Whoop! Gotta love Fighting Texas Aggie Tennis!!

Saturday Mom, Emma & I took a day trip to College Station to see Daniel compete for A&M in the ITA Tournament. He played exceptionally well despite a back injury, GO DANIEL! Emma loved seeing her Uncle Daniel play, she was waving to him and pointing and saying "Uh-Oh"! It was a long day, but well worth it. We were able to stop in and see Rachel, Sherman, Clowey, Ryan, Tyler, James and June and Mom got to spend some time with them as well! Good day! Here are some pics of Big D!! :) Love you brother!!!

State Fair of Texas 2010

This was Emma's 2nd time to the Fair, but the first outside the womb! :) She enjoyed all the animals, and of course watching all the people. She did have a run-in with an ostrich, I guess he thought she was a yummy snack, Emma started crying she was so scared, but Grandpa was there to comfort her and show her a new animal! She also loved the bird show, pointing at them as they flew by. It was a great day with the family! Here are some pics of our grand adventure!

A Day at the Dallas Aquarium

My dear friends Nikki & Story, Yetunde and Stephanie & Connor joined Emma and I for a day at the Dallas Aquarium. It could have been a bit challenging, but our kids were excellent and it was a great day! If you ever get a chance to go, I would highly recommend a day at the aquarium. Here are pics of our fun-filled day!!

1st Birthday Party

Emma's first birthday party has come and gone. I'm exhausted!!! :) I decided to take on the task of making personalized party favors and making Emma's cakes. Fun! The day was amazing! Nanni & Aubbi and Auntie Rachel traveled up and helped immensely and Grandma & Grandpa opened their home once again for an incredible time of celebration. We had a great turn out from our community and Emma did so well opening her gifts and she pretty much devoured her cake! Here are some pics of the fun day! THANK YOU everyone who came out and supported our little girl. I know our family and Community are a vital part of Emma's life. We love you all!!

11 Months

Well 11 months have come and almost gone and I have yet to post! Emma is steadily crawling, she will stand free from holding anything and go up and down.  She will take steps holding on to something, not quite ready to let go yet, but getting closer. She has also learned how to say "please" and "all done" in sign language, so communication is getting there. She also can wave goodbye. I spend most of my days watching my step as Emma is constantly underfoot. And with the addition of her 4 teeth, eating solids has become an all new adventure. So, now we're gearing up for her 1st Birthday!! Can't believe it's here already.

Here are some recent pics.

10 Months and a Family Visit

Well, 10 months has come and gone and I can't believe it. Emma is crawling everywhere and pulling up on anything that is vertical. She also is cutting her first teeth!! 2 on top! The front left tooth is almost completely down, and the right one is cutting through. Crazy times for sure. Here are some pics.

Also, Emma was able to meet Great Uncle Tim, Great Aunt Linda, 2nd Cousins Timothy, Jonathan & Catlynn and 3rd cousin Ethan! We had a great time with the family and were so glad to see them again! Here are some pics of our time with the fam.

Now, we are looking forward to our trip to Trinidad! Can't believe it's just around the corner! We love you Larcel & Karla and are soooo happy for you! Sarah & Daniel we look forward to spending time with you Aidan and Noah!! Love you all!

My Kind of Mind is Launched

So, after much prayer, process, conversations, encouragements and second-guessings I've finally created my own business!! After having some creative outbursts over the last few years, I've been struggling with the concept of being good enough to actually sell a product. I was driving in the car and thinking and praying about the idea when the phrase "my kind of mind" came to me. I realized that through a processed life and our journey to become more Christ-like we in turn take on the mind of Christ. All creativity is found in Him and without Him I am nothing. So, My Kind of Mind was born in a desire to capture the creative nature of Christ and see it manifest through designs I create. The tagline "Where Creative Concepts are Conceived" speaks to the seed thought that is created in the Mind of Christ and implemented by human hands.

My current focus is creating the Nunni Sak and selling that, but I hope to expand to other baby related items and one day implement photography prints and paintings. If you know of any Mom's who need a nursing wrap, I'd be greatful for the recommendation!

Website: My Kind of Mind

9 Months

Emma turned 9 months on July 10th.  On the 12th we had her 9 month check-up and she weighed 16lbs. 13oz. and is 26.5" long. She's in the 20% for height and weight, so she's gonna be little like her momma :)

From about 8 1/2 months to about a week and a half ago, miss Emma would get up on her hands and knees, preparing to crawl. She did do some scooting, mostly backwards, ending up under the couch with her hands and head sticking out on several occasions. Quite comical. But, a week and a half ago she decided forward movement was the way to go, so she has started crawling. She migrated from short spurts to roaming the halls following Mommy. One morning I set her in the living room to play with her toys, while I went to do some dishes in the kitchen. A few minutes later I turned to go check on her when I hear a deep sigh, I look down and Emma is laying on the kitchen floor exhausted from her crawl to the kitchen. I exclaimed "You made it" to which I got a big smile!! She is just too adorable. In about a day and a half she mastered the art of going from a crawling position, back to sit, which is great!! She also pulls herself up on anything that is vertical, walls, couches, legs, toys, tables, chairs....the list goes on.

Some of her little quirks just crack me up, when she is sitting on the floor, she uses her heels to turn and rotate on her bottom to see things around her! She also loves having her sunglasses on, whenever you put them on her she gets a huge open mouth smile and giggles; Nanni has captured it on video and it's priceless! No teeth yet, but she definitely gums everything in sight!

Here are some pics of Emma as well as a few videos!

Allen USA Celebration

We had a great time out in Allen this last weekend. They host a 4th of July celebration in June! They have concessions and live music (The Commodores) and a stupendous fireworks show. We went early and swam at Mom & Dad's and then we walked to the park to partake in the festivities. Emma fell asleep, but then woke up once the fireworks started. She handled it typical Emma style, just stared wide-eyed at all the pretty lights. Gotta love her! Here are some pics of our fun day!

Daniel's Graduation & Isaac & Daniel's Graduation Party

Daniel graduated high school!!! We were able to take part in the graduation and celebration! Here are some pics of the ceremony and party!

Meeting the Kids

A few weeks ago we were able to meet Rachel & Sherman's foster children Clowey, Ryan, Tyler & James. We had a great lunch together, then the kids played soccer with Dad and we chased chickens and inspected the garden. They are sweet kids and it was great fun to meet them. Here are some pics of our fun day!

Texas Grand Slam

We also went to Daniel's last Texas Grand Slam in College Station. He made it to the Quarter Finals in the main draw and 6th place in the overall tournament. Awesome!! After the tournament he was offered a spot on the Texas A&M Tennis Team!! Whooop!!!! Incredible weekend! We are sooooo proud of him! Here are some pics of the tournament.

Graduations & Birthdays

Emma is continuing to grow and change everyday. She is truly extraordinary! Here's a great video of her trying to talk. We're working on "Dad-da"

Isaac and Stephanie graduated a day apart, so Aaron flew to Virginia to be with Isaac, while Emma and I stayed home to be with Stephanie. Here are some pics of Stephanie's graduation!! We're so proud of both of them, and super excited Isaac is headed back to Texas!!! Whoop!

The morning after Steph's graduation, we drove down to College Station for June's first birthday party! Her birthday is actually tomorrow (26th), but she celebrated early with her friend Peter. We were so excited to be apart of her celebration! It was great to see our great friends, Nathan, Shawna & Daniel as well! Miss them! Here are pictures of June's party!!

6 Months

Well Emma is 6 months old!! I can't believe it! Time has flown. She weighs 15lbs, 9oz and is 25 3/4in long. She is getting louder and louder, and definitely knows how to express herself. She can sit up on her own, but she loves to stand!! She's also eating 2 meals a day, she enjoys oatmeal, peaches, carrots, applesauce, mixed berries (strawberries, raspberries and blueberries) and drinking water out of her big girl cup. She is fascinated with Cryn, watching him whenever he's on the move. Soon she'll be chasing him around the house! She is my love and my joy and there isn't a day that goes by that I'm not laughing at/with her!

Here are some pics of our little chubbs (as she is affectionately called around the house)

Easter

Easter was wonderful. We all got dolled up for church and took pictures before we left. Ian & Nisha came over to our house along with my family and we ate a light lunch. Then we headed to my parents house for Easter baskets, and Easter egg hunt that you had to be 18 and older to participate in (there's video I must learn how to upload) and a wonderful meal of spiral ham and all sorts of goodies. Good times all around!!

Play Day

Seizing the opportunity to see friends and family, Emma and I traveled down to Montgomery for the week while Aaron is in California. Rachel and Shawna graciously agreed to meet up in Montgomery for a Mommy/Baby play day! We had a great time, the babies played and ate and bonked their heads; all in all a fun day! Here are some pics of our little ones!

Thanks for coming out Shawna and Rachel! I really enjoyed the conversation and time spent with each other! Love you both!

5 Months

Just wanted to add few more pics to the mix. Emma turned 5 months on Wednesday! She is doing very well with her cereal, so we added some applesauce to the mix which has gone quite smoothly. I think we'll be adding a vegetable this week! Here are some more pics of last month. And some of the new 5 month old!

The World of Solid Foods

Well Emma has started solid foods!! Her first go 'round was a little messy with little tolerance for her new means of sustenance. But, she's been getting better and better eating her rice cereal. Here's a video of one of her feeding sessions. She also is experimenting with some water, so we got her a big girl sippy cup. I think she likes playing with it more than she likes drinking out of it, but we're working on it.

Here are some more pics of Emma just being Emma!!

4 Months

Well we're at 4 Months now and Emma is 14lbs 1/2oz, measuring 24.5in long! She's in the 50% for weight and 90% for height, meaning she'll be taller than 9 out of 10 girls! So, she definitely didn't get her Momma's height! She is changing constantly, getting stronger and stronger everyday. She's also ready to start some solids, so this week we're going to experiment with some rice cereal, so we'll see how it goes. For Valentine's Day I decided to have Emma get some pics done to send as cards, so we went down to our local The Picture People at the mall. Emma did so great, she was laughing and smiling, so it was a great first experience in a photo shoot environment. We experienced a huge snowfall here in North Dallas, about 12" in a 24 hour period! Crazy! But the fam came over and we played and built a little snow family and got Emma's pics with her little snowgirl. Loads of fun! Earlier this week I decided to mess around with my camera and got some (what I think) are great pics of Em! I hope you enjoy them!

3 Months Addendum

Just wanted to give some updates. Emma just keeps growing and I love every minute with her. Aaron has started traveling again, so that's a little tough, but while he was off in California, Emma and I ventured down to Montgomery to spend time with Grandpa Larry, Grandma Lizi, Uncle Daniel & Auntie Rachel. We had a super time! Emma and I decided to have a little day trip to College Station to see Aunt Rachel and Cousin June. While we were there we also went by my old stomping grounds at Petal Patch and Emma met Esther & her son Mark and then we made one more stop to see Shawna and Emma met her adorable baby boy Daniel our dear friends. So, it was a rather jam packed trip, but we had a great time and Emma was such a trooper up until the last 30 minutes of the drive when she decided she was done with being in the car :). Emma slept most of the 3 1/2 hours home, so that made the return trip quite nice.

So I added some pics from the last few weeks and posted them here. Enjoy!

3 Months

Emma is 3 months old and weighs approximately 13 lbs. She is growing and changing so fast, I don't even know what to do. She's sleeping 10 - 12 hours a nights, so we are just so blessed and rested!! Aaron and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary on the 6th, Emma also decided that would the first time she did a 180 roll. So, fun times all around! She's a regular with Grandma and Grandpa letting Mom & Dad go out for dinner, which is nice.

Here are some pics and a few videos of our growing little love bug!

The Life and Happenings Since November

Well, I'm having to play catch up on posting since life has passed me by. Emma is now 3 months old, but we'll rewind to weeks 6-8 for the sake of this post. In late November we had a conference here in Dallas that brought some of our dear friends throughout the Midwest. Emma was able to meet our wider Congress community, which was excellent. I think I only saw her to feed her and while she was sleeping, other than that she was passed far and wide, but she didn't mind too much. The greatest comment of course being "all that blonde hair"! Ah, well I have a child who's hair has never been seen before and also a pony for a dog, so I guess I'm used to it by now :). The highlight of the conference was of course seeing Uncle Gary and Emma getting to meet and interact with her Great Uncle. He stayed an extra day and we were able to offer him refuge at the "Brown Hotel" so that was great to spend time with him and for him to play and hold Emma. Here are some pics of Emma up to Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving 2009

We were fortunate to spend Thanksgiving this year at my parent's home in Allen. My Uncle Charlie, Aunt Nikki and their sons Jack, Sam and Charlie were able to join us as well. Emma and June got a lot of attention and of course tons of pictures. It was so good to spend time with family, we had a great meal and then went to the park. Fun times! Here are some pics of our escapades.

2 Months & December 2009

Emma turned 2 months on December 10th. Her check-up went really well, she weighed 11lbs. 5oz. and was 23 inches long. Those numbers came out to be 75th% for height and 50th% for weight, so she's cruising right along. She also got her immunization shots :( she cried, but thankfully calmed down fairly quickly and didn't have any side affects other than a little bit of drowsiness. Shortly after turning 2 months, Emma started sleeping about 8 hours a night which has been wonderful.

On December 19th Aaron graduated with his MBA from UT Dallas. He has worked very hard for this and we were excited to see the Finish. His parents came up to celebrate with us and joined Emma, myself my family, Cardin and Larcel in watching him accept his diploma. We had a great family style dinner at Buca de Beppo and then had a great party with the community the following day. Yeah Aaron! Graduation Pics!

Christmas was a great time this year! We were blessed to celebrate Emma's first Christmas with our beloved families. Christmas started early with a celebration with my family on the 20th. Rachel, Sherman and June came in early and made us a fantastic lunch. BBQ chicken, beans and more truly outstanding!! Then we opened gifts, definitely a new experience with two infants in the room, but we managed. After gifts we went for a walk and saw all the Christmas lights, which was great fun! Later in the week, Aaron, Emma and I had our Christmas at the house. Emma was asleep, but we have pictures, so we can tell her all about it when she's older. We then went on our first trip with Emma and headed for Montgomery. We arrived on the 23rd to an anxiously awaiting Uncle Isaac, who immediately took Emma and held her and started feeding her. Emma also met her Great Grandpa Papa and Great Grandmother. So, it was a bunch of firsts all around. She is not short on love that is for sure. We had a wonderful Christmas with the fam and then ventured home again. Here are some pictures of Christmas!!

I'll have more to post later, but this all I have time for today and all the pics I have uploaded.