Practice With Two

There are many things I enjoy about my summer. One of them is obviously the time I get to spend with Allie and the other one is that I am able to help friends out. Our friends Jeff and Mitzi asked me if I would mind watching their sweet little boy for two days last week. I was so excited that I didn't have anything going on and was able to help them while their regular babysitter had to be out of town. Thatcher is a very busy 8 month old and so much fun! He crawls everywhere and enjoys putting things in his mouth. Before he came I made sure I had all little toys put away and that my floors were as clean I could get them. Allie wasn't quite sure of what to think of having to share me with another baby. I've held other babies before and she was find, but it's a different story when the other baby is at our house sharing her toys and her mommy! Once we got past the fact that Thatcher wasn't taking her toys anywhere, she really enjoyed having him around. He loved following her where ever she went and she was quick to console him if he got upset. It was great having a baby around to get an idea of what life would be like with 2! Very busy!

This is Allie telling Thatcher that he is sweet.

Allie trying to help Thatcher find some good toys to chew on!

I took so many pictures of him. He loves the camera! When Allie was that age every time I took a picture, she would close her eyes as soon as the flash went off. Not Thatcher; his smile just got bigger.
He is such a happy baby and a sweet boy to love on. Thanks Jeff and Mitzi for letting me watch your precious boy! We had a great time.

Play in the Water

Play in the water is what Allie calls swimming. She loves to play in the water and we've tried doing that as much as we can. I bought a season pass along with a few of my friends to Hawaiian Falls (water park) this summer. It has a wonderful area for kids. She loves going there with her friends Gabby and Eli. We've only been able to go a few times but she loves it. She really likes to sit on the outskirts of the wave pool and splash or jump over the waves. Her least favorite thing is water splashing over her head, but she is getting used to it. At the end of last summer, I bought her a pool and we didn't get it out until last weekend. She loves it too! I think her favorite thing to do is pour water on her daddy!
This is Allie waiting patiently while we air up the pool.

Allie watching her daddy blow bubbles in the water.

This picture is at Hawaiian Falls. Most of the water in her area goes up to her ankles. 45min. after this picture was taken a huge storm came in!

She loves playing in the fountains!

Texas Ranger Game

Jarod and I took Allie to her first Texas Ranger game last night. It was a great family outing and I think we all had a great time. We got to sit in my favorite section; The Home Run Porch in right field. I love going to ball games and the entire atmosphere. I grew up going to games with my family and I hope we continue to do so as well. I wasn't quite sure how long Allie would last but we left at the bottom of the 8th inning only b/c I had to drag Jarod away. It was already 9:30 and poor Allie needed to get to bed at least by 10:30 or we would have a grouchy bear the next day! I think Allie's favorite part was eating! She ate a hot dog, grapes, cotton candy, M&M's, and some cookies. I know it was a lot of junk but that is what ball games are all about.

Right after I took this picture of Allie and Jarod a ball was coming right at us (it was batting practice for the Braves). I think I was more upset about not getting the ball (it landed right in front of us) than I was concerned about the ball hitting us. Terrible I know! Jarod really could of had the ball, but he let the lady in front of us have it. He was being nice.

Sassy Allie eating her hot dog!

Yummy Cotton Candy!

Even more Cotton Candy!

Love this picture! I loved seeing Jarod and Allie share such a sweet moment together. Just a daddy and his girl watching the game. At home she tells us that she wants to watch baseball.

Family Pictures

Beware! Lots of pictures!
Last week we took Allie to have her 2yr. pictures and we had some family photos done as well. We went and had them done by the same person who took her picture at Christmas. Her name is LE Yanelli and I think she did a wonderful job. I was a little worried at first because Allie didn't even want to go through the door. But she was wonderful with Allie and got her to warm up fast. I will link her website under my contacts. She is just fabulous. She charges a sitting fee and you can have as many people and outfit changes that you want. Then she mails you a CD and you can choose which pictures you want and have them printed where you want to. She has other packages too, but that is the one we chose. I hope you enjoy the pictures. I would have liked to put more on here but I didn't want to bore everyone!

Tagged by Kim

Rules are as follows: Link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules on your blog. Write six random things about yourself. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.

1. When I was 7 yrs. old, my oldest brother Scott was dropping my mom and I off at church in Nebraska and I slipped on a patch of ice and fell down. My right foot slid underneath the car and my brother ran over my foot. He did not know that I had fallen until he heard my deathly screams! When he heard my screams, the car stopped on top of my foot, then he had to roll back over it to get it off. Good news: my foot wasn't broken and I got treated like a queen from all of his high school friends!

2. Another church accident caused my first stitches. I was twirling in the back of the auditorium with my friend Lisa (I loved twirling) and I lost my balance and my head hit the back of the church pew. I got major stitches for that accident and I still have a scar right above my eyebrow. When I see Allie twirling at home, it makes me very nervous!

3. For those of you who don't know, Jarod and I started dating at the end of our junior year of high school. We had 3 classes together that semester and one of them was a computer class. This very rude boy was saying rude things about the softball team (which I played for) and Jarod(who was very shy) stood up for my team. This scored huge bonus points with me b/c in a small town everyone focused on guy sports and didn't care about girl sports even though we were in the playoffs! So, from that moment on I liked him and for a month I went with my friend Brooke to the movie theater where Jarod worked just so I could have him tear my ticket! We never said much to each other. He just smiled that gorgeous smile of his and I was hooked!

4. I asked out Jarod on our first date. He was very shy and if I didn't ask I didn't think he would ever ask me. Obviously it was the right thing to do!

5. I love to read! I can get so hooked into a book that I become obsessed with it. It's kind of scary. I just get so involved in the story line and I just have to know what is going to happen. In the last week I have almost finished two books b/c I just can't stop reading.

6. Because of my obsession to read, I must confess that I have read all of the Harry Potter books at least 3 times each! I think I've read books 4, 5, and 6 four times and 1, 2, and 7 three times. Weird I know! They are truly my favorite books and if I start one, I have to go to the next one. Plus, I always discover something that I didn't realize the first time. I'm such a nerd!

I TAG MORGAN, SARAH, KRISTEN, MITZI, JT, AND MIRANDA

Happy 5th Anniversary to Us!

On Saturday, June 7th, Jarod and I celebrated our 5th Anniversary. My how time flies! I really can't believe how much has changed in our lives in the last 5 years. We had a lot of time to reflect on the last 5 years and a lot of time to talk about the next 5! God has been so good to us and blessed our lives in so many ways over the last few years. We are so thankful for so many things, especially our daughter Allie. What a true joy it is to watch her grow as a child of God.

My parents kept Allie over night and Jarod had our date all planned out (which he kept a secret until 2 days before we left). He made reservations at the Hilton in downtown Ft. Worth. This is the hotel where JFK last stayed before he died. In fact, we think we stayed in the room across from his suite. The picture below was on the wall across from our room. Jarod booked us on the executive floor, so we had a few added perks. It was so nice to get away and just spend time together. We had so much time to just talk and it was wonderful. We went and ate at a really nice restaurant that had great food and a great view of the city. We also got to eat outside on the rooftop. The picture of us above is at the restaurant. After dinner we walked around downtown and then later we went to Marble Slab. Yum-O! The biggest surprise of the night was my gift. I had no idea he was getting me anything b/c we had said that our date was part of our gift and we planned on getting a grill b/c I'm dying to have one. But, just before we went to dinner he surprised me with diamond solitaire earrings. They are just beautiful! It has been a wonderful 5 years together and I look forward to many more!

**I tried to find pictures of us from high school and from our wedding and couldn't come up with any! Oh well!