Catch up Overload

Did you miss us?? A lot has happened since M&M's birthday and I only have the energy for one post, so be ready for a lot of rambling and a lot of photos!

Just a few weeks after M&M's birthday, we went to the beach with Mike's parents, grandparents, brother, and cousin.  We went to Port Aransas and they rented this gorgeous 5 bedroom beach house. It was easily the most relaxing, stress-free, vacation I've ever been on.  On the other hand, I really missed Mike.  I watched our kids laugh hard, smile endlessly, and just jump in with both feet fearlessly.  Their dad should have been here.  I shouldn't have had to sit on the side of the beach, watching my kids have some of the happiest days of their life, by myself.  It's moments like this that are the hardest and the saddest and the most lonely for me. But, as hard as it was, we got through it and M&M had the absolute best time!

I mean, how GORGEOUS is this place?!

The awesome beach house!  I would share the details, but I don't want anyone stealing it! ;)

The beach is his happy place.  He was fearless.  He smiled continuously.

This is my TWO year old floating in the water.  He just took off like there wasn't a huge ocean waiting to gobble him up.  I love this little boy's brave heart.

She loves the water but not as much as her brother.  The sand, however, she loves to build castles, and loves to destroy them just as much.

I love how these two love ME.  The satisfaction I get from being their mom is amazing to me. 

Our beach house was right next to the pool so the final morning we spent some time swimming.  

This guy is part fish and loves his uncle "Flip"!

The first day, as soon as well strolled up to the beach, this nice lady came over and was like "Hey! Can I show them this shark we caught?!"  Ummmm.... not exactly what you want to hear as you are walking up to the beach! lol  Luckily she shared that they were actually Deep Sea Fishing.

So thankful these two took us along on their trip!

 Michael found his cheesin' face this summer and man this boy is cute!

My sweet girl has found her "mean" face. She has some serious sass about her!

We had some beautiful pictures taken by the incredibly talented Libby of Libby Ann Photography for the Fourth of July!  I so cherish professional pictures!

There was a glorious day where these two took a 3 hour nap!  If that wasn't incredible enough, I went in there, turned on the lights, made noise, called their names, and nothing.  They didn't even move!  

They have learned that they loooove Mexican food.  They definitely take after their daddy and I.

 I learned what 2 year old tantrums are like.  Fortunately, on occasion, I get a tantrum like this from Madison.  She runs away crying, throws herself on the ground, and doesn't move. She turns in to a log.  A SILENT log, which is the best part. lol  My favorite part of this picture is Michael's face.  He is wondering what the heck is going on!! 

M&M went to their first softball game to watch Momma's team play.  Madison tried to scale the fence a time or two.

They went to the Houston Zoo for the very first time. They loved the monkeys/gorillas!

And Madison hugged and kissed a goat.  haha This girl. She loves with her whole soul!

Last not but least, M&M went to their first football game.  It was like deja vu.  At my high school, watching my younger brother play varsity football, with MY children in tow.  Crazy!  I was really concerned about how they were going to do. M&M have a bedtime of 6pm.  The game didn't start until 7:30pm, it was loud, there was band playing, a lot going on with the cheerleaders in front of us, and lots of people screaming, directly behind us. But, in the end, they did fantastic.  They cheered, they were mesmerized, they sat, they watched, it was great.  They made it well in to the 3rd quarter before we went home.  I was so proud of them and I think they had a great time!

Awestruck with the band.  

Proud Momma moment since I ate, breathed, and lived band for so many years!

What you can't see in this picture is Madison is clapping and yelling "Gooooo!" while Michael is yelling "Go BB!" Cutest. Cheerleaders. Ever.

Annnd Crash.  This is about when we decided it was time to go home!

So many fun and new things Michael and Madison have experienced.  I always imagined doing all of these things with my husband.  I never imagined doing everything by myself.  

Michael and Madison's Clubhouse

Last Saturday M&M had a Mickey and Minnie themed 2nd birthday party.  They had a GREAT time and we are sooo thankful for everyone that came out to celebrate them!  

They had lots of yummy treats to eat and cute decorations!

  Mickey shaped watermelon!

Mickey nuggets

 

Mickey shaped cheese!

 Fun Madison and Michael confetti.

Amazing cakes once again from Not Your Ordinary Cakes!

On a Mickey pants table :)

 

   This girl was quite the firecracker at her party!

Then they opened their presents.  Michael totally took charge and had absolutely no interest in any clothes! HA!

Then we let them eat cake and homemade ice cream! 

Poor Mad was falling asleep in her chair!

 

And the after nap party continued to the yard where we mowed the grass with our new bubble mowers!

Their super adorable invites came from Periwinkle Papery
(I whited out my address and contact info)

My cute Minnie themed "Mom" shirt from
Forever Rose and Co.

3 Generations!

 My sweet 2 year olds!!  Their shirts came from the same place we ordered from last year- Sewing by Grace and Mad's bow came from Crystal N Me Designs

Happy 2nd birthday, Michael and Madison!
Mommy loves you more than the world!
I can't wait to see what this next year brings us!

Happy Mother's day!

Happy belated Mother's day to all of the momma's out there and the daddy's that have to be both mom and dad.  3 years ago, I was a momma to an angel baby that we lost in February 2012.  But, 2 years ago, I got to hold the two people who would change my life in more ways that I could even imagine!  I will forever be thankful that Mike chose ME to be his wife and ME to be the mother of his children.

I spent my first Mother's day with M&M in the hospital.  This was my very first photo with both of them.

Last year we had a yummy brunch and did some shopping. 

This year was a lazy day at home and probably the best yet.

Happy Birthday M&M!

Happy 2nd Birthday my sweet little loves!  On Saturday we celebrated their birthday and then this weekend we will have their party! 

I can hardly believe that these itty bitty babies;

who turned into these wonderful one year olds;

are now these busy, wild two year olds!

Watching them transform and grow and learn new things is a highlight of my life. They have changed so much in such a very short period of time.  It's so hard to believe!

Their personalities are in full force.  It's amazing to me how much they are a mini version of Mike and I.  

Michael is starting to look more and more like his daddy every day as he gets older and his face changes.  He has these smirks and facial expressions he makes all the time that are identical to those of Mike.  He is a social butterfly.  He can walk in to a room and immediately wants to get down and play and you can hear him saying "Come on, Come on" to Madison as he leads the way. He is very opinionated and doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do.  I find that giving him a choice empowers him and he is more compliant.  He has mastered his scowl face for those situations in which he doesn't want to do what I want. :)

He has a sweet tooth and goes crazy on the rare occasion he gets a treat.  His favorite meat is chicken but he loves vegetables.  When he is done, he's done.  You know this because he dumps his plate upside down and throws it on the floor, lol.  He loves fruit.  On the rare occasion he is refusing to eat, a spoonful of peanut butter does the trick.  

He loves playing with balls, legos, cars, and reading books.  He loves to clean and always picks up all of his toys before bedtime.  How lucky am I?!  He also looooves being outside and loves the water.  He is a huge fan of the park. 

At his 2 year well child check he weighed 33lbs and was 37" tall.  His head circumference was 52cm.  He is in the 93rd percentile in weight and off the charts in height and his head circumference.  Just like his daddy. 

Madison is just a mini me.  Her pics looks just like me at her age.  She is very cautious.  When she walks in to social situations, she retreats and clings to me.  After a little soothing and encouraging, she normally warms up.  She feels safest around strangers that are older.  I find that she warms up quicker to grandmother-type figures.  When she is comfortable, she is a bull in a china cabinet.  She goes non-stop and has mastered that little girl shriek.

She is a meat eater.  She could eat any meat all the time.  Really, this girl will eat anything.  She loves food.  Much like her momma though, she doesn't really care for sweets. She loves fruit and goes crazy for strawberries. Like her brother, when she is done, she is done, and she dumps her food out or throws it on the floor.  Both of them mimic each other also so if one does it....yep, the other does it too.

She loves all the same things as her brother does- cars, legos, balls, and loooooves books.  Normally, whenever I get home from work, she is standing at the baby gate with a book.  As soon as I climb over, she runs to the couch, pats it, tells me to sit, and expects me to sit down so she can climb in my lap to read a book.  That is usually followed up with "another one" where she proceeds to get more books for me to read before bed time.  One of my favorite parts of every day.

At her 2 year well child check she weighed 37.2lbs, and was 35 1/4lbs.  Her head circumference was 49.2cm.  She was off the chart in weight, 80th percentile for height, and 90th percentile for head circumference.



They make my world go round (and round and round and round!)  They have the ability to make me cry tears of joy and pass out from exhaustion all in a matter of 5 minutes.  I never knew I could possibly love two people as much as I love these two.  I'm so blessed to be their mom!

Texas Bluebonnets

It's pretty much a Texas necessity to take your children out to the biggest field of bluebonnets and take their pictures in it.  Thanks to rain and our schedule, today was the first time I could get out there with them.  So, I took my 23 month olds out.  I can't believe they're about to be 2!!

If you remember, last year, the amazing Lyndsay of Life in Motion photography took their bluebonnet pictures!  Last year, Michael and Madison didn't want to touch the bluebonnets, much less sit in them:

 This year, they just went for it!  Madison was picking them:

 

They watched for airplanes:

They were sweet and held hands:

 

And spent the majority of their time running through the field and laughing and smiling:

 

 

Be still my heart. <3