New Years Eve

We've been busy & I'm behind on pictures and such....I'll catch up soon, promise.  Maybe next year ;)
For tonight we're staying in enjoying a kinda quiet house & hoping this year we can make it till midnight.  

Happy New Year Peoples.

Family is in town until Monday & we've done so many fun things & I've taken lots of pictures but right now this is all I can muster...with so much family and so much fun this is how we're all feeling

Our House and our bellies are full of holiday cheer

Grandma Jo arrived on Friday - her first time in our Texas house.  We've done a lot of visiting.  A lot of getting ready for Christmas and a lot of havin a good time.




On Sunday we had pre-Christmas, Christmas dinner at my parents house.  Kiddos received (the most adorable) Christmas outfits, we all found out a little more about Tim Hertel circa age 6, we drank & ate more holiday cheer & we sang Christmas songs.
 
 


 


And yesterday, Monday - Aunt Becca, Amber, Brodie & Taryn walked in our door and got to meet Logan & Reagan for the very first time!!


And now it's Christmas Eve & everyone in the Hawk House tried on their matching jammies last night. They fit. We're ready for Santa.

Merry Christmas Eve
see all of these pictures & more here --> December 2013

Foto Friday

Triple starch, clean out the fridge, stuff your face Friday.

TGiF!

Texas House: Logan's Room

Been awhile since one of these....been awhile since I had a reason to super clean.  But we have family en route as I speak and I've been a cleaning mad woman allllll day long.  

The first picture is the before:

And this is the now

I love the shelves that Kevin made, I love the bedding and I love his matchbox display.  Oh & I love that I finally get to use the old school desk that I found at goodwill almost 10 years ago (Kevin almost didn't let me bring it to Texas :o ) And I love his little lamp....I basically love his room. I would love to get new lights on his fan (thats what is making it look like it's underwater in the pictures...lol)  And the one corner needs a cute little recliner or giant bean bag chair. 

Texas House 2013

Early Christmas gift

I've been wanting to make a dress up bin for Reagan for awhile now and a couple Sundays ago we were bored.

soooooo....

Kevin cut and constructed:

and I painted:

Reagan is just hoping Santa brings her some more dress up clothes!

Hump Day 7

I dumped the pictures from my phone onto the computer last night.  516 pictures.  

I picked 7 because there are only 7 days left before Christmas.  

One week.

1. Our kids at Olivias birthday party - everyone else was running and playing and bouncing - our kids...they were eating.  lol.

2. If you didn't see this on FaceBook - Reagan got into my makeup drawer and decided to give mascara a try.  A couple days later she & Logan found the tube of toothpaste.....

3. If you came into our house after 7:30 any night of the week, this is what it will most likely look like.

4.

5. Christmas carol concert compliments of Logan

6. We babysat a baby.  Guess who wanted to do everything baby was doing....

7.  What Sundays look like.

Holiday Cheer for you

Foto Friday

Today was Olivia's 5th Birthday so the day was all about her :)  A Christmas play in the morning, out to lunch, a quick nap then a Birthday Party at Bouncing Bears complete with pizza & cupcakes!  My kids had a blast, I can only imagine how much fun the Birthday girl had.  

Tis the season...

....too be busy, busy.

Haven't taken very many pictures recently because we've been busy doing? I don't even know - but finally today we have something to show for our busy'ness.

Cookies!

Reagan helped me decorate.  Decorate one, eat one, decorate one, eat one.....

Is it the sugar that brings out the little devil in her angel?  Today during her non-napping naptime she moved her heavy wooden vanity chair over to her dresser, climbed up and somehow managed to get her piggy bank down & in her bed where she proceeded to shake out ALL the money.  When I went up and asked her how her nap was - she got this silly little grin on her face and told me all about how she "found lots of monies"

Ate cookies & found lots of money.
It's a good day for Reagan.

She asks to look at "that picture" multiple times a day.  She just stares at it & then asks

"Why is Reggie frowing a fit?"

I don't know...

Why does Reagan throw a fit....

....500million times a day?

Santa Baby 2013

Here is our Santa picture this year.  Logan's looking for the exit & Reagan....... well Reagan is doing what Reagan does best.

Merry Christmas.

Santa Baby 2012
Santa Baby 2011
Santa Baby 2010

Foto Friday

Lookin pretty cute today....ready for some shopping with her Monkey purse full of her monies.

3.9 years & 2.5 years

The days are cooler and darker and my kiddos are older & taller.

He is cute.  He is talking more....lots more.  He is sleeping great.  He is using his utensils more while eating.  He is getting taller.  He is obsessed with pushing cars, strollers, shopping carts (anything with wheels) over "speed bumps" (any crack or bump in the road on the sidewalk or in the house)...he'll do it for hours if we let him.

Number 1 & 2 on his Christmas wish list are
1. Wooden Train tracks and Trains
2. I spy books



This week he begins out patient therapy.  It was recommended that we start that up again (Speech, Occupational & Physical).  So on Wednesdays right after naps we'll go for back to back appointments for Speech and Occupational and on Thursdays he'll leave school a tid-bit early to go to Physical Therapy.  ABA Therapy (Applied Behavior Analysis) was also recommended - unfortunately that therapy is not covered by our insurance and the wait list is "at least a year long".  But we're on it.  We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

We've purchased several books about Autism that were recommended - they have been good reads and have brought some things about Logan to light that we would have otherwise never been able to put words to.  Think we're still absorbing - maybe in denial - when that phase ends I'll have more words.  
 
But like I said - he is talking lots more, he is using utensils more, he is getting more therapy and our overall approach to Logan has shifted a bit and that has made a big difference.  So if all of that is a result of him being diagnosed with Autism....awesome. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------

She is our crazy one.  She is not napping.  She is funny.  She is drinking more milk.  She is a Momas girl.  She is emotional. She is and acts like a little Mommy.  She is obsessed with her wallet of money (coins)that she has managed to collect from Grandma & from me at the grocery store after we check out- she carries it everywhere....she sleeps with all her "monies". 

Number 1 & 2 on her Christmas wish list are
1. Dress up jewelry
2. Little People
3. More money...lol



This girl.  I don't have words for her most days.  She is crazy (do you see the pictures?!)  I want you to meet her - but you can't just meet her for a couple mins - you need to know her for a couple days if you want to see to little girl I see every day.  Her hair is a shagga muff mess but I can't bring myself to cut it.  Waiting for that mega growth spurt - then we'll cut ;)  Logan is not the only one on a wait list - she is on a wait list for a 2year old 2/3 day a week program.  I figured put her on the wait list then figure out how to afford it ...lol.  She needs it.  She needs other adults directing her and she needs interaction with children of her age and ability.  Momas looking into a part time job.  Thats how much I think she needs it. 


They grow & we adjust.

Foto Friday

The effects of too much Turkey.

Turkey Day

Feeling thankful for being able to share holidays with Family :) 
 
This year - we traveled 30mins for delicious food & wonderful company came home & put sleepy kids to bed,  put our stretchy pants on dipped into leftovers & had another drink :0  

most ideal.

more pics here Thanksgiving 2013
gobble gobble.

Getting Big

My baby is growing out of her baby :/

I was going through some more Olivia hand-me-down clothes and held these green pants up ...they looked light years away from fitting her ... they were so long and looked way too big.  

But she wanted to wear them.  On they went. 
They fit.
Gasp.
They are big but they fit.

I miss the onesies and one piece baby rompers.

Sunday Night

Reagan was in bed super early cause she was a crank monster.....  Which means Logan's evening was EXTRA special - no sister to bother him, a bowl of popcorn allllll to himself AND best of all, Monster Trucks on the TV. 

 yes. yes & yes.

Foto Friday: Birthday Edition

Friday was the grand finale of his Birthday week.  The original plan was to leave on Friday to go camping for the weekend with the Hertels but the, beautiful all the time, Texas weather didn't cooperate and a a rainwashed 30 degree weekend ended up not sounding all that ideal for a dual family campout.

On to "Birthday Plan B" - which looked like this:

1.  Thanksgiving Feast at school :)
2.  Despite what it looks like Grandma isn't torturing Logan.  He got a hair cut to spruce up a little for Daddy and the Hair Lady wanted to give him a shampoo - he HATED it.  But I wanted him to have the experience so I asked Grandma to hold him still while I took some pictures ....lol
3. After Logan got spruced up Grandma & Grandpa took Reagan to get spruced up.....Not yet little lady, not yet.
4. Getting myself spruced up for Daddy.  Straightening my mop for m'love!  The start of a 2hr process....


Once everyone was all "spruced" up for the Birthday we went to the Hertels House for sleepover party.  Babysitter watched the kiddos while we went out to eat - came back and hot tub'd it, slept, woke up early cause Logan & Reagan are awful sleeping anywhere else but their beds, drank lots of coffee and were thankful for Birthday Weekend Plan B's  :)

Happy Birthday!
& 
TGiF