Four Sweet Friends, Four Sweet Babies

I think I have mentioned this in another post, but God has been so good to me to give me many friends that became moms about the same time I did. They have been an encouragement to me constantly, understanding of what I am feeling, and so much fun to hang out with. To expound on this, God allowed me to be roommates my last semester of being single in college with Janelle, Kristin, and Michelle. We formed a deep, lifelong friendship through college, but especially during the semester we were roommates. We always talk about how it seems like we were roommates all throughout college, not just a semester. Anyway, one by one, beginning 2 years ago in June, we each found out that we were going to have a baby come into our lives. God orchestrated that in His timing and in His way, and we were able to sit back, watch, and marvel at His plan. They are all born within five months of each other. Since the babies have arrived, we have had an amazing time praising Him for His goodness to us. Since Michelle lives in Houston, we do not all get together too often. We did have two opportunities this last week, and it was great!

At Laney's birthday party...

At a playdate on Thursday at Michelle's parents' house...the girls, Ella and Laney...

The boys...Keegan and Joshua...

My boy in action!

Here are a few random pictures from this week. Joshua's favorite toys are household products, furniture, and anything that has not been tested for safety for toddlers. I don't have a picture of this yet, but Joshua has learned how to lift the toilet lid and seat. I was thankful that he had not put his hand in the toilet water yet, but this morning he threw a small bottle of shampoo into the toilet. He was very impressed with the splash of water! I am sure he will now try to splash around with his hands. Looks like I will have to sanitize the toilet a lot more often...or, you may be thinking, just keep your son out of the toilet!



Corey watched Joshua for a few hours on Tuesday so I could get some things done. It was a nice break and Joshua loved playing with her. Corey took this picture after she laid him down for his nap. It is a little hard to tell from the angle of the picture, but Joshua fell asleep sitting up.

Andy's Birthday

We celebrated our friend, Andy Wetherell's birthday last night at Joe T. Garcia's in Fort Worth. It is such a fun restaurant because of the beautiful patio with lots of trees, fountains, and a mariachi band to serenade the guests. Joshua and Ella definitely enjoyed the mariachi band and couldn't keep their eyes off of them if they were playing anywhere close to us.




Birthday boy lighting his candles!



Joshua licking the guacamole spoon...he loved it!


Joshua & Daddy hanging out...such handsome boys!

Bluebonnets and Friends

Ever since I spotted the first bluebonnet on the side of the road this year, I have been so excited to get my blue-eyed boy in a field of them to take pictures. We finally did it, and enjoyed taking pictures with Laney and Ella! The babies were much too interested in the flowers to look at the camera, so there aren't any pictures of them all looking and smiling. We took the pictures on Laney's birthday, so the babies wore birthday hats to celebrate!

Works of Art

Joshua's Auntie Alicia is very artistic so she will be so proud to see two of his first works of art! He has been working on his creativity at Kid's Day Out. The first picture is one that he colored last Friday, but he had a little help. I have a feeling that he was more interested in putting the crayon in his mouth than coloring with it!

This second picture he experimented with paint and made beautiful flowers and a sun with his finger and hand prints. Watch out, Picasso, here comes Joshua!

Happy Birthday Laney!

Laney Lewis is 1 year old today! What a sweet little girl she is and we are blessed to get to hang out with her and her great parents, Todd & Kristin. Last night was Laney's birthday party, and it was a beautiful night to be partying outdoors! She got lots of fun presents, but I think her favorite one was a dollar bill that came in one of her cards...she held on to it pretty tight...smart girl! Kristin planned the party with a ladybug theme, because she calls Laney her "Laneybug". The party favors were cute bug catchers with a bunch of live ladybugs in them. They are in our refrigerator sleeping right now and Joshua will release them soon. Kristin gave us the hint that they will "sleep" in the refrigerator, so they went straight in there when we got home.

First Day of "School"

Joshua experienced his first day of school on Monday...he went to our church's Kids Day Out from 9am-2:30pm. I had decided to put him in KDO on Mondays until I go back to work in May...to see how he will do in childcare and to see how I will do without him! I thought that I was going to be a wreck without him all day, but to my surprise, I really enjoyed my day alone! I took a long shower and read a book...two things that I have not done much of in the last 11 months. When I dropped him off in his class, he immediately started playing and didn't even notice when I left the room. His sweet teachers, Mrs. Cheryl and Mrs. Dianna, said that he did not cry once through the day and enjoyed playing. They sent home a note listing out what they did, how much he ate, when he took a nap, and yes, even when they changed his diapers!

Here is a picture of Joshua when I picked him up from KDO. He wasn't into posing...he just wanted me to pick him up (just the reaction I was hoping for)!

Easter in Houston

Joshua and I had a great time in Houston! We spent time visiting both families...shopping, Easter baskets, egg dyeing, Astros game, and a great Resurrection Sunday! Peter joined us for church on Sunday, and then we all drove back to Dallas together. Here are a few highlights from the weekend:


Joshua looking at his Easter basket from Grannie & Pop...


Joshua practiced churning butter!


He dyed his first Easter egg...his fingers went into the dye and stayed green until Sunday morning. He was so excited to hold the egg that it ended up on the floor! We'll practice again next year.



Joshua gave his cousin Elizbeth a sweet kiss!


Joshua looking through his Easter basket from Auntie Alicia...it had a cute duck that sings "Splish, splash I was taking a bath..."





Both of our families after church on Sunday.





Joshua's friend Keegan Sanders was strolling out of church when we were taking pics...he looks very handsome in his seersucker suit!

Will he be a mechanic?

Joshua has found a new use for his Rockin' Jitter Buggy Car...he now works under the hood!

Glorious Spring Day

I love springtime...sunshine, birds, and flowers...oh, the smell of flowers is intoxicating! Joshua and I visited the Dallas Arboretum yesterday with our playgroup. They were hosting a Mommy & Me day, where kids could take their pictures with a live bunny, get their faces painted, and play with animals in the petting zoo. I never imagined that every mom in the Metroplex thought it would be a good idea to go to the Arboretum on the same day! Really, the line to take a picture with the bunny was at least an hour and a half long! It was so fun being there with so many kids...we kept talking about how next year, our babies would be running around on the beautiful green lawns, and maybe stomping through the flower beds. Here are some pictures of my sweet, almost 11 month old, boy!

Ella is not very fond of grass, so she was doing her best to get most of her body off of it!

Cute group of red hat ladies!

(left to right) Joshua, Ava, Tobey, Ella & Jackson enjoying the stroll!

This was the last picture of our day...notice Joshua is crying really hard. He always seems to have a breakdown when we try to do a group picture during our playdates!