3rd Annual Mother's Day Pictures

So every year for Mother's Day my gift is to get new family pictures. This is my 3rd Mother's Day and we had a ton of fun with this shoot. The kids were better than I expected they would be so that was awesome. First, here are the last 3 years pictures in consecutive order:

Everybody is getting to be so grown up! tear* And now here are the rest from this year. Enjoy!

Everything is Bigger in Texas--Including Me

Well it's that time of year again! The time of year when I am pregnant and life gets a little crazy again. Crazier than the usual crazy of a one and two year old running my life. And yes it seems to happen every year! This last week Austin got an official job offer in Dallas and off we go! I knew we weren't going to be in Camden forever but I certainly expected it to be longer than this! (Hence the purchase of a house! Yikes!) It took about 6 months to stop being homesick and really get into the groove of tiny southern living and then I'm back to the city. A much larger city than I've ever lived in. The traffic is going to kill me (hopefully not literally).

I'm excited to move to Texas and have all the amenities I've been without for the last year. My pregnant cankles will thrive in the hot sticky environment that is Dallas. However, I'm a little nervous that I'll be in some sort of shock and start spending all of my money. Camden has turned my life very simple and we go without a LOT of things that I used to think were necessary. I will miss the great friends I have made here terribly but I am grateful for the time I've had with them.

We will have some assistance with selling our house and I hope it goes quickly. I hope someone loves it as much as I do but if they don't... I don't really care as long as they're buying! I don't want to hear any of your nightmare stories of having a house sit empty for years. Only positive vibes and lots of prayers that it goes quickly. I can't handle the stress, I'm a bit of a basket case already. This will be our 8th move in 3 1/2 years! And I've been pregnant during almost all of them.

Now on to the really exciting news. Does that seem like old news? I feel like I've been keeping it a secret for a long time (17 weeks) but also telling just enough people that I kind of felt when I announced that everyone would be like, "um yeah we know." So show some enthusiasm for me. The third baby doesn't get nearly the attention and excitement of the first and even second. Due October 23rd, by the way. I don't think I mentioned that yet. I tried very hard to keep it under wraps until I found out the gender but I talked to my whole family over Skype last night and I just blabbed. 3 weeks short of my ultrasound! I suck.

I've been feeling great and I've been making a very conscious (and borderline obsessive) effort to keep my weight under control. That seems to be my hardest part of pregnancy--blowing up like a whale. And not in the normal pregnant way. Oliver was fed a diet of mainly corn dogs in the womb and Vivian thrived on ice cream. It's a problem. Or, WAS a problem rather. This time will be different.

Oliver is kind of getting the picture when I talk about the baby. Every time he gut punches me or pounces on me in bed and I tell him, "Careful! Don't hurt the baby in my tummy!" I'm sure the baby is fine but dang, his 35 lbs can pack a punch! And it hurts me so I use the baby to my advantage. He pokes his sticky finger in my belly button and in a very curious and confused voice asks, "Baby in da hole?" Yep. There's a baby in my hole.

Some other Oliver antics:

"When will the baby wake up?"
"Does the baby eat lunch?"
"Does the baby watch Cat in the Hat?"
"Can the baby jump on the trampoline or is he too little?"

Kids are hilarious and very entertaining. He's started getting worried though, and tells me the baby needs to stay little and stop growing like the baby in his tummy. His is never coming out. His words.

So that's the run down on our lives right now. Wish us luck!

Another 1 Year Old!

Vivian. From the Latin name Vivianus which was derived from Latin vivus "alive". The meaning of her name fits her so well. And I don't mean just that she isn't dead. It's a little deeper than that ;) She was born in Spring time and brought with her green grass and blossoming flowers. She brought new life. Her due date was on Easter last year and you all know "alive" is something pretty significant on Easter. Okay, I'me getting weird and corny. Anyway, Vivian turned one and it has been such an awesome year. 

When she was born, she weighed 8 lbs 10oz. She was 21 inches long. And now, one year later, she clocks in at 22 lbs and 31 inches long. She's 75% for weight and 95% for height. That is definitely on the larger end of the baby scale but she still seems so tiny compared to her brother! When he was one he was 26 lbs and 33 inches long.  

She loves her pink crochet blanket and doesn't sleep as well without it. She crawls and climbs everywhere and her knees are starting to look like leather. She loves playing outside in the dirt and hates if we try to move her. She knows where she wants to go and doesn't want any interference. She is as loud as the day is long. She yells and yells. Not in an angry way (mostly) it's just the way she has learned to talk over the noise of her brother. Which in turn, makes him yell over her. They fight over toys and they hug and make up. 

She's starting to bite and she just smiles and acts cute when she does. Little punk. She also is becoming a real person with wants and opinions and sometimes I forget that. She can get out the back door if it's just the screen door that is closed and she is starting to escape down the drive way and into the street. She has also taken an interest in toilet water--yak!

She got a Cozy Coupe for her birthday and Oliver had major jealousy issues. He did not like that it was her birthday and not his. 

 She has the cheesiest smile! She juts her chin out every time!

 She doesn't like cake! Didn't eat any of it. Lame!

 This is a result of Oliver's jealousy.

I tried to get some one year pictures of this girl and it was kind of a disaster! Haha. She refused to keep her head band on and she kept crawling off to play on something. She wouldn't hold still! I have no clue how people get those gorgeous professional photos of their little kids all dressed up and posing. It would be a total waste of money for me to pay someone to chase her around with a camera. She's an animal. A cute animal. 

So! That's the best I could do. We love her a lot and smother her in kisses every day. Happy birthday Beau!