FINALLY!!

Y'all. I have missed this blog & all of you (are there any of you left?? ;)) SO MUCH!

We have been without internet in our home since moving in in March, but I'm happy to say that the internet gods finally got their act together & spread lines in our neighborhood which means I CAN FINALLY BLOG AGAIN! Woohoo!! It's been a long 7 months!

There's no way I could ever make up everything that I've missed, so I'll hit the high points and go from there...

On April 18th we got a HUGE surprise and found out that our family would be growing!

 You may remember that we had trouble conceiving the first time around, and I think I'm still in a little shock that this "just happened" on its own. God is so good, and I think He knew that I wasn't quite sure when the "right" time would be, so He just went ahead and let me know that it was time!

 We found out this summer that baby #2 was a BOY!! And a healthy one at that :)

 I'm 35 weeks as of today, and our little man is expected to arrive around December 15th. Hopefully I can share more on this pregnancy really soon! I hate that I don't have the same documentation this time around, but I'm sure that baby boy will forgive his dear ol' mom.

Jaqs was a flower girl for the first time in a friend's wedding in June, and oh was it precious! She sprinted down the aisle then danced the night away. She had a BALL! And she'll get to do it again in February for her Uncle Will's wedding, so let's hope history repeats itself with her flower girl duties.

We had an awesome summer spent with old friends...

 And new friends...

 Then another football season began...

 It's been a bit of a roller coaster, but our Coogs got a share of the district title & will play their first round of play-offs this Friday!! GO COUGARS!!

 Jaqs also started Mother's Day Out twice a week this fall, and she is LOVING IT! I was unsure of how long it'd take her to adjust and enjoy it, but she jumped right in (without a tear) and has made me so proud. My sweet big girl. I need to do an update of my TWO & A HALF year old before she becomes a big sister!

I think that's about all I can muster for my first post-hiatus-post ;) I hope to be back SOON!

five on friday

Apparently a twice a week pop-in is as good as it's going to get for me in the blogging department right now. I have the best intentions to blog in the evenings once Jaqs is in bed, but then I get busy doing other things & before I know it, it's 11 p.m. & I'm ready for bed again! Once football season starts back up, I'll have more spare time on my hands ;)

Anyway, I'm linking up with Darci & the other girls once again for Five on Friday! Love this link-up!

{one} Rob and I celebrated 5 years of marriage on July 5th! I truly cannot believe we've been married this long already, but the fact that we've been together for 10 is just mind-blowing. Seriously. I'm not old enough! ;) Ha. We were still in Abilene, so we got to go out for a little date once Jaqs went to bed thanks to my parents! True story: my dad made us take the kissy-kissy pic! 

{two} Jaqs has mastered the cheese, and if you ask for it, you're getting it. That big ol' smile makes me laugh every time! Can't get enough!!

{three} We've been having so much summer fun lately, and I'm just loving life. Also the reason for my neglected blog. Football season starts in less than 2 weeks, so we're about to be in for a serious reality check around here. Adjusting back to single parenting is so hard...hoping J takes it easy on me. 

water park fun with our buddies!

{four} I'm in the process of giving our living room a little update, so I've been looking for some new throw pillows (story of my life...for real). I found these on Groop Dealz the other day, and I just love the arrow print and colors! I got the Robin's egg blue & yellow, and I can't wait to get them! I've also finally started on the "play area" in the room, so I'm excited to share that with y'all soon!

{five} Do y'all watch Big Brother? This is another one of those shows I haven't watched in YEARS, but I'm hooked on it this summer! Who are you liking so far? I'm totally digging the Mom Squad, and I love Howard & Candice, too! Really hoping they pick the "cool" kids off one by one. They got a good start last night!

Hope y'all have a fun weekend! Other than the state 7 on 7 tourney and trying to keep from melting, we don't have a whole lot planned. I'm thinking there will definitely be swimming though because WHAT ELSE do you do when it's 105 outside?! Oy.

a luau, a surprise & a shower

This was our first 'official' summer weekend, and I'd say we started it off right!

On Friday afternoon when Rob got home, I went to help my friend, Cassi, set up for a surprise party for her daughter and a few of her closest friends. The occasion? Elementary graduation! It was a luau theme, and we all had a blast a the party. Jaqs loooved "swimming" in the pool and wishing she could play with the big girls!

 Rob had 7 on 7 all day Saturday, so Jaqs and I just did some chores around the house and ventured out for a little shopping that afternoon. That evening we had yet another surprise party, but this time it was FOR Cassi! Her birthday was last Thursday, so her hubby had some of her friends come in from out of town, and we all met up for a night of fun at a really cool restaurant outside of town. I think we beat her at her own game ;)

The restaurant also has an outdoor stage with a big dance floor with tables all around and plenty to keep kids entertained. There was live music, and it was just a really fun night with great friends! We enjoyed every minute of it. Well, except for the part where a guy started choking/seizing/we don't know for sure what at the table next to us. That was scary, but he ended up being fine.

my love.

the whole group

some of the girlies

On Sunday afternoon, my friend, Vanessa (the other one in black above ;)), had her FINAL baby shower before their daughter makes her grand entrance. I went to that while Jaqs napped then hung out with her favorite guy. We had a cook-out with friends later that evening and ended up at a block party where a little old lady was feeding Jaqs cream puffs. That was....interesting, but what am I supposed to do?! I wasn't going to tell her to stop because 1. I don't want to be rude. 2. She thanked us later for "letting her love on our baby!" :) Very sweet.

This doesn't really have much to do with anything, but Jaqs has been so determined to get her shoes on lately, and it's just so precious. She sat on our bed working on this for at least 20 minutes yesterday afternoon. She was concentrating to hard, and she was not giving up on it! Sweetie pie.

I guess it's technically summer vacation for the hubs, but he's working all morning and has football tonight, so it doesn't quite feel like it yet! It will be nice to have him home in the afternoons the rest of this week though!

Hope you lovelies had a great weekend, too!

....is this thing on?

Well, I'm hanging my head in shame over here. I can't believe nearly 2 weeks have gone by since I last blogged! I guess I've been in a bit of a blogging funk, but I need to get back in the swing of things! We've had some exciting things going on in our little world

We've been spending lots of time "swimming" in the backyard with our buddies..

 And driving around the neighborhood, stopping to chat with the sweet retirees, of course...

(they're the only ones around during the day ;))

 We've also been doing some front-porch sittin' at our friends' house...

 Oh, and we made a trip to San Antonio this past weekend because Jaqsy got her FIRST COUSIN!! I am thrilled to death for my brother & his wife with the addition of their precious baby boy. He is just a handsome little thing, and I can't wait to snuggle him.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend much time with him while we were there because it was a MONSOON! There was a crazy amount of rain. BUT we got to stay at the AFB where my brother works, and Jaqs thoroughly enjoyed all the attention she received from her grandparents and great-grandma! This was J's first hotel stay, and she did pretty well!

 We spent Memorial Day on the lake with our pals, and it was, as always, a good time! The little girl had so much fun in her floaty that she was sitting in it in the garage the next day. "Take me back!," she says. 

In other news, Spring ball is officially in the books for another year which means we are seeing a whole lot more of Rob! He has another week of school, then we're home free for a little while! Well, you know except for 7 on 7 practice, tournaments, and daily work-outs, but whatever ;) We're eating dinner together, and spending weekends together...doesn't get much better than that!

Well, I think that's the run down on the last couple of weeks. It WILL NOT be 2 more weeks until I post again. Pinky promise. I've missed y'all!

XOXO

sprinkles

I've had good blogging intentions every day this week, but so far it just hasn't happened! So how about a little hodge-podge to get us caught up on the happenings and thoughts...

• Last night (7-11) Jaqs LAUGHED out LOUD for the first time! Oh my word. Talk about sweet sounds. It's definitely up there with my top 5 favorite 'parenting moments' thus far. I mean sure, I've heard lots of babies laugh, but nothing compares to hearing your own munchie belly laugh...especially when it's you that they're finding so funny! ;) Unfortunately Rob wasn't home to see it, but I got it all on video, so he got to relive it with us.

• Speaking of that angel baby...I feel like she has changed a lot in the last 2 weeks! It seems like she's suddenly doing so many new things---sleeping 12-13 hours (hallelujah!), tolerating, and dare I say enjoying, tummy time, 'standing' and pushing up constantly, gnawing on her hands during all waking hours (gearing up for teeth??), grabbing and batting at toys. I'm sure I'm leaving something out. Babies are such little miracles. What a gift from God to be able to watch this little one develop and learn before my very eyes.

• I love the look of the Erin Condren Life Planners and would love to have one, but I don't think spending $50 on a planner is exactly practical for me. I mean, I'm not really even that busy with 'planned' things in the first place. Also, I'm a tight-wad. I admit it.

• We've been spending lots of time with daddy around here, and it has been awesome. Seriously, our days are so much fun when we can spend all hours together! As much as I love football games, I admit that I am pretty sad that it's back to work for Rob next week ;( At least we still have some weekends before the 7-days-a-week grind hits.

• I'm sure I'm behind on this game, but I signed up for Viggle! Are you a member? Is it worth it? I'm not sure I fully understand it, but I figure it's worth a shot!
• I've been thinking a lot about what I want to be 'when I grow up' lately, and I think I'd make one heck of a professional organizer. Is that a thing? I don't think I could handle hoarder type houses though. If that fails, I wouldn't mind being the next Vanna White. Home girl's got it made...different dress every night, vacations for the sake of the show, AND she doesn't even have to flip the dang letters any more...just touch them. I could so rock that job.
• I hadn't been on Pinterest in ages, but I'm back! And just in time because I'm needing new dinner ideas for when Rob starts back to work. Quick and easy is what I'm looking for here. Any suggestions??

Alright, that's all I've got for now...Happy Thursday, lovies! 

hill country vacation!

Vacationing with my family is quite tricky...Spring is my dad's busy season, Summer is my brother's busy season, and Fall is certainly out for my hubby. Add a tiny baby into that mix, and we decided that simple was going to best for this year! My parents rented a house on the river in New Braunfels, and we all 'camped' out there for a few days :)

We lazed around the house, floated the river, spent most of one day at Schlitterbaun while Grammie baby-sat, and just enjoyed some time with one another. It was great!

I only got one day's worth of pictures because water and cameras don't exactly mix, but luckily I got some decent photos to capture the memory!

TL: Grammie & G-Pop brought a pool for J-baby, so of course I had to test it out.

TR: These are the shoes mom brought...HA!

BL: Jaqsy girl just chillin on the deck.

BR: Momma and me!

My fabulous parents!

Jaqs had her first swim on her first vacation! She looked SO cute in her Ruffle Butts suit!

She was pretty indifferent about the pool. We tried several different ways to get her situated, but I think it'll be easier if we get in with her in the future! 

Maybe this week we'll try an actual pool! I'll report back ;)

Oh this girl melts my heart. Pure sugar!

Love my hunky hubby!

Of course, Jaqs got lots of loving from her Grammie & G-Pop and Uncle KB & Aunt Cole!

The men in my life. Love 'em.

Thanks mom and dad for a great little getaway! 

Y'all are so good to us, and we love you bunches :)