Christmas "Birth Stories"

Hey, all.  I probably linked to this post last year, but it is a favorite of mine.  Maybe it's just that I have had a new baby the last two Christmases.  Maybe it's that God is showing me more and more how good He is. 

Enjoy, and be blessed!

http://itsalmostnaptime.blogspot.com/2009/12/birth-stories.html

Merry Christmas!

Myla's 2nd Birthday Party

     I am so not the awesome party-throwing mom.  I kept going back and forth on whether to have a big family party for Myla since her birthday is smack-dab between Christmas and Thanksgiving (i.e. we already have big gatherings, and it's just a busy season).
     My brilliant mom informed me, "Katy, her birthday is going to be on December 8th every year."  Oh, right.  Deal with it.
     We threw around a couple of ideas and ended up with the perfect little low-key event: a trip to the park and some presents/grub at Kris and Al's house.  I felt a little twinge of mama guilt when we walked in and Kristen had put up cute Minnie Mouse decorations everywhere!  Myles loved it.  Naturally, I stole all these photos from PawPaw.

 Piper, riding in style.

 Aunt Kristen was recruited for some team sliding.

 I guess it was more tiring than she remembered. :)

 Myla has never seen the world from quite this high.

 Sitting up is hard!

 A brief moment of sharing the birthday girl's chair...

 The menu included the birthday girl's favorite things: Mac-n-cheese and bread.

 She now wants to blow out every candle everywhere.

I would say she had a good time, and she's pretty obsessed with that Minnie Mouse chair.  See?

The Guardian

Someone around here watches the baby even more closely than I do...

The Graduate

     Today, my family is driving to Fort Worth to watch my cousin's graduation and nurse pinning at TCU.  I assume the pinning will look something like this:

 

     Have I mentioned I'm super excited?  There are only 5 first cousins on my mom's side of the family.  Erin is the baby.  She is the 5th and final graduate of our generation.  I bet you can identify at least two of these kids!

     Erin is an only child who was never alone.  She was the baby whose parents drove her around for hours to get her to sleep at night.  She ran around stark naked until the age of 3.  She was tearing up the ski slopes at the age of 4.  She was the little girl who opened Santa's presents at her house on Christmas morning then brought them to the family gathering to open them again in front of a larger audience.  She is the girl who went through a lot to get where she is today.  She turned into one of the most beautiful, caring young ladies the world has ever seen right before our eyes.
     We love you BIG, Erin.  Can't wait to see you graduate!  Any little kid would be lucky to have you as a nurse.  Your mama would be so proud.

 

 

 

One is Never Enough

All I did was ask Myla to bring Piper a toy...

A Yummy Snack-- Under 100 Calories!

At least Piper thinks so...

Two years ago today...

God made me a mama. I'll never forget how it still felt fake when the doctor told me to push (thanks, epidural). I'll never forget how they handed me a baby and I was wondering what in the heck would I do with this baby?!

Proof:

I'll never forget how you and your dad slept like this on the hospital couch because he couldn't bear to let you spend your first night in a tupperware box. (By the way, we put your sister in that tupperware, and we even let the nice nurses take her away for a couple hours. But that's another story).

The time has definitely FLOWN by:

Dear Myla,
      I love the gap between your two front teeth. I love your face. You are starting to pronounce words really well, but I'll always remember how you used to call yourself "My-my," your sister "Pipey Joey," and your Aunt Kristen "Aunt Titties" (a personal favorite). You were such an easy baby that I figured I could totally do the mom thing LOTS of times (currently redefining what "lots" might mean). You are a perfectionist. You study things and want to know how they work just like your dad. You are slow to warm up to people, and you do things at your own pace. You are funny and a great helper. You take good care of your little sister and seem very concerned on the rare occasions when I take you somewhere and leave her with Dad. I remember when I was at the hospital after Piper was born, and Nana and PawPaw brought you to meet her. I almost broke into tears when you walked in the door because I missed you so much! I'm glad you're my baby.

Happy birthday, Myla Grace! We love you! Being your mama is the best job in the world. Now stop coming into my room at 5:00am every morning!

Remember How I Started Baking Bread?

   Well, I did.  I mean, for the past 6 weeks or so, I have not purchased any bread at the store.  I have been making a batch of 3 loaves every couple weeks to satisfy my need for peanut butter toast every sngle morning along with Myla's love of PBJ sandwiches.

   I was keeping up with it and even feeling a twinge of pride at my accomplishments!  I'm pretty good at this!  I mean let's be honest: this is about as Pioneer Woman as I may ever get.

   Then, my last batch of identically sized loaves looked like this:

Hmm, it seems as though the Livingston Bakery now features Humble Pie...

Little Buddies at the Park

 

    During Thanksgiving break this year, we made it out to Brazos Bend State Park with some friends!  I didnt get any pictures with the other kiddos (I was stuffing my face with picnic food my hands were full), but here are a few with Myla's little buddy, "Meeya."  Also, we saw no alligators, whew!

    Myla is passionate about sandwiches, so the kiddie picnic table was the first stop. 

 



 What's that?  You don't use a Wonder Bread sandwich tupperware from the dollar bin?  You should probably get one.

P.S. These five minutes were the total time "Meeya" spent sitting down.

And obviously, Piper was riding in style. 

   After picnicking and playing on the playground (and a dabble into archery by the menfolk), we set out on a "short walk" which accidentally turned into a 2+ mile walk with a 4-year-old, an 11-year-old, three 2-year-olds, one wagon that holds two said 2-year-olds nearing nap time, an infant, 6 parents, and zero strollers.  It was a good time.  Our friend ended up holding a sleeping Myla while Dave jogged off to get a truck and rescue us. 

    You read that right.  Dave jogged.

    But we all lived to tell the tale!  You know, after a few sessions of therapy each.