Nothin' much

I haven't posted in while, but don't really have anything too exciting to post about. My mom came for Memorial Day weekend just to hang out and chill with us and that was fun. Mas even watched Saylor while my mom and I went and had a dinner and a movie date--just us girls! It was a nice break! I've also been TERRIBLE about taking pictures lately, but my friend, Erin is complaining that she hasn't seen pictures of Saylor in over a month....so here are a few random ones to tide you over until I take some better ones:

We went to a parade this morning that our Moore Library organized to celebrate the beginning of summer.
The library usually has a puppet stage, but they have replaced it with a "dress-up stage" for the summer. I was trying to dress up Miss Priss but she wasn't really havin' it. I snapped a quick picture before she got the tutu off. She is all about necklaces and princess wands, but that's about it--not so much diggin' the clothes.

And here is a picture of Yonna (or YaYa as Saylor calls her) and Saylor this past weekend. Saylor sure has that fake cheesin' smile down, doesn't she!

Please Wont You Be My Neighbor

Guess what? My brother, sister-in-law, and niece are moving here next month!! We are beyond thrilled to have them near us again!

Kellen applied for jobs all over the country--really--and he just happened to get a job in Oklahoma City!! Wooohooo! It is absolutely a God thing--He is GOOD! A few months ago, we never would have imagined this would happen! Thank you, Lord, for bringing some of our family close to us again! We have so much fun with them and we are so glad that our girls will get to be together again!

And guess what else? I think that my parents will come here twice as often considering they will have twice the number of granddaughters here! Right!?!?

Congratulations, Kellen, on your new job and new adventure!

Just a puddle

At a beautiful 16-months old:

~Your smile and your laugh and your dimple just like your daddy's makes me melt.

~Your eyes make me melt.

~The way you stop everything and dance to any and every song you hear, no matter the time or place, makes me melt.

~When you are right out of the bath and wearing your footie pajamas, you make me melt. (You are about to outgrow footie pajamas. What am I going to do?)

~Your smell makes me melt--especially your breath. I know that's weird and Daddy makes fun of me for that, but I have loved the smell of your breath since you were born.

~The way you sleep with your little tush in the air makes me melt. Every night when I go in to check on you, I want to pick you up and cuddle with you--you are just too sweet when you sleep.

~The way you hug, kiss and pat your stuffed animals makes me melt. You are already a little nurturer.

~The way you kiss now with your mouth closed and give me really tight hugs makes me melt.

~Your little voice makes me melt, especially when you say "bubbles"and "apple", oh and of course "mama", well the list could go on and on here, but your voice is irresistable.

~The way you put on my necklaces and stand in front of the mirror to admire yourself makes me melt.

~All the animal noises that you immitate make me melt.

~The way you so enthusiastically give us high fives and then go to Samson and slap his paw and say "high pi" because you always want to include him, makes me melt.

~When we are taking walks or playing outside, you wave and say "bye bye" to every single car that passes and that makes me melt.

~The way you love your Dada and ask for him as soon as you wake up in the morning makes me melt.

~When you grab a book and climb into my lap so I will read to you, I just melt.

Saylor Grace, you melt my heart and I love your sweet, gentle and fiesty personality!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!
I'm blessed to have lots of great moms to look up to. Thanks Grandma, Grannie, Loretta (my mother-in-law), etc., etc.

But most of all, thanks, Mom for all that you have done for us over the years--the sacrifices you made, the booboos you kissed and bandaged, the stories you read, the baseballs/softballs you threw and caught, the lunches you made (especially the ones that had napkins with notes or smiley faces on them--those were the best), the endless mounds of laundry you washed, EVERY SINGLE sporting event you wouldn't dare miss, all the girl scout/boy scout/baseball/church fundraisers you helped us sell, the tuition you paid, the long chats, long hugs, long pep talks, long lunches, and even longer patience....the list could truly go on and on. (I know I'm missing a whole lot but I do need to go to bed sometime!)

Thanks for loving me unconditionally--I now really know what that means--or wait, maybe I won't know true unconditional love until we make it through the teenage years, right ;)
Anyways, I love you and am so very thankful for such a great Mom and Yonna!

This day is also very special to me, other than the obvious reason, of course.
Two years ago on Mother's Day, I took my first pregnancy test, and we learned that we would soon be parents to a precious angel. We got to surprise our moms with news that they were going to be grandma's (again). It was a wonderful and surreal Mother's Day for me and our families. How little we knew on that day what great joy would lie ahead!

I am so thankful I get to be Saylor's momma. It has been an amazingly rewarding, fulfilling, and joyous experience! (And sometimes trying and exhausting, but a wonderful blessing nonetheless!)

Wow, where we would be without our Momma's?

Happy Birthday Little Brother

Happy Birthday, Kellen!

Just want you to know how proud I am to call you my brother!

I'm proud of the leader that you are for your family, your ability to overcome with a big smile on your face, and most of all, trusting the Lord to guide your way.

You are such a good daddy, husband, and brother!

(I dont have any very recent pictures, so I figured I would go back a few years! Thanks for always making me laugh, or at least always finding a way to laugh at me!)

I hope your day was wonderful and I hope all your wishes come true (wink, wink)!
I love you!

Little known facts

Julia tagged me and I'm a little behind getting it done. Our home internet was out and my very own personal geek squad was out of town. (I had internet on my phone so I could read blogs, but I wasn't about to write a whole post on my phone). I am to post 7 things that no one knows about me and then nominate 5 fellow bloggers to do the same. Here goes: 1. I own all the seasons of Friends. Mas and I still go to sleep most nights watching one of the DVDs. (we usually alternate with The Office) I just never get tired of it.

2. I really like to vacuum. (Especially now that we have a dyson). But, I rarely get to anymore. Mas usually vacuums when I'm giving Saylor a bath because she cries when we turn on the vacuum cleaner. She used to go right to sleep when she was a baby if we turned it on. That was actually Mas' secret weapon on the nights that I worked and if she got really fussy, he turned on the vacuum cleaner and she was out like a light. However, Samson loves the vacuum--he likes to be vacuumed by the little attachment hose--weird hu! Most dogs are afraid of the vacuum but as soon as you get it out he follows you around until you vacuum him. He's crazy--but it helps eliminate the excess dog hair.

On the other hand, I really, really hate to mop. I would rather clean the toilets.

3. My nose kinda moves up and down when I talk or eat. My brother pointed it out a few years ago to everyone at the table at a family function. He's really good at doing stuff like that. And he still reminds everyone any time we are together. (This one is for you, Kellen--I know it will make you laugh)

4. I have a new obsession--Gourmet Kettle Corn--not the microwavable kind, this one is already popped and in a red bag. YUM!! It's impossible to stop!

5. I really dislike milk. I will eat it in cereal but that's about it. Mas feels the same way. Thankfully, Saylor LOVES milk.

6. I'm really, really sick of all this rain we are getting. I want to plant flowers and play outside with Saylor....and not have to wipe Samson's feet every time he comes in from outside. Come on, SUNSHINE!

7. We didn't name Saylor until she was two days old. We went back and forth between two names. I actually decided on the other name right after my c-section but I hadn't seen her much yet. Mas had announced her name to everyone. Then the next morning, Mas was holding her in his arms and called her that name and I immediately knew THAT WAS NOT her name. She was a Saylor Grace--plain and simple. I was just having doubts because very few people were a fan of the name Saylor and we had caught a lot of flack for considering it. Of course, now I couldn't imagine her being anything else!!

_________________________________________________________________

***I tag Erin, Berkeley, Libby, Kenzie, Gay

A little help, Moms

This is going to be short and sweet because I am exhausted and need to hit the sack! Our friends from Amarillo and Fort Worth came to town this weekend and we had a great time, but we stayed pretty busy, and stayed up WAY too late last night playing games. It's hard to stop, though when you don't get to see them very often.
Anyways...I just need a little input. Im looking for 'outside toy' ideas. Saylor is 15 months old--what is or was your child/grandchild/niece/nephew's favorite outside toy around this age. Saylor loves to be outside but I would like some new things to keep her entertained (or maybe something new to keep ME entertained). All suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (And she already has cars and trikes).
Thanks in advance for your ideas.