The Hill's are moving on...boo hoo!

My dear friend, Jennifer, is moving to Allen, Texas on Friday so I was so excited to be able to meet her for lunch one last time. Our boys are 1 week apart so we have been through a lot together and have become close friends through our neighborhood. Jennifer is responsible for getting me started with "blogging" and I admire her as a baker of all things yummy, a great mother to her precious boys- Cavett and Kendrick, but most of all as a friend to me. I will miss her and her sweet family.

Teague and Kendrick:

Best wishes to the Hill's!!

My first baby's birthday- Happy Birthday Bailey!!

Bailey's 10th birthday is TODAY! We packed Teague up and went up to her school to have lunch with her and to share cookies with her classmates. This is a real treat for her since I don't get to go up there very much and her Daddy rarely get to go because of work!! She was so happy!!

This is what Bailey got when she got home from school. This came from her Nanny, GrandDad, Aunt Carey, Uncle Todd and her cousin, Olivia Claire.

On our way out to dinner:

Opening presents. She got her camera...and a really cool backpack.

I can't believe how much she has grown...into such a beautiful girl! It seems like just yesterday that those mean nurses at Methodist Hospital Downtown made me walk the halls while they changed shifts- all while in full labor! By the time I got to the room, I was already dilated to a 9 and she was almost here! I didn't know I was having a girl so when she was finally born- I was so excited and SURPRISED! We had so much fun wondering what we would have throughout the pregnancy and we were just thrilled to have a girl! All I could think about was pink, pink, pink!!

All about Bailey today, May 20, 2009:

Bailey loves clothes, her same friends (her favorite- her sister, Erin and Caroline Templin, and many friends at school) and her family. She is a great big sister that really takes good care of everyone in the family - and continues to be most concerned with everything going on in the house. She likes to tell Jerrod and I what to do and how to do things "correctly" and drives us nutso with her comments. We have decided that she really cares and feels that her comments are considerably important...

She is doing great in school and has made considerable progress in her writing. She was commended for her TAKS performance this year in writing and passed the other sections too. She likes school and even missed it when we went on a trip recently to Disneyworld. Her teacher, Ms. Martin, is great and Bailey adores her (even at the end of the school year).

The "drama" at school has started already in fourth grade and Bailey likes to be a part of everything that is going on with the girls and the boys in her class. Recess at school is spent playing kickball with the boys and girls and weekends are spent having friends over, hanging out at friends houses and swimming in the backyard when weather permits. She is starting to ask to talk on the phone and paying very close attention to the clothes and "brands" that she wears (Abercrombie and Hollister are her favorites).

Bailey is very responsible. She wakes herself up every morning with her own alarm clock and is careful to get everything together for her day at school. She is conscientious about the time and getting to places ON TIME...she is usually on us about getting to the car and getting there on time (hope it stays this way).

She recently played softball in the spring and enjoyed playing the sport with her friend, Hannah. Right now she is swimming for our neighborhood swim team, the Geysers. She really enjoys that too, but looks forward to the swim meets that are held on Mondays so that she can see all her friends, hang out and play DS games and chat and swim to earn the ribbons (she loves the immediate gratification).

Bailey is staying at home some by herself now. She can even stay home and watch the littler ones while I run a quick errand close by or run another child to practice, etc.

I love that girl to pieces. She is a real sweetie and absolutely the most beautiful 10 year old I know (I tell her that all the time!!) and look forward to all the years ahead of us as she grows into a young lady.

Indy

We had a great visit with my parents in Texas City today. We ate lunch together and ran a few errands for Bailey's birthday tomorrow, but the best part was Jackson and his fascination with my Dad and the Indiana Jones movies. We spent close to 4 hours in Texas City with them and I really think that he spent close to 3 1/2 hours asking my Dad questions about the movies. I don't know what sparked his interest, but he was definitely interested!!

Before it was all said and done, my Dad found his complete set of the Indiana Jones movies and had given them to Jackson. You would have thought he gave him a bag of candy. He was so excited and even though we only had a few minutes before we had to leave, he wanted to start the movie and watch what he could.

He continued to talk about it on the way home and even said he was going to give Bailey the set of DVDs for her birthday tomorrow. What a sweet boy!

When Bailey got home, he tried to control himself, but AGAIN he was so excited about the movies that he had to tell her...he just had to!

It's so funny how kids find something to focus on (completely unexpected) and just can't stop...and I know that he hasn't even seen the movie in it's entirety!

This weekend was wonderful! Debbie and I had so much fun scrapbooking that we couldn't get ourselves to bed BOTH nights! We just got to scrappin' and couldn't stop. Friday night we stayed up until 2:30 (another girl stayed up until 6:30 a.m.!) and Saturday night we stayed up until 5:00 a.m.!!

We got a lot done. Much more than I have ever gotten done at a retreat and that is probably why I was able to stay up and continue working.

The ladies there were all great (friendly) and worker bees! These women could scrap! Their pages looked so good- I felt like I was at a scrapbooking convention. Loads of fun for me and Debbie!

Today Teague and I ran our usual Monday errands. He ate lunch and then wanted to go "ah sigh" (outside) so we went out to swing. I was busy paying attention to Lucy and keeping Teague away from the pool, but he kept yelling "Daddy". I wasn't sure why he would be calling out for his Dada so I just put him in his swing and he kept yelling, "Daddy, Daddy"!! He was having such a good time swinging and holding his Woody character that I quickly realized he was talking about Woody from Toy Story. He was holding Woody in the palm of his hand and calling him "Daddy"!! They were having a great time.

What do you think? You think he watched a lot of Toy Story this past weekend while I was gone?! Could it be that he saw it so much that he got confused and "thought" it was his Daddy? Or could I be losing my hearing? I am quite sure it is the hearing.

Look at that hair!! Do you think it's time for a haircut?!

A girls weekend

This weekend my neighbor and friend, Debbie Templin and I are going to a scrapbooking retreat in Magnolia. We won't know anyone else there, but intend to have a lot of fun and get a lot done. The kids are with their Daddy all weekend so I am sure they will be busy cleaning the house, grocery shopping and yard work (I am not being silly...Jerrod really does have them clean so that I come home to a clean house- pretty awesome, huh?).

I hope to post some of my work when I return on Sunday.

I'll miss my sweet family, but will enjoy the special time my awesome husband gives me to be with dear friends (even complete strangers). That doesn't mean I am desperate, does it??!

We don't live in a barn, I promise!

Jerrod and I were so excited today to head to Fredericksburg to see the house we are buying. We were meeting the inspector there to go over a few items and to look at the house one last time before our option period is up on the 18th of May.

Everything looked great. The inspector had nothing but good things to say about the house and he and our realtor acted like they knew the house like an old friend. One said, "oh, I remember this house when...". The other would say, "yeah, when so and so lived here, two families back...". It was so cool to hear them talk and the way small city life actually is. They all knew the same people and reminisced about the neighborhood and things that have happened over the years....so cool. The best part? The inspector has a teenage daughter and she wants to babysit!! He said he would hook us up with her while we are in town and if she couldn't do it, he knew some of her friends would like to do it. First class folks...

All while we were discussing important things about the house and of course, babysitters, Jackson and Teague were running crazy around outside and when we went inside...they ran crazy there too! They definitely felt the need to let go of some energy after sitting in the car for several hours!! We were discussing the brick on the home when the inspector stopped to pay attention to Teague. He was standing clear across the yard but there was no denying what he was making in his diaper. Our inspector said, "You never forget a face like that!". We all chuckled.

Then, Jackson was showing me some things around the outside of the house and he took me over by the air conditioning unit. He pointed to a spot of water on the ground next to it and said, "that's where I peed". I couldn't believe my ears so I said, "What?! They have a potty inside that you can use". He looked up to me with those sad eyes and told me that he didn't know that he could use it. I went straight over the group of guys as they were discussing all the important things and asked , "Did any of you see him take a whiz by the A/C unit??" I wanted to make sure that they didn't see it and then NOT say anything to me!! I was glad they didn't see it, but also felt quite sure that they thought we lived in a barn in Houston, Texas.

After that, I was off to buy diapers for the little one and I pulled up to the convenience store in Jerrod's truck. I guess that truck is really nice, because you would have thought I drove up and got out of the truck totally nude (ok, they would have been laughing!). The men (yes, business men) were all having lunch at these little tables right inside the door and just ooohing and ahhhhing as they stared at the truck. One even approached me as I was leaving to ask me if I liked my truck and what the gas mileage was like. So funny.

It gets better. As we were leaving town, we stopped to have the utilities transferred into our name after closing. I had all kinds of questions for the "clerks" like: do the trash collectors offer back door service or is it curb service? (She looked at me like I was an alien), What is the price per kWh for electricity in Fredericksburg? (She went to consult the city manager to get the answer and came back to look at me like I was mental) and other goofy questions like that.

After I amazed her with my questions, she proceeded to collect my deposit and filled out all my personal information for the city...on a form where she had to "press hard" so that the information would show clearly to the bottom layer. And guess what, she gave ME a $20 discount for signing up to have my bill paid with "autodraft". Really? I love this place already.

I am leaving my lifestyle in Sugar Land when I go to visit...I am going to live the "real life". I am going to take it easy and enjoy life like these folks. Awesome.

I don't know why, but I feel like I need to make sure everyone reading this blog (it is public knowledge) knows how I really feel about the city of Fredericksburg, TX. For some reason, I posted this and I feel like I am gossiping about a best friend or something. I absolutely love the city, I love everyone that I have met and the experiences I have had there- nothing but wonderful. The city is truly a "dream" of mine and I wish I was raised in a city such as this and could live there permanently. I love the fact that they still use "triplicates" to fill out their city info and how it all works...be certain- I hope to be conversing with people in town and discussing the goings on just like the inspector and our realtor did someday...it's a wonderful thing. I highly recommend Fredericksburg if you ever need to get back "home" the way it "used" to be.

Oh NO!! It has begun...

The craziness has officially begun. Our 3 oldest have started swim team and that involves many goings to and from the pool here in our neighborhood. Right now, it's after school so we have to rush home and get homework completed and then start with Jackson going from 4:10- 4:50 p.m. Bailey and Emma both swim at 5:10 p.m. 5 days a week so there is just enought time to pick up Jackson and head home to get Bailey and Emma ready and then we are OFF again!! The meets each Monday make it worth it- it's a big social event and I enjoy it just as much as Bailey, Emma and Jackson do!

As you can see from this picture, Jackson was on time for his first practice with the Greatwood Geysers. I swear, I don't know how it happens that we are always late. My intentions are always there...poor kid. (The second practice he showed up just a few minutes late, but his swim trunks were on backwards- the bow was right above his hiney...it looked real cute as another Dad pointed it out to me. I am sure he thinks highly of me, right?) Being the obedient student: kicking on command.He has already found himself some buddies to hang with...

A successful first practice for Jackson! Bailey and her crew:Emma and her buddies:

This is all I got of Bailey swimming:I must have gotten a dozen pictures of this swim across the pool. I zoomed in and out trying to get the most "action" shot I could because I THOUGHT this was Bailey all along in the black goggles...good grief. You've got to be kidding me- it's not, but I promise you that the last one is... Or at least, I think it is.