The Hill Family

Eli is 6 months old!

2012-02-06T10:26:00.000-08:00

My beautiful boy!

Sweet playmates!

Our little man turned 6 months old yesterday! He is starting to roll over, but he's not moving around very much yet. He had an eye infection and clogged tear duct that is finally cleared up, after giving him prescription eye drops. Yeah! He is not sleeping though the night, even though we started sleep training around 5 mo. He seemed to be sleeping well and then regressed the past few weeks. (He did sleep 12 hours 3 times now) This momma is tired, and hopes he starts sleeping through the night soon! I can't really complain, he is such a good baby and I feel so blessed to have a happy, healthy baby!

He had his 6 mo. appointment today and here are his stats-

Height- 26.5 inches (54%)

Weight- 17 pounds (33 %)

Eli is not growing as quickly now, considering at his 4 mo. appointment he was in the 64% for weight.

Fun with grandma!

Eli enjoying sweet potatoes at 5 months. He loves to eat and enjoys everything we've tried so far!

Our 10 Year Anniversary!

2012-01-09T06:47:00.000-08:00

Our Wedding Day! 10 years later...

Jesse and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on New Year's Eve! We celebrated with a delicious dinner at Fleming's Steakhouse and strolled the waterway afterwards. We even saw a couple getting engaged, which was pretty fitting. We weren't able to get away for a mini-vacation like we planned, (Eli is still waking up and nursing a couple times at night) but we still had a much needed date night! Jesse surprised me and bought me a beautiful, new wedding band to replace my original band. I was very excited when I opened it on Christmas morning! He wrapped my ring in a big box and had it under the tree, so I couldn't wait to open it until our anniversary.

After 10 years, I am still married to my first love, have 2 precious children and get to live in a beautiful place, near my parents! I feel so privileged and lucky to have such a loving husband!

Christmas with our family of four!

2011-12-21T18:46:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we have enjoyed making special memories with our family of four. It is so fun to start family traditions each Christmas, like baking cookies with Hazel, making hot coco and reading the Christmas story from our family bible, visiting Santa, looking at Christmas lights in our jommies (Pj's), Christmas Eve service on the Friday before Christmas, and spending time with our family! We always pack in a lot of events during the holiday... Christmas Eve in Waco with Jesse's family, Christmas morning at home, and the day after Christmas at my parents with my family! Hazel and Andrew being silly!
Hazel with some of her gifts!
Eli and Hazel's beautiful stockings made by nanny and grandma!
Christmas Eve at grandma's and nanny's

Christmas Morning!
We had a fun and relaxing Christmas Morning with Grandee and Grandad at our house. We had a yummy breakfast- my usual Christmas morning meal, biscuits and homemade sausage gravy. This year Santa brought Hazel a Tinkerbell Scooter and when she came down the stairs and saw it, she said, "I didn't want that." It was pretty funny! (She didn't really want very much from Santa, so Jesse and I decided that she needed a scooter. Luckily, she now likes it and has had fun riding it around the cul-de-sac.)

Our family of gingerbread men!

Eli is 4 months!

2011-12-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

Eli is a happy boy and Loves... to be held, his exersaucer, music, the outdoors, to be tickled and for his big sis to entertain him! We moved him up to his room and he has been sleeping pretty well in his crib, now that he has gotten over a cold that lasted almost two weeks. I wish I could say that he is sleeping through the night, but he usually still wakes up twice and sometimes is wide awake in the middle of the night, so all I want for Christmas is a full night sleep! I am very thankful that Jesse works from home and is able to get up with Hazel most days, which allows me to sleep until 7:30 or 8 am.

Eli had his 4 mo. appointment on Dec. 2nd-

Height - 25.25 inches (67%)

Weight- 15.5 lbs. (64 %)

Decorating the tree with daddy!

Eli and his friend Brinley looking darling in their Christmas attire!
My friend Melissa hosted a Baby's First Christmas Party on the 15th! Here is Eli with his new friends!

A funny picture of Eli looking quite Ghetto in daddy's afro!

Thanksgiving!

2011-12-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving 2011
There are now fourteen blessings in our family... 3 more babies recently joined our large family. Eli's the 14th grandchild...he is the last and final one! Our family is finally finished growing!

We spent the holiday at my sister's house in Bastrop this year. Aunt Heidi's house works well for our big crew, there's plenty of room and a lot of fun things to do outdoors!

Hazel and Dawson

My sisters
All 25 of us! (we are missing uncle Brian) We are thankful he is coming home early and will be able to spend Christmas with Ash and the kids!
The kids had so much fun playing, and being silly and crazy together!

eli james is 3 months!

2011-11-01T13:06:00.000-07:00

Eli at 3 months:

He is sleeping pretty well, but still usually wakes up twice each night. He takes cat naps during the day most of the time, and one long nap if I'm lucky. He is an easy going baby, loves being outdoors, takes a bottle well, loves being held and his bouncy seat. He likes to suck on his hand or a paci. He falls asleep on walks, or in the car, but has to be swaddled to sleep well in his bed. Eli has been cooing and gurgling a lot. He tries to copy us when we talk to him; it is so adorable! He is a drooly little guy, so we have to keep bibs on him at all times!

Hazel likes to get my small bible and "read" stories to Eli about Jesus. I recently heard her reading to him while he was in his bed and heard her telling him, "Jesus died on the cross."

Our little "E man" as Jesse likes to call him!

Here is a pic of Aunt Tiff with the three babies!

We are so thrilled to have my sister, Ashlei and her 3 kids here in TX for about 6 weeks.

They arrived on Nov. 4th and the cousins have already had so much fun together.

Fall and Halloween!

2011-10-26T17:55:00.000-07:00

Even though the fall weather had a late arrival, we are really enjoying all of the fall festivities! This month was packed with fun! (Birthday parties, play group party, baby shower and visit with family in Waco, fall festival and trick-or-treating with neighbors!)

Hazel wanted to utilize some of her dress up clothes and wear three different costumes this year! She wore a fairy outfit for school, a Cinderella dress for story time at the library and her actual Halloween costume, Izzie the pirate.

Halloween Story time at the library
Play group Halloween party
Fall festival at church

We heard "I want some of that pink stuff!" about 20 times, so we gave in! They were out of pink, so she got blue cotton candy and was quite thrilled!

Eli is 2 months!

2011-10-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Eli is growing quickly and is the sweetest baby boy! He is starting to giggle and smile a lot, which just melts my heart.

He had his 2 mo. check up on Sept. 30th-

Height- 24 inches (90 %)

Weight- 12.14 pounds (85 %)

Caleb and Meredith 5 months, Eli 2 months

October 2nd- 10th-

Eli got to fly with me to North Carolina to meet his 3 little cousins and Aunt Ashlei! Hazel didn't get to join us, but got to spend the week with G & G and daddy! She had fun and was spoiled while we were away. My sis and I had a lot of fun spending time with our 3 babies and Dawson. It got a little crazy at times... taking care of 3 babies is a full time job! We also spent a lot of time cleaning, organizing and chatting the day away!

While we were in NC, Dawson had his 3rd birthday and we got to celebrate with him. Dawson had the best time at his bowling party!

Hazel is our big girl!

2011-09-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

Hazel went to her first day of pre-school at a church close to our house yesterday! She will go each Monday from 9 am-2 pm. I am really looking forward to having a day to get things checked off my TO DO list as well as alone time with Eli.

She was excited to go to school and said, "Yeah, Fun!"when I told her the day before that she was going.

Since Hazel turned three years old in June, we have seen her change a lot and become such a big girl! She seems so tall and looks so much older to me, especially now that we have a newborn!

Hazel at 3 years old-

Height- 3' 2" (59th percentile)

Weight- 35 pounds (79th percentile)

Jesse and I have really enjoyed this stage, and love being entertained by Hazel daily. She loves to dance and sing, and really uses her imagination when playing and to make up games. After having another little baby to take care of, I realize how easy and independent Hazel is. She still plays in her room for 2 hours a day for rest time, which is so helpful! Now if we could just get her to go #2 on the potty! We are still working on that one!

Welcome Shower!

2011-09-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

My neighbor, Linda, who lives across the street hosted a cul-de-sac welcome shower for Eli last night.

It was so nice to catch up with the Millport momma's and celebrate the birth of my darling Eli!

He received 2 beautiful, hand made blankets, diapers, wipes and some cute outfits. I am very blessed with thoughtful and generous neighbors who love babies! Linda was so kind to host and made her delicious white chocolate, macadamia nut cake with raspberry filling. It is SO good!

Eli fell asleep right before it started and then woke up, and everyone was able to hold him. He has been fussy in the evenings, but he surprised me and was so happy and alert the whole time!

The three cute newbies to our cul-de-sac!

Eli-1 mo, Ronin-1 year, Wyatt- 5 mo
Sweet neighbors
My mom and I

Eli is one month!

2011-09-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

Eli is growing way too fast, I cant believe he's already a month old! The past few weeks have been a little more challenging... the newborn honeymoon came to an end and our little darling has been more fussy in the evenings and requires us to put him to sleep (using the five S's) numerous times, before staying asleep in his bed. I decided to try the swing, and luckily he has started taking longer naps in his swing. He has been doing pretty well at night, usually waiting 3-4 hrs. between feedings. I am so thankful Jesse can help in the mornings and get up with Hazel, so mommy can get a little more sleep!

After looking back at Hazel's journal, Eli has very similar sleep habits and a similar temperament as Hazel did. Just like his sister, Eli wants to be held a lot, doesn't go to sleep on his own and is not a great sleeper in the car. He is adorable and we love him to pieces!

Jesse's mom and grandmother came to see us labor day weekend. Nanny had fun meting her only great-grandson!

Hazel has really enjoyed her new baby brother! She especially likes when he coo's and sneezes and thinks he's so cute! She also likes taking baths with him, holding him and showing him his baby toys.
1 month
Grandee and Hazel with Eli
My cutie
Aug. 18th, Daddy's b-day dinner! (first time out to eat with Eli)

Eli is a week old!

2011-08-12T06:42:00.000-07:00

Eli is a week old today and he is doing wonderful! This past week we have had a lot of visitors come to meet our little man. I am learning to adjust to waking up to feed him and have had a painful start to nursing, but it is getting a little better each day. Luckily, he has been a good sleeper and is eating every 4 hours at night now, which is pretty nice. Hazel has been having fun with her new baby brother, and seems to be adjusting pretty well. She was able to stay at my parents house while we were in the hospital and when we came home for a dew nights, so that was a huge help! Cousin Averi, very happy to hold him for the first time
Grandma with only her first and only grandson
Uncle Jeremy
Counsins-Elayne and Katelyn
My best friend Amanda came to visit
First bath
New friends, Brinley and Eli
Singing to her brother
First bottle with daddy and Hazel

Eli's birth!

2011-08-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

Our family was blessed with a sweet baby boy, Eli James on August 5th at 2:24 p.m.! Eli in his room for the first time
Eli enjoying his ride home!
Aunt Tiff, Aunt Mandi, Averi, Hazel and Grandee with Eli and I
Eli's cousins were so excited to be at the hospital when he arrived!
Riley, Uncle Stephen, Andrew, Kade, Wes and Grandad with Jesse and Eli
8 lbs. 21 1/2 inches long

I was induced a week past my due date, Friday the 5th. The induction went really well, I went to the hospital early Friday morning and started pitocin at 7:30 a.m. I progressed pretty quickly after Dr. Johnson broke my water at 9:30 a.m. I got an epidural at 10:30 a.m., shortly after I started really feeling pain from the contractions. The doctor checked me a few minutes before 2 p.m. and she quickly prepped for delivery!

My sister Mandi stayed in the room to take pictures. (she barely got in the room in time, before the doctor started making me push!) I pushed for about 20 minutes, and our bundle of joy was delivered! We are so thankful that Eli is healthy and was delivered with out any complications. We were able to go home after 24 hrs. on Sat. I was so glad to be home and sleep in my own bed! I am in awe of how much I love our baby boy and how God has continued to bless our family with the gift of another precious life.

Everything is washed, the house is cleaned and my hospital bag is packed, just waiting..

2011-07-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

My due date is tomorrow, July 29th and Eli is still warm in cozy in the womb!

I had a check up today, and I am only dilated 1 1/2 centimeters. Both my doctor and I hoped I would be further along at this point. I have had a lot of contractions for the past week, making me optimistic, but the contractions proved to be braxton hicks.

I will have another appointment on Aug. 1st, if I haven't gone into labor by then. I'm praying for a speedy labor and delivery very soon! We can't wait to see our little Eli for the first time and hold him in our arms.

39 weeks

We have really enjoyed decorating our little boy's nursery! Jesse did a great job painting giraffes on one of the walls in the nursery.

The 3 week countdown begins!

2011-07-06T18:00:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I had my 36 week ultrasound to check the baby's weight, etc. Jesse and I enjoyed seeing our sweet boy and can't wait for him to actually be in our arms!! His estimated weight is 6.9 lbs. and he should gain about half a pound a week, so he will probably be 8-9 pounds, like Hazel at birth.

Hazel is getting excited about her baby brother arriving soon, and likes to tell everyone we meet his name! A few cute things she has said about little Eli this week-

"We need to get Eli a beach ball for the beach, a blue one b/c he likes blue like daddy!"

After saying I wanted Grandee to make her a new hooded towel, she said," She needs to make Eli one too, a Cars towel with Mator and Lightening McQueen on it."

"We could make a bunny note for him, like we made for daddy!" (we made a "Some Bunny Loves You" father's day card for Jesse)

VBS and the Beach!

2011-07-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

Hazel got to attend her fist VBS last week (June 27-30th) at The Church At Alden Bridge, a small church very close to our house. I was so impressed that she let me drop her off at a church that she had never been to, with people she did not know! The volunteers were so loving and welcoming! I am thankful that she had a great experience and learned more about Jesus in such a loving and fun environment. It was great to be able to have the mornings free to run errands and get things checked off my To Do list before baby Eli arrives.

2-4 year old class dressed in their Christmas attire-they learned about Christ's birth that day.

She missed the last day of VBS on Friday, so she and Jesse could leave for their first daddy and daughter trip to the beach! They were both very excited to join his whole family in Port Aransas for the 4th of July weekend. I was sad that I didn't get to go, but my doctor didn't feel comfortable letting me go out of town at 36 weeks pregnant. And, with the terrible state of my legs, I was happy to be home resting and not wearing a bathing suit all weekend!

While at the beach, Hazel had a blast playing in the sand and waves, swimming in the pool, going crabbing, fishing and to the Texas State Aquarium. Last year she was a little too young to bravely play in the water, but Jesse said this year she was so cute playing at the beach and was pretty daring. I am so glad they had the chance to bond and spend quality time together with the family! I was proud at how well Hazel and Jesse did on their first trip together, I am thankful that Jesse is such a dedicated and hands on daddy!

Baby update and shower!

2011-06-12T11:05:00.000-07:00

Baby Eli James

After much contemplation, we finally made a decision and chose a name for our baby boy. Jesse was dragging his feet, but I made him decide so we could plan and tell others his sweet name!

His middle name was chosen in honor of Jesse's father and my grandfather, Pop. It has been fun decorating his room; I am excited to complete the nursery soon!

Here is a picture of Eli at my 28 week ultrasound

My sweet friends threw me a baby shower on Saturday, the 11th at the Black Walnut Cafe . It was such a treat to have adult time without our children and celebrate the upcoming birth of little Eil. I feel so blessed with a wonderful group of friends whom I love and hold such a special place in mine, as well as Hazel's heart! There are 4 of us whom are pregnant in this picture, and we are all having boys! So crazy!

Krista and I have the same due date!
Marcela and I
Emily made a special photo book for Eli of all the play group families, what a treasure that will be!
Hazel and my big belly after the shower! I am 33 weeks pregnant and counting down the days!

Hazel's 3rd Birthday!

2011-06-12T10:48:00.001-07:00

Hazel had a ball at her Hello Kitty Birthday party on Wednesday, June 1st! Jesse was going to be out of town on Friday, so we celebrated early with our play group friends and grandee and grandad. Her 3rd cousins, Nellie and Sam also got to come!

We had a swim party at G and G's house. The kids had so much fun swimming and celebrating with Hazel!

Our sweet birthday girl in her cupcake dress on her golden birthday-June 3rd, 2011.

Unfortunately, I got a stomach bug on Friday, her actual birthday, so Grandee took her to lunch at the place of her choice...Taco Bell :) She then got to go swimming with her cousins and Aunt Tiff while I stayed home and recovered.

Visit in North Carolina-May 8th-17th

2011-05-19T18:16:00.001-07:00

Hazel and I made our fourth plane trip to NC to see my darling twin niece and nephew, Meredith and Caleb! It was pretty special to arrive on mother's day and be greeted by my mom, sister and her adorable babies! It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with my sister's family and help take care of the twins soon after they were born!

Hazel had a great time playing, and getting into plenty of mischief with her cousin Dawson, like eating half a jar of gummy vitamins, marking with pen on a leather chair, jumping on beds, and making big messes...They sure kept us busy!

It was so hard to say bye, knowing next time we se the twins, they will be 5 months old. I am very proud of my sister Ashlei and how well she is dealing with twins babies and a toddler!

Caleb and Meredith were so healthy and the sweetest little newborns! I loved snuggling with them!

Caleb William (7 lbs) born 1:01 p.m.

Meredith Hope (6lbs 6oz) born at 1:02 pm

May 4th

Easter...a week full of fun!

2011-04-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

We really enjoyed celebrating with friends and family this week, and teaching Hazel about the miracle of the resurrection. (A cute side note, she thinks any Christian song we hear on the radio is about baby Jesus, and always says, this is about baby Jesus! I love her little innocence.

Wednesday- our play group Easter party at the park, so fun to see the cutest kids play and hunt for eggs together

Friday-The Children's Museum with daddy, where Hazel got to do Easter crafts and play

Friday afternoon-Egg hunt in our cul-de-sac with all the kids from our street

Musuem
On Easter Sunday we went to church and then to my sister's house for dinner and Easter activities. Hazel got spoiled by her Aunt Tiff and Grandma Sandy (my sister's m-in-law) and received a basket full of treats and goodies! We dyed eggs, had our 3rd egg hunt for the week, and ate a yummy Easter dinner!

Hazel got to find 3 giant eggs!

Good friends!

2011-04-07T18:52:00.000-07:00

Hazel and two of her best girl friends, Marielle and Claire have had so much fun in ballet class the past few months. Each week I look forward to ballet class as much as Hazel! The mom's stand, smiling and laughing as we watch our girls have a ball together while dancing and acting silly. Hazel did so well in class today and earned her lollipop from Ms. Caroline. (last week she had a melt down after I didn't let her have a reward, after running around and not listening. She learned her lesson this week and was thrilled to receive a lollipop!)

Hazel doing her best point

Claire, Marielle and Hazel

Our other favorite weekly activity is story time, at the library...Claire and Hazel reading

God has blessed us tremendously with great friends! It has been so neat watching Hazel grow with her little friends from infancy and become close companions with the precious little girls and boys we are blessed to know!

Rodeo Fun!

2011-03-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

This past Tuesday we pulled on our boots and went to the Houston rodeo with Jesse's family! Our little cowgirl had a fun day eating fair food and seeing all of the farm animals. Hazel loved sporting her boots and cowgirl hat that grandma brought her to wear!

Feeding the goats with grandma
I told Hazel to pose and this is what she did :)

Day at the Zoo!

2011-03-15T08:27:00.000-07:00

We went to the Houston zoo on Sunday with two of my sister's families who have came to visit this weekend. The zoo was very crowded due to spring break, so it was a little tricky keeping up with 7 kids! We enjoyed walking around the pretty zoo, had a picnic lunch, and loved seeing all of the animals! My little curlicue loved seeing the baby elephant!

As you can see, Hazel was not in a

photogenic mood while at the zoo :)

Hazel had a great time with her cousins and wanted to walk almost the whole time, instead of riding in the stroller.

It's a boy!

2011-03-05T09:08:00.000-08:00

We are super excited that the next addition to our family will be a baby boy! Jesse, Hazel and I thought it was probably going to be another girl, so we were very surprised! Last Wednesday I had an ultrasound at 19 weeks pregnant. Jesse's mom got to come to the appointment and share this special moment with us. What a fun experience, we loved seeing him move all around and enjoyed seeing all of his cute baby parts!

Afterwards, we celebrated with my parents and Jesse's mom at one of our favorite dinner spots, Pei Wei. My mom brought a blue and pink gift that we got to open once we found out the gender. Hazel got to open the blue gift, even though she wanted to open the pink one!

Hazel, the Big Sis was not convinced after the ultrasound and thought we were still going to have a girl. She has warmed up to the idea of having a brother and now seems excited! (We wore pink at the ultrasound apt. with Hazel for good luck, and kept the tradition alive and wore blue to this appointment)

Princess Party and big girl bed!

2011-02-19T15:17:00.000-08:00

We went to Kennedy's 3rd b-day party today at Bear Branch Park. Hazel loved dressing up as Cinderella and had so much fun playing, and jumping in the castle jump house! My friend Cecily did such a great job planning the perfect princess party!

Hazel and her friend Kennedy
Mommy and her princess
Now that Hazel is not taking naps, she started climbing out of her crib for the first time. We decided to play it safe and let her sleep on her crib mattress on the floor for a few days. We then moved her to a twin bed with a railing on Wednesday. She loves her big girl bed and is now more interested in having rest time and is happier when going to sleep at bed time!

Weekend in Austin

2011-01-31T18:39:00.000-08:00

We had a great visit this weekend in Round Rock with our old friends, Jen and Tim and their 3 sweet kids! We hadn't seen them in 2 years, but it was just like old times!

I also got to do a photo shoot on Sunday for a friend, Candy who started a business called Covillow. She is making unique breastfeeding covers for mothers. It was very fun to get my makeup done, and participate in the photo shoot with 3 other sweet friends whom I hadn't seen in years as well. I will be excited to see the web-sight when it is complete!

Evan, Grace and baby Will with Hazel
We decided to do the inevitable and take away Hazel's paci last week! We wrapped her last pacifier and gave it to our friends newborn, Kate. Hazel was excited to give her paci to another baby and then got to pick out a new toy at Target. She chose the Tangled Barbie.

She never even asked for her paci again, but cried the first few days when going to bed. She has always been a great napper, taking 2-3 hour naps, but hasn't taken a nap in 4 days! Luckily, she will still play in her bed during nap time, thank goodness:) We may have gained a big girl and lost our napper!

Baby #2, coming this summer!

2011-01-09T12:08:00.000-08:00

We are very happy to announce the that we are expecting our second baby! I am 11 weeks pregnant and my due date is Aug. 1st. I know...pregnant all summer! I will be quite uncomfortable at the end of the pregnancy and am hoping I can survive the Texas heat. Even though it took us a few months longer to get pregnant than expected, we know God's timing is perfect:) We feel so thankful and are filled with joy, knowing we will have another precious child to love.

Due to insurance, I had to wait to go the the Dr. until the first of the year, so I had my first appointment at 10 weeks. Jesse and I were so glad to be able to see the little baby in my belly on the ultrasound!

Hazel is going to make a wonderful older sister and is excited about us having another baby. It is pretty funny, she is adamant about having a sister and not at all interested in having a baby brother. From the beginning, when we asked her if she thought it was a boy or girl, she always said, "It's a a girl." She even named her, Tida. Hopefully she won't be too disappointed if it's a boy, and if we don't use the name she picked out!

"All I want for Christmas is a ladybug and tea set..." Hazel Paige

2010-12-30T06:40:00.000-08:00

This past 2 weeks have been filled with surprises, sadness and joy! We started the week by hearing the tragic news that my brother-in-law, Brian's mother had a massive brain aneurism. Our family was really sad to hear this terrible news, but also excited that we would now be able to spend Christmas with my sister, Ashlei and her family. They were not planning on coming to TX for the Christmas holiday, but quickly got on an airplane to be in The Woodlands with Brian's mom. Brian's mom, Diane passed away on Tuesday and went to be with the Lord at the young age of 59. She will be dearly missed.

The first of many Christmas celebrations began...

Thursday night, we went to our church's Christmas Eve service. Hazel looked adorable in her Christmas Dress and enjoyed celebrating Jesus' birth!

Jesse, Hazel and I went to Waco Friday for Christmas Eve and had a great time with Jesse's family, eating a delicious Christmas meal, singing carols, and opening gifts.

After driving back home Christmas Eve night, we woke up Christmas morning and had Ashlei, Dawson and Brian over to open presents. Santa brought Hazel a Little Tykes play house! She and Dawson were so excited and had a great time opening gifts together. It was a special blessing to have their family here on Christmas morning. That afternoon we went to my sister, Tiffani's house in Cypress and spent the day with her family.

On the 30th, we had a late Meredith Christmas celebration with my whole family. It was so nice to have ALL of my 4 sister's families there this year. (we missed uncle Kort though) You can imagine the chaotic, but fun time it was with 11 grandkids playing, and opening gifts together at my parents house. We are thrilled to be able to add three more kids to the bunch next Christmas, since Ashlei is 20 weeks pregnant with twins and I am 10 weeks pregnant!! Can you imagine, 14 grandkids!

P.S. Hazel did get what she wanted for Christmas, her cousin got her the tea set and grandma got her a Zoobie pet ladybug!

Thanksgiving- so much to be thankful for!

2010-12-06T09:58:00.000-08:00

We had a relaxing Thanksgiving with my parents and one of my sister's family. We had a small group this year, since the rest of the family spent the holiday with their in-laws.

The holiday was filled with plenty of eating, playing, dancing, crafts and watching football. Gotta love those Aggies!!

The kids really enjoyed playing with the barbie house and all of the barbies Grandee had stored away in the attic. She has kept all of the barbies from our childhood, which kept the kids entertained for hours.

I am most thankful for this cutie
My sis Mandi and I
Dancing darling
Averi, Kade and Hazel with their turkey apples

Last weekend we went to Waco to see Jesse's family, for a late Thanksgiving get together. Hazel loved feeding grandma's fish, playing with the dogs, and going on adventures with daddy in the pasture. It was great to see Grandma, Aunt Marsha, Aunt Mellisa, Uncle Neal, Uncle Jeremy, Katelyn and Elayne!

What a blessing to spend time with family this Thanksgiving!

Hazel is 29 months old!

2010-11-09T13:09:00.001-08:00

I want to remember some of the really cute things Hazel has been doing these days...

1. Hazel's favorite song right now is the, Come Back Song, by Darius Rucker. It is always on the radio and she asks to listen to it all the time! We had to buy it on I Tunes and Jesse learned how to play it on guitar. She asks to listen to it daily! She is so cute and sings along and dances with excitement every time she hears it.

2. She requires daddy to do the "Night, Night Friends Countdown" before bed each night. He created a little routine with Hazel's abundance of stuffed animals that she sleeps with each night. He does a whole song and dance with each one as he puts them in her bed.

3. She plays "Polar Bear" with daddy and Copper in the evenings. They pretend to be in an igloo or on an ice berg (bed) and Copper is the polar bear out to get them. She giggles and gets so excited when Copper jumps up and tries to get her.

4. When I put Hazie to bed, she only wants me to sing her ONE song, Jesus Loves Me. I used to sing her numerous songs, but lately only Jesus Loves Me will do!

5. She is so smart and amazes us all the time with her wonderful memory.

A recent story-As we drove into the TJMaxx parking lot, I guess the storefront jogged her memory and she wanted to go buy a Super Why toy that we saw moths earlier. She remembered in detail playing with a Super Why toy while shopping. Super Why is her favorite show right now. Sure enough they still had it, so I had to buy it!

I made Hazel some bows last weekend, this was one of my favorites. I used a vintage pin to embellish the bow that my mom had on an old flapper dress she wore in college.
Hazel loves her new life size care bear! Our neighbor handed it down to her. She's been sleeping with her new care bear too!

Halloween!

2010-11-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was jammed packed with fun! We met grandma and Bobby and went to the Renaissance Festival in Plantersville on Sunday morning. We had a great time seeing all of the crazy costumes, interesting animals, shows and unique people! Hazel got to spend some special time with her grandma. Her favorite thing at the festival was riding the pig on the carousal with her grandma!

Last night we continued our tradition and went trick-or-treating with my sister's family in Cypress. Hazel looked so adorable in her lady-bug costume and had a wonderful time seeing her cousins and trick-or-treating! We were lucky and came away with most of the candy still in the bag and not in her tummy!!

Grandee and Grandad with Hazie
Wes, Riley, Hazel and Andrew dressed up!
A day of great family memories and priceless moments with our little lady-bug!

Pumpkin Time!

2010-10-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

I had a great morning with girlfriends at a baby shower while Hazel and daddy spent some quality time together. I helped host a shower for three wonderful girls who are in my play group. Some of the baby bumps are covered up, but 5 of these girls are pregnant right now!
Jess and Hazel rode the bike to the park this morning and then we carved a pumpkin when I got home. This was Hazel's first time to carve a pumpkin; she wasn't too sure about the slimy center (see last picture), but soon got into the messy fun! She got a kick out of seeing the pumpkin glow!
Hazel named the pumpkin, Happy!

This face says it all, "Yuck!"

Family Pictures

2010-10-12T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we went to visit my sister Mandi and her family in Plano. Hazel had a great time playing with her cousins Averi and Kade! We got to see Kade play baseball and see Averi cheer, we also went to a farm b-day party for one of their friends. My sister has a great camera and a knack for photography, so she took some family pictures for us on Sunday. Here are a few of my favorite pictures... I used piknic.com to change the colors

Beautiful ballerina

2010-10-07T14:32:00.001-07:00

Hazel went to her first ballet class this morning!

She loved learning with Ms. Caroline and did so well for

her first ballet class. I was impressed with how well she

listened and followed directions. It was so fun to watch her

dance, she made her mommy proud!

Fall brings fun!

2010-09-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

This week...

Grandma came to spend the night with us on Tuesday, we had a birthday party for 2 little friends on Wednesday, Thursday we met Daddy for lunch and today we went to a fairy party for playgroup!

All the little fairies watching Tinkerbell

We are proud of our little fairy, she has been doing really well with potty training, but we are still learning.

Hazel was so excited to play with grandma and had so much fun while visiting with grandma!

Day 5-not trained, but getting there

2010-09-23T07:02:00.000-07:00

We completed the three day potty training regimen, by the "Queen of Potty Training", Lora Jensen. Hazel has done pretty good, but after trying this method myself and hearing from other's who have tried it, the 3 day training takes longer for most children, and isn't as cut and dry as it claims.

We stayed home for three days straight and I cleaned up multiple accidents all day long. Even though she has not begun to tell me that she needs to go pee, we have had a few breakthroughs, she woke up dry a few times, and went #2 on the potty a lot! She was really excited when she got to call "Tinkerbell" (my mom) to brag about her success! As a reward, Daddy brought home the Tinkerbell movie for her to watch for the first time. We finally left the house yesterday to go to play group and to eat lunch. I decided to put her in a pull-up while we are out and continue to work on wearing panties while at home. Hopefully our hard work will pay off soon!

We are dog sitting this week, and Hazel is very excited about having Lucy here to play with. As you can see, she loves dogs and warmed up to Lucy real fast :)

3 Day Potty Training Begins...

2010-09-19T18:36:00.001-07:00

After months of Hazel not really progressing in potty training, we decided to try the 3 day potty BOOT CAMP! After making a sticker chart, stocking up on panties, treats, and stickers, we began our first day... We stayed home all day, and she wore panties for the first time. (about 20 pairs that is!) The first day was pretty stressful, and didn't go very well, but I am praying that tomorrow improves. After a day of many accidents, whatever is supposed to click in her brain, hasn't yet!

Last week we tried to get her excited about wearing panties, so we talked about it each time we changed her diaper. She was so funny and said she wanting to wear Yo Gabba Gabba panties. She repeated this to us throughout the week. The funny thing is, she hardly ever watches that show and I am not sure how she even knew that they made Yo Gabba Gabba panties! Lo and behold, we found them at Target, thank goodness I got the last pack!

Even though this is a very challenging and frustrating time as parents, Hazel is the best 27 month old we could ask for!

Hazel's first pet and Cookie Monster!

2010-09-06T18:43:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we took Hazel to Pet's Mart for the first time. We needed a few doggy items, but also went for the mini zoo experience :)

We strolled around Pet's Mart and looked at all the little critters and then decided to buy a Beta fish for Hazel. Jesse and I have thought about getting her a fish for a while, since she has always shown a lot of interest in fish.

She was so excited to pick out a fish to bring home! She named him Gummy. This past week she has had so much fun with her new pet, and loves to feed him. She likes to go visit him and say, "Hi Gummy," throughout the day. She also says, "He's cute," as she watches him swim in his bowl.

Last Wednesday we went to a Chick-Fil-A to see Cookie Monster with our play group (one of our favorite places, and the only fast food restaurant I take Hazel to!)

Grandee came to join in on the fun!

Trip to North Carolina Aug. 21-28th

2010-08-30T12:55:00.001-07:00

Hazie and I had a great trip to Goldsboro, NC to visit

Aunt Ash and Dawson! Uncle Brian was gone most of

the week, but we did get to see him for a few days as well.

This was Hazel's 3rd trip to NC, but our first time flying,

just the two of us. She did well on the airplane, besides

being a little noisy and screaming with excitement.

Our visit was filled with fun adventures and two

noisy toddlers! Dawson and Hazel had such a great

time playing together, having screaming matches in

the car and running around laughing!

We will really miss Ashlei, Dawson and Uncle

"Brinan" as Hazel would say!

The month of July has been filled with good times!

2010-07-24T07:38:00.001-07:00

Hazel got a Minnie Mouse dress-up costume for her b-day. As you can see, she was thrilled to put it on!
Hazel and Claire playing at Safari Stop and admiring the pretty fish! Hazel loves to go see the fish tank at the United Methodist Church when we go to Safari Stop.

We went to the lake last weekend and had fun like we always do! Saturday night we rode in the boat over to the dock area and played on the pier while we waited for a table at Sam's Boat.

Here is a pic of Hazel in her first pig-tails!

Some of Hazel's cute faces...

Barney!

2010-07-08T11:06:00.000-07:00

Our play group went to Chick-Fil-A to see Barney yesterday! We all had fun singing songs and seeing Barney up close! We always look forward to Wed. mornings, we love our play group and are so thankful for their friendships! Hazel enjoyed shaking Barney's hand and was excited to see him, even though she looks pretty bored in the pictures!

Almost the whole gang!

4th of July at the beach!

2010-07-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

After driving 5 hours through some major rain storms, we made it to Port Aransas last Thurs. night! Hazel was such an awesome little passenger; she played with stickers, read books and only watched about 45 min. of Baby Einstein at the tale end of the trip.

We played in the huge pool a lot, and played in the sand a little. (unfortunately the seaweed was covering most of the sand!) We went crabbing and strolled around the souvenir shops on Saturday and each night we had a big family dinner.

At the beach

In my new bikini
4th of July

On the fourth we didn't get to see many fireworks. Hazel was too tired to drive into town for the show, but we still had fun seeing a few fireworks off in the distance. We really enjoyed spending time with the family, and Hazel got plenty of attention. She is the only baby in the family, so she was our entertainment. Again, Hazel impressed us and was such a good girl on the long drive home on Monday!
Grandma and Hazie playing.
She loved jumping to us from the side of the pool and also loved daddy throwing her up in the air!

One of our best days of making memories with Hazie...

2010-06-27T14:47:00.000-07:00

Berry Pickin'-Saturday morning, Hazel and I went to a local famers market and blackberry farm with my mom. Hazel liked picking the berries, mostly the red ones, that weren't ripe. She loved watching the chickens in their yard as well. When I told her we were going to a Farmer's Market, she thought we were going to a farm and to see animals like cows, chickens, ducks, etc., so it was treat for her to actually see some animals! We came home with some great homegrown produce. What a fun outing with Grandee!

Pizza and Playing-Saturday night we went to the waterway square in The Woodlands and ate outdoors at Grimaldi's Pizzaria with some great friends. It is now our new favorite pizza joint; it was delicious, brick oven pizza! After dinner, Will and Hazel had a blast playing in the fountains and running around like crazy toddlers! They were laughing and having so much fun with each other. We ended our evening at Berry Pop for frozen yogurt!

Summer Fun!

2010-06-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

Jesse has been in Milwaukee for the past week and a half for business, and comes homes today! We have been missing daddy, and I know he is very anxious to see Hazie! Luckily the time has gone by quickly because we have been very busy while he was away.

Last week I hosted a VBS site for our church's community VBS at the park near our house. Hazel got to be spoiled while staying with Grandee and Grandad each day while I helped with VBS. This week my sister's and their kids have been visiting, and Hazel got to spend the week playing with her cousins. On Tuesday our family went to Splash Town waterpark. We were there from 10 a.m until 5 p.m.! Hazel had so much fun playing all day in the water with her cousins and was a trooper! She did get a short nap in and fell asleep under the umbrella on a lounge chair. Our summer has already been filled with great fun!

Hazel wasn't happy in this shot!

Hazel is two years old today!!

2010-06-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Hazel has been really looking forward to having a birthday party; she's been talking about it all week! We heard "My birthday party!" and "My birthday cake!" all week. She had a Backyardagains party with her little friends this morning. Luckily the rain held off and our Backyard party was a success! She had a great time playing with bubbles, in the sand, painting and opening all of her cute gifts! Here are a few pictures, I posted more on Facebook.

Grandee and Grandad with the birthday girl!
Hugging her Uniqua balloon
Finger painting
Hazel loved her pink lemonade cupcake

Growing like a weed and cuter than ever!

2010-04-28T18:59:00.000-07:00

Cute things Hazel does at 23 months!

Hazel likes looking for rolly pollies and ants outside, we like when she says rolly pollies :)
She started saying "I'm funny!" when she laughs.
She can sing parts of the following songs: Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle, ABC'S, Ba BaBlack Sheep...
She knows all of her letters, shapes, numbers 1-10 and colors.
She knows all of her little friends names and likes to say "Bye Will.", etc. every time we leave play group. She knows most of the mommy names too.
She flaps her arms and gets really giddy when she's excited!
A few days ago, when Jesse put her to bed, after he said, "I love you", she said, " I love mommy, daddy, Copper and Jesus." We were both so impressed that she put all of those names together!

We had a great visit with Jesse's family at the end of April. Here is the whole family at the Cameron Park zoo. Hazel loved seeing and feeding the koi fish in Grandma's pond, pulling carrots out of her garden and playing fetch with their dog Austin!

Our little garden girl

Helping daddy in the garden
Playing with Marielle at play group

Grandma's garden

Hazel and old friends

2010-04-21T12:02:00.000-07:00

We went to meet some old family friends, and my sister's family in Hempsted a few weeks ago. It was really fun to meet Alison's 4 kids and catch up! Here is a picture of all the kids at the park. We stopped along the way to take pictures of Hazel in the wildflowers.

The 4 West kids, the 3 Bailiff boys and Hazel!

Easter Weekend!

2010-04-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

Hazel is already 22 months old! I can't believe

she'll be two soon! This past weekend was full of fun!

We went to an Easter party Friday, where the girls

did a craft, decorated cookies and hunted eggs.

Saturday

we went with some friends to our church egg hunt,

and

to the Sat. night service. Sunday we celebrated at

G &G's

with our family and had a cook out. Hazel loved

all of

the treats she received and enjoyed getting to

eat candy!

He is Risen! Mark 16:1-8

Houston Rodeo!

2010-03-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun at the rodeo on Wednesday. We got to go spend the day with two of my sister's families, and Grandee. Hazel loved seeing all of the cute animals! She really liked trying her first corn dog and cotton candy too! It was very crowded because of Spring Break, so we didn't get to do as many of the activities, as we would have liked, but we still enjoyed our special day with our family!

Kid's Country-where they pretend to be a farmer and gather eggs, pretend to milk a cow, plant veggies, etc. So fun!

We stayed for the rodeo events and got to see fireworks and even stayed to hear part of the Gary Allan concert. Hazel was a trooper and didn't go to sleep until 10:30 p.m. on our way home.

Fun with old friends!

2010-03-08T12:19:00.001-08:00

Hazel is now 21 months old! Our little toddler is

growing, and learning so many new things lately.

Currently, she loves to count things, pretend to talk to

all of her cousins on the phone, listen to

sing or read nursey rhymes, sit and look

at books, play at

the YMCA, watch her favorite cartoons, go to play group &

story time and visit Grandee and Granddad!

Some of our good friends, the Bryant's came to visit this

past weekend. It was so fun to get our little girls together.

Hollyn and Hazel enjoyed playing at the park, taking a bath,

and watching cartoons together! We got to have some

much needed grown-up chat time with Scott and Jill

as well!

Valentine's Day!

2010-02-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

We had a great weekend, Jesse sent me roses on Friday, we went to a really fun Valentine's Date Party with friends and got to spend time with my nephew Riley. He was a huge help and babysat Hazel Sat. night. Hazel loved spending time with her sweet cousin, Riley!

Dressed as Maverick and Charlie for the date party! Jesse thought he was hot stuff!
Riley and Hazel
Eating waffles with strawberries, yum!

Hazel is 20 months old!

2010-02-03T11:21:00.001-08:00

We had a nice visit with Grandma and Uncle Jeremy last week! They spent the night and had a great time playing with Hazel. Hazel has food in her mouth, but it was the best pic we could get!

Well, we started this month off with the exciting adventure of potty training! On Monday, Hazel went pee pee in her little potty for the first time! Jesse and I were very proud of our little girl! We whooped and hollered, gave her some candy and took a picture of her after she accomplished this very important milestone!

She has continued to use her potty each day this week and seems to be pretty interested. I know it may take a while for her to be completely trained, but I am glad that she is showing interest.

I think she was pretty proud of herself!

Hazel at 20 months-

She can say and recognize about 20 letters of the alphabet! She loves playing with her shape sorter and can say and recognize- circle, square, triangle, moon, oval, star, heart, half circle. She has learned a few colors, but mostly just says blue or purple to everything. She can count to 10, and then will usually say 12, 20 after counting to 10. I am not sure why, but it is cute!

She has been eating a lot right now, I think she may be going through a growth spurt. She wants to eat all the time and loves almost everything. She really likes waving and saying, "Hi ____" every time she sees someone new, or someone walks into the room.

Hazel is 19 months today!

2010-01-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we got to go to see the Disney Road Show, Live at the Toyota Center! (My sister had extra tickets :) Hazel was a little sleepy, since the show was during her normal nap time. She sat in our laps, watched the whole show, and loved it! Jesse and I had so much fun taking Hazel to her first (of probably many) Disney events! As you can see, she didn't look very lively, she was sleepy. She fell asleep right when we got in the car and took a cap nap on the way home.

This Christmas was filled with all kinds of excitement and merriment!

2009-12-28T19:22:00.000-08:00

We have had an eventful week filled with laughter, great food, playing outside with cousins, opening gifts, dancing, singing, and a lot of smiles! Jesse, Hazel and I drove to Austin on Wednesday to celebrate Christmas Eve with Jesse's family and then drove back home Christmas Eve night, so we could spend Christmas morning with Hazel at home. We had our Meredith Christmas with my whole family on Saturday and are still dragging out our Christmas, most of my family is still in town! YEAH!

Santa brought Hazel a coupe car this year. She fell in love with it and didn't really want to get out of it to open her other gifts!

Christmas Eve at Uncle Lon's house in Austin. Yes, her finger is in her nose!

Decorating a gingerbread cookie at Grandee's and Granddad's

We are so blessed to have another year ahead of us to love God with all of our heart, soul and strength! Happy New Year!

18 months and Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T18:23:00.001-08:00

HAZEL IS 18 MO. OLD TODAY! 12/3/09

We are so blessed with a darling girl that makes us smile and laugh every day! God is so good!

Here are a few of her favorite things right now:

1. She loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse and wants to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse every morning!! I don't mind snuggling with her on the couch while we watch her favorite show.

2. She loves seeing her cousin Dawson every morning (since they've been here visiting) and says "Dawsies" when she hears him awake in his bed or downstairs. They both get excited to see each other and are so cute when they greet each other.

3. She likes playing outside and collecting berries and acorns.

4. She likes to eat anything sweet and laughs and gets excited when I let her try a bite of something sweet! She really likes her gummy vitamins too.

5. She still loves playing peek-a-boo with us and loves playing with Copper. She thinks it is so funny when he licks her.

6. She likes putting two paci's in her mouth at the same time.

7. She loves reading books and will keep herself occupied reading in her room for almost an hour! One of her favorite books right now is a Baby Einstein ABC book. She knows some of the letters and can say, M-for mommy, D-for daddy and H-for Hazie.

Thanksgiving

This year our whole family (well, almost. we missed you Uncle Brian) went to Bastrop for Thanksgiving. Heidi and Mark have a wonderful set up for our big crew and we really enjoyed spending the weekend with family, mostly outdoors! Hazel enjoyed playing with her cousins and loved trying her first Thanksgiving dinner and s'mores around the campfire! We took our family picture in our Aggie and UT gear. We tried to squeeze out the longhorns, ha!

The two cutest lil' Aggies I have ever seen!

Night out in Houston!

2009-11-15T19:43:00.001-08:00

Jesse and I finally got away on a little trip (a Staycation) and went to Houston with some friends last weekend! Even though we only went for one night, it was so freeing to travel with out the usual baby gear in tow! We had so much fun discovering some new places downtown with some great friends, Jen and Philip!

Magnolia Hotel

Walking to the Hogg Estate. A really neat historic home and gardens on Bayou Bend.

Visiting the Beer can House

Hazel didn't seem to miss us at all and loved spending time with Aunt Ash, Dawson and Grandee. Here is a video of Dawson and Hazel entertaining eachother!

Happy Fall!

2009-11-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

We had a really great Halloween! We went trick or treating in Cypress with some of my family. Hazel looked so cute in her Minnie Mouse costume and loved spending the day with most of her boy cousins! My sisters, mom and I decided last minute to dress up, so it was a lot of fun!

Here are a few pics of Hazel playing at the park that my friend Stacy took. (She is getting into photography and did a great job!)

I think this one was my favorite, I just love her smile!

Halloween Party!

2009-10-25T09:31:00.001-07:00

Last night we hosted out first Halloween party with my play group friends! We had such a great time hanging out with our lil' pumpkins and hubbies! It was so fun to see the babies all dressed up in their Halloween costumes! Minnie and Fred
The dads and babies

We love our cute babies!!

I love the Fall!

2009-10-08T06:07:00.000-07:00

What fun we had at the Oil Ranch Farm last week to celebrate Dawson's b-day. We had a picnic, went on a pony ride, went on a train ride, saw all kinds of farm animals, and went on a hay ride! The babies even got to pick out a pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. Dawson had such a great birthday at the farm.

Us with Aunt Tiff and, Aunt Ash and Dawson
On the hay ride with Grandee

Dawson and Hazel

Having fun with Ashlei and Dawson!

2009-09-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

We are so glad Aunt Ashlei and Dawson can come stay with us in Texas while uncle Brian is fighting for our country in Afghanistan. They will be traveling around Texas staying with family until January. The babies are having so much fun together! Dawson and Hazel love chasing each other around the house with Hazel's walker, while giggling and screaming wildly! They are having a ball playing outside at the parks, in the backyard and at Grandee and Granddad's. We had a blast at Dawson's 1st b-day party last weekend too! The Elmo party was a big hit, especially with Hazel.

Ashlei and I had a great time celebrating our 30th b-day together on the 18th. It's been years since we've been together on our b-day, so it was an extra special treat! We had a fun girls night with a few great friends. Jesse played Mr. Mom and kept both Dawson and Hazel for us.

Hazel is 15 months!

2009-09-03T17:33:00.000-07:00

Jesse had the day off today, so we decided to spend the day enjoying the Houston Zoo! Hazel's first trip to the zoo was so much fun! She loved seeing all of the animals, birds and fish. She especially liked the aquarium and bears (her favorite word to say right now is "bear").

Here are a few pictures of our hot and humid day at the zoo to celebrate her 15 month b-day.

Jesse Turns 31!

2009-08-24T13:52:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we went to Waco to celebrate Jesse's b-day, as well as his grandmother's b-day with our family. We had a family, fiesta party on Saturday! We had a great time eating delicious, mexican food and spending time with family. We got to see our friends on Sunday and Hazel had fun playing with her friend Hollyn. Hazel was a stinker and didn't sleep on the way home, so we stopped in College Station. We stopped at Wolf Pen Creek Park (where Jesse and I met ) and let Hazie play. Hazie's first trip to Aggieland!

Hazel and us with Grandma
Kaitlyn reading one of Hazel's favorite books to her, an Elmo book!
The birthday boy and Nanny
We had a great time catching up with Scott, Jill and baby Hollyn!
Hazel loved running (well, walking quickly) down the hill at the park!

Summer Fun!

2009-08-03T17:16:00.000-07:00

Hazel is 14 months old today! We are having a great summer, we've been hanging out with family and friends, swimming, going to play group and trying to find things to do inside! It is wonderful to watch Hazel grow, learn new things and experience things for the first time.

I have really enjoyed teaching art classes with my mom this summer. We have taught 4 weekly sessions, and are finishing up our last one this week. I started tutoring two twin 3rd grade boys, twice a week, which is a lot of fun. Well, here are a few recent pictures of Hazel!

Playing at the Children's Museum
Enjoying eating (and playing with) a lollipop that Aunt Ash sent!
Grandee and Hazie at a play land in the mall
Indoor play land-Safari Stop

Update on Hazel

2009-07-12T15:43:00.001-07:00

Hazel is 13 months old and has been growing and learning so many

new things recently! At her 12 month appointment she weighed 22.5

pounds and was 31 inches long. She has 4 teeth and is getting two more

right now. Each month seems to be more fun with a baby! She recently

learned how to make animal sounds.

She can make the sound for a monkey, dog, lion and elephant. It is sooo cute!

She saw a commercial for Curious George and said "oo, aa" like a

monkey. She has never seen Curious George, so I was impressed that

she knew George was a monkey.

Hazel in her dress from Grand Cayman, thanks for the beautiful dress Grandee!
Hazie loves Elmo! Thanks to her sweet cousin Kade for passing it on.

Play time with friends

2009-07-01T20:21:00.000-07:00

We had our Wednesday play group at our house today! The babies had so much fun playing, and the mommies had fun catching up and chatting all about our precious little ones. It is such a blessing to share sweet stories, struggles and silly anxieties with other moms!

Fun in the Sun!

2009-06-24T15:31:00.001-07:00

We went to Port Aransas last weekend, with Jesse's family. We had a lot of fun splashing around in the pool and hanging out with family! Hazel loved playing in the ocean and sand for the first time! Hazel was so tired and worn out after playing in the water and sun all day; she took awesome naps while we were there. Although she took great naps while at the beach, she didn't sleep at all during the long drive there or back! Oh well!

Hazel is 1 year old!!

2009-06-09T05:33:00.001-07:00

Last week, we had an exciting week! Hazel turned 1 year old on Wednesday, June 3rd! On her birthday, Jesse made her a pancake in the shape of a one. She loved it! That day we went to our play group, and then celebrated with Grandee and Grandad by having a great dinner together!

What Hazel likes as a one year old:

Facing forward in her new car seat

Anything Elmo!

Reading books and playing in her closet with toys

Swimming and playing in the baby pool

Giving her stuffed animals, Copper and us "lovin"

Crawling up the stairs!

Walking and pushing her new baby stroller

Carrying little things, like medicine tubes around the house

Dancing, every time she hears music-bopping her head and bouncing

Giving Copper "Lovin"

Hazel's first pancake with syrup on her birthday!

Big girl car seat!

Her birthday party was on Saturday. We tried to have a simple party, but there was still so many things to do to get ready for it. My TO DO list kept growing! Everything was accomplished in time, and the party was a huge success! The kids played outside in the baby pool, sprinkler and sand box, and had so much fun. Hazel really enjoyed her big piece of chocolate cake! It was so fun to have all of her little friends and cousins there to celebrate with her!

Memorial Day!

2009-05-28T14:26:00.001-07:00

We had a great time spending the weekend at Lake Conroe with my sister and her family. Hazel really loved riding in the boat, she wasn't at all scared and seemed to love the windy ride! She had a lot of fun playing with her cousins, Averi and Kade in the baby pool. It looks like we were a little cruel, putting Hazel in a "cage", but she liked it! It kept her from getting splinters and away from the water!

Some Fun pictures!

2009-05-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here are recent pictures of our sweetie! We can't believe she almost a year old!

Baby Dedication

2009-05-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

We dedicated Hazel at church yesterday. I was very honored to be able to dedicate Hazel to God on my first Mother's Day!

Jesse and I chose this verse to share during the dedication-

"How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?" 1 Thes. 3:9

Hazel is such a big girl!

2009-04-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

   Jesse sitting with his "bunny" as he calls her.

   Hazel's first little curls! Yeah!
   Hazel standing like a big girl!
   This is so funny, I think she thinks she won a prize for standing!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T08:02:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately we started our weekend off by going to a funeral Friday. My uncle passed away this week, after battling a long and courageous fight with brain cancer. We are very sad that he is gone, but know he's with the Lord and is finally pain free.

Here are a few pictures of us at the church Easter Egg Hunt yesterday. We were really glad we decided to go to the Sat. night service and miss the down pour Sunday morning!

Hazel & her cousins with their goodies!

Top Ten at 10 Months!

2009-04-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

Top 10 things Hazel is doing-

10. Finally cut her first tooth a week ago

9. Can stand for a few seconds on her own

8. Likes to open cabinets and gets into everything!

7. Still scrunches her nose while breathing in and out, all the time!

6. Really likes looking at books and learned to turn the pages

5. Eats all kinds of finger foods

4. Learned to say 'Copper' (her crazy puppy!)

3. Enjoys pulling one book a time off the book shelf in her room

2. Loves swinging and kicking her feet in the baby swing at the park

1. Has a little duck tail that curls up when she's sweaty

Snapshots from the Rodeo!

2009-03-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

   Picture with Miss Moo!
   Happy Hazel in her Cowgirl outfit!
   Excited in the petting zoo

My sister Mandi and her two kids came to visit last week for their Spring Break. We had so much fun at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo last Thursday. Hazel thoroughly enjoyed strolling around, looking at of all the animals and seeing them up close in the petting zoo!

Trip to the Coast

2009-03-17T10:02:00.001-07:00

We went to Port Aransas last weekend with Jesse's

family. Unfortunately, the weather was very cold and

rainy! Hazel had fun seeing the ocean, going to the

Texas State Aqarium, and playing with all of her sweet

relatives. We enjoyed our little get away and had a

great time hanging out with our family.

A few recent pictures

2009-03-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

Gummy Smile
Standing with Daddy

Her favorite face
I just wanted to post a few cute pics of Hazie, can't resist!

9 months old!

2009-03-03T13:48:00.001-08:00

Hazel is happy and healthy! She has had a really runny nose and has been drooling a lot recently, so I think her first tooth may be ready to pop out. She weighs about 20 pounds, and has gotten a little more hair, but not much! She likes to crawl and pull up on everything around the house. We love her to pieces! Jesse and I just love playing with her, making her laugh, and smile!

Hazel's new greeting

2009-02-22T17:34:00.000-08:00

Hazel is a little Copy Cat! She recently started turning her head to one side when I did it to her and now she turns it when someone greets her and says "hi". She has discovered that the dishwasher is like a mirror and she likes to look at her reflection and turn her head. It's like she's saying "hello" to herself.

Cousin Dawson is visiting!

2009-01-27T11:53:00.000-08:00

My sister, Ashlei and her 4 mo. old baby, Dawson are visiting from North Carolina for 2 weeks. Hazel and Dawson are having fun playing together, going for walks, hanging out at Grandee and Grandad's and seeing family and friends! Hazel is enjoying having a playmate and will be sad when he leaves! Wish they lived closer! Here are a few pictures of Hazel with Dawson and Aunt Ash.

Hazel Crawling!

2009-01-19T06:41:00.000-08:00

Hazel is 7 months

2009-01-08T14:08:00.000-08:00

We are having so much fun with Hazie these days! She is enjoying eating anything we give her; she is a little Piggy! She also likes sitting in her new high chair and playing. She likes to greet everyone by scrunching her nose; this makes everyone laugh. She is starting to crawl a little and her favorite thing to do is scoot over to our wood floors and pat her hands on the wood.

Baby's first Christmas

2008-12-27T08:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve with Nanny

Christmas morning

Christmas day at Grandee and Grandad's

Hazel's Christmas Firsts:

listening to us sing carols, trying to eat wrapping paper, new toys, looking at our pretty tree with lights, and listening to her great uncle Lon read the story of baby Jesus.

Now that we have our own child, Christmas is a lot more exciting. We went to Waco Tues. to celebrate Christmas Eve with Jesse's family and then drove back that night so Hazel could wake up at our house on her first Christmas morning. After opening gifts at our house we went to my parents house and celebrated Christmas with my family. This was a special time for Jesse and I and we will always remember Hazel's first Christmas!

6 months is so fun!

2008-12-15T14:09:00.000-08:00

Hazel is 6 and a half months and is getting such a cute personality! Jesse and I love making her laugh; sometimes she laughs at the smallest things. She really likes trying new fruits and vegetables. We have had fun getting ready for her first Christmas. Last weekend we had fun looking at Christmas lights with our friends, the Mason's.

We are thankful for our family...

2008-11-30T19:51:00.001-08:00

Hazel will be 6 mo. on Wednesday! She's doing so well and is

always happy. She is sleeping better, thanks to the Ferber

sleep training method. She even slept 12 hrs. straight twice recently!
We love spending every moment we can
loving on her and thank God each day for our precious baby.

I made a slide show of recent pictures from
Thanksgiving, as well as some from Oct. and Nov.
We had a great Thanksgiving with my family
at my sister's in Bastrop. We are looking forward to
round #2 with Jesse's family this coming weekend.

Fun in the cooler weather...

2008-11-24T07:12:00.000-08:00

Hazel had a good time at her first football game watching her cousins Riley and Wesley play football last weekend.
Hazel was such a happy girl and did so well at the games. We went to the football game first and then went to watch our nephew, Andrew's baseball game. She was showing off her newest trick, blowing raspberries with her lips.

We are enjoying the cooler weather and have fun sitting outside each afternoon with the neighbors to watch the neighborhood kids play.

My little bundle of love!

2008-11-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged to post the 6th picture in my 6th picture folder. It happened to be Hazel's folder.

The messy eating begins!

2008-11-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

We started giving Hazel oatmeal cereal a few weeks ago. She cracks Jesse and I up, she really loves it and likes to grab the bowl and opens her mouth so wide, like a little bird. We try to eliminate the mess by taking off her shirt.

Happy Halloween!

2008-11-01T07:24:00.000-07:00

We have had an eventful week...
Last week we went to North Carolina to visit my sister Ashlei and sweet baby Dawson!

Hazel did really well on her first plane ride, and had so much fun meeting her newest cousin! Unfortunately our trip ended with a visit to the ER. Hazel got viral pneumonia; she was running a high fever and had a really bad cough. Our first hospital experience was pretty terrible and Hazel will probably be forever traumatized by all the invasive tests they had to perform. Our poor little girl is still coughing, but is feeling much better this week.

We had a Happy Halloween trick-or-treating with some of our family in Cypress. Hazel didn't snag us any candy; I guess we didn't fool anyone carrying around a 5 mo. old baby. Here is our
little bunny with her cousins Riley, Wes and Andrew.

TWH class of '98 Reunion

2008-10-12T13:58:00.000-07:00

My 10 year high school reunion was this weekend. We went to the football game, family picnic and party Sat. night.

Kim, Jen and I had a girls night out Saturday night while our husbands had daddy daycare. We had a good time seeing old friends and trying to remember people's names!

Welcome nephew Dawson ...

2008-10-08T15:03:00.000-07:00

My sister Ashlei and Brother in law Brian welcomed their baby, Dawson Paul into the world on Oct. 2. He weighed 7.15 and was 22 1/2 in. long. He is such a pretty baby! We are really looking forward to going to visit them in NC in a few weeks! Congratulations Ash and Brain!!

Almost 4 months

2008-09-27T14:05:00.001-07:00

Hazel is growing and changing so fast! She likes to roll over, play on her mat, squeal loudly (especially in public), and loves when I sing to her. I love to sing to her, but unfortunately I can not seem to get the kid songs out of my head and find myself singing or humming them all day!

Fun in Plano...

2008-09-22T17:02:00.001-07:00

We had a great week long visit in Plano with our family
as hurricane refugees. We are so thankful for my sister
Mandi and her husband Kort for letting us stay with
them after the hurricane. Jesse took advantage of not
having much of a work load and played golf with Kort
3 times last week! My sister and I went shopping,
went out to lunch and played with the kids outside.

The weather was so wonderful and cool! Hazel had
so much fun spending time with her cousins, Kade
and Averi. They entertained her all week and made
her giggle and smile!

My b-day was last Thurs., so we went to eat at
Cheesecake Factory. One of my sister's friends
babysat, so we had fun on our first double date
since Hazel was born. We also went to the
Plano Balloon Festival on Sat. while the
guys went to the Aggie football game. The
kids really liked seeing all the colorful hot air
balloons. It was so neat to see the enormous
balloons up close.

We also got to see some friends that had a baby in
Aug., named Molly. Hazel looks like a chunk
compared to little Molly.
Even though the circumstances for our visit
were unfortunate, we really enjoyed spending a
week making fond memories!

We made it through hurricane Ike...

2008-09-17T07:54:00.000-07:00

We decided to wait out the storm hunkered down at my parents house in The Woodlands. I was pretty scared Friday night, and worried a tree would fall on the house. Hazel and I didn't get very much sleep due to all the loud lightning and thunder Sat. night either.
After two terrible nights of sleep, we decided to go to Plano and stay with my sister while the power was out. After the storm, there were a lot of trees down and quite a bit of damage in The Woodlands, but we didn't have any damage at our house.

We just heard today that we got our power back!! Yeah!

Taking a stroll.

2008-09-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today Hazel and I went for a long walk to Kroger. It was a little hot, but we've had a break from the humidity this week, so it was pretty pleasant on the shady trails.
Hazel loves being outside and enjoyed the long stroll!

She had her 3 mo. doctor apt. and had to get 2 vaccines. Poor baby!

Hazel is too cool for school!

2008-08-26T15:58:00.000-07:00

Hazel is waving Hello!

With school starting back, I am so thankful that I am staying home with Hazel and not teaching this year. What a blessing to be a mom! She is 12 weeks old and can now hold her head up while on her tummy and rolled over today for the first time!

Jesse Turns the big 30!!

2008-08-20T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jesse turned 30 on Aug. 18th. We went to Waco to visit his family and celebrate his b-day along with his grandmother's 86th b-day. Most of his family got to see Hazel for the first time! We also got to see some good friends while in Waco.

Jesse and his best friend Scott with their baby Hollyn.

Hazel's 2 cousins-Elayne and Kaitlyn

Fun with Friends and Family!

2008-08-05T18:32:00.000-07:00

We got to see some of our family last weekend. Here is a cute picture of cousin Kade and Hazel.

Last night we had a great time hanging out with friends. Our friends the Ragains had a baby boy last week and Hazel got to meet her new friend Will last night. What a cutie!! She also had fun playing with baby Grae too!

We got to visit with my friend Amanda today as well.

Hazel had her 2 mo. doctor appointment yesterday. She weighed 13 pounds and was 24 inches long. She was in the 95th percentile! She only had to get 1 shot, which she didn't like very much!

Hazel is 8 weeks old!

2008-07-28T12:39:00.001-07:00

I took pictures of Hazel at 8 weeks, she had fun posing for the camera!

All Smiles!

2008-07-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

Hazel is smiling and cooing all the time! Jesse and I love waking up with her each morning; she is so happy and loves to talk and play. Jesse could hardly wait this morning, and was trying to wake her up! Here are a few recent pictures of her.

What we've been up to...

2008-07-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

Hazel is 5 weeks old and doing well this week. We have our good days and our bad days, but overall it is getting easier. For some reason this week she only wants to take 30 min. naps during the day! She is eating every 2 hrs., so I am busy feeding her and trying to keep up with housework in my spare time. She is so cute and is starting to coo and smile now. Jess and I just can't get enough of our sweetie pie!

We had a great 4th of July spending time back at the lake with family and friends. We got to see numerous firework shows that lit up the sky all around the lake.

Hazie in her first swim suit!