Looks like I beat my record for time between posts. This time of year is always so busy and this year even more so while I work on the photography thing along with getting ready for the wedding on top of the normal Christmas stuff.

To be completely honest, I haven't taken very many pictures Here are a few snaps of what the last few days have been all about.


Julian is an applesauce fiend!!




Playing in "snow" at the mall with Aunt Natalie.


Waiting anxiously for Santa.


Visiting with Santa. At first he wasn't sure what to think but they became friends in the end!


Merry Christmas to you all!

Are you sitting down??

You ready for this shocking revelation???


I have taken almost NO pictures of Julian in over a WEEK!

Seriously?!?!?! I wouldn't toy with your emotions this way!! I have been SO BUSY with work, photo shoots and holiday parties that my poor camera needed a break! But not to worry, I am here.....just in the nick of time......to give you your Julian fix!

It was Adrian's birthday last weekend. We spent it in Sugar Land since we had two parties out that way. We made it to the first party (Josh an Jake Kennington's graduation party) but didn't make it to the second. On Saturday I had two photo shoots and after those were done we went to dinner to celebrate Adrian's aging. On Sunday it was one more photo shoot and back home for us.

The only pictures taken of Julian were on Sunday. While he was playing with Nana's glasses and later on when he was eating the Salsa at lunch like it was going out of style. He is Adrian's baby for sure......the spicier the salsa....the more he loves it!

This weekend is super busy as well so I am not sure how many snaps of him I will get. Until then, enjoy the sweet pictures of my silly little boy.

Rocking Nana's glasses!
Julian....so happy to have the salsa all to himself!
Going to town on it!

And going.....

We literally had to take it away from him.....or he would have eaten all of it!

Porthsmouth!

Not even sure if I shared it on this blog but it was about this time last year when Julian found something we said consistently funny. Sure, at this point he would giggle at some things for a while, but even if something was funny at the moment, by the next day or so.....it was no longer funny. Then one night Adrian said the word Portsmouth with a heavy emphasis on the P and Julian LOST IT. He thought it was the funniest thing ever. So of course, just as with all other things he found to be hilarious, we kept trying it. To this day he hasn't tired. We count it as our first glimpse at his sense of humor.

When all else fails to get a smile or a giggle that a quick Portsmouth is all it takes. Tonight I was trying to play with my camera (surprise, surprise) and he wouldn't look, smile, or even show any signs of registering that Adrian and I were even talking to him. All it took was one Portsmouth and J was back. But this time, not only did he laugh but he tried to say it as well. What an amazing amount of growth this little man has had over the last year.........from a baby who found something consistently funny to one who can nearly say the word himself. When I look at him I know that God is good. Mommy loves you and your super awesome sense of humor sweet boy!

Julian 1/2 laughing and 1/2 trying to say Portsmouth.

He is STILL obsessed with Diesel's kennel......sigh.

Being silly at school.

It may appear that he is innocently standing there. NOT TRUE I tell ya. That is him mid "bounce" against the door. One of his favorite things to do (and show the other kids how to do) at school!

Goodnight Moon

Julian LOVES books. One of his favorites at the moment is Goodnight Moon. The past few nights (after we are done reading it to him) he reads it to us. I just love hearing his babbling rendition in his sweet little voice. I could never get tired of that.

In the dog house.....literally.....

It was bound to happen. Julian sees Diesel's kennel every day. He likes helping us lock the dogs up before we leave and take them out when we get back home. He has poked around but it wasn't until today that he realized that he could get inside and shut the door. Poor Diesel....even his sacred place is no longer. He didn't want to get out of it......and once we made him all he wanted to do the rest of the day was go back in.

How to explain to my innocent, almost 18 month old that he will have many, many more opportunities to get into the dog house?? And, that the doghouse is never a fun place to be??? Oh boys...........

Time to create a new "no kennel for babies" rule.
He would shut the door and just sit there and stare at us. Silly boy!

Yesterday, the weather was BEAUTIFUL.....high 70's and little humidity however, Julian had some sort of 24 hour stomach flu and spent the day vomiting inside. :( By this morning the "cold" front had blown in and we spent a few minutes outside playing (since the high was only 62). He enjoyed every minute of it of course.

So happy pushing a broom around the driveway (I can only hope that he has this enthusiasm when he gets older.........).

Playing in the front yard.

Watching Mitch and Rebecca get a new roof on their house.

Another week has passed. By the time this one ends my sweet baby boy will be a year and a half old. Where does the time go???

Seriously?? How can anyone take so much cuteness??

Since I made you wait so long for a new post I will reward you with two dashes of cuteness. Have a great rest of the week!

Back on Track!

I have been a naughty Mommy again!

The last week and a half has been a whirlwind. We went to Austin for a visit with Grandma and Grandpa, then had Abuelo, Abuela and Tio Jacob come for a week long visit. During that time we celebrated Thanksgiving at Aunt Carla's place. Julian had some sort of virus but it seems to be on it's way out. This week our time has been spent recovering from all the fun. Honestly, I haven't had time to pick up my Camera to shoot some pictures of this sweet boy since last Saturday. These few will have to hold you over until I can get some more. Enjoy!

Julian playing with Tio Jacob.
Swinging away on Thanksgiving Day.

Some fun with Daddy time.

Last Saturday we had some family photos taken. Not often we get these priceless shots. Going to have to make a point to do it more often!

Julian and Mommy. Love this boy!

Weekend on the go!

We had a super busy weekend. Friday night it was to Austin. On Saturday Adrian was in San Antonio helping Natalie move while Hirma, Julian and I took care of some wedding planning in Austin.

On Saturday night as we waited for Adrian and Natalie get home, Julian took to sweeping grandma's house for about 40 minutes. Mom didn't interfere though.....he was happy and doing a great job!

This morning just before we left we played with Aunt Natalie's beanie. Julian was all smiles as always.

Here is Julian's attempt at putting it on. LOL.

Although the visit was quick, we had a great time. As of tonight, Abuelo, Abuela and Tio Jacob are in town. Good times with family. What a blessed life we lead.

Joy

JOY–noun
1. the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying; keen pleasure; elation.

That is the first word that comes to mind when I think of what Julian brings to my life. Of course as with any child there is always a certain amount of worry, fear, frustration, elation, happiness and fun. But overall, day in and day out there is JOY.

Today, Julian came home from school early. There is a nasty bug causing fevers and over half of the kids in his class have caught it......including J apparently. Not that you would EVER know by looking at him. He was happy, energetic, smiling and best of all.....SILLY.

My Tinkerbell beanie was sitting on the stairs and Julian found it a perfect opportunity to get silly.

He was so proud of himself for getting it on his head.
I just want to eat him up.....is that so bad?
Then he REALLY got silly and pulled it over his eyes. He walked around pushing his lawnmower with it over his eyes.....just laughing hysterically.

Which made Mommy laugh hysterically.

I mean seriously?? How could a face like this bring anything but absolute JOY to your life???

I was busy snapping away and I decided that it was a perfect opportunity to practice my collage making skills.

With every day that passes the amount of Joy I get from this gift from God increases. Is there such a thing as a Joy overdose??? Oh well.......I will take my chances.

Yo Gabba Gabba

It is a well know fact that Julian LOVES him some Yo Gabba Gabba and that lately his vocabulary has been exploding. Courtesy of those two things comes this video. This kid cracks me up constantly.

The Mom Club

Oh the Mom club. Even from an early age I knew I wanted in.

I had it all planned out......find a great guy, get married, buy a house and then 2.5 kids.....that is how it goes right? Well in my head it did.

HAHAHA. Life had other plans. Turns out that life isn't always the way I plan it. After a PCOS diagnosis I learned that children may not be so easy to come by for me. I pictured children by a certain age but that age came and went and friends who hadn't even thinking about kids had 2 and 3 and I still sat with none.

Years passed and I grew apart from those friends. We kept in touch but they had Mom club memberships and I couldn't get in. There was no way I could comprehend what a life centered around a family was. No way to know what true unconditional love was or the way your love for your partner would grow after the birth of your child. Sure, I thought I knew. I was pretty certain of it actually. It hurt to see my friends at a place where I wanted so desperately to be. It made me feel sad and left behind.

Fast forward a few (okay six or more) years or so and I got my card!! I am finally in and it is more fantastic than even I could have imagined. But I never knew that even those that were in the club can feel left behind. All of a sudden my childless friends disappeared. I don't get as many invites for dinner or pedicure runs or shopping sprees. At times it makes me feel sad and left behind.

I know that someday my new, childless friends will be in the club and we will reconnect just as my old friends and I did. I sure hope that I am as forgiving and understanding as my child having friends were when I gained my admission.

In the grand scheme of things though.........the MOM club is AWESOME. It is so worth the worry it takes before you make it in and the worry it brings once you do. The benefits of membership are amazing. Not only do you get the deeper sense of love for your partner and the true meaning of unconditional love but you find this network of sisters who have been or will be where you are today. You share an honorable journey together and that journey is the most important one I will ever take.

So to those who made it into the club before I did.....thank you for waiting patiently for me and thank you for sharing your wisdom when my time came. For those of you who aren't here yet, I will be waiting patiently for you and I can't wait for the day you get your admission.

My Golden ticket. I hit the jackpot with this little man.

I love the Mom Club and I wouldn't change any of it. Not a detail or a minute. If the end result of all of the decisions I made (good and bad) got me to where I am today I would do it again in an instant. The treasure that is J is so worth it.

Down with the sickness.

No.....really...DOWN with the sickness. I am sick and tired of my poor boy being sick (maybe not so much tired). It was back to the ER for us last Friday evening. Our poor J was diagnosed with Bronchiolitis. For those not familiar it is an inflammation of the smaller airways in the lungs. Some cold or virus came along and the end result (once the cold was gone) was this inflammation. Our sweet boy was having a hard time breathing so he has been on a mix of steroids, nebulizer treatments and antibiotics in a joint effort to make him 100% again.

Here is where my frustration remains....it seems that this kid is sick at least once every six weeks. It is just so frustrating. The doctors (and others) say things like "yes, that is a daycare baby" and I do know that 99.9% of it comes from there. I can usually see it in other children for a few days before Julian gets whatever the latest bug is. They tell me things like "he will be the healthy one come school time". I try to believe it but it is just so hard when you have the others that say "Man, he sure is sick all the time". Some days it seems like he is sick all the time. My knee jerk reaction is to take him out of daycare. But then reality sets in......

1. I can't afford to stay at home. It would be Adrian and as wonderful as he would be, we can't afford that either.
2. Moving him into an in home daycare/nanny situation would be an option except I just don't know if I could trust a stranger to watch my child without the standards and requirements that centers have in place.
3. We looked high and low and we LOVE our current daycare center and so does Julian. The staff is amazing and Julian feels so loved there. Not to mention that we think they have an amazing curriculum.

Therefore, we stay the course. So basically.....all my whining is in vain....but I appreciate you listening to it. It does make me frustrated when he is sick. Nobody wants to see their little one hurting. I hope that this passes quickly and that he stays well for a while.

Julian spent his weekend doing some of his favorite things: Hanging with Nana, Watching Yo Gabba Gabba and eating a snack.
He played with his BFF Diesel.
He hung out in a box.

Today I took the day off and Julian and I hung out. At the end of the day Brandon and Maria came for a visit. Here is a picture of the boys. It cracks me up because it is so them. It is so fun watching them grow together.

Taking his breathing treatment before bed. He is taking them like a champ.

Tonight, as he was going to bed I rocked him. I just love loving on my baby boy. I don't get enough days like today. Days where he is with me (and not at a germ infested daycare) just hanging out. He is getting bigger and bigger each day and I plan to hold him and rock him and love on him as long as I can. I will love him forever, I will like him for always. As long as I live, my baby he will be.

Happy Veteran's Day!

I just wanted to take this time to wish our friends and family a very happy veteran's day. The sacrifices you and your family make for me and mine are immeasurable. We are blessed to call you friends, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. We are grateful daily for all you do.

Plus.....today gives Julian the opportunity to dress up in his Navy outfit. Courtesy of his grandpa who is still serving today.

Happy Veteran's Day.

Texas Big Beat

Sunday was the Texas Big Beat. An all day event that is the culmination of a period of fundraising for music programs in schools and for music scholarships for underprivileged children.

Julian went to visit Daddy for the last few hours and he had such a good time. It was LOUD in there. Over 100 drummers in an airplane hangar. We had to protect the little man's hearing and it took several different methods before we found one (putty plugs in his ears) he would accept.

Attempt #1......Ear Muffs. That lasted about 2 minutes.
Jamming out with Daddy.

I think we may have a future drummer in our house! Just check out that form!

Mid afternoon J needed a break so it was a lot of pushing the stroller in and out of the hangar for him.

With the occasional break to spot airplanes. We were at the airport after all.

It was such a great day for such a great cause. I hope that Adrian (and someday Julian) can make a yearly event of it. It always feels so good to be able to give back.

Dewberry Farm

This past Saturday morning we spent the day at Dewberry Farm. There was so much to do there! Petting zoo, corn maze, hay rides, pony rides, playgrounds, BBQ and so much more. Julian had such a good time running around, getting dirty and being a boy.

We started at the playground where Julian's favorite was the tire swing shaped like a horse.
We spent a GOOD amount of time at the hen house where Julian watched the anamatronic chickens sing some of his favorite nursery rhymes. He would have sat there all day if I had let him.

Daddy and Julian got to "ride" well really.....sit on a John Deere tractor. Julian had fun turning the wheel from side to side.

We spent some time in the 4 acre corn maze. Julian had so much fun running down the paths.

After that it was snack and hay ride time. Mommy actually came out from behind the lens for this one.

It really was a great day. J had such a blast at the farm. We learned a lot from our day. 1. Dewberry farm is an all day event. A couple of hours is not nearly enough. 2. Pack a picnic, the food is good, but pricey and the way to go seems to be to bring your own and picnic half way through the day. 3. This feels much like a family tradition for every year. Julian LOVED it!

This is my favorite time of the year. I love the time with family, cooler weather, snuggling up, yummy food and laughter. By far, the best part of it is the laughter. Something Julian seems to be filled from head to toe with. BEAUTIFUL, Infectious laughter.