Snow day in Houston

I gotta tell you.......I didn't think it would happen. IT SNOWED HERE!!!! Don't worry that all of the schools closed and let out at noon because we had some flurries. Watch out!!! I guess it's just because Texans flip out when there's snow. We don't have the cool snow toys and machines that Indiana does........so everyone go home and throw snowballs at each other. :) Here are some pictures of the kiddos that day.

He takes these guys everywhere he goes

Carter's not so sure anymore.....

Micah's still lovin' it!! Yeah, I didn't know his tongue was that long until I saw this picture....and to think that at one point in his life, he was tongue tied.

All of this chilly weather can only mean one thing...........A FIRE IN THE FIREPLACE!!!! We never made a fire in our old house since it was 50 years old, and I was scared. Since no one has lived in this house yet....game on!!!!!!!

I know you're jealous of my one HEB log and the massive flames

Thanksgiving '09

Ok, so I figure that I should post about Thanksgiving before I start posting about Christmas. :) After much consideration, we decided to travel to Newnan, Georgia to visit family for Thanksgiving......and by travel, I mean drive. Yes, we did. What was that?? Did you say, "Wait, Emily, you said you would never do that again because it was so awful last time. Didn't Carter puke in the rental mini van last time?" Yes, and yes. BUT, this was a new year, and we planned a whole lot better this time. We already had a hotel reservation for the first night, so we weren't driving around Mississippi at 1:00 AM trying to find a hotel when they are BOOKED because it's Thanksgiving. Instead we stayed at a hotel/casino!!! Carter learned how to play Craps.......just kidding, I only picked that game because I think that's what it's called. Plus, I think that's a funny word for a game. The best part about driving there was Luke, Amie, and Logan were following us. We should've had walkie talkies. Instead we opted for texting which was still very humorous. Funny story about the hotel........

This room was huge! Probably because they could've filled it with more furniture, like a couch, but didn't. Anyway, the closet doors were sliding mirrors. Guess who didn't know this little piece of information? Micah. We wake up in the morning, I am getting dressed in the bathroom when all of a sudden I hear a CRASH, Micah is crying (with his "gween banket"), and Les is trying to comfort him while silently laughing. As most of you know, Micah likes to get a running start at anything. Apparently he looked in the mirror and thought the room was twice as big, so he decided to run across the room......or so the thought. He bolted as fast as he could.........and smashed right into the mirror!!! Les saw the whole thing. He said Micah hit it so hard that his arms went flying as he was stumbling backward. Oh yes, big red mark on the side of his forehead. He was fine once he saw Woobie (Luke) and Lolo (Logan). Laughed my rear off.

Back to Newnan.......we all got to stay with Tripp, Megan, and little Neely. Oh, I wish we all lived closer!!! Tripp and Megan both are gymnastics coaches! I swear, they could be olympians. Since we were there for the holiday, and their gym was closed, we got to go play there!!!!! I think the most popular place in the whole gym was the foam PIT!!!! I've always wanted to jump in one of those things. The boys had to get rowdy of course, so one guy would stand at the edge of the pit holding one of those huge exercise balls, while another came barreling at him at full speed. When they would collide, this is what would happen......

That's Luke on top and Logan on bottom.....so funny!

Needless to say, we had a blast with our Georgian family! Good fellowship, good food, great company......definitely worth the trip. We're looking forward to going back in 2 years!

Carter, Micah, and Neely

Amie and Toby

Grandma and Toby

I have a lot to write about, but I can only write about one thing right now. So, we put up our Christmas decorations about a month ago.........yes, I'll be THAT person who puts them up super early. I feel like it makes our home more sparkly, and that's my favorite! Anyway, since I am trying to drink more water since I'm nursing, I am having to use the potty more (I'll use kid terms). I usually wait unitl I'm about to pee in my pants before I go, then I run to the bathroom in our front hallway. SO, I'm sitting there on the potty, I look up and this is what I see staring at me..............

Just one word...........creepy.

Surprise Indiana Trip!!!

What a fun weekend!!!!! So short, but so sweet! It all started a couple of months ago when my dad had a big weekend of singing with his chorus and quartet. Before it all started that weekend, he was relaxing by their pool when he heard something that made him think that my mom flew us in to surprise him for his big weekend. Oh my stars, so sad! He was walking around the house going, "You can come out now....." Meem (my mom) felt sooooooooooo sorry for him. SO, she asked if she could fly Toby and me home for a very short weekend. Uh, do I love cookie dough?? Of course she can!!! Sarah would've come too if she didn't have to work. So, Toby and I got to surprise my dad, AND Matt and Natalie!!.......and we had a weekend date! (with each other, that is......I already have a hottie husband). He did great on the plane, but he was probably so full of milk because I kept nursing him. :) On the way up, when he was the least bit fussy, and on the way down. Hey, he was happy and so were the people on the plane. When I got off the plane, I strapped him to me in the bjorn (facing out so he could check it all out). Turns out, I got surprised!! My mom got to come to the gate because my aunt JULIE was with her!! She works for the airport and has connections. :) I loved seeing her. You know those people who make you cry you're laughing so hard? Yeah, that's her.

So, we get to their house around 11:15, and my dad had fallen asleep. My mom woke him up, talked to him for a few minutes, and then we walked in the room. His chin fell to the ground!! I knew he was thinking, "is this a dream? Where am I?" It was so great! He even said, "what possessed you to come up here?" EXCUSE ME?? I'm blame that on being half asleep.

Matt and Natalie's surprise was hilarious!! That Friday was Natalie's first day back to work. She only works one day a week, and my parents watch the kiddos. SO, when Natalie got home from work that day, guess who was wrapped in Annaleece's pink blanket?? TOBY!! I was in the other room with Annaleece when I heard Natalie come in, say hi to Eli and Meem and then I heard, "WAIT!!' She was about 2 seconds from panic mode. I rushed in with Annaleece, everybody screamed, scared the tar out of both babies, then we were all hugging. (and I probably stared leaking milk) :) 5 minutes later, it happened again when Matt got home. Only this time, from the other room with my new niece, I heard, "Who is that? It's Toby!" Matt totally new him from his pictures!!!

The rest of the weekend was just fun hang time, sitting by the fire, getting to hang with Cicker, my grandparents came over to see their new great grandson, and making s'mores over the gas stove. Gotta love that! I also got to squeeze in a tiny bit of time with 2 of my best friends from home. It was such a great little energy boost for me. I'm so thankful that Les was all for staying home with the kids all weekend and letting me go up there. Thanks Papa!!

Here are some pics of the weekend........

Micah and Annaleece

She's checking him out.. "Look at that! Someone else that lays on the floor."

My grandma, mom, me and Toby

One of my best friends, Stefany!

Natalie, Annaleece, my dad, and Toby chillin' by the fire.....love that!

my handsome nephew, Eli!

this is the blanket we wrapped Toby in to shock Matt and Natalie

This is Nikki's (a best friend from home) little girl, baby Emilie!! She looks like a little sumo wrestler. ;)

This is what happens when I let Toby sit on Grampy's lap for dinner....noodles on his head.

What's wrong with a little steak at 3 months old??

So, that about wraps up our short, but fun-filled weekend in Indiana. Meem, thank you so much for flying us up to see everyone!!! I am so excited to go back for Christmas!!

Fall Festival Day

"Oh what a beautiful morning......" You know what made it even more beautiful? Les got up at about 7:00 to run an errand, and since Carter was up (surprise), he took her. Since I had just fed Toby and put him down, I got to go back to bed until Micah woke up at 8:20!!!!!!! Booya!!!! I was so excited, I almost moonwalked around the house.........or maybe I wanted to do that because I just went to see This Is It (the Michael Jackson movie). It was soooooooooo great! I went to see it with Melissa and Haley, and one of the best parts of the movie was that Melissa watched the whole thing with a smile on her face. It was so cute! Ok, back to today. We didn't really do much today because last night we went to Sarah's Superhero Night at Second Baptist Church. Carter and Micah went dressed as their favorite pirates. Sarah saved us front row seats!!! I loved watching it so close, but I was jealous because what I really wanted to be doing was dancing with Sarah on stage. :) We had so much fun! Here are some pictures of the kids dressed up.....

That's right! Wonderbread!

Carter didn't want to get dressed up today. Micah's all about it!

Pumpkin Patch!

.......or as Micah calls it, "the punkin patch"! I seriously like the word "punkin" better than the real word. Who votes we change it?? I love the fall!!!!!!! Although it is prettier in Indiana, but still. I'm just sayin'. Thank you, Lord, for this beautiful weather here in Houston!!!!!!! What a perfect day for the punkin patch!!! We drove over to Josh and Lisa Schmidt's house this morning, loaded the kids in the wagon and stroller, and we all walked to the punkin patch fest at Seven Lakes High School!!!!!!! Tell me if any of you moms can relate to this.........

So, Lisa and I are walking behind the pack. Lisa is pushing Maya, and Toby is strapped to me. Micah is in the wagon that Carter is taking turns pulling, and Mady is walking near the wagon with Papa and Josh. We're walking on the sidewalk which is, you know, close to the road, and the girls just book it up the sidewalk! Lisa and I are holding our breath because we don't want to tell the boys how to watch our girls, but we just keep picturing them veering off into the street. Both of them obeyed very well, so nothing even came close to happening, but I'm still not sure if Lisa and I had a whole conversation. :)

When we got to the punkin patch, Carter walked through all of the big punkins, and went straight to the tiny punkins.......like they were her pets or something. So, who follows her?? Oh yeah, Micah!!!! because he would follow her off a cliff. But then Micah does something different. While Carter is searching for a punkin with no dirt on it......such a girl......Micah seems to think the punkins are soccer balls. I look over and he is basically dribbling a punkin through the grass. He decided to not get a punkin though.......I think he was still tired from not getting a nap yesterday. I think I'm still tired from him not getting a nap yesterday. Oh wait, no, I'm tired because we have an infant. That's right. I really have nothing to complain about though. He is such a great baby!!!! He's only getting me up once a night to feed him. Oooh, he's so cute!!

she loves her tiny punkin and wants to carve it tonight!

if only we could read Toby's thoughts......."I wonder if these big orange things have milk too?"

they did NOT like this guy

this picture looks so funny! "Somebody help me!"

I think Mady liked this one more.

and I just HAD to put this on here! Price let Toby borrow this onsie!!

Fall Festival Preview.....

So, every year, instead of going around our neighborhood and trick-or-treating, we get the kids dressed up in their costumes and head to our church. They have something called First Fest. It's just a bunch of games, bouncy things, and candy......my kind of party! Well, ever since we went to see Sarah during her VBS at her church (which included pirates this year), Carter and Micah have wanted to dress up like "Marge" and "Tounge Tied Taylor". Here is a little preview........

now his pirate smile finally makes sense!!!

Toby is 2 months!

Oh my goodness! What is happening?! On October 12th, Toby had his 2 month birthday!!! What?! He is such a great baby! He is really smiling now, and he is making the sweetest suck-his-breath-in noises!!! I still can't understand how babies are so entertaining. I could just sit and watch him for hours.........all while making the most ridiculous noises to him. Seriously, I thought about getting out the video camera today, but I thought to myself "no, because then you're gonna hear yourself making these noises to get him to smile, and you're going to annoy yourself." He's loving his bouncy seat! He gets so excited watching the bubbles go up through the starfish and his friends. :) Here are some 2 month pictures......

in his bouncy seat

Hershey is getting her Toby time!

And when it's bath time for Toby, if I ever make the announcement that I'm going to give him a bath, this is what ends up happening.........

we love our tub!!

I love my little girl......

This is going to be very short because I will write more later when I post Toby's 2 month pictures. So, last week I gave the kids an apple each to eat on our errands. I didn't have time to cut them in slices, so I just gave it to them whole. When we got home, Carter had hers half eaten and she put it on the kitchen floor. I asked her to please put her apple up and this is where I found it later that day.......

....in the pantry....I love how she obeys :)

Fun at the Strech house

I love when Papa comes home from work!! Partly because I miss him during the day. Partly because I am desperate for help by the time he gets home, and partly because I love that he really is a 5 year old boy in a 30 year old, 6'2" frame. For instance, we were supposed to be getting the kids ready for bed, when I hear Micah counting and saying "ready not, here I come!". Hide and seek is an everyday game in our house. :) So, I gather that Micah is looking for Carter and Papa. This is what I found in Micah's room........

I about peed in my pants. AND, he was being so quiet! Like, maybe Micah won't find me if I'm super quiet.

Then, a couple of weeks ago when it was actually getting cooler (yeah, that was a tease), we were going on walks around the neighborhood. Well, one night after dinner, we said, "who wants to go on a walk?" Carter and Micah screamed "ME!!!" Then Carter said something about getting the wagon ready. About 10 minutes later when Les, Toby and I were ready, we walk out into the garage and this is what we see..........

They were ready to go! Carter had some sunscreen in her hand because she thought it was mosquito spray. :)

Yesterday was a very pleasant treat..........Carter went to the dentist for the first time. Her pediatrician has been telling me to take her and Micah since they were 18 mths, but seriously. Carter didn't even have teeth until she was 12 mths! So..........knowing Carter, I was preparing myself for the worst. She is very dramatic and very cautious. Put those two together and I just knew that dentist was going to check us all into a mental hospital. We go in and there was a big open floor with a tv.......the front desk lady goes, "do your kids like the Cars movie?" I instantly loved this place. Then, the dentist-helper lady came to get Carter, told her to brush her "princess teeth" (I just think that the Lord put these words in this lady's mouth to make Carter feel comfortable), and let us all come back to the room. By room, I mean the area as big as a small house that was filled with heavenly toys, chairs, and smiley, singing ladies who clean teeth. I got ripped off when I was a kid at the dentist office!!!!!!!!!!! I'm not bitter..............

Back to Carter....SO, everything that the lady was going to do to her, she let Carter do it to a stuffed animal first. I swear they spied on Carter and studied her since the time I made her appt. Bottom line - Carter had a GREAT time at the dentist!! She even said that was her favorite thing about yesterday! Thank You, Jesus!!!!!!!!!!!! Now, what's the chance that they think I'm 18 every year and can go see her? Seriously, the worst thing that happened there was that Toby had his very first blow out while I was nursing him, and 99% of the yellow breastmilk baby poop went all over...........ME!!! What?! He got one little spot on him. The rest of it, yeah, right on my lap. Which means that when I washed it off of me, it looked like I peed in my pants. Thank you Mr. Toby. Who cares? I'll take that over getting kicked out of Katy for a crazy child in a dentist chair.

we have this same picture of Carter and Micah!!

he's talking........

he's loving this outfit that my aunt Julie got him!!

He's smiling!!!!!!!!

The 3 hour "naps" at night aren't so bad when I see our little Toby smile!!! He smiled for the first time 2 weeks ago. It was about 5 seconds after Les took Carter and Micah to church. It was like he was going, "Finally I can relax.....the fussy boy who is always making out with me is gone, and so is the girl who gags me with my passy." He didn't smile much after that until a couple of days ago. He is smiling more and I am LOVING it!!!!

AND, I just had to show you how cute this picture is of Carter. She found this hat and actually likes to wear it!!

Here are more pictures of Toby that I've taken over the past couple of days. There is one of him in his Ipood shirt on that looks just like a picture of Micah. I'll see if I can put both of them on here.

this is the picture that looks like a Micah picture, but I can't get his on here!