Photo Shoot

A few weeks ago I called my sweet friend and photographer, Yvonne Robles, and asked if she had time to squeeze us in for a photo shoot for our Christmas card picture. She was able to meet us within days and during my conference period. And that's why I love her. What I love most is what she captures in between the posed pictures. I had so many favorites, but had to keep it limited to a horizontal picture since I had already purchased the cards.

Here is a peek at a few of my favs...





And the Card Winner...

Our card said, "Meet me under the mistletoe". I thought us walking fit the phrase perfectly.

Christmas

Christmas week started out with a sick little girl.


Lyla woke up Wednesday morning with a fever, runny nose, and a cough. By mid afternoon her fever was up to 102.4 and by late afternoon it was up even higher. I finally put a call into the doctor's officer (after hours of course) and expected a call saying come in the following morning. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by a phone call from our doctor within the hour. (She called from home. Gotta love small towns). She told me colds with higher fevers had been going around and if Lyla's fever wasn't down by Friday morning she would meet me at the office. Well, Wednesday night was a rough one. It was the first time ever that Lyla had a hard time sleeping. She would sleep about 20-30 minutes before a painful coughing fit would wake her up. We all got about 3 hours of sleep (total) that night. We watched lots of Elmo on Netflix. I am thankful for Netflix instant play, but wish they had more than one Elmo movie. Lyla started doing better as the sun came up. She slowly improved, but was still running a fever on Christmas Eve which meant no Christmas Eve service for us. Sadly I was mostly bummed that Lyla didn't get to wear her Christmas dress again.

Christmas Eve we headed over to my parent's house for our traditional dinner and presents. My dad made a delicious dinner, as usual! Lyla was the cutest elf passing out all the presents to the correct people. It took her a while to get into the swing of opening presents. Partly because she doesn't entirely get it yet and partly because we started opening presents too close to bed time.



The Cozy Coupe was the big hit of the night.


Christmas morning we awoke to presents from Santa.


Lyla loved her baby and stroller so much that she didn't want to peek in her stocking or open any other presents for about 2 hours. Silly girl. The nice thing about that though is it makes it all last longer.



Mid morning Andy's mom, grandma, brother and sister came over for brunch and more presents. Sadly I didn't get any pictures of the family, but Lyla enjoyed her time with them. She loves her Uncle Aaron and calls him by name. So sweet.

We are all slowly recovering from Lyla's illness and hoping that Andy and I don't get it. I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

20 Months

So I'm a little behind on a Lyla update. All I can tell you is she is growing and changing every day. Her personality is coming out more and more which also means she is frequenting time out more these days. Lyla definitely has her mother's personality. She is a little hard headed and a lot of "my way". She has also gotten really good at saying no and running away, as well as becoming more vocal when she has her tantrums. Makes for some interesting times, but I also know it means she will be strong, independent and driven. And for that I am thankful.

Lyla is also starting to put words together to make phrases. It totally amazes me. Some of her newest phrases are:
- no more
- hi mama, or hi dada
- the other day she said to Andy, "mama said see dada". Now of course it wasn't clear as a bell, but we knew what she was saying.
- kitty at house
- go bye-bye
- school bus
- go outside
- my baby

New words:
- keys
- yellow (and she can pick out things that are yellow)
- moon (which can also sound like more)
- apple
- Santa (and she knows Santa says Ho Ho Ho)

Lyla does this cute little thing where she tilts her head to one side and looks very intently at you when she really wants some thing. She's also gotten a taste for sweets. I have to keep hiding the M&Ms because she remembers where they are and wants, "more".

Lyla's imagination is soaring. She loves to play in the car. She "drives" and turns the lights on and off. She also LOVES her baby dolls. She carries them every where, feeds them, puts them to night-night and pushes them in the stroller. Thankfully Santa and her parents are bringing her lots of baby doll stuff.

Things we done in the past two months...

Gone Christmas tree shopping. This has been a family tradition since I was about 3 and I love passing it along to my daughter.


Helped decorate the house.



Partied with friends.


And just like her mommy, she's all about shoes.

A walk with Papa

One of my favorite things is learning my family history. I love visitng with my grandparents about the "good ole days". It is so fun watching them remanice about their youth. On Friday after Thanksgiving, while most of my family was still in town, we took my grandfather, Papa, to his old neighborhood so he could show us around. We hadn't done this since I was 6 or 7 so you can imagine what a treat this was. Not to mention several cousins have been added to the family in the past 20 years and they needed to trip.

The weather couldn't have been more perfect. The sun was shining, it was warm enough to not need a jacket and the air was crisp. Fall! It was a pure pleasure to listen to Papa tell his stories of his youth.

First stop, the curb where he crashed his first bike into. He said he didn't know how to use the brakes. The curb being referenced is directly behind Lyla and Carson. As I've mentioned, Lyla loves Carson and he was so good to make sure she didn't get hit by a car.


As we continued our walk (15 of us, we probably looked like Jehovah's Witnesses, just not dressed as nice) we ran into this older man coming out of his front door. He said, "well what a fine looking group." One of my aunts told him we were walking her daddy's old neighborhood. Papa introduced himself and the man said, "well Hal Nivens. We went to grade school together. I've got a picture of us from first grade." Now how about that! He kidnapped Papa in attempts to find the picture. He didn't, but we told him we'd have to come back by.

Next stop. My grandfather's old house. He loved this house. He spent more of his life in another home, but does not have fond memories of that house. (He was moved out into the middle of nowhere...which is now a booming neighborhood). But this house, this is the house that he loves. He remembers shooting out on of the windows with his bebe gun. Was my grandfather ever a little boy? I guess so.

Grandkid photo op. in front of Papa's childhood home.

We continued down to his best friend, John's, old house. As we stopped to look, the owner came out and remembered Papa from his stroll through the neighborhood a few years ago. She was so sweet and allowed us all to come in and tour her home. She said her husband bought the house in the 70's, and loves that my grandfather remembers how the house originally looked. I guesss he took her on a tour of her own home when he passed by a few years ago. Such a sweet couple. Papa was so excited to see them restoring it to it's orignial glory!

Papa pointed out the curb where him and his dog would sit and share lollipops. Yes, he really did take a lick and then let the dog take a lick. (He's still that way.)

And finally, Papa's elementary school. Such a small building compared to elementary schools now a days.

Remember the nice man, Mr. Rodriguez.... On our way back he came back out and had found the pictures. My papa from 1931. How crazy is that!

What's even crazier is how much my cousin Carson and Papa look alike. (He's in the second row on the far left....in front of the teacher)

The day held such precious memories for me. Papa won't be around forever, but the day will forever be held in our hearts. I think it meant a lot to him too.

Thanksgiving 2010

My Thanksgiving break has been amazing. I am so blessed to have an entire week off every year. It is amazing how fast the week goes. I have done everything I wanted to do. I've taken naps, spent lots of time playing with Lyla, got a few workouts in and got some choreography done. I've even managed to fit in giving the house a good scrub down. It truly has been a great week.

Thanksgiving day we started off at my parent's house. As usual, my mom's two sisters and their families came in town. I love spending time with them. And Lyla had a blast with Carson, the second to the youngest cousin. He has such a sweet heart and just loves on her. My Aunt Renee says that Carson is the one that is always wanting a little sister, so I think he gets his fill when Lyla comes around. He is so good to play ball, hold her hand, and help her play games on the itouch. She just loves him.




We enjoyed an absolutely fabulous meal for 21 cooked by my dad. He is so good! And check out the table decor. Since Autumn started working as a wedding consultant years ago, she has been in charge of the table decorations. She always comes up with something wonderful.

There is nothing better than sitting around with the extended family sharing stories and laughter.


In the evening Andy, Lyla and I headed over to Andy's cousin, JJ's house, for our second Thanksgiving. Uncle Joe and his crew of 9 came in from Dallas, Uncle Danny and his crew of 4 came in from Corpus and Rachel and the kids came too. It was a full house and oh so much fun. It's not often that Andy's whole side of the family gets together, so it was great having everyone (minus Charlie, Pinky and Rene) under one roof. We enjoyed a delicious second meal and watched some football. I was fading, but the party went on around me.





How cute is that face?

You just want to kiss it all day long.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family.

A WHOLE WEEK OFF!!!

Yes, you read that right! I have the whole week off. It's one of the perks of being a teacher in NISD. So what am I going to do with my WHOLE WEEK OFF? Glad you asked. I actually have some goals.

1. Spend a whole bunch of quality time with Andy and Lyla.
2. Give the house a really good clean. I'm talking scrubbed from floor to ceiling. It needs it!
3. Work out. Once school starts back I'll be busy with dance team and musical so I need to get as many work outs in as I can before.
4. Sleep!
5. Re caulk the bath tub. It's getting kind of yuck.(This is actually more of a job for Andy)
6. Choreograph dance team Lyrical and pep squad Pom. Which also means cutting their music and putting it on the website.

I think these are attainable goals. Let's hope I can make it happen.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

The Great Hill Country Pumpkin Patch

A couple weekends ago (yes, I am that behind on blogging) Andy and I took Lyla out to The Great Hill Country Pumpkin Patch in Medina, TX. If you have never been out there, I highly recommend that you go. It is amazing!!! They have every type of pumpkin imaginable and so much fun stuff for kids to do. It did cost $5 per person to get in, but it was so worth it. They have face painting, pumpkin painting, train, horse and hay rides, a petting zoo and so much more. Lyla was still to little to do all of it, but it was still so much fun. We spent about an hour walking around and enjoying the perfect Sunday afternoon. We have already made plans to come back next year to purchase pumpkins (which were very reasonably priced) and to play!

Feeding the donkey in the petting zoo area. Lyla wasn't to sure about it.

Ducks!!!!

My sweet pea was tired and distracted, but I LOVED these fairytale pumpkins. I am so buying some next year.

My two favorite people!

Hanging with the Grandparents

My mom watches Lyla every Monday and Tuesday afternoon while Andy teaches. For several weeks Lyla has just spent the night at my parent's on Monday night (I don't get home from BSF in time to see her awake on Monday's anyways) and then I pick her up on Tuesday after school. This makes life a little easier on my mom. Not to mention they do fun things like go to the zoo or out for ice cream. Every Tuesday morning my mom takes Lyla for a walk and then they head to story time at one of the local libraries. They follow up story time by meeting me for lunch. A special treat for mommy if I do say so myself. Well, a few weeks ago my dad decided that Lyla needed to go to the Botanical Gardens, and they kindly let me tag along. It was a teacher work day so I snuck out a little early to meet them. We had so much fun. Lyla loved all the planes that flew over. Have I mentioned she is in love with airplanes? She loved looking at the flowers and especially loved feeding the ducks at the pond. Unfortunately the camera died right before we got to the ducks.

We looked and touched all the flowers.

We played with the water. Lyla is fascinated with water and must splash in it.

We took pictures with the dinosaurs.

Thanks Big Guy for bringing me.


This week was costume day at story time. So Lyla dressed up in her super cute Lady Bug costume. (and you will notice later that my child has two costumes. Doesn't every 18 month old need two? That's a long story that we won't get in to.) Back to my story. From what I heard, they sang songs and were read to. The Lyla got to go trick-or-treating in the library. And let me tell you, they gave out good candy. Lyla spent the rest of the afternoon going through her pumpkin pulling out and putting back all the candy. I'm pretty sure she ate some too, but she was a good sharer and let mommy have the kitkat. I met my mom, dad and Lyla at Chick-fil-a for lunch and got to love on my sweet little Lady Bug. We even played in the play area together.

Cute little Lady Bug (pre antenna).

Mom says she's always so good at participating in the activities.

Yummy treats!

Playing with Mommy in the play area.

Loss

Loss is never an easy thing. Many times, every time, it is what defines us. We are changed when a new baby comes into our life and we are changed when a loved one leaves us. 2010 has been a very difficult year for me in tearms of loss. In February I lost my principal, Larry Martin. This was one of the hardest losses I've ever had to deal with. While I knew he was a Christian and was/is in heaven praising our Lord, I still miss him and grieve. He was a mentor, a friend, and inspirer to many. I still think about what it was with him, but every time I get down I am reminded that I am being selfish. For Mr. Martin is in heaven praising our Savior every day. What could be better?

On Monday, October 11, my friend Kristi lost her sweet baby boy to a tragic accident at his in home day care. Just shy of 1 year, Baby Leo left the world, but not without leaving a footprint on all of our hearts. His parents, Krisit and Leo, spoke of his life, his legacy and their knowledge of where he is spending eternity. Watching Kristi and Leo stand and speak of Leo and of God at the funeral was amazing. The strength they had to speak came from the Great Comforter. What a testimony.

On Sunday, October 17, a childhood friend passed away. Kyle Gamble was born with one valve in his heart and was given a death sentence at his birth. With God at his side, Kyle defied all odds and lived a full life for 25 years. He was with his oldest brother on Saturday afternoon when he collapsed. His family was all around him Sunday when he finally went to be with his Savior. I know Kyle was greeted in heaven by his baby brother, Brad, who passed away 15 years ago.

In one weeks' time I attended two funerals of two children. I watched as both parents pointed to Christ and celebrated the life their boys had lived. As a parent myself, these losses have touched me even more so. While I am friends with both families, I constantly think, how would I handle the same situation? As parents we know that our children are a gift from God. They are not ours, but His on loan. We don't know how long we have, nor do we know how long our children have. We must celebrate each day, hug the ones we love, and remember to thank our Lord for the gifts he gives.

As you read this, please pray for the Seitz and the Gamble families as they continue to recover from their loss and learn how to live forever changed.

Randomness

This fall has been very busy, but lots of fun.

Andy purchased an iPad. Now, let me jut call him out for a minute and tell you how strongly he was against the iPad, but as his iTouch was dying he decided the iPad would be more useful. He also said it would be something Lyla could use. Well, I guess the both love it.

Lyla is playing make believe more. She pulled her baby Minny Mouse out the other night and started covering it with blankets and telling it "night night". She then crawled up on her glider and had me hand her Minny and 3 blankets so she could rock Minny. How cute is she all covered in pink?

Lyla loves shoes! (I don't know where she gets it from...hehe.) She has a basket filled with her shoes and she will play with them, carry them around and even put them on. I am so impressed when she can pull out the matching pair, but tonight as I was cooking dinner Lyla wondered into her room. A few minutes later she came back in wearing her boots, on the correct feet! I am one proud mommy.

Pumpkin Patch

This past weekend Andy and I took Lyla to the pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins and let Lyla roam. She was just so darn cute. She would pick up the little pumpkins and throw them back down. A lot different from trying to eat them last year.

We stayed for about 30 minutes walking around, taking pictures and "talking" about all the pumpkins. Lyla had more fun watching the big kids. She would walk up and try to "talk" to other kids her age.





And can I just say how did one year change my little baby into a full blown big girl!?!?!