Road trippin' and Astro's game!

Well...we are finally home for good now! We got back from the cruise 2 weeks ago Sunday and then left for a road trip that next Thursday. We went to visit our friend Jude in Dallas and then our other law school friends, Sara and Joe in Burleson. We had a great time seeing them and catching up since we hadn't really got to hang out with them since we moved from Waco in May. Jayda loved playing with Sara and Joe's baby Elizabeth and Elizabeth was super excited to see Jayda. They were even kissing each other. Jayda was also going up to Elizabeth and laying her sweet little head on her. They were sooooo cute together! After our adventure in Dallas we headed up to Oklahoma to visit Jacob's mammaw and papaw. We enjoyed spending time with them and we introduced Jayda to his mammaw's co-workers and friends. We stayed there for 3 nights then headed back to Huntsville to see our parents. We stopped there for a couple of nights and got to have dinner with Jacob's parents on Suzie's first day of school. It's always fun to hear her crazy school stories. The next night we saw my parents and I cooked us all dinner. We finally made it back to our house on Wednesday and went to an Astros game that night with our neighbors and their baby. It was Riley's first Astro's game and she seemed to enjoy it. Clutch even came up to the girls and gave them each an Astro's baseball! Since then we've just been enjoying being home and getting all settled in. Jaocb starts work on September 15th, so we still have some more time with him. We are really going to cherish these last few weeks because we know that vacation time will probably be few and far between once he starts working.

Jayda and Elizabeth giving each other kisses.


Sara and I with the girls!


Jacob and Scott with Jayda and Riley at the game.


Jayda checking out the Astro's boot.


Clutch giving the girls their baseballs.

We're back!!

We are finally back from the cruise and we had an AMAZING time! We had a blast and Jayda absolutely loved the cruise. She was so friendly and social and everyone seemed to fall in love with her. I don't think many babies go on cruises (probably because you have to pay for them like their an adult), so I think it made all of the crew miss their babies back home so they became very fond of her. It was soooo sweet! The 2nd day on the ship (monday) was my birthday and also Lauren and Greg's 1 year wedding anniversary. So, we had a lot to celebrate. I had a wonderful birthday. Lauren and I started the day out getting pedicures in the spa with a wonderful ocean view. It was the best pedicure I've ever had! Later on that day we went to a wine tasting. I've never really been to a real wine tasting, so that was really cool. They had a plate of appetizers and would tell you what to eat with each wine. That night we went to the Captain's welcome party and then we went out dancing while Nanna and Pawpaw watched miss Jayda. Jacob and Jayda also got me some really cute jewelry, so that was really sweet. On Tuesday we took Jayda swimming, relaxed and worked out. On wednesday we arrived in Jamaica. We decided to stay on the boat for the day instead of taking Jayda out in Jamaica. We found out that we would not be able to take the car seat wherever we went and we know how crazy the drivers are in Jamaica, so we just hung out on the boat for the day. I went and got my facial that morning that Jacob's brother Klint and his girlfriend Brandy had gotten me for my b-day (thanks guys)! Jacob ended up getting off the boat later that afternoon and went shopping for a while. On Thursday we arrived in the Cayman Islands. The 3 of us along with Jacob's parents all got off the ship early that morning and took a shuttle to the 7 mile beach. It is a beautiful white sand beach with crystal clear blue water, so pretty! Jayda played on the beach and we relaxed in the shade. We were only there for a couple of hours. After that Jacob and Jayda went back on the ship because Jayda was badly needing a nap. Suzie and I stayed in Grand Cayman a couple more hours and did some shopping. On Friday Jacob and I went snorkeling in Cozumel. We saw some amazing fish and had a great time. Our tour guide was wonderful. He even took food to feed the fish so all of the fish would follow him around and we'd be right there with fish swimming all around us, it was so cool! The next few days we just relaxed on the ship, went to the pool and ate a TON of food! I think all 3 of us gained some weight! We really did have an amazing time and I'm so thankful that so many of our friends and family got to enjoy this time with us! Can't wait for the next vacation!!

Jayda all dressed up on the first formal night.


Lauren and Greg looking pretty on the first formal night (which was also their 1 year wedding anniversary)!


Jacob and I dressed up for the first formal night (which was also my birthday).


Jayda and the Maitre De, he loved her and she loved him!


The 3 of us at dinner after the day in Jamaica.


Jayda trying to get the animal undone that our cabin steward would make for us every night.


Me and Jayda on the tender boat over to Grand Cayman.


Our little fam on the beach at Grand Cayman.


The 3 of us in Nanna and Pawpaw's room after Grand Cayman day.


Jayda looking cute in her dress we got her in the Cayman Islands.


Lauren, Greg and Jacob on the boat to go out snorkeling.


All of us at dinner after Cozumel day.


Group picture.


Group picture # 2.


Sweet baby girl sleeping in the bed where she spent a lot of time because she would wear her self out so much.

It's Cruisin' Time!!

Jacob and I are so excited because not only are our awesome friends coming into town tomorrow, but we are leaving for our cruise this Sunday! We have been waiting for this vacation for sooooo long, and it's finally almost here. Lots of Jacob's family is coming with us, along with some of our friends. We can not wait to spend an entire week on the boat, just relaxing with no worries in the world! I will definitely take lots of pics and post them when we get back!

Things have been going pretty good around here now that Jacob is done with the bar. He finished last Thursday, and what a relief that was! Oh my goodness, that thing was so stressful! It is so nice to have our husband/daddy around again to do things with us and just hang out. The day Jacob finished the bar was our 4 year anniversary. I made some cupcakes for him and our neighbors took us out to eat to celebrate the bar being over(thanks so much Scott and Michelle)! Then, our neighbors watched Jayda (thanks again guys) on Friday night while Jacob and I went to see The Dark Knight. I was actually pretty surprised because I thought it was a pretty good movie. I didn't want to see it at all and didn't think I'd like it, but it was a great movie. It was so fun to get out on a real date again too! On saturday we went to my cousin's baby shower in Spring at my aunt and uncle's house. It was a couples shower, so it was really fun to see all of my aunts/uncles/cousins and for them to see Jayda. On Sunday we went to one of Jayda's cousin's baptism celebration at their camphouse. We had a lot of fun, some great bbq, and Jayda had a blast swimming in the baby pool. Tonight we met one of Jacob's good friend's, Nick and his wife Elizabeth along with their new baby Kayla at Pappadeux for dinner. We got to catch up with them and meet their 8 week old baby. She was sooo sweet and made us start thinking about more babies. All in all we've had a great time this past week and we can not wait for the cruise! See ya sometime after we get back!

Anniversary cupcakes


Jayda dressed up in a cowboy hat at the baby shower.


Jayda and cousin Molly swimming.


The adorable Aranda family.


Jacob and Nick with their babies.

And the BAR continues!!

Today was the 2nd day of the BAR exam for Jacob and tomorrow is the last day, thank goodness! We are all about to go crazy around here. Today Jayda and I went and met Jacob for lunch on his break, so that was fun getting to see him and cheer him on for the rest of the day. Jayda and I then went to a park downtown and she played in the water and grass and had a great time. She loves walking all around and exploring everything. It's so fun getting to take her places and letting her play on her own, she's actually becoming a little toddler. Last night Jacob had his last softball game of the season. Unfortunately they lost their game and won't be able to advance in the playoffs. They were all pretty bummed out about it, but I think they had fun playing. They're planning to make another team next season, so that should fun getting to watch them again. That's about all that's going on with us right now. We're just waiting until tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. and then we can finally have a normal life again, yay!!!! Oh and tomorrow is also me and Jacob's 4 year wedding anniversary, we'll have a lot to celebrate tomorrow!

Jacob, Klint and Justin after their last softball game.


Jayda at the park, not wanting her hat on.


Jayda standing under the water fountain at the park. She loved it!


Jayda with Daphne, her new bear from build a bear!

Jayda turns 1 today!!

Today is Jayda Michelle's 1st Birthday! I can not believe how fast time flies! We have had such an amazing year with her and are so incredibly blessed to have her in our lives. I know that we are going to have so many more great years to come! I could go on and on...she is so wonderful! Anyways, today we took her Portrait Innovations in Sugar Land to get her 1 year pictures done. I can not say enough about how great they are (thanks to my friend Michelle for recommending them)! They were so great with Jayda and patient and really worked well with her. They also have great prices AND they print your pictures there while you're waiting! It was so nice to walk out with all of our pictures. Oh yeah, they also gave me a cd with all of the pictures that they took today! I will most definitely be going back there for all of her pictures. I think they have them around the country, so if you're needing pictures done I would definitely look them up. Below are some of the amazing pictures they took today!

Also, thanks to my friend Jolene we were able to go and pick out a bear at Build A Bear Workshop today for her birthday. My camera is broken so I'm going to try and go over and use our neighbors camera to get a pic of her with her new bear. It is sooo cute! Thanks girl!

Jayda's first birthday!!

Yesterday we had Jayda's first birthday party, even though her actual birthday is not until this Thursday, the 24th. Jayda had so much fun and a lot of our family came out for the party. Funny enough, she wasn't too thrilled about her birthday cake. I think that it was super sweet and she'd never had anything like that before. It was pretty funny because she completely devoured the cake with her hands and only had about 2 licks of icing. Anyways, it was great to see everyone and it was so nice having the party here at our house. It was definitely a lot of work getting everything ready, and taking everything down, but it was totally worth it. Jayda got every single toy that is on the market right now and tons of clothes (plus some really cute dresses for our curise in August). She is loving all of her new toys and mommy is loving trying all her new outfits on her. Thanks to everyone that was able to come to the party and to everyone that couldn't make it, we missed y'all!

Jayda opened an early birthday present from Oma and loved her baby doll.


Our dining room all decorated for the party.


The big birthday cake.


Jayda's birthday cake.


Jayda with her daddy all dressed up for her party.


Jayda playing with her neighbor buddy, Riley. So cute!


The banner in the front yard, no one could miss the party!


Mommy and Daddy getting her candle lit and blown out.


Jayda digging into her cake.


Oma, Oupa and Mommy with Jayda after her party.


Jayda with one of her new birthday outfits on and trying out the new tennis shoes!


Playin in her chair (which has been handed down to all the babies in the family and originally started with Jayda's Nanna).