Week 3- My sweet baby girls

June 29, 2014

Memay arrives :) today the girls sweet great grandma flew all the way from Virginia to visit us for two weeks. We are so excited for her to be here!

June 30, 2014

Today we relaxed at home while daddy studied and Memay and I played with the girls. We played with play doh and had a great time.

July 1, 2014

Today Lillian and I went on a walk and she collected some sticks and rocks.

Afterwards I read the story of David and Goliath to her and we painted 5 rocks / stones as our craft to go along with the story.

The night ended with me rocking my t ingest baby girl to sleep. Oh how I love my snuggle time.

July 2, 2014

Today Lillian learned about the color blue in Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See. We can colored the horse blue and hung it up in her playroom. Lately I have been giving her a pointer (like she's in Kindergarten) and I say where is the yellow duck? And she will run over and point to it on the wall.

While Lillian and I were doing her learning activity Piper was either practicing how to nap in her own bed or snuggling with Memay. :)

July 3, 2014

Today we went as a family to IKEA and I must say Lillian did  great job but I'm pretty sure Piper was a little young guy for this trip. Below you will see Lil enjoying her big girl chair. And Piper sleeping due to the fact that she wore herself out from crying in the car seat

 We were stuck in major traffic. :(

July 4, 2014

Lillian insisted on eating her goldfish crackers with the bucket on her head :) she's so silly and stubborn

Piper loves napping on mommy and daddy

July 5, 2014

Piper is mesmerized by the ceiling fan.

Lillian loves her new play kitxhen! Thank you Memay for buying it for her.

Lillian and Piper watching Dora together.

Week 2- Life with Pipes and Lil

Sunday- June 22

Today Piper met her Grandma Cherie and Aunt Kya for the first time. We had a great day laughing and playing with them. Kya and Lillian enjoyed swimming in the pool and eating popscicles. Kya always ask " is Lillian a toddler yet?" And finally we were able to say yes....the two entertained each other for hours...Kya is a great aunt to have. Grandma Cherie was able to cuddle and rock both Lillian and Piper and put them down for nap. Which gave mommy and daddy a break. :)

Monday- June 23, 2014

Today started out a bit rough. Of course both of my young beauties woke up at the same time again :) which is super tough because both demand breakfast asap. While I was nursing Piper I watched my little toddler run around the house with her care bear stuffed animal in her cute little pj's. As I'm admiring her I see her start to crawl on the tile floor she thought this was hilarious until she slipped and busted her lip on the tile floor. As I mentioned above I was nursing Piper which is not easy to stop right away. Lillian began crying and blood filled her mouth. I immediately jumped up with Piper and began cuddling both girls. Whoa was it tough one.....

Tuesday- June 24, 2014

Today was a great day with the two littles. This morning my patient little toddler read books to herself as I nursed her sister. Afterwards mommy and Lilly were able to enjoy some quality time together while Piper napped. As I mentioned before Lillian is learning her colors and the animals from Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See. And today we were able to create a yellow duck. we sand 5 little ducks and made a duck mask.  I must say I enjoy these little moments so much more now that my time is split between the two girls.  Afterwards we went outside go enjoy the sunshine and puppy dogs. Lillian loves her Jade so Mich even though she barks and wakes us up from a nap like every day :( Her afternoon activity consisted of putting pipe cleaners through a collander. This was challenging but great for her fine motor skills.

Wednesday- June 25, 2014

Today my sweet little girl held her little sister for the first time. Since Piper came home I have asked Lil everyday if she wanted to hold her and she always says no no no. Well today she finally said yes. Oh how I love my two sweet girls.

 Also today was a little dinner crazy... Wes had clinical and is usually home pretty late like around 8. Lillian is usally getting a bath and going to bed around then. Well as I was preparing dinner I realized that Lillian was probably not going to eat anything I prepared. (She's super picky) so I pulled out some frozen meatballs. As she was grabbing them out of the bag (my little helper) she decided to take a bite of one. FROZEN.... Well needless to say all she ate for dinner that night was 1 frozen meatball. She ate the whole thing. I cooked three others but they went untouched. #gross haha so as you see below this is a picture of my little nugget eating a frozen fully cooked meatball!

Thursday - June 26, 2014

How to entertain an 18 month old :)

Let her paint with cotton balls.

Put painters tape all over the room and watch as she carefully peels off each and every piece.

Let her play in the rain....the pool was all rain water...gross but entertaining. And did I mention she was fully clothed? :)

Friday- June 27, 2014

Today was a sad day for little miss Piper. She had to take a trip with mom to the doctor for her two week check up. And boy did she grow! Pipes loves to eat and was 7 pounds 15 onces at her 1 week visit and today she was a whopping 9 pounds even! The doctor, the nurses, and I were amazed.

After the good news came the bad...we had to march downstairs for a lab draw....poor baby had to get her foot stuck and boy did she scream. It was just routine newborn labs so hopefully every thing check out fine.

While at the doctor Lillian went to daycare for a few hours and enjoyed being a little chef with her friends.

Saturday- June 28, 2014

Play time and cuddles :)

Week 1- Life with Lillian and Piper

Sunday- June 15 , 2014

Happy Father's Day Wesley.

Yesterday we brought our new little girl home and to say we celebrated daddy. Wes, thank you for your sweet words,thoughts, hugs, and kisses. Thank you for the way that you play with Lillian's stuffed animals by making up voices and tickling her as you go along. She loves you so much and I love hearing you two laugh together. You're kind of a big deal around here and we love you so much.

Monday- June 16, 2014

Today was mommys first day alone with the girls. I must say that I was a bit nervous when it came to nursing a newborn 8-12 times a day with a toddler running around and be being the only adult. However, it was amazing to see Lillian's growing patience. She did such a great job entertaining herself with her toys while mommy nursed baby Piper. She even brought me the boppy pillow a few times and tried to give Piper her pacifier. She is already turning into a great big sister. 

In between nursing I was able to read the story of Noah's ark to Lillian. She loved learning about the animals and afterwards she played with her own boat animals. She actually got so excited that she wanted to ride the boat and she sat in the drawer on top of it. :) 

Tuesday- June 17, 2014

Today mommy got courageous and went on a long walk to the park with both girls. The walk there was wonderful however both girls got grumpy on the way back. Mommy ended up having to jog home ( 6 days post baby delivery= no good) Anyways when we finally made it home I was able to read Brown Bear, brown bear to Lillian and she colored a red bird. I'm in the process of teaching her the colors and animals in the book. That will be our focus this summer. Afterwards, daddy finally arrived home and we were able to give Piper her first bath

 She loved it! 

Wednesday- June 18, 2014

Today I was able to celebrate 3 wonderful years of marriage with the man that stole my heart my senior year of college. I can honestly say that I love him more now then ever. He is an absolute blessing to me and the girls and I love doing life with him. 

To celebrate today Wes and I took both girls to Dr. Black for their check ups and shots. :( afterwards Wes needed some study time and we grilled that evening.

Thursday- June 19, 2014

Today started out a little rough.... Both girls woke at the same time, which means both wanted to eat right away. While Piper was screaming impatiently to nurse I managed to grab a fruit cup of oranges and a juice box for Lillian. When I handed it to her she looked at me like "really mom? This is not breakfast"..... It was today! At least for a little while.  

After we made it through morning I was able to help Lillian make a red bird to go along with the brown bear book. She loves to paint and be creative. 

After painting.....I must say my heart was filled with joy when I saw my little toddler go lay by her new sister. As she lay their looking in her eyes she started to name Piper's facial features she would softly point to her nose and ear...etc. She was so gentle and kind it was like she knew that Piper was still fragile. Oh those little fingers I just love so much. 

Friday - June 20, 2014

Today was a water\outside day for all of us girls. Lillian enjoyed playing in her pool with bubbles ( she even slid down the slide head first and got a mouth full of water) she was not happy about that.  Afterwards she played in her sandbox and with some shaving cream all while listening to toddler dance songs on Pandora.

Piper slept for the whole duration of outside time but I'm sure she enjoyed the fresh air.

Saturday- June 21, 2014

Today was daddy's first real day off with the girls and I. And oh how I love having an extra set of adult help. The morning was great because as I nursed Piper I was able to listen and watch Lillian and Wes play with her little yellow care bear... Wes would fly her around and Lillian would let out great big belly laughs. Oh the joys of being able to watch them two play....I just love it.

Afterwards we all went as a family to the splash park and family park. Again as I nursed Piper I was able to watch Lillian and Wes play and run in the water. Lilian has been so scared of the splash zone but not with Daddy around she ran and played all over the place. Soon after snack we went to the park and slid down the slides. 

We finished up the afternoon with some chick fila and headed home for a well needed nap. 

Baby Lillian is on her way :)

24 Weeks Pregnant with Lillian

Although it has been a very long time since I last posted.....we made it to Texas and we are doing fabulous.  I am working as a Kindergarten teacher and I love it so far.  I am blessed to have really great students and coworkers at my new school.  Wes is finishing up his pre-requisites to attend nursing school next summer.  He has made all A's so far and has been working very hard to keep it that way.  We are enjoying everything about Texas so far including our wonderful new church called Oak Ridge Reformed Baptist Church and our new rental home that has an awesome yard for our dogs to run and play together.  We are enjoying being closer to family, they have helped us so much with this transition into a new home, new town, and new baby on the way.  I must share that the FIRST day we moved to Texas Wes  had to go to school and I had to go to my first OB appt, we were both so worried about unpacking the UHAUL and getting it turned in on time.  However, little did we know....while we were gone my mom, stepdad, and cousin came to our new house and unloaded EVERYTHING before we even arrived home from our prior obligations.  How awesome is that?  Wes and I are so thankful for their help and blessed to have them as our family.

Also, as you can see from above Baby Lillian is growing big and strong!  We are now 26 weeks pregnant and she is due on January 7, 2013. We are so thankful to the Lord for choosing us to be Lillian's parents.  We are so excited and ask that you would pray for us as we begin the journey of parenting with our new daughter next January.  Also, please pray that Lillian will come to know the Lord at an early age and that Wes and I can shepherd and guard her heart with the Gospel daily. As far as health goes, Lillian is in the 61st percentile in her weight (so she is about average) and yesterday I went for my glucose test (the nasty sugar drink) and I am glad to say that all of my blood levels came back normal.  

As we gear up for the our new bundle of joy Wes and I wanted to share the link to our baby registry just in case you would like to send Lillian some love from far away :)  We are registered at BabiesRus and Target under Mecaela Houston. Just click find baby registry and type in the name which is Mecaela Houston, the city which is Spring and the state which is Texas.

BabiesRus Link:  BabiesRus Registry- CLICK

Target Link: Target Registry- CLICK

Although, there are still many things to prepare for this little girl but as you can see below Daddy Wes is already working hard! :)

Enjoying the rest of our days in Jax!

Yes, it has been quite awhile since I last posted a blog.  I've found myself saying "Wes, please remind me to post a blog" for the past several weeks :)  Oh well, better late than never.

Since Easter, the Lord has truly been doing some amazing things in our lives.  We are so thankful for what the Lord has done and are continually in prayer for the opportunities he will give us in the future.

1.  After a lot of prayer and advice, Wes has decided to go to nursing school in Texas.  Although he was pursuing a paramedic degree he found out that a nursing degree opens a lot more doors for him in the future.  Wes has been working SUPER hard to get registered for the classes that he needs in TX in order to complete the accelerated nursing program next summer.  Please continue praying with us as he embarks on this nursing journey for the next two years. We trust that the Lord will provide however please pray that the Lord will work out our finances for Wes and I to live but also for him to complete his degree in a timely manner.  Also, please pray that Wes will be able to have the endurance to study and that he will be able to retain the knowledge when it is time to complete his tests. 

2. Wes completed his EMT classes and his taking his EMT certification test Monday June 21, 2012.  Again, please join us in prayer for him as he works a full time job, takes summer college classes online from TX, and is studying for his EMT certification test.

3.  CRAIGS LIST-  yes we are thankful for craigslist because it helps us make money :)  One day we were visiting with another married couple that recently moved to Jax, and they suggested that we should sell the furniture that we do not like very much on craigs list.  The wife also suggested that we do it early so that if we need to lower the price after a few weeks we could instead of doing it right before we move.  Well I thought it was a great idea since most of the furniture that we had was mine before we moved together after we were married.  I have always felt like we never got to pick out things that we both liked for our new home since I already had most of it.  As soon as I got home that Sunday afternoon in APRIL I took pictures of all of our things and posted them onto Craigs list around 2:00.  I laid down for an afternoon nap and by 5:00 we had 20 EMAILS from other people saying they wanted to pick up our stuff that night.  We had no idea it would sell that fast, so after it was all said and done our dining room table was gone along with our coffee table and end tables.  We had no table to eat on for two months!!!! OH NOOO!!! haha well my strong handsome husband decided to move a file cabinet that we got for free from craigs list a few months back into the living room as our dinner table.  And that's how we ate dinner together every night UNTIL......Wes sold the file cabinet for $40 off craigs list. We then found ourselves in a predicament with nothing to eat off us.  We thought maybe we could eat off of the dog kennels but that didn't work since they are not really a flat surface :) 

Well in the mean time,  Wes's friend found a large round chair on the side of road and gave it to us.....yes I know what your thinking...."I thought you guys were trying to get rid of furniture"  but don't think that until you sit in this amazing chair.  I took a 2 hour nap in it the first day Wes brought it home.  The chair has now become one of favorite spots to sit and spend time together after work or on the weekends.  We love to lay in it and watch movies or just lay and talk.  It's defiantly a keeper!

THE ONE AND THE ONLY BROWN ROUND CHAIR



Maybe you're wondering what we have been eating on all this time since we have no tables.  We don't fret because let's just say we love garage sells too.  A couple of weekends ago our apartment complex was having a garage sell and I decided to ride my bike around to see if there was anything worth buying.  And of course I found something that I absolutely loved.  It was an old antique dresser that had been painted dark green.  I loved it the moment I saw it and Wes approved :)  We decided to turn the dresser into our new entertainment center and move our old entertainment center into the middle of the room as our new coffee/dining room table.  So we are eating on our old entertainment center that we posted on craigs list but haven't sold yet :) 

THE ANTIQUE ENTERTAINMENT DRESSER

4.  Wes and I have begun packing up our apartment and are looking forward to moving to Houston in about 3 weeks.  Please continue praying for us as we wrap things up here in Jacksonville.  I am planning on teaching until June 4.....my kids graduate from Kindergarten that day and Wes and I will begin our long journey to Texas on June 5.  In the meantime, I will try to post another blog before the move :)

Easter Weekend and Thankfulness

Above you will see pictures from our amazing Easter beach day :) Wes and I had an amazing weekend with our two wonderful puppies celebrating the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are so blessed to have our wonderful little family.  After church, we decided to take the dogs to the beach so that we could see them swim for the first time.  After a lot of pulling and tugging towards the water the two dogs finally began to doggy paddle :)  Jade LOVED it and Emma DID NOT!

We shared a lot of laughter and found 10 more shark teeth to add to our collection :)

As I reflect on this past week I have so many things that I am thankful for so here they are!!!

1. I am thankful for a wonderful husband that loves and encourages me every day. Wes truly knows how to make me smile by doing silly things such as writing Happy Easter on the back of book marks so that we can remember our first Easter together as The Houston's :) I love him

2. I am thankful for GROUPONS, date night, and sushi :) Back story: Wes purchased a groupon for a small sushi place in Riverside (a cozy little side of town that we like to go to). We used the groupon for a lunch date one Saturday and we learned something new about the restaurant. Turns out that they have ALL YOU CAN EAT sushi tasting every Saturday for $15 a person. WOO! We were so excited however, we are trying to stick close to our budget each month and since we had already maxed out our eating out category for March, we had to wait for April. Well......April came and we went!!! Wes got off early from his EMT ride along this past Saturday and we went had one of the best sushi date nights ever. I am truly thankful for this night because Wes had been working so much that we had not had much time together. At dinner we were able to enjoy an amazing conversation about how much the Lord has gone before us in the move and how we see him fulfilling his promises through providing us with a house and jobs. Not to mention that we ate almost $100 of sushi for just $30 :) We were stuffed :)

3. I am thankful for our wonderful friends Tim and Leala who are mentoring us as we go through our first year of marriage and the amazing study of The Christian Called to Obedience. The Lord has truly worked in us through this study each week. The Holy Spirit has convicted our hearts and has drawn us to repentance. We are thankful for the sanctification from the Lord and for our friends who are both truly a man and woman of God that have continually encouraged us with the Gospel and have pointed us to the cross.

4. I am thankful for my little shih tzu Emma. We rescued Emma from a family in Lousiana last December. Emma had been neglected for almost a year before we adopted her. Emma and our hound dog Jade became best friends and we enjoy watching them wrestle/play together on a daily basis. One of my favorite things about Emma is that she is a little cuddle bug! Wherever I am in the house, Emma is right behind me. Oh I love her so!

PS.  I finally enabled the comments on here (hopefully it works- if not try facebook) 

so please leave a comment and tell us what you are thankful for :)