David & Erin Get Married!!!

On August 24th, my sweet baby brother GOT MARRIED!!!  He's 29, so not really a baby. :-)  I can't believe he is so grown up!  (I also can't believe this was already a month ago!)

 

Carson was the ring bearer, and naturally, stole the spotlight a little!

 

He ran, then stopped, bolted off to the side, then decided to finish his run down the aisle to Pops.  Then.... he didn't have a chair... AND, he left everyone know!  Oh my.  Dede was trying to conduct the ceremony, and he wouldn't stop asking about a chair.  When Daddy finally got out of his to squat on the floor, he quite loudly said, "Thank you!"  At least he had his manners during his disruptive spiel.  Oh, and he didn't like the idea of Andrew and I doing a reading without him.   So, he joined us.  How appropriate that "Love is PATIENT."  YES, it is! :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few pictures from the house we were staying at and at the rehearsal/rehearsal dinner....

 

Practicing his run...

 

 

Love that Dede (my grandfather from my Dad's side) was able to marry them too!  He married my parents and us, along with most of the other family!

 

 

Yummy pizza!

 

 

My mom used all bright colors... so pretty!

 

Aunt Julie, Dede, Meme, Uncle Marshall, & Aunt Debbie

 

Cousins Matthew & Clayton

 

 

 

Vanessa, Cousin Morgan, Uncle George, & David

 

Erin's Family

 

David with Mom & Dad

 

 

Some of the guys we grew up with - Josh, Jordan, Dylan, Justin, & Michael

 

Erin's precious niece, Tabitha

 

 

My mom & my "other mom" growing up, Rita

 

 

Sweet Lily

 

Presh...

 

Olive Thief...

 

We stayed with my parents at a cute house on the Blanco River.  Carson LOVED playing in the river and throwing rocks!  I have always loved mornings at the river.  So relaxing. 

 

Carson was up early, so we went and played outside in our jammies.

 

 

He was so excited when Pops finally woke up!

 

Carson loves his Pops!

 

 

Deep morning thoughts with Pops...

 

 

 

 

 

That kid could throw rocks all day long (and so could Pops)!

 

Beautiful Blanco

 

 

 

Carson standing on his "island"

Ready to go!

 

 

As soon as we got there, all he wanted to do was go see Erin!  So, we snuck up to see the bride before the wedding...

 

Pre-Wedding Snack

Since they were paying someone to take pictures, I really didn't take many at all at the actual wedding. It was nice to actually enjoy the wedding and not be chained to my camera (even though I love to take pictures!). Chasing Carson around and trying to take pictures just wasn't going to happen.  So, here are a few that the photographer (Elegant Express Photography, Austin, TX) took from the wedding....

 

 

Remember.... Love is PATIENT!  Yes, he insisted on joining us.

 

Love these with Dede!

 

Some of my mom's side of the fam - Marisa & Kyle's Crew (sans Clarie) and Nina

 

Cousins Michael & Rebecca and little Reid

 

 

Aggie War Hymn... An Aggie Wedding necessity.

Our little dancing machine gettin' down with the bride & groom

 

These guys are crazy...

 

Adios!!!

Carson had a BLAST in the photo booth!!!  He couldn't get enough!

 

 

 

He was also a dancing machine!!!  That kid has some moves... none of which I have any idea where they came from. 

 

We had a great time and are so thrilled for the happy couple!

Well that was fun....

So it was 3/3:30ish A.M. last night when I looked at the monitor and saw our sweet child playing in his room with the lights on.  Excellent.

He hasn't been sleeping that great lately and been begging to come get in Mommy & Daddy's bed.  He used to never wake up, but he has recently.  Boo.  Yes, we have royally screwed up and let him sleep with us just one time too many and now he wants to do it every night {which doesn't happen}.  We really didn't think he slept with us that much, just a few times a week, maybe 2-3, and it was mostly just on weekends.  Keep in mind, he used to NEVER sleep with us.  He never did when he was little.  Once he hit about 2, he'd sleep with us on trips, but that was about it.  It's really just been in the last few months that we've let him do it more.  I think it's just because he's just so darn precious, and I'm starting to have a little sadness that our one-on-one time is waning.  He's a snuggler and aren't all kids just so, so sweet when they are sleeping.    When I watch him sleep, I just can't get over how perfect he is.  What a blessing!

I'm super excited about his baby sister and can't wait to meet her, but I think I'm starting to go through those feelings that most moms of more than one kid face... how is it possible that I can love someone else as much as this little guy.  I know it's there and that your "heart doubles" and all, but it's just a hard thing to grasp until she gets here.

Anyways, back to our little incident last night.  So.... I got up to go turn the light off and politely ask him to get back in bed except that when I went to turn the handle, it was LOCKED.  Somehow the child had managed to lock himself in his room.  Really?!?  I started to panic a little but thought, hey, these look like the locks that were on our bedroom doors growing up, which I was a master at picking, so no problem, right?!?  Well, apparently they aren't.  The straightened clothes hanger didn't work.  Crap.  We have one of those plastic childproof door things on the inside so he can't get out, but this certainly wasn't what we had in mind... we are still supposed to be able to get IN.  Somehow he had turned the little lock on the knob that is just barely exposed in the hole in the plastic knob cover.  Again, really?!?  At 3:30am.  Oh, and Andrew has to be at work at 4:00am during September because it's teal and gator season.  This was certainly NOT what he wanted to be doing even EARLIER than he was already having to be up.  So, at this point, we're a little concerned and talk of kicking in the door was coming up.  We've already had our front door kicked in by a stranger, I really didn't want to have to go through that again, much less at our own cost.  I don't think insurance would cover this incident.

Not knowing any better, when Andrew walked away to try to find a credit card or something to stick in the door to try to open it that way, I thought that unscrewing the door knob would work.  Seems plausible, right?  Apparently that is NOT going to work since it was locked and you would still have to turn the knob, which we couldn't do.  So, I frantically held onto one side and was shouting at Carson to not pull on the knob on the other side (probably a dumb idea since half the time he likes to do the opposite of whatever we say).  I couldn't get the screws lined up and was really starting to panic at this point.  Again, the kicking the door in conversation resurfaced.  Andrew even went and put on his shoes.

As a last resort (before kicking in the door... because that was the true last resort), Andrew got a flat head screwdriver and was able to wedge it in the door jamb and get it open, with only minimal damage to the door itself.  Praise Jesus my husband apparently knows how to break & enter!!!

I was SOOOOOO thankful that Andrew was home because I really wasn't sure what to do.  I was trying to stay calm, but there certainly was some panic setting in.  What if there had been an emergency, and I couldn't get in there?  What if I hadn't gone down there and didn't discover until the morning (when I was alone) that he was locked in?  Carson was WAY too wired to go back to sleep at this point, so {for the last time for a while...promise} we put him in our room and he finally went to sleep after Andrew left for work.  The first thing I did this morning was to switch the knob to the lock side facing OUT.  I feel like the mean parent that does that so they can lock their kid in their room.  Then again, isn't the childproof thing on the inside essentially doing the same thing??  He likes his room and it's not like he's screaming at the door trying to get out.   He honestly has only done that a couple times.  If he got up before us, he'd usually just go to the door and if it didn't open, he'd just go get a book or toy and play quietly until we got there.

This morning was NOT an easy morning for him.  He was SO tired.  I rarely have to wake him up, but he just did not want to get out of bed.  He was easily awake from about 3:00am to 4:30am.... so were we.  Practice, right?!?!  ;-)

So, fun stuff.  PSA for the day - If your locks are on the inside, be sure you have a KEY or at least a person small enough to not be able to mess with the lock!

3rd Trimester Pics

I meant to post a couple picks with my 28 week update, but, of course I hadn't taken any (2nd child problems).  Okay, the other and more likely reason was that I hadn't been "dressed" enough for a picture in a while (working from home problems).  I was actually home this Sunday, so I was dressed for church (and a picture!).

So, here ya go...

 

I went and got a mommy-to-be massage yesterday.... WHY in the world do I not get massages more often?!?  I know that sitting at a computer all day has really messed my neck and back up.  I was on pain a lot, way before I was pregnant.  As I said before, my sciatic nerve has really been flaring up as well, so a massage was very needed.  I think she said my back felt like "guitar strings."  I can't remember exactly what she said but she said my neck was one of the worst she ever felt and she was really surprised that I don't have more headaches.   It didn't occur to me until then that I have had far LESS headaches since I've been pregnant (minus the 1st trimester).   I guess hormones can have some positive effects!  Sometimes I feel like they probably say this to everyone to encourage more massages, but I know it's true in my case. One of Andrew's friends that's a physical therapist (and not looking for business from me) pretty much told me the same thing. He said my neck/back were just all full of knots.  I think I'm going to start treating myself to massages more often.  I have a feeling I'll need them even more after we've got TWO rug rats running around (and I'm back to sitting at a desk all day... boo) !!! :-)

Hello, 3rd Trimester!

I am officially in the 3rd trimester, or at least my little "What to Expect..." tracker says so.  28 weeks today!

I am certainly feeling very 3rd trimester.  The blissful days of the 2nd trimester are behind us and now the feet & hand swelling, can't sleep, always have to pee, can't get comfortable, holy crap! we will have a newborn in 3 months phase has set in! 

Too much physical exertion (whether it be dancing or cleaning) makes my sciatica flare up REALLY bad.  I don't remember having any sciatic nerve issues at all with Carson, but MAN, it's been a literal 'pain in the ass' with this little girl!  The swelling has commenced and many of my work days are now spent on the chaise end of our couch versus sitting at my desk.  I could barely move after dancing all night at my brother's wedding and could barely move after cleaning the farm.   Thank goodness Tylenol is allowed, even though I'm sure it's not nearly as good as many other OTC pain meds. 

I'm in the "sympathy" stage of pregnancy where random strangers make comments like, "Oh, girl, you should be the one in that buggy."  (versus Carson at HEB)  I have a feeling they would be surprised to know that I still have 12 weeks to go!  I definitely look and feel like I should be in my 8th month versus 7th.

I can't comfortably wear my Aggie ring... which I hate since football season just started.  Gig 'Em!

Little Miss is VERY active, which I still just find so fascinating!!  I'm in that creepy, it looks like there's an alien in my stomach phase.  Sometimes she's subtle in her movements, other times, not so much.

I guess it's the Braxton Hicks, but I'm certainly experiencing a lot of tummy tightening.  It gets hard as a rock!

The count down is certainly on and there is SO much to do.... like an entire nursery and get all the necessary newborn stuff either out of the attic or purchased.  I have all kinds of cute outfits for her to wear next summer, but not one Pampers Swaddlers diaper or basic onesie (well, I do, they are just "boy" ones).  Time is flying FOR. SURE.