Scott's Birthday!

Last night we went out to celebrate's Scott's big 3-0! We went to eat at Saltgrass then came back to Scott and Michelle's house for some yummy ice cream cake to celebrate! Here are some cute pics from last night!










The girls playing!

Our trip to Seattle!

We're back!! We got back into Houston at 12 midnight on Sunday. We had an amazing trip to Seattle and we were so glad to be a part of Wes and Kyle's wonderful wedding!! As always I took a TON of pictures, so I will let the pictures show you everything that we did. It was a fast and furious trip, but we had soooo much fun. Thanks so much to our wonderful hosts and tour guides, Lauren and Greg! You guys are amazing!!

On Thursday morning we started off by going to see Snoqualme Falls. It's only about 20 minutes from Lauren and Greg's house. It is a huge waterfall and so cool to look at!

Watching the amazing waterfall.


Me and my little munchkin at Snoqualme Falls.


After the falls Lauren took us on a driving tour of Seattle and showed us all around. After seeing all the sites we went to eat at McCormicks on Lake Union. The restaurant was on the water with windows everywhere so that you could see the beautiful view. Across the lake we could see the house boat that Jason from the Bachelor "supposedly" lives at. We also saw seaplanes landing on the water. It was really neat and we had a great lunch!

Outside on Lake Union after lunch.


After lunch Lauren had to go to work, so Greg took over as our tour guide. He first took us to Golden Gardens beach. It is a really pretty public beach and during the summer there are tons of campfires and people out everywhere. There were some windsurfers out the day we went.

Me and Jayda at Golden Gardens Beach.


After the beach we stopped at the locks. This is where the salmon come through every year. They use the ladder to swim up stream to spawn.

The fish ladder. The salmon weren't running when we went, but it was still neat to see.


Suzie and Jayda in front of the huge yacht we saw at the locks.


Thursday night Laurens parents, Cathy and Jerry, were so sweet and invited us over for dinner (sorry I don't have any pictures). Jerry cooked some delicious salmon for everyone and Cathy made us some wonderful appetizers and sides to go with our salmon. It was nice to see them and for Doug and Suzie to see where they live. Thank you guys SO much for opening up your home to us!

On friday morning we got an early start and headed out to Pike Place Market. This is one place you have to go when you go to Seattle. The have all kinds of stuff for sale at the market like fish, fruit, veggies, crafts, jewelry, flowers, and much more! It's so fun to walk through and look at everything. It is a very cultural experience!

Me and mom in front of the Pike Place Fish Co. This is the place that is known for the fish throwing.


All of us at the fish market.


Right outside of the market this guy was making balloons for kids.

Jayda with the guy that made her balloon (she was a little scared of him!)


After the market we headed down to the Crab Pot to eat lunch down on the water. At this place you order whatever mix of seafood you want and they bring a big pot of it and dump it out on the table. Then you use a little cutting board and gavel to crack open all of the seafood. I was not a big fan of the place, but Jacob, his dad and Greg loved it!

Jacob and his dad ready to dive in to some seafood at the Crab Pot.


After lunch we took everyone to the space needle. This is another must see in Seattle. It is so high up and has the most amazing view of the city. You really can see everything!

Jacob and I on top of the space needle.


Friday afternoon we headed down to Tacoma where Wes and Kyle's wedding was. Friday night Jacob and Lauren went to the wedding rehearsal and then picked Greg and myself up for the rehearsal dinner. The dinner was great and it was fun to see everyone and chat and get excited for the wedding! Big thanks to Oma, Nanna and Pawpaw for watching miss Jayda for us!

On saturday morning Jacob left in the limo to do his groomsmen duties. The wedding started at 1 p.m. and we arrived just before Kyle walked down the isle, whew! The wedding was beautiful and they had a really nice ceremony. We were all so glad to be there for it! After the wedding they had a reception at a local country club. Everything was really pretty and we all had a ball dancing the night away! Congrats Wes and Kyle and thank you for letting us join in your special day!

The beautiful bride and groom dancing to their first song.


Jayda dancing with Kyle at the wedding reception.


The 3 of us dancing, Jayda was loving it!


Posing for a pretty picture outside at the reception site.


On saturday night we drove back from Tacoma to Seattle to stay at Lauren and Greg's house. Sunday morning we got up early so that we could get a lot done before having to leave later that day. We started the day off by eating breakfast at the 5 Spot. It is the best breakfast place EVER and we always go there when we go to Seattle. Most people got the cinnamon swirl french toast (Lauren's favorite) and as always it was amazing, basically like desert for breakfast! After the 5 Spot we all went down to Kerry Park. This is the best view of Seattle by far and a great spot to take pictures!

The picture we always take at Kerry Park.


Jacob and I with our favorites at Kerry Park.


My mom and Jacob's parents had a flight to catch at 1 p.m. on sunday so they headed out for the airport. Our flight didn't leave until 6 p.m., so we stayed behind with Lauren and Greg. We first went to the Seattle Aquarium. We figured Jayda would have a blast and of course she did. She loved seeing all the fish and different animals and ran around like a little wild indian! She even got a whale painted on her hand!

Jayda playing on the otter at the aquarium.


Outside of the aquarium on the water.


Showing off her pretty whale.


She was so excited to get a whale painted on her hand!


After the aquarium we headed over to the Westlake shopping center to get some shopping done. I had never been to Tiffany & Co., so we all went in there to look around. Of course I didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look. After that Lauren and I went to H&M and let me tell you I love that store! It's like a Forever 21, but a little better quality and very trendy. I really hope we get one of these stores in Houston!! Lauren and I tried on a ton of clothes while the boys and Jayda walked around the store anxiously waiting for us to get done! By the time we finished it was time for us to head to the airport. Thanks so much to everyone that made this trip possible and to everyone that opened up their homes to us. We appreciate you all so much and can't wait to see you next time!

One sick little Valentine!

Little miss Jayda has been sick with something since last Thursday. Thankfully she is doing much better today! She ran a high fever all weekend and had a runny nose, but not many other symptoms. I took her to the Dr. on Friday afternoon and they couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. The only things the Dr. said it could be is 1) A reaction from her MMR vaccine a few weeks ago, which sometimes causes fever or 2) A virus. I'm still not really sure what it was, but I'm sooooo glad she's better now! Poor thing was on tylenol and motrin every 3-4 hours for 3 days straight! Anyways, I'm trying to get her little body back to normal and healthy since we're leaving for Seattle on wednesday afternoon! Hooray!! We are so excited about our friends Wes and Kyle getting married this weekend and we can not wait to go and celebrate!!

On Valentines day we decided to go out to Barnes and Noble because I had been waiting all week to get Jacob and Jayda a Valentines book. It was so nice to get out of the house, especially since Jayda and I had been in the house since wednesday morning!! Jayda got a set of 4 adorable touch and feel books and Jacob picked out a good book. We had fun looking around the bookstore and Jayda loved playing in the kids section! After we finished there Jacob called in some Johnny Carinos for us to pick up. I'm so glad he did since Jayda was sick and it was raining outside! And, since I hadn't gotten much sleep recently (being up with Jayda most of the night) I sure was not in the mood for making a big fancy dinner. We came home and had a delicious candle lit dinner with our sick little munchkin. Even though it wasn't what we had planned for Valentines, it turned out to be just as nice! Hope everyone has a great week and I'll be putting pictures up next week of our Seattle trip!

Jayda all dressed up before Valentines.


Jayda and Riley dressed up in their Valentines outfits a few days before V-Day.


Jayda painting her Valentines hearts.


Mommy helping Jayda paint her hearts, she loved this!


Jayda got a new baby doll from Daddy for Valentines and some Valentines jewelry from mommy.


Daddy got her a my little pony too.


Mommy and Jayda on Valentines.



Daddy and Jayda on Valentines.


Jayda with pigtails this morning before our trip to the grocery store.

Mama has a new hair do too!

So, after realizing that I haven't been taking care of myself as much as I should be, I decided to get a totally new hair do! I realized that I have been spending so much time and effort taking care of the babe and the hubby that I often forget to take care of ME! I wanted a big change and I wanted a hairstyle that would make me do my hair everyday, feel good about myself, and feel like putting on make up to go out! Ok, I know some of you may not understand this feeling and are probably thinking: "What in the world are you talking about?!", but all you mommys out there surely will understand! So many times I feel like I don't have the time to take care of myself because I am SO busy worrying about how the other 2 in our family are doing or feeling or hungry or tired or if they need a hair cut or if they need new clothes or shoes etc., etc., etc.!! So, I have decided it's time to think about myself a little too! Of course I don't mean putting myself above everyone else all the time, just sometimes, occasionally, I've got to think about me. And, I'm glad I realized this whole thing because I also realized that if I forget to think about myself, I in turn am not happy, which in turn makes me not be the best mommy and wife I can be! So, for all you moms out there reading this, remember to take time out for you, and only you, because you truly do deserve it!

Wordless Wednesday

Recent Happenings!

First I have to show you all Jayda's new do. We were over at Ri-ri's house the other day and the girls were playing dress up. Michelle put a bow in Jayda's hair and she loved it! So, Ri-ri gave Jayda some bows to borrow (since mommy doesn't have her any bows because she used to always pull them out so it was pointless to even try) and she loves wearing bows now! Who wouldv'e figured? She points to it all the time and tells you that she's wearing a bow. It's so nice that she likes them now and will leave them in! Now we have to start collecting bows!

Jayda's new do!


Posing for a picture.


For whatever reason I feel like Jayda has grown up overnight! I felt like this back when she was 6 months old and there were lots of changes going on with her, and I feel the same way now that she's 1 1/2. It's not a bad thing, it just hit me hard recently that she is really growing up to be a big girl! She is now sleeping in her OWN room! Hallelujah! Most nights she is even sleeping through the night! It is so nice to have her in her own room now! The next step will be moving her out of her pack n play to her toddler bed, but I'm sure it will happen when she's ready. She is pretty much off of bottles (besides the one I give her at night because I'm paranoid she's not getting enough calcium), but that will probably not last very long. She only has her paci when she's sleeping or in the car and she even puts it down on her pillow when she wakes up. She's wearing a pony tail! She's going potty on the toilet! She likes to pick out what shoes she's going to wear! It's all so crazy, but also so nice for mama to have some more freedom!

We have been pretty busy lately doing all kinds of fun stuff with Jayda! To start the week off we had playgroup on tuesday morning. We recently joined a playgroup with some ladies and their kids from church and Jayda loves getting to play with everybody. And, it's really nice for me to talk to other moms, get advice, share stories about our kiddos and just be ourselves. We are loving it! We are alternating playgroup between our houses and fun places around here like Chick-Fil-A, parks, playgrounds, etc. On Thursday we went to toddler time at the library and that was a ton of fun. All the moms bring their little toddlers and the librarians read books to them, sing songs, do puppet shows and even have a craft for the kids to do at the end. Jayda and Riley had a lot of fun singing, playing, and making their polar bears. Then on friday we went to a new place called Stomping Grounds. It is an indoor playground for kids and they have a toddler area and a big kids area. They also have a coffee shop and cafe for the adults to get food and drinks and chat with their friends. Jayda was in little kid heaven at this place! She LOVED it sooo much and did not stop playing for 3 straight hours, besides to get a small snack and drink for about 10 minutes. It only costs $5 to get in and you can stay all day. Adults can also get in the play area and climb around, so of course I did and Jayda loved me chasing her all over the place. She kept wanting me to take her down the tunnel slide over and over! I don't know if I've ever seen her have SO much fun! Then on saturday the 3 of us all went down to memorial park to go running and take Jayda to the park to play. We let her play first because she was so excited to get to the park and then we went to run. It was such a beautiful sunny, cool day, couldn't of been more perfect! I got some cute pictures of her at the park. On saturday afternoon Oma came for a visit and Jayda loved getting to play with her. She stayed the night and watched Jayda while we went to church on sunday(thanks Oma!).

Going down her favorite slide at the park for the 50th time!


She loves to go down slides!


And yet another slide!


Playing at the park, check out that face!


Sunday afternoon we headed to a super bowl party at Jacob's brother Klint's house. We had a lot of fun watching the game, eating a ton of food, and Jayda had a blast running around with all the little kiddies there. As soon as we put her in her car seat to go home she passed out! Whew, last week was sure busy, but so much fun! Hopefully we get to do some more fun stuff this week!

Caitlyn and Jayda coloring at the super bowl party.