Phone Photo Fun. {July}

The End of July.

Cutest brunch date ever.

And in an attempt to get anything done, I sometimes must wear my baby man.


I can't believe tomorrow is August. This is the month I've dreaded all summer as we'll soon be saying lots of goodbyes. Hope I can hold it together.

Little Friends

My sad boy could NOT get happy until I gave him my pillow to sleep on. Baby brat, but I love him so much!

Apparently, we've been spending a lot of time with the Larkins. This is all on purpose since our move date is FAST approaching! We will miss this family more than words can say!

We spent the night in College Station with some of the Straights and Larkins. Parker and Lily took their first bath together...way too hard to get a good picture. Maybe once Parker can sit up we'll be able to get one. Should be fun - both kiddos LOVE bath time.

Oldies but Goodies

Every few years, we get the chance to meet up with Hilary and Jason. They were some of our very first friends in Navasota. Mom and Hil taught next door to one another for a couple of years, but by the time I was in 8th grade, Hilary and Jason married and moved across the country. It's been since 2005 that we saw them in Orlando! This time, we drove to College Station and had our favorite - Wings N More - and talked for hours about a ton of old Aggieland memories. Jason is responsible for taking me to my very first Aggie football game. He also gave me a taste of west campus and the vet school...crazy that ten years later I became an Animal Science major! I love that even though we don't see one another often, we stay in touch, watch our children grow up and plan meet-ups when we can. So much fun!

Growing Too Fast

This is another of my favorite little outfits. Before it no longer fit, I had to make sure I captured how adorable my boy is in it.




Hello, eyelashes from Heaven.



I want to blow this one up! It's way too much preciousness.

The Best of The Best

We are called "small group" bible study. At this point, that's a laughable term. We did begin as a group of about 8-10 with only 2 children. The Lord definitely shook us out of our comfort zones and taught us a thing or two about friendship as we grew to a group of 26 adults with 7 children and several on the way! Originally, I would have been turned off by such a large group and probably would have thought that we wouldn't have the opportunity to have good discussion or form close relationships. I could not have been more wrong. This small group taught me more about faith, friendship and love than I ever could have anticipated. These 24+ people are the reason I've bawled my eyes out every single second I think about moving. These couples are new friends and old, but they all know my soul. We fell in love and fast. Together, we have shared the most intimate details of our lives, poured out prayer over loved ones, cried, laughed and eaten some super great food! The best thing about each of them is that I'm myself when in their company...my real self, the me that God created me to be. I can't type out just how comfortable that is. It's the best feeling in the world to be so loved. I know that no matter where we go, these are our forever friends.

Somehow, we all ended up at bible study the same night EXCEPT my family - Hayley and Jake we really missed you and wish you were in this photo.

Thank you Blueprints crew for loving us, praying over us and living life with us! 

The Parker Weekly. July 20 - July 26

- Week Fourteen -

07.21.11 Dinner at Bubba's in Waller. It's been a long time since you saw Ginger and Rilee.
07.22.11 First play date. Took a fabulous nap at the Larkin's {of course, since I always say you're a terrible napper}.
07.23.11 Your grandparents and Jake & Hayley came over for dinner.
07.24.11 Slept through church.
07.25.11 Started doing baby crunches in an attempt to sit up. You do not like laying down or being held like a baby.
07.26.11 SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT from 10:55pm - 6:00am. Hope to have more nights like this one in our future!

Bath Time

Sweet, clean boy! It's so funny that he slides down and turns sideways! I'm afraid one day his little butt will slide right out of his tub.

Lily's Almost Two. Houston Children's Portrait Photographer.

Dear Lily,
You aren't mine, but I love you like you are. I can't believe that you're almost TWO. It seems like yesterday that I placed my hand on your Mommy's belly and felt you hiccup. I feel like I just held you in the hospital, tried to get you to stop screaming your first few weeks at home, watched you scoot across the floor and take your first steps, heard you say your first words...and in reality that was years ago. You are such a big girl now. I love your fun spirit and your independence. You are brave and adventurous, trying to do things on your own and potentially hurting yourself in the process. We constantly tell you to be careful and often kiss boo-boos. You are funny and make us laugh with your "chinese" language and silly faces. You are smart! You know colors, ABC's, numbers, Sesame Street characters and sign language. Your vocabulary improves weekly. I recently watched you pray at dinner and I wanted to cry. I am so thankful that you know that that's what we're supposed to do. I am confident that your sweet heart will love Jesus at an early age. My favorite thing is that you are 100% girl! Your "aunt" Sarah appreciates that you love pretty things, especially pink and sparkles. We currently have matching flip flops! You love to dress yourself...some ensembles are more interestingly put together than others. You give the very best big hugs and kisses. Thank you for making Daniel and me feel so special! Since I had Parker, things have changed. I miss being able to walk in the door and scoop you up, letting nothing distract me from you. You have done so well at adjusting to having to share the spotlight. Right now, you like to say "hi Baby" to my Parker boy. You run to him with his paci when you hear him get upset and when he lets you, you take his paci out and put it back in over and over. You kiss his face (on the lips) and tickle his "piggy" toes. Ya'll are adorable together and I cannot wait to see a meaningful friendship form between the two of you. I know he'll always think of you as a big sister. My sweet girl, I fell in love with you the minute I knew you existed. Your Mommy is my very best friend and I can never possibly thank her for letting me be such a big part of your life. In a few weeks, Uncle Dan, Parker and I are moving to San Antonio (just 3 short hours away) and I will miss you so much! With few exceptions, we've seen you on a weekly basis your whole life! We'll have to make special dates to drive back and forth and you and Mommy will have to Skype so that I can see your darling grin. You are so dear to me and no matter what, you'll always be the first little girl I loved.

Overwhelmed.

This morning as I sat and rocked my Parker, I cried. Really hard. I was flooded with emotion and gratitude that I get to be his Mama. Mama love is a powerful thing and sometimes it just overwhelms me. Thanks to my Daniel for capturing this sweet moment. I don't often have the chance to be in front of the camera with my sweet baby.

Park's First Play Date

Liz invited a group of us over for lunch today. I really wanted to get a photo of all the girls and another of the kiddos, but we were never all in the same room! At any given time, a different child was napping or eating. Too funny! We had a great time!

Parker did not have his happy face on.

Lily loves to crawl up next to Parker and say cheese. These two melt my heart!

"Big sister" love.

Liz and I nearly lost it on this one! Parker was falling over so Lily grabbed him and picked him back up - sound effects and all!

Sitting up big now - thanks Lily!