it's Monday again?

Why do weekends FLY by?! 5 minutes ago I was like, "YES! It's the weekend! Family fun!!" Now I'm whining that Spring Ball starts tomorrow, and we can kiss daddy goodbye for a little while again. Ah. Such is life!

*By the way, Rob loves his job, so don't hear me complaining about THAT. It's just hard when they're gone for so many hours a day.*

Anyway...we had an awesome weekend! Seriously, one of the best ones in recent history, I think. Jaqs and I kicked it off with lunch with our buddies, and she definitely enjoyed it because she had her FAV: macaroni & cheese. The girl can put it away, let me tell you.

mom fail: forgot the bib. that shirt is going to need some serious sun.

 We met daddy after school to play at the field house/work-out, then we just had dinner and parked it on the couch for the rest of the night. Good way to end the week, if you ask me!

On Saturday after a late morning nap, we headed about 25 miles down the road to Waco for Pei Wei and the zoo! Pei Wei is ALWAYS a win in this house. We love it and can't get enough. It's probably a really good thing that it's not actually in our town.

Jaqs had a great time strolling around the zoo and checking out the animals that she loves so much. The weather was beautiful, so it was a perfect day for it!

how adorable is J's little romper?? thanks again, mateya! :)

 The lions (of course), bears, and fish were some of her favorites.

I'm constantly snapping pictures of Rob and Jaqs together because I just can't get over the sweetness of their relationship. He adores her, and she is definitely enamored by him, too. It's really such a blessing to my momma-heart to see!

 We had dinner with friends when we got back that evening, and even got really wild and stayed out until 8:30 p.m. with them! Jaqs was feeling spunky, I suppose ;) It was such a fun day! Once again, Rob & I parked it on the couch to end the day, but this time with a movie! We watched Parental Guidance, and it was cute! We laughed at ourselves because we noticed that it was 'PG.' We must be getting old! I do have to say though, it's nice to watch a movie without the F-bomb being dropped every 30 seconds...I hate that!

Anyone else have kids that wake up EARLIER if they go to bed LATER than normal? It makes no sense to me, but that's what our little angel does. I can't tell you how much I enjoy waking up at 6 a.m. on a Sunday morning. NOT.

Oy. Since we were all up at the crack of dawn, we decided to be productive! We had all of our laundry and grocery shopping done by 10 a.m., and the baby even had a 2 hour nap before heading to the 11 a.m. church service. I'm sad to report that she did NOT make it the whole time in the nursery this week, but that's okay. I would much prefer for them to call me than for her to be miserable, and we'll keep trying! I'm sure she will have fun with it eventually.

 She looked darn cute though, I can tell you that! She's practicing her roaring on the left there ;)

We celebrated one of my great friends and her baby girl coming in June Sunday afternoon, and I can't wait to share that shower with you! It was so sweet.

yes...there's a baby in there! can you believe it?!

It was another whirlwind weekend filled to the brim with fun, and I think I hear Target calling my name to help me cure this case of the Mondays....

Kase's Shower

I mentioned awhile back that my brother & his wife were expecting their first baby, but I never followed up to say that we're gaining a NEPHEW! We went to Abilene this last weekend for Kase's 1st baby shower, and he made quite the haul. The theme was "Love you to the moon and back!" It was at my mom's bestie's house, and as always, she made everything look adorable. She has pitched in on all of our wedding and baby showers. Here are a few pictures to commemorate the occasion!

Aunt Cole with cousin Jaqsy!

Nana with 2 of her girls, shower treats & Nattie playing with Jaqs

sweet decor & food

my angel baby!

I can't wait to snuggle my nephew in May!

what a difference...

On this day last year, I was enjoying all of the baby shower bliss that comes with having your first child. It was such a fun day for me, and I felt so loved and grateful for all the lovely ladies that showered my baby girl and me with SO much!

 On the very next Saturday, my Temple girls gave us even more love and showered us once again with lots of itsy bitsy baby gear and even more fun!

As much fun as those beautiful days were, I'm thankful to be right where I am on this ordinary Monday morning. Playing with my baby girl and sneaking in the occasional hug and kiss when she allows it. She's the light of my life, and I'm grateful for ALL of her...her sass, her spunk, her slobber, her sweetness, and even her tears. Being her momma is more than I could have ever dreamed up or imagined. It's simply THE BEST!

What a difference a year can make, huh?

celebrating brooke!

A couple weekends ago when we were in Abilene, my mom and I along with a few other ladies hosted a baby shower to celebrate Brooke Rose! We are so excited for Connie and Austin, and I can hardly wait for Jaqs and Brooke to be sweet little friends :)

decor, hostesses (minus my SIL-Nicole) with mommy-to-be, Grammie & Jaqs

We had a table set up for everyone to make onesies for baby girl, and they turned out so cute! Each one unique, personalized, and with a matching bow, of course!

bottle & pearls, onesie decorating

My girls--Natalie just loves Jaqs!

mama & baby, food table & more decor

a few guests, happys Jaqs ;), cute cake, onesie-decorating

Can't wait to meet baby Brooke!

WILW!

I'm loving that I work with such wonderful people! They gave us a little lunch shower a couple weeks ago, and we are SO grateful for that! We have a good supply of diapers and gift cards thanks to my awesome co-workers :)

 Y'all have been such a blessing to me in the 8 months I've known you...THANK YOU for your generosity and excitement for us as we move into this next stage of life!

I'm loving the warm weather we've had lately! It's been in the low 80s, so it's enjoyable rather than MISERABLE like summers tend to be. I'm looking forward to getting back into regular clothes...especially cotton skirts! And especially maxis like this one:

How cute is this? Too bad it's $178. So not in my budget.

I'm loving Fashion Star! I've always been a Jessica Simpson (Newlyweds, anyone? *tear*) fan, so of course, I had to watch this! Orly and Sarah are my favorites! 

I'm loving my sweet hubby, as always! Have you heard? He's gonna be a daddy SOON! YAY! He's going to be a darn good one, too. I already know it.

Temple baby shower!

Last weekend, my wonderful Temple girls gave Jaqs and me the most darling baby shower! Cassi hosted it at her beautiful house...the decorations were seriously adorable, and the food was delicious! We felt so special! 

And grateful to be exactly where we are.

the door decor...such a cute welcome!

Roxanne made this "rattle" out of my favorite little green button flowers!

how awesome is that fruit tray?! the cupcakes were AMAZING, too! GF just for me!

with my SIL & momma...they came in town for the occasion! love them so.

friends & hostess gifts

my aunt linda also came for the shower! so fun to have her here :)

thankful for each of these little ladies

our new diaper bag! yay!

the wonderful hostesses:
vanessa, claudia, (me), roxanne, kendra, kim, cassi

I wish I had the words to describe just how thankful I am for the friends that we have here in our new home of Temple. We haven't even been here quite a year, but it just feels right at this point in our lives. We're surrounded by awesome people...some friends old, some friends new, but they're all so excited for us and our growing family. What a blessing that is! I know they'll be a blessing to our baby girl, too, and that is gift enough. 

Thank you ladies for an amazing afternoon! It couldn't have been more perfect...I loved every single minute of it.

hometown baby shower!

Ever since we first announced that we were expecting a baby, we've been amazed by the outpouring of love and excitement that we've been shown. Such a blessing! Well, that only continued last weekend as we were given our first shower in Abilene. It was absolutely perfect and so much fun!

the invitation

hostesses: Julie, Pam, Linda, Judy, (me), Raquel & Lisa

some of the decor...girly, girly...just how i like it!

gluten-free brunch

my sweet temple friends that came along!

favors & gifts

adorable diaper cake made by julie...it's still assembled in the nursery!

my beautiful momma...AKA Sugar :)

fun baby goodies, guests, and one sweet baby girl!

more fun gifts including Jaqs' 1st tennies & swim-suit!

and the loot in the nursery

The shower was even better than I could have ever imagined. I felt so loved and extremely thankful for the many friends that we have that care so much about us and our baby girl. Jaqs will have no shortage of love, that's for sure! It's a special thing to be in a room full of people celebrating your unborn child. Something I've looked forward to for some time. A great big THANK YOU to the ladies who hosted this party for us! Y'all are so wonderful, and I'm grateful for you.

*****

I've been a little MIA around here, and you can probably see why! I've been in nesting mode. The nursery is ready, baby clothes have all been washed & organized, necessities assembled...we're just baby waitin'! There's basically one thing that's keeping me from posting nursery pictures, but hopefully the chandelier will be hung this weekend so I can get on that. I'm sure you're on the edge of your seat, right? ;)

Our Temple friends had a shower for us this weekend, so I'll be back soon to share that! Get ready for some serious cuteness.

Hope your week is of to a good start!