Country Girl

I always say that Harleigh is the perfect little girl. She loves everything girly! She plays dress up and barbies, loves to get her toes painted and wear pretty dresses and bows, and we have really been enjoying some "girls days" here lately. It's so cute when she wakes up and says, "Mommy, can Bubba go to work with Daddy so we can have a very special girl's day?" awww... melts my heart!
However... there is another side to our Little Diva that I happen to think is perfect as well. Imagine that! ha! She loves to play outside, jump on the trampoline, ride around on the Ranger, go hunting with her Daddy, and most of all, she loves to play with the dogs. But... keep in mind, she can rarely be found doing any of these things without a tutu on! LOL!


Proof in the puddin'! LOL! I went out back to check on her yesterday and this is what I found! My Princess all dressed up and in the dog house! Oh my!

Cousins

Harleigh and Trey have had so much fun this summer with their cousin, Anna! We have spent a lot of time together swimming and playing. On Sunday, we went to the Circus and the kids had a blast! These sweet cousins get along so well. Anna loves to hold Harleigh's hand and give Trey big kisses right on the mouth! Harleigh and Trey always fight over who will get to sit by Anna, and Harleigh insists on trying to carry her everywhere. I have so many childhood memories with my cousins and I am so glad that my kids will be able to say the same!

Harleigh is Five!

This past Saturday our First Born daughter turned 5 years old! We had an over the top party at our house just like every other year. Each summer as her birthday approaches, I say that we are going to tone it down. Yeah, right! I think it's safe to say that the parties are bigger and more hectic as the years go on! But we love it! We have a waterslide, cake, lots of food, and tons of family and friends to share it all with! I thought it would be fun to post pictures of Harleigh on birthdays #1-5. Wow, time sure does fly when you're having fun!

Her first Birthday was insane! It was bug themed! We had 80 people at our house, we rented a waterslide, and ran out of food! ha! Priceless!

For her second Birthday we had a Luau. She was scaired of the waterslide, but loved singing the Happy Birthday song to herself! :)

Our little Cupcake's third Birthday was so much fun. It was neat seeing her "socialize" with her friends. She was such a little chatter box and still is!

Harleigh's favorite food is strawberries, so for her fourth Birthday, I went all out and got everything on earth that was made with strawberries!

And then there was FIVE! She loved her Ariel themed party!

Happy Birthday, Harleigh True! I have had so much fun raising you these past five years! You continue to amaze me with how intelligent and beautiful you are. I am proud to call you my daughter!

Like Father, Like Son

The Big 3-0!

Last night we celebrated Josh's 30th Birthday with some of our closest friends and family. I called everyone up and asked them to meet us at our fave Mexican food restaraunt at 6:30 sharp! My plan was for us to get there about 6:45 for the big surprise! But, the birthday boy did not cooperate, of course! He came in late from work and had to work on a tire. He was taking his sweet time getting ready and I was trying not to give away the surprise and rush him out the door. We finally made it at 7:10! I felt so bad for making everyone wait on us, but he really was surprised!

I spent two hours making his favorite cake from SCRATCH! Red Velvet Cake. The cake part was easy, and it went perfectly. So, when I started making the icing I was feeling very confident. I was feeling so confident that while I was supposed to be warming and stirring the mixture, I hung up a few clothes! The mixture got lumpy and the icing wound up not looking right, but everyone said it tasted good. I don't think I could have handled it if they had said otherwise :)


Here is Josh posing with his present from the kids and I. He has never owned a watch and has been wanting one for about a year. So I wanted to get him something really nice, a family heirloom that can be passed on for generations. I was really nervous about finding the perfect one, and I was so relieved that he LOVED it!

Some of our entertainment for the evening :) These kids are such a mess! Thanks everybody for coming to help us celebrate Josh's Birthday. He said it was the best one he has ever had!

7 Months

My baby is the size of a squash this month! She is moving around constantly and is definitely a night owl. I love lying in bed and falling asleep to the rythm of her kicks and jabs! :) My pregnancy is going very well! My doc appointments have been pretty uneventful and all of the tests and bloodwork I have done have come back normal. I have started going every two weeks now. Last week Dr. R wanted to talk about delivery. Since my labor was so fast with Trey (2 1/2 hours start to finish!) and I live an hour away, he suggested that I be induced a week early. I said, "Of course!" So as of right now, I will be induced on Wednesday September 8, 2010!

Pregnancy Highlights:
How Far Along: 31 weeks
Total Weight Gain: +18 pounds
Maternity Clothes: My wardrobe is pretty small, but I have a few things I really like and just wear over and over! I just can't seem to make myself go crazy buying clothes that aren't going to fit much longer!
Gender: GIRL! Lakyn Hope
Movement: She is moving all the time!
Food Cravings: I love gatorade on hot days and I eat a lot of cereal.
What I miss: Nothing at the moment!
Sleep: I am actually sleeping pretty well lately.
What I'm looking forward to: Getting the place that did my 3d ultrasound to burn me a new cd so I can upload/print the pictures. The one they burned for me didn't work! :(
Big Sister & Big Brother: Harleigh is very excited and talks about the baby all the time. Trey doesn't talk about it as much, but he is definitely realizing that she is coming SOON! He even got a big boy bed and gave his crib to his baby sister very williningly! :)

GSP

The Saturday before 4th of July, we loaded up the camper and headed West to Garner State Park. This was our second year to spend the 4th on the Frio River and we plan to do it every year. We actually stay at a campground across the river from Garner. Last year the river was low, so we hung out at the campground and swam every day. But this year we had two good days of rain, so we took the kids tubing for the first time. They loved it and did awesome! I got out and walked a few times so I could be extra careful for the baby, but they went down every rapid and most of them twice! Here is a picture of our little River Rats headed down to the water to swim. Going camping and floating the river is something I grew up doing, and it's so neat for me to share that childhood memory with my own kids. We can't wait until next year when Lakyn will be with us!