cereal. We will be starting peas on Monday. That is always interesting!

She laughs and smiles a ton now too. She makes my mornings good when she welcomes me with her squeels, laughs, and coos! She also has started to really like playing with toys...especially teething toys! She really is working on getting those teeth in. Lately they've really been bothering her. Like me, she has a huge mouth and can fit her whole fist in there.

Also amazingly, she is in the 90% for her length. She seems to be growing like a weed! Pretty soon we will be buying new clothes...if only we can hold out until it gets a little cooler so we can buy fall clothes.

Everyday she still manages to make us all smile!

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On the Road Again

2011-08-17T21:12:00.001-07:00

I've been out of town for work the last few days. I can't wait to be home in my own bed tomorrow night! (I started this on Tuesday and finished it today, which is now Wednesday and I'm already home)

Thursday I went to Ft Worth for the Texas Masonry Council convention. It just wasn't feasible to take the kids since it was during the day with non-kid friendly events at night. It was pretty rough being away for two nights in a row for work stuff but I did have a nice time. I was VERY excited to come home and see them though. Plus, since I'm still nursing, being away from Anna is a pretty big hassel. It's good practice for when I'm gone in September for work for 3 or 4 nights.

Then, on Sunday afternoon, Mom, Will, Anna Beth and I loaded up and headed to OKC so I could take my update be able to continue to teach the 10 and 30 hour OSHA courses. Sounds like fun, right? Actually, the course was pretty interesting and I enjoyed getting to spend some fun time after work each day with the kids. We even watched Rio last night! The ride home, including the insane stop at Sam's, was pretty good until we got to Hico and Anna was fed up with driving during the daytime. My kiddos are great travelers thank goodness! I'm so blessed that my mom wanted to come with me so I didn't have to be away from them since Joe didn't want to come.

I'm glad to be home and looking forward to Will's Firetruck party but not so much going back to the office after being out since half a day last Thursday. Yippee and yikes!

Oh, and today is Anna Beth's 5 month birthday. I'll post about that tomorrow, hopefully with a picture. Speaking of pictures, here are the only ones I got during the OKC trip.

Will's first Sherly Temple (I probably butchered the spelling on that)

Even Anna Beth enjoyed the complimentary happy hour at the Embassy Suites!

Happy sitting with Mammy. Smiles all around!

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Shots all around...

2011-08-16T00:29:00.001-07:00

... And not the kind you get at the Dry Bean! I actually already did this blog last week and deleted it, so it's actually old news now. Imagine that???

Last Monday, Will had his well-child check a little early since we had to have paperwork done in time for preschool. While we were there he had to get two shots. I had been dreading this day since I made the appointment, knowing that this would be the first round of shots that he'd really have an understanding of what was going on. But to my surprise, he did extremely well! He actually just sat there in shock for a minute looking like he was thinking, "what the heck just happened to me..." He was good after he got to pick out two "lello" suckers though! William was 37.5 inches tall and weighed 31.6. Since then, I know he has grown AT LEAST an inch because his church pants didn't fit him this Sunday!

Anna Beth had her four month well-child check the Thursday before Will's. She also had to have shots but I had mentally prepared for a screaming session following the pain, so when she only cried for a few seconds, I felt incredibly blessed! She weighed 13 lbs, 3.3 oz and was 25.5 inches long. (90%, amazing right?). Growing like a weed!

Too bad I don't have any pictures!

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Let the Good Times Roll

2011-08-07T21:20:00.001-07:00

This weekend Joe and I went to Gruene on Saturday. We had a group of couples that all went for the whole weekend but I just couldn't do two nights away from the kids since I have a conference this next week that requires me to be away. So, we decided going up Saturday morning and staying one night would still be great....and it was!

When we got there we were both so surprised how much it had grown since our last visit and especially since our college days! We were also surprises at how incredibly low the river was, although we shouldn't be. We all could use some rain!

We had a nice day of shopping, live music, and lunch at the Gristmill followed by sitting in the river with our friends. After cleaning up we ate dinner at the Gristmill again. The poor waiter had 16 of us to keep up with! We ended the night with Wade Bowen at River Road Icehouse. I couldn't believe how old I felt around all of those "crazy college kids." It was only 5 or 6 years ago that I was just like them... And so much has changed in that short time. I met and married Joe, graduated, got a "real job," and had two kids. It's crazy how fast life changed. You go from one kind of crazy to another...one kind of great to another. "Let the good times roll..."

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More firsts

2011-08-02T07:33:00.001-07:00

It seems that we experience firsts everyday with Anna:

Saturday: She sat and played in the Baby Einstein bouncer for a few minutes. It's still a little big so we stuffed a blanket in there.

Sunday: She wore her first bikini. I can't lie...it did look a little funny. Only small kids make it ok to have a big belly and wear a bikini! We didn't really get a good picture. Will was too excited to go "schwimming" with Uncle Al and Auntie Em that he didn't want to wait around for us to get a better one.

Monday: She sat in the hook on high chair at Mom and Dad's during dinner. She was pretty content for a while...at least long enough for all of us to eat!

Good times... Many more firsts to come!

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Successful Saturday

2011-07-31T18:22:00.001-07:00

Although it was a long day that started rather early when Anna wanted to wake up at 5:30 (doesn't she know it's Saturday?), it turned out ok.

Getting up early helped me to get a ton of stuff done around. I'm the queen of quite a few thing, but procrastination and clutter are two of them. The ironic thing about this is that I despise these characteristics in others when they affect me. Maybe ironic isn't the correct term. I guess that really makes me hypocritical.

Regardless, there were quite a few things around here I've been consistently putting off...not that any of them were all that difficult. I'm a to do list writer, so I constantly have one going. Some of these things have been on here for over a month, but I was still proud to "check them off" and wanted to "document it" so one day I can look back and see that I did occasionally get stuff done... even if it is cheesy!

- cleaned out Will's closet of clothes that no longer fits (and packed away for any potential nephews I might eventually be lucky enough to have)
- reorganized his closet
- did two loads of laundry (unfortunately I don't get to procrastinate on this)
- cleaned off our breakfast bar (you can actually see it again)
- put together 3 job notebooks (for work)
- organized the "bottle/pump drawer" in our kitchen
- took back a dish and pan to a friend that brought us dinner after Anna was born (it took such a long time getting it back, that Will and I decided to make blonde brownies to take to them since he loves to help me cook so much.)
- changed the light bulbs in Anna's bathroom (sad that it took me over a week to do this but I kept forgetting to buy bulbs)
- balanced the bank account for the last two months

Yes, this sounds like a sad little list probably, but everything on here took me ALL day. I felt pretty good checking these things off my list though! More to come tomorrow but I won't put you to sleep any longer....

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Joy

2011-07-28T09:26:00.001-07:00

When I'm sad I think to think about these two:

Anna Beth- out for the count!

William Paul- Reading "Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?" while wearing what he called his "Pizza Hat" (aka Anna's rainbow skirt)

I'm smiling already!

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Time, How it Flies

2011-07-22T20:22:00.001-07:00

I know I post a lot about how time seems to be flying, but as I sit here tonight, pondering that my 10 Year High School Reunion is tomorrow, I realize it even more.

A lot of my classmate posted pictures on Facebook of us all. It seems like just yesterday...

Maybe I'll find some and post a few if I get a chance. Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing a lot of my classmates tomorrow, some of which I haven't seen since the day we walked across the stage. What a very bazar feeling...

It's going to be interesting and probably pretty fun (even if that does make me sound like a dork).

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Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-20T16:02:00.001-07:00

My little actor:

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A LOT for One Day!

2011-07-18T21:00:00.001-07:00

Today has been full of excitement. First, Anna eating cereal. Busy, busy day at work.

I left a little before 5:00 today in order to feed Anna. I decided it would be better for all of us if I waited to go back to work after the kids were in bed... I have 14 sets of drawings to print (before you think I'm crazy, not all of them are full size and some are just shop drawings so they don't take quite as long.)

Tonight after dinner, we all played and Anna had another first experience... Sitting in the Bumbo chair.

She liked it pretty well.

YouTube Video

We didn't know if she was strong enough yet and, obviously, she's still a little wobbly but she likes to watch everything so this will provide her with some good entertainment. Will had a good time showing off for her too! What a ham he is!

Good times at the Beber Haus. Now I'm feeding Anna while Will is getting ready for bed. Then Anna has her bath and bedtime routine. Then as Will would say, "hi ho, hi ho, it's oss to wowk I doe!" (Somehow this didn't post earlier, so I'm actually now back from "wowk," feeding Anna one more time, and then off to bed I go. And, no, I didn't get all 14 printed...just 10, but did catch up on some of my other stuff while waiting on the larger sets to print!)

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Anna's First Food

2011-07-18T17:20:00.001-07:00

Today we gave Anna her first food: rice cereal. She did what most babies do the first time...stick her tongue out the first few bites. By the last few bites you could tell that she was starting to understand the concept.

YouTube Video

Joe got it on video for us.

Num, num!

Will got out his toy camera to "take pictures too." It was hilarious!

Fun stuff! Messy stuff!

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4 Months Old

2011-07-17T18:39:00.001-07:00

Another month has already passed. Anna Beth is 4 months old today.

Since last month she has grown a lot. I'm not sure what she weighs but she is finally getting a few more baby fat rolls and pinchable cheeks! She is still eating good and starting to stretch it out a little longer between feedings, which helps me since I'm still coming home from work to feed her.

She's teething...we think. Will started the whole chewing on everything thing at about 5 months and finally cut a tooth at 7 months, so it could be a while before we see a tooth. Along with that, she still has pretty bad gas that bothers her...until she toots like an old man, which is pretty funny coming out of a petite little thing like her.

She is so incredibly close to sitting up on her own. I don't think it will be too much longer. I'm going to get the Bumbo out pretty soon to see how she likes it. She also smiles al lot more and has started to really laugh a good belly laugh...especially when you laugh at her. It's contagious all around!

She's growing out of her 3/6 month clothes. Luckily Mammy and I love shopping for her so it's not too upsetting! Oh, and we are still using our cloth diapers but last week I resized them to the second snap since she's grown so much! We're still keeping our fingers crossed she won't become allergic to them like Will was.

Her hair is very slowly growing. She has a rat tail that we like to play with. I put a headband on her every chance I get in the hopes that she won't be like me and hate wearing bows.

Everyday with her is special. I know that is cheesy but it's true... For her and Will. Everyday is new and different. I want to soak in every minute I can with them!

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Oh My What a Day...

2011-07-16T21:21:00.001-07:00

It began very early this morning, since Anna woke up three or more times. We lost count! Poor baby...and poor us!

My day included cleaning my closet to be able to fit my clothes back in.

Before

After

In between... 4 loads of laundry!

At least everyone else enjoyed themselves! Oh, and I have a clean closet that I can find things in and Joe won't complain...and we have clean clothes, towels, and diapers.

We did go on a family bike ride tonight to see Granny and Grandad. It was a nice end to a long day! My bed is calling me now. Goodnight!

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Finally Friday

2011-07-15T21:01:00.001-07:00

I should admit that it has been a long week. I've been working a lot this week, which I enjoy but I'm still glad that it's almost over except for a few things I'm taking home to work on.

Anna is really starting to focus on things. "Mom, can I chew on your fingers?" She's still teething with no sign of a tooth. It took Will forever too so I can't say I'm surprised by it.

And, this just in: I made it home from work by 5:15! I made lemon-pepper tilapia, green peas, and candied acorn squash from my grandparents garden. I may be partial but it was pretty tasty...and pretty healthy, all things considering. We watched Harry and the Hendersons tonight with Will. He loved it. I had forgotten about it until we saw it on netflix.

In other good news, I got out my pre-pregnancy clothes....all 6 bags! I'm excited even though I still can't fit into about 2 bags worth. Hopefully that will be added motivation. The great thing about it is that I was just complaining to Joe about "not having anything to wear." Now it's almost like I have a whole new wardrobe. I don't know where I'm going to put it all actually. I guess that's a good problem though!

Tomorrow I am going to sort through the mess that is now my closet and try to make sense of it all. Wish me luck! Maybe I need to do a before and after picture for motivation!

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Thankful Thursday

2011-07-14T21:09:00.001-07:00

Here are two things I'm thankful for today (among many others, of course)

Will...and cobbler (even from the freezer)!

The plant that Will planted at Storytime the week of Mothers Day bloomed today!

Who wouldn't be thankful? I'm pretty blessed!

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First Family Ride...

2011-07-11T21:19:00.001-07:00

First one since Anna Beth came along, that is. Until recently, she hasn't been strong enough to hold herself up enough to ride in the Charriot. Since she's gotten so strong though, we decided to give it a try.

Joe installed our infant harness that he gave me for Mothers Day, we put the kids in, and away we went!

Will loved it since he hadn't gotten to ride with Joe in so long and now he has Anna to share time with. He was great and gave her her nuni back once even!

We rode up to see Granny and Grandad for a bit and then back home. It was great but I must admit that I'm already feeling it in my thighs. Weak!

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Whew

2011-07-11T18:46:00.001-07:00

Last week FLEW by. Having short weeks really messes me up at work. Sometimes I wonder if it's really worth taking off to try to catch back up. I'm still learning my new position as assistant to our Project Manager. I like it but have soooo much to learn. So, getting back Tuesday morning at 1:30 was a rough start to the week. It still managed to be ok and I accomplished quite a bit.

This weekend, Joe and I had our first date night in who-knows-how-long. The kids spent the night at Mammy and YaYa's house since Joe and I decided to go to Alamo Drafthouse in Cedar Park. We watched Horrible Bosses and chowed down on some yummy food.

Saturday I let Joe sleep in a bit and went to feed Anna so she wouldn't have to have a bottle at her 6:30 feeding. I got quite a bit done around the house though....including stripping the cloth diapers. Joe mowed the grass that really needed it despite the lack of rain. Will, Anna, and I watched Cars...which is now Will's "savorite" movie!

I let the kids bathe together tonight since Joe was still outside mowing. Will loves getting to take baths since he has a shower in his bathroom.

In other news, Anna is defenitely starting to get a tooth. For the past two weeks she has been chewing on her fingers or anything she can get in her mouth. Last night she actually had her entire fist in her mouth. Poor thing got her momma's huge mouth I guess! She also has really started to like playing and is starting to grab onto her toys.

Last night we all went swimming. Will is getting better everytime we go, although you can't turn your back for a minute or he's trying to "do it my own"!

Despite the look on our faces, we had a great time! After swimming, dad fixed burgers, which were super tasty. For dessert we had mini blizzards from DQ. It was a great weekend! I got a good night sleep last night and I can tell it's going to be a busy, but good week!

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Fourth of July Part 3

2011-07-10T17:40:00.001-07:00

This is it, I promise, of the Fourth of July weekend posts.

On the actual 4th, which was a Monday, Uncle EJ, Aunt Rita, their daughter, Alicia, and MaMa all came over for Charlie's BBQ. Did I mention before that he's an excellent cook? Due to Anna's sensitive tummy issues, unfortunately, I missed out on most good food...anything spicy or with onions, etc. Oh well!

Anna got to meet her great grandma, MaMa for the first time.

I forgot to mention that the entire weekend Will hung out with Cass, his youngest and closest cousin. She was so great with him and he loves her!

The day was great. I dressed the kids up in their 4th of July outfits. Of course, these were the best pictures I got. Trying to get them both to look at the camera at the same time is almost impossible.

As Will would say, "Happy Dependents Day!"

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Fourth of July Part 2

2011-07-03T21:06:00.001-07:00

We got up this morning and enjoyed our coffee out on the new deck. It was nice. After a while, I got started on blueberry pancakes (and a few plain ones for Charlie). I didn't think they were great but no one complained.

Linda and Charles' church service doesn't start until 11:00, so we had plenty of time to cook, eat, and get ready.

Here's my little baby girl in her bonnie blue bonnet and dress.

Here they both are in their blue outfits. Joe and I both wore blue too, although I didn't get a picture. Yes, I've become my mother and coordinate my families' clothing...exactly like I said I'd never do.

So, what didn't happen this morning was any of us wish Linda happy birthday. We all thought it was the 5th instead of the 4th. Bad daughter in law award for me. Thankfully I already had everything ready for her cake. As usual, I forgot to take a picture before cutting it.

Charlie and Vicki cooked gumbo, which was awesome...even though I only got to eat a tiny bit so I didn't upset Anna Beth's sensitive tummy.

The boys played horseshoes outside most of the day. Us girls stayed inside most of the day, enjoying the air conditioning since it was at least 101 out there. We also got to see Aunt Margarer and cousins Shaw Marie and James, which is always fun!

Will has about 10 mosquito bites. Poor guy! Despite that, we had a good day. Now it's bedtime...yea!

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Forth of July Weekend Part 1

2011-07-03T04:41:00.001-07:00

Last night we headed out to the lakehouse. Although we planned to leave at 7:00, we actually left town at about 8:30 and got to Joe's parents' at about 1:30 this morning.

Will and Anna were happy to have so much attention from everyone. Uncle Charlie even brought Will an early birthday present- Hot Wheels, complete with a carrying case and a huge Tonka dump truck that really dumps!

Tim, Joe, Will, Cass, Nanny, and PaPa were all in the neighborhood parade.

I think they won first prize. Fun stuff!

Today the boys BBQ'd and I ate a ton of meat and the brownies and blonde brownies I made. Thank goodness I got to go on a bike ride tonight with Joe. It was great, even though we only rode 7 miles. Remember, I'm still really out of shape!

It was good. I love my new bike and the bike skirt and shirt Joe got me for Mothers Day.

When we got back, we got the kids ready for bed which took FOREVER since they had to be in the same room until Nanny and Papa were ready for bed. They wanted him to sleep with them so when they were ready, Joe carried him to bed with them.

I've now had my shower and I'm feeding Anna her last feeding. After that, I'm going to sleep. Yea!

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Conversations with Will

2011-07-01T11:21:00.001-07:00

Last night Mammy, YaYa, and Uncle Al came over for spinach and turkey spaghetti. It was pretty good, but not as good as Uncle Al and Will's after dinner conversation:

Will: Wanna tell you a setrer, (aka secret).
Uncle Al: ok
Leaning toward each other.
Will: (whispering in Al's ear) You wanna pway (aka play) wit me?
Uncle Al: ok. How about blocks?
Will: In my woom? (aka room)
Uncle Al: ok
Will: Just perfect. Perfect.

Reading it, you might not see any humor in it, but he said it so seriously... Just like an adult.

And right now he and Uncle Al are eating pancakes as Joe fixes them and I listen from the other room with Anna.

Will: You wanna play?
Al: no, buddy, I gotta go to work.
Will: You goin to work?
Al: yep
Will: I'm going to wowk (aka work)
Al: You are?
Will: I'm gonna wowk on the bikes. (Joe works on bikes)

Again, I thought it was adorable, but as I type it now, I realize it might not be so funny or cute. But, hey, it's my blog, right?

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15 weeks old

2011-07-01T04:07:00.001-07:00

Today (yesterday now) Anna Beth is 15 weeks old. I'm amazed by how much she changes each day!

Last night I had a meeting in Austin, so she came with me so I could feed her (and Joe wouldn't have to deal with the bedtime routine for both kids at the same time). While I was in the meeting Mom and Anna went shopping. Mammy bought both kiddos a couple of adorable outfits, Will's for his first year of school (oh my) and Anna for whenever! My kids are so lucky that their Mammy loves to shop for cute clothes for them! I must admit that it's fun. I enjoy it WAY more than shopping for myself...afterall they look cute in everything, whereas me...well, not so much!

Anyway, today is going to be a busy day. We're leaving to go to Joe's parent's house for the holiday weekend. I've got laundry to do, cookies and brownies to bake, and packing. It's amazing how much stuff an almost three year old and three month old require.

Even with all that, I'm still super excited about this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing the family again and I know they are excited to see us (especially the kids though). Joe and I are taking our bikes, so I'm hoping I'll finally get to ride my new bike (that I've had for over a month now) for more than a few minutes. I'm also hoping to get a few runs in to maybe motivate me to get started again. I figure if I blog about it maybe that will make me do it so I feel guilty if I don't!

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Pulling an All-Nighter

2011-06-27T14:49:00.001-07:00

Last night (now the night before) we decided to drive home, rather than staying the night in Lincoln and getting up this morning to drive all day.

It turned out to be a good choice, since we made it back a little after noon on Sunday. Emilie, thanks to all those med school all nighters, drove pretty much straight through the night.

The rest of us slept through the night. Ha!

Here's super driver!

So glad she drove! I'm looking good, right?

Like I said in my other post, the kids did great. They both pretty much slept all night while we were driving.

After they woke up, we stopped for breakfast in Gainesville at Cracker Barrel. What roadtrip would be complete without a stop there?

We sure were glad to be home, even though we had a great trip! Now it's back to work!

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Quick Trip to Lincoln

2011-06-26T00:15:00.001-07:00

Thursday afternoon Emilie, Mom, Will, Anna Beth, and I loaded up in the suburban to head to Lincoln, NE for my Great Aunt Darlene's funeral.

Here he is, with his headphones on, watching "White Snow," AKA Snow White.

Here Little Missy is with her big eyes.

We drove until about 3:00 Friday morning, when we stopped at Park City, Kansas to sleep, which is just north of Wichita. We got up, ate breakfast, and leisurely made our way from there to Lincoln.

After we got checked into our rooms, we took Will to one of the many parks to let off some steam after being in the car for two days.

From there we went to Sandy's (Aunt Darlene's daughter) house for dinner. It was great to see my cousins and Will really enjoyed all the attention.

After that, we made a quick trip to my Aunt Irene's apartment to see her. She is my Great Grandma's youngest sister and her and my Grammy were very close in age. I'm so glad we got to see her. She is such a sweet lady!

Here's Will and his Great, Great, Great Aunt Irene walking to her apartment. She also took him on an "excavator," AKA elevator, ride.

This morning we slept in a bit, which means a little after 7:00. It might not sound late, but I was excited it was a little later than usual. We went and ate a great breakfast.

Will was especially excited. He ate all the whip cream and cherries off first, just like I would have.

Anna slept through breakfast, which worked out nicely, so we didn't have to take turns eating. From there we headed to the zoo. We knew we wouldn't have time to do the zoo but wanted Will to get to ride the train around the zoo.

The zoo train was pretty fun! After that we went to take naps. We let the kids sleep as long as we could until we had to get up to go to the memorial service.

It was a nice service, except the air conditioning was not on. It was so incredibly hot in there. The kids were really pretty well behaved considering.

After the service we headed to the Hill family reunion, which happened to be the same day. Weird, right? It's held at a park so we looked (and felt) really funny in our black dresses. Luckily I had enough time to pack the kids clothes so they were comfy. Will especially had a good time playing on the playground. He was one VERY tired little boy when we left the reunion.

On the way back to the hotel we decided to drive back tonight in order to get as far back as we could while the kids are sleeping. It seems to be good since they're both out and we're taking turns driving our shifts. With that said, I should get a little sleep before it's my turn. Goodnight!

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More VBS

2011-06-25T05:40:00.001-07:00

This week, Will has been going to VBS at the Methodist Church. He had a great time. I think he's starting to understand that church is about Jesus.

What he's still pretty confused about is babies though. You see, one of my high school friends has a 5 month old son, Brodi. They go to church there and she had him there helping evidently. I was told that he walked up to Brodi and said, "Anna Bess, what you doing here?" I guess he thinks we have the only baby in town. I thought it was pretty cute though.

I'm glad there are so many churches in town having VBS. It's a real blessing. He's learning a lot and getting to know a lot of the kids he'll be going to preschool with in the fall.

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Headed North

2011-06-23T04:21:00.001-07:00

On Monday, we found out that my Aunt Darlene, my mom's last aunt, passed away. Although I'm sad for the loss and especially her immediate family, I know that she is happy to be in Heaven with Uncle Leno and all of her other friends and family that have gone before. She was a beautiful lady, inside and out.

The funeral is this Saturday, which means we are headed to Lincoln, NE tomorrow afternoon (now today) as soon as I get back home from a meeting in Austin. It sound be interesting. Mom, Em, and I are driving up there with the two kids. It will be Anna's first big roadtrip. I know Will is a good traveler because he's already made it once when he was less than a year old. Plus, we have plenty of little toys, books, snacks, and Thomas the Train movies to keep him entertained. Anna Beth, on the other hand... Well, let's hope she doesn't have gas.

I'm really looking forward to seeing my family again. Actually, as crazy as this is, there was a family reunion planned for Saturday already but we weren't going to it because things are so busy around here (and still are but life happens). So, now we get to go. Em and I don't know many of the extended family too well but Mom does so I'm excited for her. I'm excited to see my cousins, Barry and Lindsey, who are about my age. Thanks to Facebook, Barry and I have managed to stay in touch a little bit.

Like I said though, it should be interesting...especially since we have to be home by Monday! Wish us luck!!!

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First "Real" VBS

2011-06-21T21:36:00.001-07:00

Last week Will went to our church's Vacation Bible School (VBS). He went the year before but Joe had to stay with him the entire time, so this was really the first time. The VBS theme this year was Pandamania. There were 121 kids there, which is pretty amazing.

Will had a great time I think...even though you can't tell too much from the video of his program since he's not too into dancing in public. I'm not sure where he gets his stubborness from (ha).

YouTube Video

As you can see though, sooo much work went into this week. Our church is so blessed to have Misti running the show and so many teachers and helpers willing to volunteer their time and talents.

Friday evening there was a VBS swim party at the city pool. Joe and I cooked and served the 150 hot dogs, which surprisingly, ended up all being eaten. Will had a great time playing in the baby pool since we couldn't get in with him.

Everything was great! Of course, one of Will's favorite things about it was the "tookies"! Good times at VBS!

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3 Months Old

2011-06-21T21:10:00.001-07:00

Today is Anna Beth's 3 month birthday (Friday, June 17th was...when I wrote this). It's amazing to me that it's already been that long. Time flies when you're having fun!

In this last month you've changed a lot. You can hold your head up pretty well for quite a while. You smile and laugh a lot more...which is contagious! We are still using the cloth diapers. You've grown a lot and are wearing quite a few 6 month outfits already. Your Mammy and I love shopping for you. Your feet are still tiny but you're now able to kind of fit into your hot pink shoes, which makes 3. Yes, I'm that mom that likes to put shoes on an infant. You don't mind though! We had family pictures taken last week and they turned out great! Also, Will loves you and has started to talk to you more now and give you kisses. He talks about all the things you and he are going to do and play "when Anna Bess gets owder" (can't say his "l's"). It's so sweet!

Sleeping through Will's VBS program at church.

We all love you very much. Happy 3 Months Anna Beth!

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More Quotes by Will

2011-06-15T04:25:00.001-07:00

The other day I was going to the bathroom. (Yes, I still let him in there. If you have kids, you understand it's easier that way) He came in and said to me, "Where's your penis?" I cringe, knowing that we taught him to use the medical terminology like Auntie Em suggested. However, that wasn't really what I thought was funny. I told him that Mommy doesn't have a penis. To this, he asked, "You gonna go buy one?" Ha! No, my dear, I'm not, but thanks for the laugh.

He started Vacation Bible School yesterday. I asked him what he learned and he said about Jesus and "Dod." He made a cross in arts and crafts, which he got to bring home. I asked him who died on the cross and he told me Pastor. While I thought it was cute, I did correct him and he came home today and told me Jesus died on the cross.

Here's Will and Mammy out at the office, about to go on their first day of Pandamania. He now says cheese everytime we take a picture but doesn't look at the camera. Kind of defeats the purpose...what a stinker!

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Busy, Busy

2011-06-14T07:51:00.001-07:00

Disclaimer: this was actually written on June 13th but somehow I managed not to post it. Oops!
---------------
This weekend was a busy one. And here it is Monday morning again and I have to admit that I'm still pretty tired!

Friday we ate and went swimming at Mammy and YaYa's house. We got Will a new floaty so he could swim without us worrying too much. It also made it easy to jump off the diving board, which he did for the first time! After the kids got in bed I made 120+ cookies for a pool party we had on Sunday. Yes, I cheated. Thank goodness for the Ann Whitney Elementary cookie dough that we stock up on each year!

YouTube Video
Saturday morning Joe helped with the kids triathlon since he is on the Parks and Recreation Board. While he was there, the kids and I loaded up to go to the Walmart in Gatesville for groceries for the swimming party. The kids were great. We managed to get everything we needed and be back all by 9:30....all without any crying. I felt like Supermom even though it's probably not that big of a deal!

When we got back it was time to pack up to head to Georgetown, where the kids were going to stay with my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Clark for the night.

This was what they sent us after he got cleaned up from digging in the dirt with Uncle Clark.

Enjoying being spoiled by Aunt Nancy and Kimberly!

Tired from all the fun!

By the time we got to their house and fed Anna, it was already time to get dressed and head to the Renaissance for the banquet we had. I got to wear my new not-so-little black dress because I'm not so little yet. Luckily, I had been so busy that I didn't have time to think about having to talk in front of 100+ people. I get really nervous but it was ok... Nothing a glass of merlot couldn't fix.

We left right after the banquet was over to go get the kids. They had a great time with Uncle "Tlark" and Aunt Nancy and even cousin Kim, who was in from San Francisco. We packed up and drove home that night since we were starting a new Bible Study series for our "young adult" class the next morning. Thank goodness Joe was able to drive since we didn't get home until midnight.

Anna chose to wake up 4 times of all nights and the next morning came very early. We had our first class of the marriage series and, thankfully, it was the Yates' week to teach. It went well and the church service was good. After church, we rushed home to get ready for the swimming party. Joe cooked the burgers and hot dogs and Landry was so helpful to get everything else ready. My mom would've died if she saw how unorganized I was. I didn't plan as well for this party as I would've in the past. Despite that, it turned out good and I think everyone had a great time. Anna went to Granny and Grandad's house during the party.

By the time I picked her up, got a shower, and got the kids dressed after their naps, it was time to head back to Granny and Grandad's for dinner. They made ribs, squash casserole, broccoli, baked potatoes, fresh bread, garden salad, and strawberry shortcake. Yum!!!

After a weekend like that I actually welcomed Monday...even though it was great!

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Friday Favorites

2011-06-10T13:43:00.001-07:00

My Friday Favorites are my two kiddos. They make me smile!

YouTube Video

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Wow!

2011-06-09T19:56:00.000-07:00

Wow... I cannot believe that tomorrow is Friday! This week has FLOWN by.

Wow...Today Anna is 12 weeks old. I think I pretty much think that every Thursday. She is growing up WAY too fast! I don't think it seemed like this with Will... I think mainly because I'm almost positive that she is our last baby and I'm trying to soak up every little moment.

Wow... I took for granted how much effort it was for my Mom to have us all match in our family pictures. Elizabeth Marquess www.bylizajane.com took pictures of the kids and then also family photos tonight. And, even though as I grew up swearing I'd never make my kids match, I have fallen into my Mom's foot steps. Funny how that works! Finding matching stuff for the kids is hard enough, but finding stuff for Joe and I to match them is even harder. Once I have the pictures back, I'll post them. I hope that they turn out well! She does a great job and was super-patient through the kids "wardrobe changes." Luckily, the kids were good too!

Wow... We had Sonic for dinner tonight and I had forgotten the simple pleasure that a slush or chocolate milk can be. Joe got a limon-berry slush and Will got chocolate milk. They were both nice enough to share with me since I just got to have a diet cherry limeade, which was still pretty good!

Wow... We have a super-busy weekend ahead of us. Tomorrow night I'm going to go get groceries since we are having all of the couples that are coming to our new "Young Adult" Sunday School class over for swimming and lunch after church on Sunday. Saturday morning Joe is helping with the Jr. Triathlon and I'm baking cookies for Sunday. Then we pack up and head to Austin to get the kids to my Uncle Clark and Aunt Nancy, who are keeping them for us. Then we get dressed up and head to the Arboretum Renassaince for the CTMCA Golden Trowel Banquet. I'm pretty excited because I was VP last year and President this year and this will be my last event, besides one general meeting. I can see some free time in my future.... maybe! Then we head back as soon as we can get away so we are here and ready for Sunday School. And, last but not least, we have the swim/lunch party at the pool, which will be fun! We'll all be ready for a nice long nap late Sunday afternoon!

Wow... I love my "new job" in the project management department. Josh is so patient with me as I learn everything!

Wow... It's hard to find a job in this town! Joe has decided he wants to go back to work. So, I guess if you happen to be reading this and know of a job, let me know because he's looking and not finding much here.

Wow... I'm tired. It's about time to go feed Anna her "night cap" and go to be myself.

Sweet dreams!

Easter Baptism

2011-06-07T21:18:00.001-07:00

This is WAY over due, but on Easter Anna Beth was baptized. Pastor Reich had a beautiful Easter service. We attended the sunrise service as well, which was also wonderful. Anna slept through most of it in her little Easter Bunny jammies!

Here we are after the service. We didn't manage to get one where we were all looking.

This is one of my favorite pictures of William. And, yes, I'm old fashioned and put him in Eton short suits and knee socks even though it's not really in style.

Big yawn! Isn't her Christening gown beautiful? Debbi Haile smocked and sewed it, which is so special to me. She made Will's Christening outfit too when he was baptized.

She's sooo loveable!

There are more photos...some really good, that I need to post but these are the only ones saved on my phone so they'll have to be good for now. :) And Easter egg hunts and Easter baskets are a whole other blog!

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Anna Beth Goes Swimming

2011-06-05T21:07:00.001-07:00

Today Auntie Em, Mammy, and I took Will and Anna Beth swimming. It was Anna's first time.

After the initial shock, she liked it pretty well. It's not all that surprising since she loves her baths.

She REALLY liked the hot tub (it wasn't too hot, don't worry)! She was so comfortable, she actually fell asleep in there!

Will is becoming such a good little swimmer! He's learning to keep his head under water while swimming and he LOVES jumping in. He gets so excited about getting to go "fwimming"!

We had a great time!

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11 weeks today

2011-06-03T05:21:00.001-07:00

Anna Beth is 11 weeks old today (Thursday, when I started this blog). She is growing up so fast! She laughs and smiles more and more each day. She slept through the night on Saturday night and again last night and the night before. I guess she is growing up. Part of me rejoices in these things, but the other part is sad knowing that my baby girl will be out of the baby stage in the blink of an eye.

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Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-03T02:17:00.001-07:00

Friday night the boys went camping at Meridian State Park, so Anna and I hung out with Mammy at her house. We ended up spending the night and Mom and I watched Scarlett in bed, which was nice!

The next day Anna and I packed up and headed to Ft Worth to pick up my new bike. It's great. I got to test it out but haven't gone on a "real" ride yet. I'm hoping maybe I'll have time on Sunday! We went to Sam's Club for groceries and headed back home to eat dinner with the boys, who were back from their camping trip. Anna Beth slept until 5:50 on Sunday morning, which freaked me out when I first woke up and realized I didn't have to get up in the middle of the night.

Sunday morning we went to church. Anna Beth was awake and looking around almost the whole service. We has a potluck lunch there to honor the high school seniors. Then we went home to feed Anna and I went down to the Fine Arts Center to help with the Women's Council Senior Mother-Daughter tea. Mom is the president and organized this event. It was beautiful and VERY tasty! After that I came home and we packed our camping gear, dropped Anna with Mammy and YaYa, and headed back to Meridian State Park.

We camped out there. Will even found a cute baby frog.

YouTube Video

The next morning the boys let me sleep late. We went on a hike and, thanks to the 20-40 mph wind, we didn't get too hot. We were having so much fun, I forgot to take pictures, so this is it!

We had a very busy but good Memorial Day weekend..making for a quick week this week.

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Austin Again

2011-05-26T22:11:00.001-07:00

Anna Beth and I loaded up and headed to Austin this afternoon. I had a masonry association meeting at Pappasitos, so Uncle Al and Kelsey kept her while I was there. This way I got to feed her right before the meeting and she was still pretty much on schedule.

I think they ventured out with her to Galaxy for dinner.

They said she was good. She looks pretty innocent in this picture...but looks can be decieving. Anyway, we just got home and I'm about to go to bed so I can attempt to get up for my Friday morning run!

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Alex's Graduation

2011-05-24T19:51:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning Anna and I let Joe sleep in. Then I got ready and went to my friend, Kathy (Chumney) Zapalac's baby shower. I'm so excited for her. They aren't finding out whether it's a boy or girl, which is fun.

Then we packed up and headed to Austin for Alex's graduation from the University of Texas. It was a long ceremony but the kiddos did surprisingly well. Anna entertained the people around us by ripping a really loud toot in the middle of one of the speeches. The ceremony was nice because each student got to write what activities they did in school and what their plans are. Some were pretty entertaining... Including Al's which said he was "going to live the American Dream of moving in with his parents until he finds a real job." We can't wait for him to be back!

Here's Uncle Al with his favorite nephew.

And again. Aren't they a handsome pair?

Anna Beth got lots of good attention.

We ate dinner afterwards at Ranch 616. Anna sat content just about the whole time.

Mom and I.

Will wanted to sit by his Auntie Em.

We ate out on the patio. It was nice, despite the heat!

Everyone had a great time. On the way out of town we noticed there was a tornado warning along 183 right where we would be driving, so we went to the apartment to "wait it out."

We waited and watched the radar and, after we thought we'd be safe, loaded the kids up again and headed North. The closer we got to Lampasas the worse the weather got. Then a warning that a tornado would hit Lampasa in about 3 minutes. At this point we made a u-turn, headed back South, and called Uncle Mo to come to his house in Georgetown since it was already a little past 11:00 and we were pretty tired. Luckily they were still awake and we spent the night. We woke up early enough the next morning to get back for church since we were supposed to teach the Young Adult class at Sunday School but because of confirmation breakfast, we ended up not having time.

It was a busy, busy weekend for us...but a great one!

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2 Month Shots

2011-05-24T04:28:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had Anna's 2 month well child exam, which included 3 shots. That has to be one of the best ways to torture parents: submit your child to pain and have to stand helplessly.

Luckily, she did really well considering. Dr Killian said she looked great except for the pink eye, which we expected before we went. She weighed 11 lbs 8 oz and was 23.5 inches long.

Anyway, these are pre-shot pics. I'm glad that is over...at least for 2 more months!

In other news, Will went with Mammy to Playdate today since after trying to do that, nurse every three hours, and take him to Storytime on Wednesday last week left me little time to get stuff at work done. I was so glad when she volunteered! I am sure he had a blast too!

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We made it!

2011-05-22T19:47:00.001-07:00

We successfully made it through our first week of me going back to work. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm fortunate to get to come home to nurse every three hours, so that makes it nice. Joe did a great job with the kids. We're getting a good schedule down. I'm sure pretty soon we'll have it all ironed out.

Yesterday (Friday) I took both kids with me to Avery Ranch Golf Club in Austin for our local masonry association's golf tournament. I'm the current president and since I couldn't play without having stop and pump on the course, I figured I should still show my face. Will stayed with Mom in Austin last night, but not until he got a chance to ride the "cart cart" aka golf cart. Anna and I didn't stay too long because I didn't want her to get too hot.

Joe DJ'd at our church's jr high dance Friday night. I worked around the house until he got home. Then we watched a movie, which is very rare for us to do.

It was a good first week. I'm hoping next week will be better!

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2 Months Old

2011-05-22T19:38:00.001-07:00

Wow! It's already been 2 months. I have a hard time believing it! Anna is such a blessing. It's been a great two months!

During this month she has changed quite a bit. She's started smiling, focusing on and following objects, she coos and squeels at us when she's happy, she's grown a lot, and (cross my fingers) is doing fairly well on a schedule. She is still very petite (like her Auntie Em) and can now fit into 2 pairs of shoes. We are still using the cloth diapers. Big brother Will is adjusting well to the changes and can't wait to share his blocks and tractors!

Here you are this morning all dressed up with nowhere to go!

Happy 2 Months Baby Girl! I love you!

PS I wrote this on May 17th but somehow didn't get it posted.

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First Day Back to Work

2011-05-16T20:51:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the day that I had been worrying about for 2 months.... they day I went back to work. I guess it was good that I worried and dreaded it so much because it turned out not being nearly as hard as I thought it would be.

I got out to a good start: ran, got ready VERY quickly, fed Anna, had breakfast with my boys, and managed to get to work just before 8:00. Yea! I will still be taking Will to Playdate on Monday and Storytime on Wednesday, so I have shorter days on those days, plus the time away when I go home to nurse Anna. I'm afraid that I won't get everything done every day but we'll see how it goes. I'm coming to realize that they are only this age and needing me like they do for a short time. Before I know it, they'll be grown up and won't need me anymore, so I'm trying to relish the moments and know that even though at times it is hard, I'll miss even the hard times before long.

Joe did great today with the two kids. He (pretty much) stuck to the schedule, which seemed to work well. We have a few things that we will all be working on together, but all and all, it was great.

Tonight we loaded both kids up in the stroller and went up to the high school for hamburgers. After dinner, Joe took Anna home while Will and I stayed to watch Mr. Edins (AKA Maestro to William) direct his last high school band concert after 25 years. It was fantastic and Will had a great time. What a blessing he has been to our school and community! It is sad to see him retire.

Anyway, now I'm off to bed so I get some decent sleep before we start this craziness over again!

Oh, and here is Anna on my first day back.

8 Weeks Old

2011-05-14T17:43:00.001-07:00

FYI, I wrote this on Thursday but blogger wouldn't let me post it, so it's a little delayed.

Anna Beth is already 8 weeks old. It is hard for me to believe! She is growing up so fast... and so is Will. I forgot to mention that I had registered him for preschool. Man, do I feel old!!!

Anyway, here she is...8 weeks old in her pink tutu onsie from Uncle Clark and Aunt Nancy.

And here she is smiling while Will gives her a kiss. It has taken so many tries to get a picture like this. She's just recently started smiling like this. Such a sweet moment! I love these two so much! Today has been pretty great!

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First Overnighter Without the Kids

2011-05-14T17:39:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we went to Arlington to the Rangers game with a group of great friends. We were lucky enough to be able to enjoy it in the comfort of the John Deere suite. It was great! I forgot to mention that we ate at one of my very favorite places, Papasitos. Yum! Sorry Weight Watcher, I stopped counting after the chips, salsa, and huge margarita.

Unfortunately, I didn't think to take any pictures until the end when they had a fireworks show after the game. Oh, and the Rangers did win!

It sure was nice to get away with friends...and sleep in. But it also sure was nice to see Will's smiling face and get to snuggle with Anna when we got home too.

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Wonderful Wednesday

2011-05-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is my last week of staying home. It has been a great two months. Not only have I had time to bond with Anna, but also spend a lot of time with William. When he was born I didn't really stay home that much since it was right after the fire (our office burned down when I was 8 months pregnant with him). This time, I've really enjoyed myself.

It's now coming to an end and although I'm sad because I'll be leaving them at home, I'm excited because I love work and I'm changing positions, so I have a new area of the company to learn. Plus, I'm very lucky that Joe is a stay at home Dad, who is great and I have the flexibility to still come home and nurse Anna. I'm pretty lucky!

Anyway, we are enjoying our last week home together. Today we went to Storytime at the library, went to Haile's for pizza with Will's friends, and them had them over to swim just before the much needed rain blew in. Of course, I didn't get any pictures but maybe Sara did. We really have been working on getting the schedule down for the kids. Today went fairly well. We'll see how tonight goes. Keep your fingers crossed!

Oh, and did I mention that Anna has started really smiling now. I haven't managed to get a good picture of it but this is close!

Have a great night everyone!

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Happy Mothers Day

2011-05-08T04:15:00.001-07:00

Isn't she beautiful?!? This is one of my favorite pictures of her.

I love my mom. It's hard to believe when you are growing up that your Mom will become your best friend...but I'm so glad she is! In addition to that she is also a wonderful Mammy to William and Anna Beth, just like my Grammy was.

Happy Mothers Day!

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My Little Fish

2011-05-07T09:07:00.001-07:00

Last night was Will's first time in the hot tub this year. Good times! He's not at all afraid of the water... That's good and bad!

YouTube Video

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7 weeks old

2011-05-06T13:36:00.001-07:00

Wow! Time is flying by. Today Anna is 7 weeks old. (yesterday now)

It's crazy for me to think about. And it's scary to me that next week is my last week at home with Joe and the kids. Because of that we've started "practicing" being on a schedule and getting me out the door in time to be at work at 8:00. We've been doing "Babywise." It seems to be working well. (today, not as well but we'll keep trying).

Anyway, my time here at home is coming to an end quickly. I hope we're all ready for it.

Here she is before her dr. appt today. This was Emilie and I's dress that is so soft and still in great shape! At the appt everything looked great. She weighs 10 lbs 7.5 oz, which is up from Tuesday when she weighed 10 lbs 3 oz. Yeah! Since I'm nursing, I always question if I'm giving her enough so that makes me feel good!

Today is a busy day for us. Joe is working on 2 bikes and we're having a yard sale tomorrow. Tonight we're having "Lutheran Chicken" for dinner with Mom and Dad. Will is spending the night with them tonight...he's excited because they promised to get in the hot tub tonight.

Happy Friday!

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Baby's got her blue jeans on

2011-05-03T21:41:00.001-07:00

First time to wear blue jeans today thanks to the cooler weather.

Unfortunately, we also had our first little stuffy nose to go along with it. Being the over-protective mom that I am, we went to the clinic today. They told me she was in good health but we could use Little Noses and a nose aspirator. Hopefully we all sleep a little better tonight than we did last night and this stuffy nose will go away and stop bothering my poor little girl!

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Good times in College Station

2011-04-30T20:25:00.001-07:00

Joe and Will went back to Joe's parent's lakehouse on Wednesday afternoon. I came and met them on Friday afternoon at College Station, where Emilie and Brian live. We are lucky enough to be their first overnight guests in their new house. Will even has his own room, aka the study :)

Last night we went to eat at Jason's Deli, one of Will's favorites... He always gets ice cream at the end if he eats well! We got lucky and Anna fell asleep after screaming all the way there, so we ate in peace!

You maybe can see that he eats the inside "flesh" of his pickles... Picky eater like his mommy!

Worn out!

This morning we woke up late and had pancakes for breakfast. Yum! Then I got to go eat lunch with my high school and college friend, Aime, and Emilie...kid free. Pei Wei was delightful! When we got back, the boys took a nice bike ride for a few hours. By the time they got back, it was dinner time, so we fixed spaghetti, cleaned up before heading to the yogurt place for dessert. Emilie bought Will some bubble bath and he had a blast...as you can see!

YouTube Video

Oh yeah, and I forgot the pack n play... But the laundry basket worked well.

Now the kids are asleep and Em and I are about to take the boys on in Cranium. We get to sleep late tomorrow since their church doesn't start until 11:00. Good times in College Station!

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6 weeks old

2011-04-28T19:53:00.001-07:00

Anna Beth is already 6 weeks old today. It's hard for me to believe! These pictures aren't great since they're with my phone's camera.

Good morning. I had to wake her up so we could go to my 6 weeks postpartum appointment in Waco.

All dressed up and ready to go. Her shoes stayed on for all of about 3 minutes!

The appointment went well even though she woke up and cried most of it. Then we loaded up and went to the mall for a bit of shopping. She rode contentedly in the Bjorn sleeping. Everyone smiled and told me how precious she was. It was a good day out. She loves being on the go.

When we got back to town, we went to the office so I could do a few things that had to be done. Then we came home and worked on more laundry. This time she helped!

Fussy time rolled around and we went for a walk before she ate and had her bath. Now we're quietly rocking... Hopefully to sleep for a while so I can get a few things done and go to bed too. Goodnight and happy 6 weeks birthday to my baby!

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Innerspace Caverns

2011-04-26T20:07:00.001-07:00

Nanny and Papa took us all to Georgetown to see Innerspace Caverns today. First we stopped for a picnic lunch at San Gabriel park.

Obviously we played some too.

It had been a long time since I'd seen a tire swing. Will loved it!

Anna Beth was pretty content to watch. She loves being outside!

Group shot...even though we aren't all looking.

Not a great photo but this was while we were waiting for our tour to begin.

Here we are about to ride the tram down. The "train" ride down and back might've been Will's favorite part.

Group photo. As you can see Anna got to ride comfortably the whole time in the Bjorn. What a lifesaver that thing is! She slept almost the entire time and, ironically, only woke when we turned out the lights to sit in total darkness at the bottom of the cave.

Being that I left my "real" camera at home that has a flash and my phone doesn't, this is the best picture of the actual cave that I have.

We had a great time. Will really enjoyed it, although he was a little disappointed he didn't see any trolls, monsters, or pirates!

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Good Big Brother

2011-04-23T08:12:00.001-07:00

William has been such a good Big Brother. He loves his little sister and only gets a little jealous, which is to be expected.

This was the second week she was home. He likes to stand on his stool and "help" me.

Here the two of them are dressed and ready for one of the Aggie girls' Final Four games.

Here he is playing blocks. The fireman in the white hat he has named Toby since Toby brought a fire truck over to see him just after Anna was born as a Big Brother treat.

He's one cool little man in Mommy's sunglasses.

Here he is holding her right before a Wednesday night church service for Lent.

His new favorite place to bring his cars, trucks, and tractors is Anna's room so I can watch him while I feed her.

Monday we took both kids on a walk to the "new" park, complete with picnic and a stop at Jordan's for some Bluebell. Good times!

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Storytime- popcorn

2011-04-23T00:57:00.001-07:00

I've been lucky enough to take Will to activities during the week since I'm on maternity leave still. One day at Storytime they made popcorn. I love watching the way all the kids are so different. They all crack me up at one point or another.

In this video, you can really see how much Will is like Joe... Patient and shy. He stands quietly in the back and finally says one thing: "I want some."

Also, you may notice the abundance of Aggie clothing. This was the morning after the Aggie girls' basketball team won the national title. Pretty cute!

YouTube Video

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Testing Blogpress and Sushi with Al

2011-04-22T09:18:00.001-07:00

This is a test to see if Blogpress works for my phone so I can blog...even while away from my computer.

The picture is of my brother, AKA Uncle Al and his lovely girlfriend Kelsey holding Anna Beth, who was 5 weeks yesterday. We were eating sushi at Bonzai in Austin, which was lovely for me after 9 months of abstaining. I even tried bubble tea for the first time, which was different but very tasty! Good times! We're all looking forward to a great Easter weekend, including Anna's Baptism.

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You just never know...

2011-04-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

what Will is going to do or say next.

A few days after we came home with Anna Beth, I had been pumping quite a bit since I had an over-abundance of milk. One day he pulled all his tractors up to the pump and got the hoses and declared that he was "pumping gas" into his tractors. Pretty funny :)

Then just a day or so ago he tooted and told Mammy that "he had frogs in his hiney." I got a kick out of that one too.

I know that I said I was going to post about Anna Beth, but I haven't had enough time to upload pictures. Maybe soon, but in the meantime, I wanted to make sure I recorded these two things somehow. I hope everyone's Monday is as good as mine. Will, Anna Beth and I went to Play Date at Hamilton Dance this morning and this afternoon Will and I have "nastics" (a.k.a. gymnastics). Yea!

Anna Beth Beber

2011-03-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

Well, this is slightly over due but Anna Beth Beber was born on March 17, 2011 at 4:53 PM. She weighed in at 8 lbs and 3 oz and was 19.5 inches long, although she looks much smaller than that.

I went into labor at about 1:30 on Thursday morning and told Joe at about 2:30. We called Mammy (my Mom) to come over and stay with Will, who had had a temperature and thrown up that same night. After she arrived, we headed to Waco. Once there, they monitored me to make sure I was "really in labor." After about an hour or so they determined it was real so they moved me to a room, where they got me hooked up.

For those of you who don't know, with Will I tried to do it naturally... for 46 hours before giving in to an epidural. After I had an epidural, I was able to sleep for a few hours and when I woke up I pushed for less than 10 minutes and he was here. After that experience, I decided that I would have the epidural as soon as possible this time. Wow, and was this time much better! I actually could talk to my family and it only took about 15 hours for her to get here.

Dr. Becker delivered Anna Beth since Dr. Moore was in Hamilton, where I was scheduled to have my weekly appointment. Crazy, right? Everything went smoothly though. He let me hold her on my chest right after delivery like I wanted and let Joe cut the cord as well. Anna Beth latched right on, so the nursing got started right from the beginning (I'm sure you don't all want to know that though). Mom and Emilie were there during the delivery and got some pictures for us.

After they got me all cleaned up and in a wheelchair, we sent for the family. We got a video of Will that is too cute, saying "Wake up Anna Beth."

After that, they wheeled us to our shoe box of a room and we stayed there for our first night together, while everyone else went home. Everything seemed to be going smoothly except on Friday before we were going to leave we noticed she was having a hard time breathing while nursing. They tested her oxygen levels and they were low, so we stayed another night with her hooked to the oxygen monitor. They thought it was the nasal passages blocked due to a bit of trauma during delivery and just wanted to be safe. Of course, they told me it could be some other long word too that would have to be surgically fixed, which freaked me out and made me very emotional (I'm sure it had nothing to do with the hormones either, right?).

By Saturday though, she was nursing well and her oxygen levels were up, so we FINALLY got to go home... which is a whole other blog.

Here's the pictures.

"Enjoying" myself.

Getting a big hug from big brother.

There she is.

Beautiful... and looking almost exactly like William did.

Proud Daddy.

Anxiously waiting to meet Little Sister.

Luckily Kelsey and YaYa kept him entertained pretty well.

Yea!

"Wake up Anna Bess!"

Happy family.

Such sweet kids.

Will rode with me to my room.

More blogs to come but for now I'm going to try to get little missy to lay down long enough for me to shower.

STILL here...

2011-03-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yep, folks... I'm still here in Hamilton and still pregnant. You probably don't want to read this because it's not all that exciting and I'm writing it to keep myself occupied more than anything.

Like my last post said, today was my due date and unless she is going to be here in a little more than 2 hours (which could be somewhat scary, being I have to drive to Waco to deliver), I will officially be overdue.

The upside was that my brother and sister are both here since they have Spring Break this week. We still all get together for birthday celebrations and since mine was in the middle of last week, we had it tonight. It was great. Mom fixed smoked turkey, mixed veggies, and yukon gold potatoes with onions. To top it all off was her chocolate oatmeal cake that is always served warm with a frosting very similar to German chocolate. Yum! I even managed to blow out all of the MANY candles that topped it. Guess what I wished for???

I got some new makeup from Em and Brian, which I know I will need after Anna Beth gets here to try to make myself look more presentable. Al got me a beautiful wine decanter and an awesome watch that is perfect for me. Mom and Dad gave me money already on my actual birthday with the strict instructions "not to spend it on the kids." They know me so well. Joe got me a pair of red and black Wayfarer sunglasses that I had been wanting forever. It was such a surprise because I wanted them so bad but just couldn't justify buying something like that for myself. It was a great birthday... even considering that I'm SOOO ready to have this baby!

Oh, and did I mention that I have a workaholic's version of nesting. I have almost completely cleaned my office. This might not sound like a big deal but if you had seen my office before, you'd be pretty impressed. My desk is almost completely visible. I hate housework, so I guess that cleaning my office is about as close as I'm going to get to nesting. Maybe it's a sign...

Keep your fingers crossed that maybe she will come tomorrow... I'll be praying for it!

Twas the Night before my due date...

2011-03-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Well, it's only a quarter of an hour until Anna Beth's due date. For some reason, I really thought she was going to come early. Maybe because she seems so huge... or maybe because Will was born a day before his due date.

I know that a due date is just an educated guess but still it does seem kind of like a let-down to go past it.

I'd like to have her tomorrow. I am to the point now that I am VERY tired of being pregnant. I think it's pretty obvious to everyone too. Tonight we went to Giovanni's for dinner and I had an anchovy and jalepeno cheese pizza in the hopes that it would kick her into gear. No such luck. Maybe I should've walked home. I hear that works. I know there are other options to help things along, but none of them sound very appealing at this point. I guess that means I'm not all THAT ready yet.

Anyway, stay tuned in to Facebook. Hopefully she will come soon and I can put a few pictures of her up.

39 Weeks and... Ready!

2011-03-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...

Today marks 39 weeks. Little Miss Anna Beth is due a week from today. At this point, I would not mind in the slightest if she decided to come early.

I look and feel like a blimp. My feet have finally swelled like the last pregnancy with no signs of getting deflating. Thank goodness for wide shoes! My belly has no more skin left to stretch and now looks like a road map of stretch marks. It's weird that it did't happen last time.

And best of all... my maternity clothes now either don't fit or are about to not fit. Oh, and did I mention that the nightly contractions are loads of fun. What a tease!

So, if another person asks me if I'm ready, I'm going to... Never mind.... I know that is going to happen. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and we have church. Any takers on how many times I get asked? I'm guessing 12. Who knows, maybe she'll come tomorrow. It is my birthday. I'll admit that I was selfish at first when I thought about her coming on my birthday because Mom and Dad always made it such a special day for each of us and I didn't want to share, but I now realize three things: 1. It would make it that much more special; 2. I'd never have to worry about Joe forgetting my birthday; and 3. I am so incredibly ready, that I'd love to have her tomorrow.

Oh plus, I have to tell you that when we talk about Anna Beth to Will, he has started saying "Anna Bess is coming out." That must be a sign that it's almost time!

I do have a few things that I'm still working on at work, but nothing that can't absolutely wait until I'm able to get back to it in a week or so. Also, I haven't hung a few last wall hangings in her room because I'm struggling with deciding on position. I'm not so decisive these days.... and pretty lazy as well.

But, I do have my hospital bag packed and Will's stuff packed for his trip to Mammy's (my mom) for whenever the time comes. Keep your fingers crossed that it's sooner than later.

In other non-pregnancy-related Beber news...

2011-02-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

Joe, Brian, and Alex went camping to Lake Georgetown this weekend. I think they had a good time despite a few set backs.

Will and I went to gymnastics today again. It was GREAT! I'm so glad we have that offered to us in Hamilton! Will calls it "nastics" and talked all weekend about wanting to go to it. His favorite parts are when they get to roll, run, and then do back rolls down the "cheese" (a.k.a. a big wedge pad). It was amazing how much better he did this week than last week. I'm sad because I have a Superintendents meeting next Monday night in Austin and won't get to take him. He and Joe will have a good time though.

Oh, and I have to write this because I keep meaning to record it in some way. When I talk to Will on the phone sometimes he will say "Come to Will's house Mama!" I think its the cutest and sweetest thing. I hope he'll always want me to come home to him but I'm afraid my days, like every parents', are numbered.

And, in potty training headlines... knock on wood, but Will hasn't had an accident in 4 days (except for night time). We are pretty much wearing "big boy" underwear all the time and he is pretty excited about it! Yea for progress!

Two Weeks and Counting

2011-02-28T19:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to lie... I'm tired of being pregnant. I could start listing all of the things I'd love to complain about, but I think that would be pretty boring... not to mention depressing for me.

Instead, I'll talk about all of the things that I've done and accomplished in the last few days:

1. Mom, Will, and I headed to College Station this weekend to spend some girl and Will time with Auntie Em. We had a great time and got a lot of much needed stuff for Anna Beth's room.

2. I got some new bath towels and have then freshly washed in my bathroom cabinet as an early birthday present from my Mom.

3. I got Anna's bedding all put in her bed and her room is ALMOST ready, with the exception of printing a few pictures and hanging some wall hangings. Once I'm finished with it, I'll post a picture. In case you were wondering though we are doing black, white, and hot pink. We didn't find out what Will was going to be so we decided to do the nursery in black and white so we could add an accent color once we came home with the baby. We chose red for Will. And as much as the red, black, and white combo is my favorite, I've had a pretty fun time picking out hot pink stuff to add to the black and white decor we already had in there.

4. I got Joe to get out the baby swing and its all ready to be plugged in.

5. I ordered hot pink towels after searching FOREVER for them. I would've never thought that would be a hard color to find but after going to 5 different stores in College Station, I resorted to ordering them. Thank you JCPenny's!

6. I pre-registered at the hospital today. I had almost forgotten. I'm not sure what exactly would've happened if I'd just shown up.

7. I packed Will's overnight bag for when we make our trip to the hospital.

8. I started making my list for the overnight bag for the hospital that Joe and I will take.

I was just starting to think how great it was that I got all of this accomplished and then I started thinking about all that still has to be done. I guess I don't get "nesting" like a lot of women do because I just don't feel like doing most of the things that I still need to get done. I'll think about that tomorrow though!

Keep your fingers crossed that she doesn't come early because I still have LOTS to do... although I'd probably be thankful to not be pregnant any more. Two weeks and counting tomorrow...

Random Beber Family Update

2011-02-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

So, I don't know if I've blogged about "potty training" or not but, we started doing this about two months ago. I think we started half-heartedly and didn't do a super-great job at first, not knowing what to expect. Will wasn't all that excited about it either. He'd be fine if we let him run around with a wet diaper or, later, pull up if we let him. So we didn't push him too much. With the count-down to Anna Beth getting shorter every day, we've started getting serious about it and made the transition to underwear. It's made a huge difference and today he had only one accident. Yes, I do realize that I am "that mom" that is blogging about potty training, but I did want to mark this in our family history somehow. Plus, if you could hear the singing toilet, you'd probably think it was pretty funny how excited two grown ups can get about a little bit of "tee, tee" or "poo, poo."

In other Beber news, I did something I very rarely do... I took off work early today. Will and I went to gymnastics. Yes, little old Hamilton has a 2 year old gymnastics class. Amazing, right? It was interesting to say the least, for me to be trying to get on the ground helping him out in the very large condition I am in now, but we had a great time. I hope that I can make it to take him more often. I'm certainly going to try.

And finally, Joe successfully ran and finished the Austin Marathon this weekend. He ran a 3:29, which is awesome... especially considering that last week he was sick with a horrible sinus infection and some sort of leg injury. He stubbornly refused to throw in the towel and went ahead and ran in it though. And did awesome! He still hopes to qualify for Boston, but with the hills in the Austin route, we've all determined that it is not a great course for qualifying race. So... after he recovers from what we are afraid now may be a stress fracture, I suppose he'll start training again for another. I'm super proud of him though.

Oh, and I'm still pregnant... and getting bigger by the hour it feels like. If I had a dollar for every time someone asks me when I'm due, how far along I am, how much longer, etc. OR says "I bet you're ready," "Are you ready?," "Wow, you're getting pretty big," "Are you sure there is just one in there?," "You really have that much longer?," or "You look like you're about to pop any day now, huh?", etc. I would be rich. I was at a shower that I was helping to host for a family friend and I started thinking of how I could help people out by simply making a tag that reads the following:

I'm due March 15th. It's a little girl, we think, and her name is Anna Beth. Yes, I'm ready to have her any day now. Yes, I already have a little boy named Will and he is about 2.5 years and is excited about having a little sister, but may not completely understand when we bring her home.

Seriously though, I'm just joking. I know that it is only natural for people to ask the questions that lead to the above statement. I know I ask pregnant people the same questions. It's just humorous to me. I'm going to a wedding on March 5th and I'm going to keep a tally. By then I should be really ripe for the questioning!

Top 5 Positives of Being Huge...

2011-02-15T19:37:00.000-08:00

"Pregnant huge", that is. Here are my top 5 positives, not in any particular order.

1. Since yesterday my ankles have been slightly swollen. I've been expecting this any day now since last time I looked like the Michelin Woman for about 3.5 months while carrying Will around. Anyway, what you may ask is the positive to this? Well, when I attempted to shave my legs I did not have to be very careful since my ankles don't have much bony area to worry about. This is a good thing since even reaching my ankles is quite an effort on its own. So, yea for swollen ankles.

Poor flip flops :)

2. Have you ever watched the Ernest goes to _______ (don't know which one) movie that shows him picking out his clothes from the closet? Well, in case you haven't, his closet is full of the same exact outfits... which, in real life, would make it much easier to pick out your clothes. Well, my closet is kind of like that right now. I've even grown out of some of my maternity shirts, unless I want to show a little bit of Anna Beth peeking out between my pants and the bottom of my shirt (not a pretty picture). So, picking out clothes is much easier. I only have a few selections clean at any given time. Easy most days.

3. People pick things up for you. Towards the beginning and middle of the pregnancy it was somewhat irritating when people would tell me "don't lift anything." Now that I'm this huge, I gladly accept help. Thanks kind people.

4. People are nice and tell you how cute you are when you look in the mirror every day and wonder if your body will ever be the same. It's the only time in my life that it will be ok for me to be this large or weigh this much.

5. Being this huge means that I will soon get to hold my little girl. I'm so excited about that!

Oh, and one bonus positive... the big tummy makes a great tray for setting a plate of food on while sitting down. Good night all!

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth...

2011-02-12T19:37:00.000-08:00

BUT, if I get any bigger, I might. Tuesday I will be at 36 weeks pregnant with only one measly month left. Crazy, right?

Some days this pregnancy seems like it has flown by and then some days (or even hours) it seems like the end can't come any sooner. They tell you that every pregnancy is different but I don't think I knew exactly what that meant until I actually started experiencing it. Anna Beth must be a LOT different than William. I'm so excited to see what she's like outside! At the same time, I'm pretty nervous. I think I've already gone into this on another blog, so I won't go into it and bore you to death.

Things have been crazy busy around here. Work has been VERY busy, as we've had lots of changes and I'm trying to get ready to take off a little time once Anna Beth gets here. In addition to that, I'm still trying to go through Will's stuff to see what we can use of his clothes, etc. Luckily, last time we didn't find out what we were having so we did the room in black and white. Then we added red to it. This time I'll just be adding pink and shifting the red stuff to Will's big boy room (which I don't think I've posted about yet but need to). I still have a long way to go, but I'm trying to get a little bit done every day without totally overwhelming myself.

On another note, Will is getting to be such a big boy. I won't go into details but we are in the process of potty training. He's doing pretty well. He's talking so much. Actually, sometimes we can't get him to stop! It's great and he cracks me up. He's got such a little personality and his smile could light up anyone's day I think. Of course, I could be a bit partial, but I still think he's a pretty cute little boy. He gives Anna Beth kisses and lays his head down on my tummy. I don't think he's managed to actually feel her move yet (which is amazing since she could very well be a famous soccer player some day). He is too impatient, just like his Mommy.

Anyway, things are good here for the most part. My clothes are starting to hate me... and the feeling is mutual. I think everyone that has to be around me for more than a few hours will be glad once I have this baby. I know I will! Now I'm off to sleep (or something like it)!

Christmas Tree Decorating 2010

2011-01-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

We decorated our tree the first week of December. We probably would've early but we had a delay after our base broke last year and we forgot to replace it until we got ready to put it up this year. It's hard to find a base for a 9ft artificial Christmas Tree.

This year Will actually really enjoyed it. He really got into decorating a lot more, which was pretty fun.

This year I bought a lot more "shatterproof" ornaments (have you wondered why they don't just call them plastic???).

Showing off.

Here's his tractor ornament.

Placing a star somewhere up top.

Concentrating on getting it done.

Showing me where something should go.

Daddy put the star on top.

He liked putting them all in one spot.

Here he is after helping me decorate what he call's "Will's Tree"

This Christmas was so much fun with Will this year!